Commandments #9 & 10

One of the most emphatic things my parents pushed on us kids is that we should not lie to them. Needless to say, we didn’t hold tight to that premise. My brother and especially my sister would frequently lie about where they were, what they were doing and so on. I was not much better. I had my girlfriend stay over night when I was a teenager and my parents were on some business trip or vacation while we stayed behind. My sister would regularly lie about going to school, cutting instead. My brother lied about why he was caught by the police with his friends while breaking into a house. Good times all.

What was the end result of this? A break down of trust between parents and their children, breaking the fifth commandment of honoring your parents. Furthermore, you now have a rift between the two sides that may go on for years. One of the biggest unspoken reasons for the Commandments was that God wanted his Chosen People to have a unified society, based on love for God and each other. This was not to be however as they frequently rebelled against God in worship and against each other in deeds. This breakdown went so far as to split the Great Kingdom into two pieces, never to be reunited again.

This leads into the ninth commandment. This simple statement from , ‘ Thou shalt not bear false witness against your neighbor’ spoke to this and many other situations. This commandment was designed to put everyone on the same level and establish faith and trust in each other and by extension, to God the overseer and creator of their world. Just as a marriage cannot be built on a bed of lies, so too a culture and society. With this lack of trust will come a breakdown of society through a lack of justice, perceived or actual. This can also lead to such extremes as anarchy and general lawlessness, all because you would not or could not trust the others in your world. This may seem a little too ‘Mad Maxish’, but lets take a closer look at the commandment and how far reaching it extends.

Keeping in mind that this was a nomadic society and everyone was reliant on everyone else to survive. This in effect made the witness a very powerful person, but also with a high degree of responsibility. What the witness said would affect not just the livelihood of a family, but the lives of a family as well. This also would impact the witness who could also be liable for the punishment and could receive the same if found guilty of lying. When we look at ‘bearing false witness’, the first thought is along the lines of lying on the stand in a courtroom and this is just one aspect of the law. This can also mean the following:

1 - lying about someone or about evidence against a person under investigation

2 - giving of a conscious falsehood

3 - providing false evidence of any kind against a marriage, life, or property that can be endangered through the falsehood

4 - spreading rumors

5 - withholding the truth through silence or obfuscation

6 - false accusation

7 - perjury

and many other such violations.