The Ninth Commandment - Truer Words Spoken

Exodus 20:16 - "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."

Truth and Justice

Strictly speaking, this commandment was concerned with lying under oath. The purpose behind the ninth command was to protect people from false accusations in a court of law. Trials at this time didn't depend on "physical evidence" - this was way before the days of forensic science. Trials back then depended mostly on eyewitness testimony.

Eyewitnesses are still the best evidence in trials today - but back then, they were even more credible and reliable. True, there were  liars back then as there are today; but false testimony was much less common back then. Ancient people had a high priority on personal integrity and trustworthy words. A person's reputation would be irrevocably damaged if they were caught telling a lie.

Not only was integrity a powerful safeguard against lying under oath, but there were two additional factors in ancient Israel that virtually eliminated the problem:

#1 - No trial was ever concluded without the testimony of at least two witnesses. Even if there weren't two actual eyewitnesses to the crime itself; there were still character witnesses, witnesses after the fact, and the witness of those who investigated that were always included in the trial. Under no circumstances would a single accusation conclude a case.

2 - If someone was found guilty of bringing a false accusation against someone, they would be brought to justice. A false witness would receive the same penalty that the person they accused would've received if they were found guilty. This means falsely accusing someone of murder would risk the death penalty yourself. Falsely accusing someone of theft would mean you would have to pay restitution to the accused person.

These three factors together ensured reliable testimony in courts:
1 - a high regard for personal integrity
2 - corroborating testimony from at least one other witness
3 - the threat of severe penalty for perjury
Generally speaking, frivolous accusations had no place in Hebrew culture.

Truth and Reputation

It's good to keep this warning against false legal testimony in mind if you ever have to testify in a court case. But the reality is, you may not be in a situation where this strict interpretation of the ninth commandment applies. Most of us won't be testifying under oath anytime soon.

But the broader meaning of the ninth commandment is much more consequential to us. You see, the spirit behind this command is all about protecting someone's reputation.

Have you ever had someone lie about you? Have you ever been accused of something falsely?
Maybe it was a formal accusation, such as to your employer or a professional client.
Maybe it was an informal accusation to a friend or relative (what we commonly call "gossip").
Whatever the case, there's no doubt about the damage, sometimes irreversible, that a false accusation can cause.

Now think about this: Have you ever had someone lie to you about someone else? You probably know of at least one or two occasions when someone was clearly telling you a lie to hurt someone. But have there been any times when you were lied to and didn't know it was a lie? And how would you know something was a lie when you heard it? Would you be guilty of lying if you repeated something false unknowingly?

Way too often we will spread rumors that we think are true, only to end up repeating a lie from someone else. This is also bearing false witness.  When we hear a negative report about someone, we're usually not aware of all the factors involved. Without knowing all the details of the situation, how could we ever know if what we're hearing is true?

There's only one safe thing to do with a rumor, whether it's "credible" or not: Let it die in your ears. As believers, we must not take part in damaging the life and reputation of anyone else based on hearsay. Let it stop with you.

Children of the Truth

Like any other Scriptural concept, there is more to "truth" than what's on the surface. Dig a little deeper into the subject and you'll notice that the Bible clearly defines truth as God's Word. 

John 17:17 "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your Word is truth."

Psalm 119:160 "The entirety of Your Word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever."

Truth is not synonymous with "facts". Facts are what we see, hear, taste, and feel. But the truth is found in God's word alone. In light of this, something is only truthful to the extent that it agrees with God and His word.

Case and point: Remember the story (in 2 Kings 6) of Elisha and his servant being surrounded by an enemy army? One of them saw the facts of the situation, and one of them knew the truth.

Elisha's servant saw the facts: they were surrounded by the enemy and were about to die! In response to the facts, the servant panicked. "Alas master, what shall we do?"

But while the other man freaked out, Elisha was at peace. Why? Because he knew the truth: that there was a more powerful force defending them than what was opposing them. 

Nowhere in the story do we read that Elisha saw the angel army. So how could he know that they would be delivered?  Psalm 34:7 (written long before Elisha) declares, "The Angel of the Lord encamps around all those who fear Him, and delivers them." Elisha knew the truth, and wasn't moved by the facts.

With this definition of "truth" in mind, let me ask you a question: Is it possible to lie while talking about the facts? Absolutely! Look at Ephesians 4:25, "Therefore, putting away lying, let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor."

What should we speak? Truth! What is truth? The Word of God! Anything other than that is a lie!

Let's make our Father - the God of Truth - happy that we're His kids! He clearly says in 3rd John 4, "I have no greater joy than to hear that My children walk in truth."

If that's our Father's greatest joy, then let's follow Him into the truth.