Deuteronomy 25:15
“You shall have a full and just weight; you shall have a full and just measure, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you.”
The weights in the passage are referring to trading and business. They would have scales. On one side would be the grain or the precious metal. On the other side would be the weights. A money value would be calculated. Some were dishonest by having differing weights. Meaning the pound weight wasn’t exactly a pound; it would be heavier or lighter, depending on if they were buying or selling. They were cheating their customers. God is prohibiting that.
The Lord wants us to be honest and righteous in our dealings. There are several reasons for that. It pleases God, it pleases others and it’s better for us.
God wants us to be honest, because He is and it’s the right thing to do. The Lord wants us to be like Him. Philippians 6:5 says, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus”. This is the privilege of being God. He wants us to be like Him. This isn’t referring to personality, but character.
We are to be honest, as it is good for others and our relationships with them. We bless others as we treat them well. The second command from Jesus is to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39). We are loving them with our honesty.
Lastly, we are to be honest as it’s good for us. Hebrews 12:1 says to lay aside every weight and sin that causes us to stumble. Dishonesty is just that, a burden. It increases our stress, it damages our relationships, it distances us from The Lord. Put away the guilty conscience and get right.
The end of today’s verse says that God will prolong our days, if we are honest. This means a couple of things. If we are honest and good to others, we have a lower stress level. We’re healthy. This type of person typically lives longer. It also means that in a general sense God will reward us with length of day. It’s a gift from Him.
Lord, help us to be honest and to treat others well.