And you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. Deuteronomy 5:20
Strictly Hebrew translation: False witness against your neighbor not you shall bear.
This could be taken and interpreted several ways. Lying that puts your neighbor in trouble is a form of being a ‘false witness’. This would be especially egregious in anytime of court proceedings. Why someone would do that is especially troubling. ‘Self’ is definitely at the root of this issue.
To be a false witness against our neighbor basically means to falsely accuse someone else of wrongdoing. This is specifically addressed in Deuteronomy 19:16-21 And the penalties of being found a ‘false witness’ was extremely harsh. In today’s culture it is nothing to accuse someone else of wrongdoing without any evidence. This was seen as extreme evil within the ancient Hebrew community. And today it is basically being the ‘stooge’ for the evil ones and repeating their lies. In today’s culture lying barely holds any punishment. Don’t believe me? Just look at our nations leadership and their constant lying. They bear false witness constantly pointing fingers at each other, and some spend millions of dollars fabricating evidence. But these are our ‘betters’, our leaders, our elites — and they are ‘above’ the law.. correct? Not in God’s book of justice. No one will escape His judgment. Can a person fool God?
So much in today’s “justice” system they manipulate the individual to get them to say what they want them to say, so that they can convict them. And so many people fall victim to their manipulations because they speak, rather than remain silent. Then there is a large contingent of those who will easily bear false witness against the accused. It seems that in our justice system you have to have money and lots of it to get anywhere close to the verdict you want, not matter what the truth actually is. Truth is becoming more and more irrelevant in the current justice system, as corruption like cancer metastasizes in every part of the system.
Oh that we could return to the simplicity of the truth of the ten commandments in our justice system. But that would take a ‘fear of God’ that already has been lost in this culture and even within our judicial system.
So what do we do? Fear God. Fear the repercussions and circumstances of violating the ‘ways’ and commandments of God. Listen closely to the whisper of the Holy Spirit within our souls and minds and heed His conviction in your heart. Understand that He is the only One Judge you should really be concerned about. Tell the truth on only what you actually know. Don’t swim in the latest gossip. Don’t get in the habit of judging people by what others say about them.
The punishment for a person that ‘bears false witness’ in the ancient Hebrew community means the same punishment the accused was going to face if found guilty. So the penalty was the same as the accused. Don’t think that you will escape the punishment for bearing false witness for God will hold people accountable as He delivers true and real justice upon everyone. Trying to escape your lying ways? True confession is just the beginning. The Holy Spirit will require real repentance and real reparations be made.
Where did honesty become the thing seen as ‘weakness’? Honesty takes more courage than any other course.