Commentary - Leviticus 19:11-13

Bird's-eye view

Here in the heart of what is commonly called the Holiness Code, we find a series of staccato commands that get right to the heart of neighbor relations. This is not a list of abstract ethical principles for personal improvement; this is the blueprint for a holy community, a community that images the triune God. The chapter opens with the foundational command, "Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy" (Lev. 19:2). What follows is the practical outworking of that holiness. These verses, 11 through 13, deal with the integrity of a man's property and his word. They are intensely practical. Holiness is not ethereal. It has calluses on its hands. It deals with property lines, honest scales, and payroll. These commands show us that loving our neighbor as ourselves (v. 18) is not a sentimental feeling but a robust, concrete, economic, and verbal reality.

The flow is from sins of stealth (stealing) to sins of the tongue (lying, false swearing) and then to sins of power (oppression, robbery). This progression reveals a deep understanding of human sin. It begins with covetousness in the heart, which leads to taking what is not yours, which then requires lies to cover it up, and if you are in a position of power, it can manifest as outright exploitation of those under you. Each prohibition is grounded in the character of God, culminating in the refrain, "I am Yahweh." This is not an arbitrary list of rules; it is a reflection of the God who is Himself true, faithful, and just.

Outline

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 11 ‘You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another.

You shall not steal... The eighth commandment is brought from the stone tablets of Sinai right down into the marketplace and the neighborhood. This assumes the legitimacy of private property. You cannot steal what does not belong to another. God is a God of glorious abundance, and He delegates stewardship of His creation to men. To steal, therefore, is to defy God's ordained economic order. But we must not think this is limited to breaking and entering. Stealing is a sin with a wide wingspan. Refusing to give God His tithe is robbing Him (Mal. 3:8). Laziness on the job is stealing time and productivity from your employer (Prov. 18:9). Governments that tax for purposes not authorized by God are engaged in plunder on a grand scale. At its root, theft is driven by covetousness, the desire to have what God has not given you. The remedy is not just restitution, but a change of heart that leads to hard work and open-handed generosity (Eph. 4:28).

nor deal falsely... This moves from the act of taking to the manner of transacting. To deal falsely is to engage in fraud. It is the sin of the con man, the fine print, the bait and switch. It is any form of misrepresentation in a transaction. It is using unjust weights and measures, which is an abomination to the Lord (Prov. 11:1). In our day, this would include everything from deceptive advertising to fudging the numbers on a report. It is a failure to conduct your affairs with plain, unvarnished truth. A holy people are a people whose business dealings are transparent and straightforward, because the God they worship is a God of truth.

nor lie to one another. This broadens the scope from commercial dealings to all verbal intercourse within the covenant community. Lying is an act of war. It introduces hostility and suspicion where there ought to be peace and trust. Paul commands the Colossians not to lie to one another because they have put off the old man (Col. 3:9). The father of lies is the devil (John 8:44), and so to lie is to speak the devil's native tongue. This prohibition is foundational for community. Without a basic commitment to the truth, contracts are meaningless, relationships disintegrate, and the church cannot function. A lie attempts to create a false reality with words, which is a satanic parody of God's creative power. God spoke, and worlds came into being. Man lies, and worlds fall apart.

v. 12 And you shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God; I am Yahweh.

And you shall not swear falsely by My name... This takes the sin of falsehood into the highest court. An oath is a solemn act of worship wherein a man calls upon God to be the witness and guarantor of his words. To swear by God's name is to say, "May God judge me if what I say is not true." It is therefore a profound acknowledgment of His omniscience and justice. The law not only permitted but sometimes required such oaths (Deut. 6:13). But because the oath is so sacred, its misuse is a grievous sin. To swear falsely is perjury. It is to drag the holy name of God through the mud of your own deceit. It is to treat the ultimate reality as a mere tool for your petty advantage.

so as to profane the name of your God... To profane something is to treat it as common or worthless. When you attach God's name to a lie, you are treating God Himself as common. You are acting as though the God who is Truth can be made an accomplice to a lie. This is a high-handed sin, a form of blasphemy. It demonstrates a heart that has no fear of God. The man who will lie under oath is a man who believes, in that moment, that he is smarter than God, or that God is not paying attention, or that God does not care. He is, in short, a practical atheist.

I am Yahweh. Here is the foundation for the command. God's name is not to be trifled with because He is Yahweh, the self-existent, covenant-keeping God of Israel. He is the ultimate reality. His name is a reflection of His character. To profane His name is to attack His character. This is why the third commandment is so weighty. The health of a society can be measured by how seriously it takes its oaths. When oaths become meaningless, it is a sign that the society no longer believes it is accountable to a higher authority. It is a sign that the society has forgotten Yahweh.

v. 13 ‘You shall not oppress your neighbor nor rob him. The wages of a hired man shall not remain with you overnight until morning.

You shall not oppress your neighbor nor rob him. Oppression is the misuse of power. It is using your strength, position, or advantage to crush someone weaker. Robbery is theft by force or intimidation, as opposed to the stealth of v. 11. Both are sins of the strong against the weak. A righteous government is one that punishes such evil (Rom. 13:4), but a wicked government is often the chief oppressor. God consistently presents Himself in Scripture as the defender of the weak, the fatherless, the widow, and the sojourner. To oppress your neighbor, therefore, is to set yourself against God. It is to act like a playground bully in a world governed by a just and mighty King. This is a sin that God takes very personally.

The wages of a hired man shall not remain with you overnight until morning. This is a specific and wonderfully concrete example of what oppression looks like. A day laborer in that economy lived hand-to-mouth. His daily wage was what his family would eat on that evening. To withhold his pay, even for a night, was not a simple cash-flow issue; it was to deprive his family of their supper. It was to use your position as employer to inflict real hardship. James warns the rich about this very sin in the sharpest of terms (James 5:4). Prompt payment for honest labor is a matter of basic justice. To delay payment is a form of theft; you are stealing the use of that man's money. It is a practical denial that you and your hired man are neighbors, created in the image of the same God.

Application

These commands are not dusty relics from an ancient legal code. They are the living words of a holy God, and they cut right into the heart of our modern lives. We live in an age that has perfected the arts of theft, falsehood, and oppression. Our entire advertising industry is largely built on dealing falsely. Our political discourse is a cesspool of lies and profane oaths. Our economic system is rife with oppression, from corporate cronyism to the hidden theft of inflation.

The call for the Christian is to be a people of radical integrity. Our 'yes' should be 'yes' and our 'no,' 'no' (Matt. 5:37). We should be known as people who pay our debts, who speak the truth even when it hurts, and who deal generously and justly with those who work for us. We are not to do this in order to be saved, but because we have been saved. The gospel is the ultimate solution to the sins listed here. Christ is the one who was robbed of His glory, who had lies told about Him under oath, and who was oppressed and crushed for our iniquities (Is. 53:5).

Because He paid our debt, we are freed from the covetousness that drives theft. Because He is the Truth, we are freed from the slavery of the lie. Because He is our righteous King, we are freed from the desire to oppress others. To be holy as God is holy means to live out this gospel freedom in our checkbooks, in our conversations, and in our businesses. It means building a community so honest, so truthful, and so just that the world has to stop and ask why. And the answer will always be, "Because of our God. I am Yahweh."