You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Ex 23:1, 7 - We are not to offer or support a false report.

Dt 5:20 - No false witness.

Lies & Deception

The first matter addressed by this commandment, as with all God's commandments, is quite clear: Don't Lie! That's the basic point being made. Yet, at the same time, the wording of the commandment makes clear that there are deeper issues at stake. The command is not given so simply. It is put in terms of the court case. The lie has a subject. Don't lie about your neighbor. In the halls of justice, speak only truth.

Fear

One thing that can lead to false witness is fear. This might lead some to support another's false claims due to fear of reprisals if they don't. It might be something as simple as supporting a falsified schedule presented by a superior at work. But God's standard is high, and ours ought to be as well - especially as it pertains to ourselves. Yet, we are a fearful people. We fear what might happen if we buck our boss, we fear the loss of our job, we fear being grounded, we fear illness, we fear thieves. We are in so many ways a bundle of fears.

Assurance

Perfect love casts out all fear (1Jn 4:18), and God's love for us is perfect. His love is our assurance that we can stand for righteousness in spite of our own imperfections. Our love for Him ought to be greater than our fear of man. If God is for us… In this regard, this commandment is God's original assurance of fair trial. This is largely why the Ten Commandments are still found in our courts. This is why there is still a requirement to swear upon God's word to the truthfulness of our words.

Jas 5:12 But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but let your yes be yes, and your no, no; so that you may not fall under judgment.

As we saw back in the 3rd commandment, our natures are such that we occasionally must swear to the truth of our words by higher authority. Strict limits are placed upon us, so that we do not fall into taking God's name lightly, nor cause others to think less of Him by our freeness in calling Him to witness to foolish matters. We are called to a higher standard, God's standard. We are called to have a reputation for truth. God is truth, and we who worship Him, should hold truth in highest regard. It should be evident in our everyday lives. We should be a people who are so well known for truth that no oath is necessary to make our words believable.