Biblical Concept: Thief
Prologue
"The moment the
idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of
God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it,
anarchy and tyranny commence. If 'Thou shalt not
covet' and 'Thou shalt not steal' were not
commandments of Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society
before it can be civilized or made free." --John Adams, A Defense of the
American Constitutions, 1787
(Parentheses are mine.)
NAS Exodus 22:2 "If
the thief is caught while breaking in, and is struck so that he dies, there
will be no bloodguiltiness on his account. (Note
verse 3, unless at daytime.)
7 "If a man gives
his neighbor money or goods to keep for him, and it is stolen from the
man's house, if the thief is caught, he shall pay double. (Property theft punishment = restitution.)
8 "If the thief
is not caught, then the owner of the house shall appear before the judges, to
determine whether he laid his hands on his neighbor's property.
NAS Deuteronomy 24:7
"If a man is caught kidnapping any of his countrymen of the sons of
Israel, and he deals with him violently, or sells him, then that thief shall
die; so you shall purge the evil from among you. (Kidnapping = theft →
death for evil → societal protection.)
NAS Job 24:14 "The
murderer arises at dawn; He kills the poor and the needy, And at night he is as
a thief. (Job to Eliphaz.)
NAS Job 30:5 "They
are driven from the community; They shout against them as against a
thief, (Job to his inquisitors.)
NAS Psalm 50:18 "When you see a
thief, you are pleased with him, And you associate with adulterers. (In an April 2011 Pew poll, 71% of Democratic voters believe the
Federal Government should impose heavy taxes on the rich to redistribute wealth
in America. Redistribute wealth →
legalized theft → pleased with self.
I wonder how many of the 71% cheat / neglect to pay their taxes? Representative Charlie Wrangle did. Senator Tom Daschle did. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner did. HHS nominee Kathy
Sebelius did. The
following Obama administration nominees did: Performance officer Nancy Kelleher,
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk. TheDailyBeast.com
found 18 Democrat and 7 Republican politician tax cheats.)
NAS Proverbs 6:30 Men do not despise a
thief if he steals To satisfy himself when he is hungry; (Unless the thief is
already on public assistance. 2
Thessalonians 3:10-12 10 For
even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone will not
work, neither let him eat. 11
For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no
work at all, but acting like busybodies.
12 Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus
Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread.)
NAS Proverbs 29:24 He
who is a partner with a thief hates his own life; He hears the oath but tells
nothing.
NAS Jeremiah 2:26
"As the thief is shamed when he is discovered, So the house of Israel is
shamed; They, their kings, their princes, And their priests, and their prophets,
(Government sanctioned theft helps overcome shame—everybody does it.)
NAS Hosea 7:1 When I
would heal Israel, The iniquity of Ephraim is uncovered, And the evil deeds of
Samaria, For they deal falsely; The thief enters in, Bandits raid outside,
NAS Joel 2:9 They rush
on the city, They run on the wall; They climb into the houses, They enter
through the windows like a thief. (Locus invaders.)
NAS Zechariah 5:4
"I will make it go forth," declares the LORD of hosts, "and it
will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely
by My name; and it will spend the night within that house and consume it with
its timber and stones." (The flying scroll curse for thieves.)
NAS Matthew 24:43
"But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time
of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would
not have allowed his house to be broken into. (Second Advent.)
NAS Luke 12:33
"Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves purses which
do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near,
nor moth destroys.
39 "And be sure
of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was
coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. (Second Advent.)
NAS John 10:1
"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the
fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.
10 "The thief
comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life,
and might have it abundantly.
NAS John 12:6 Now he
said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a
thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it. (Money
missed a Messiah.)
NAS 1 Thessalonians 5:2
For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like
a thief in the night. (Day of the Lord.) (Biblical Time Chart.)
4 But you, brethren,
are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief;
NAS 1 Peter 4:15 By no
means let any of you suffer as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a
troublesome meddler; (Big sins →
big suffering.)
NAS 2 Peter 3:10 But the
day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away
with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth
and its works will be burned up.
NAS Revelation 3:3
'Remember therefore what you have received and heard; and keep it, and
repent. If therefore you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you
will not know at what hour I will come upon you.
NAS Revelation 16:15
("Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and
keeps his garments, lest he walk about naked and men see his shame.")
NAS Isaiah 1:23 Your
rulers are rebels, And companions of thieves; Everyone loves a bribe, And
chases after rewards. They do not defend the orphan, Nor does the widow's plea
come before them. (See Psalm 50:18
above.) (Congress has made themselves exempt from stock market insider trading
rules. This is how they “reward”
themselves.) (Bloomberg Link.)
NAS Jeremiah 48:27
"Now was not Israel a laughingstock to you? Or was he caught among
thieves? For each time you speak about him you shake your head in scorn.
NAS Jeremiah 49:9
"If grape gatherers came to you, Would they not leave gleanings? If
thieves came by night, They would destroy only until they had
enough.
NAS Obadiah 1:5 "If
thieves came to you, If robbers by night-- O how you will be ruined!-- Would
they not steal only until they had enough? If grape gatherers came to
you, Would they not leave some gleanings?
NAS Matthew 6:19
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust
destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
20 "But lay up
for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and
where thieves do not break in or steal;
NAS John 10:8 "All
who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.
NAS 1 Corinthians 6:10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor
drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
6:9-12, Stop acting like unbelievers.
6:9a, If unbelievers cannot inherit in God’s
kingdom, how can you by
acting like them?
6:9b-10, Attitudes and actions of unbelievers to
avoid.
6:11, You are Christians with a new potential.
6:12, The conclusion: Be not mastered by any
sin.