Oppression – The Eighth Commandment

Oppression

The Eighth Commandment

Leviticus 19:13

“You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him.”

Robbery is a form of oppression in that it deprives a person of that which God has freely given him for use in seeking the Kingdom of God. To rob another is to take the place of God in that person’s life by assuming ownership of property and, thus, redefining the parameters within which one may serve the Lord and seek His Kingdom.

Other forms of oppression also exist, and they are often bound up with property: unlawful taxation; unreasonable restrictions on property use; government seizure of property, for example, in the name of eminent domain; and so forth.

We oppress our neighbors in these ways by constraining their freedom to serve and enjoy the Lord according the station in life He has assigned to them. All such forms of oppression are unlawful.

In this series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.MyParuchia.com and click on our Book Store.

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.