Man's Laws (13)

The second five commandments belong to man:

6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet (Exodus 20:13-17)

Adultery, theft, murder and perjury are crimes because penalties are set out for these in the remainder of Exodus and Deuteronomy. Human judges are expected to deal with these crimes.

Paul listed these same four commands in Romans 13:1-10, when he was describing the role of magistrates and judges

The tenth commandment adds an interesting twist. Coveting is listed as a sin, but there is no punishment specified for it, so it is not a crime. The obvious reason for this is that it is impossible for a judge to prove what a person is coveting. No one can testify that another person is coveting, because we cannot see into another person’s mind. So although man has five commandments, he is not equal with God, because there is one that he cannot deal with. Judges can only deal with coveting, when the coveter acts on his thoughts and translates them into theft or adultery.

Moses did not apply the adultery laws, while the people’s hearts were hard (Matt 19:8), so until society is transformed by the gospel, there are just three laws for judges to apply.

• Theft (includes assault)
• Murder
• Perjury and dishonest dealing.

A judge’s job is really quite simple. These are very straightforward concepts. We do not need a lot of clever politicians to tell us what they mean. We just need good judges to apply them.

These commandments are all that is needed for a harmonious society. If there is no adultery, cheating, stealing or violence, society will be peaceful and free.