Different Life: 8th CommandmentНамуна

Here’s the eighth commandment: “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor” (Exod 20:16; Deut 5:20).

When reading this command, we need to remember that court in ancient Israel did not quite look the same as it does in the United States today. Unlike today’s model which seeks to provide a defense at all costs before a jury, the court in ancient Israel centered on a ruler seeking to establish the truth. Witness testimony was key to the process, but so was the wisdom of the ruler to determine who had the facts and who was telling the truth.

This is why bribes are so condemned in the Bible, and why wisdom is so highly prized. This is also why giving true testimony is commanded. To do otherwise risks destroying lives, hindering justice, and undermining confidence in the system seeking to arbitrate people’s disputes.

Telling the truth is important to God. Especially when it affects the consequences of situation and the life of another. The temptation is there to bend truth to our favor. But God is a god of truth. He wants us to be people of truth too.