The Ten Commandments Part 10
Scriptures: Exodus 20:17, James 1:13, 14; Romans 13:10; 1 Corinthians 5:10
This is part ten of my series “The Ten Commandments.” This morning we will examine tenth commandment found in Exodus 20:17. It reads, “You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” I also want to call your attention to I Corinthians 5:10-11 which says, “I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler--not even to eat with such a one.”
These are some words that when you hear them you know that the acts they describe are wrong. Stealing. Lying. Adultery. Covet is one of those kind of words. Just the very sound of the word kind of gives you that “uh oh” feeling. When we hear the word this is what we hear: someone wants something that belongs to someone else and they want it a lot! But what is lost on many of us is this: when God prohibited coveting He did so because this is what the children of Israel were doing and in some cases, they were killing their neighbors in the process and were not being held accountable. So you see coveting is a very big deal to God, as are all of the commandments.
This commandment prohibits longing for (let alone attempting to acquire) anything that belongs to another. Deuteronomy 5:21 adds "his field" to this list. It is the last of the Ten Commandments, which are the introduction, basis, and constitution of the Law of Moses. Here the Mosaic Law takes a huge step in advance of any other ancient code. Most codes stopped short at the deed; a few went on to words; not one attempted to control thoughts. “Thou shalt not covet” teaches men that there is One who sees the heart; to whose eyes "all things are naked and open;" and who cares far less for the outward act than the inward thought or motive from which the act proceeds. “Thou shalt not covet”: lays it down again that we are not mere slaves of our natural desires and passions, but have a controlling power implanted within us, by means of which we can keep down passion, check desire, and resist impulse. Man is lord of himself and capable, by the exercise of his free-will, of molding his feelings, weakening or intensifying his passions, and shaping his character. God, who “requires truth in the inward parts,” expects that we should in all cases go to the root of the matter, and not be content with restraining ourselves from evil acts and evil words, but eradicate the evil feeling from which the acts and words proceed. “Thy neighbor’s house”, etc. The "house" is mentioned first as being of primary necessity and everything else follows behind it. A man does not take a wife until he has a home to bring her to, or engage domestic servants, except to form part of a household. The other objects mentioned are placed in the order in which they are usually valued. The multiplication of objects is by way of emphasis.
The thing I want you to see is how detailed this commandment is compared to the others. It’s almost like God is saying “I want to make sure you understand exactly what I mean when I command you not to covet.” So He begins to list them in order of importance. House. Wife. Male servant. Female servant. Ox. Donkey. Everything else. Now you may be thinking God lists the person’s house as more important than his wife. Let me explain. Every man in Israel would have had a house but not every man would have had a wife or servants. The custom at that time was for the oldest male to take care of the family which included the mother, father, siblings and in some cases even close relatives. They were considered part of his “house”. If a “house” was struggling financially, and I’m talking about the time before God gave the law, the rich would take an entire “house” into servitude. So, in this case, the rich were “coveting” or “lusting” after what the “house” could provide – cheap and inexpensive labor. This is one the issues God dealt with when He gave the laws concerning indentured servants. So, you see the commandment is not belittling the wife. It is simply recognition of how Israel’s society functioned at the time. Before a man married he had to have a home in which to bring his wife.
Now I want to touch on something else briefly. In that culture, the wife was owned by the husband. She was his property. Today we look at such a thing with disgust. It wasn’t uncommon for a man to see another man’s wife and want her – not to be his wife but to want her. I know you understand what I’m saying. How many of you have seen the movie “Indecent Proposal’ with Robert Redford, Woody Harrelson and Demi Moore? Harrelson is an architect and Moore is a real estate agent but their businesses are struggling because of a recession. So they go to Las Vegas to gamble hoping to win enough money to save their dream home. They lose everything. Redford, a billionaire offers them a solution to their problem. He’d pay Harrelson $1 million dollars if he could sleep with his wife. This is what was happening in Israel. But in this case, the sin had two sides. Both of the men were coveting or lusting. The man wanted the wife for pleasure and the husband wanted the material benefits, typically more cattle or land. When you think about it, Israel in many ways didn’t value human life like God does. A person was used just like one would use cattle. And not too much is different today. Our world today doesn’t value human life the way God does.
I also want to remind you that covetousness has a twin and their name is jealousy. If you read Song of Solomon 8:6 you will see where he describes jealousy as cruel as the grave (or as some translations say, hell.) When you covet something that someone else has you’re often jealous because you do not have it. If someone is coveting something jealousy is right there within them too. But where does covetousness come from? Where does it originate? As with most things pertaining to sin, this too starts in the heart. There are two ideals by which men mold their lives. One makes God the center of all things, the other makes self the center. One says “Thy will be done,” while the other says “My will be done.” It is in the heart that that covetousness has its home. Everything is regarded in its relation to self; the neighbor's life and home, property, and character, are only so many possible instruments which may stop or assist in the gratification of selfishness. The thought of something which may give pleasure, leads us to the desire for the possession of that thing, and the desire will only be restrained from fulfilment by external checks which may make fulfilment difficult. A man may refrain from adultery or theft, because of the social penalties which attach to such transgressions; all the same in his inmost heart he may be a thief and an adulterer. Selfishness is the parent of all sins; its offspring is only dwarfed in growth when selfishness is restrained by society.
There is an example of coveting in the Bible that I want to share with you this morning. But before we look at it, turn with me to James chapter one. We’re going to read verses 13, 14 and 15. James shows us what happens when coveting or lusting is allowed to run its course and let me tell you now, it’s not pretty. James 1:13-15 says “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.” This is the picture these verses are painting for us this morning. You are a fish swimming around and minding your own business. All of a sudden this worm drops in the water and you see it and you like what you see. So you swim toward it. But then something unexpected happens. It starts to move away from you. But you want that worm so badly that you follow it and follow it and follow it just hoping to catch it. Are you getting the picture? You have been enticed by the worm because you’re thinking how good it’s going to taste. So you continue to pursue the worm. And then you catch it. But what you don’t know is the worm was the bait to catch you! Your lust will ultimately lead to death – in this case, your death. This is what James is talking about.
Now let’s see an example of coveting or lusting in Second Samuel chapter eleven. There are several things I want to point out in this passage. Let’s begin with verse one. “Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem.” Point number one, we sometimes set ourselves up for the possibility of coveting or lusting when we are not where we’re supposed to be or doing what we’re supposed to be doing. This applies both mentally and physically. You can be in the right place physically and still be in the wrong place mentally and can get in trouble. You can also be in the right place mentally but be in the wrong place physically and still get into trouble. In the case of David, it appears that although he was home in his own house, he was not where he was supposed to be physically because he should have been on the battlefield with his soldiers. Had he been on the battlefield he would not have witnessed Bathsheba bathing.
In verse 2 we see David walking on his roof and from his roof he could see a woman bathing and she was beautiful. In verse 3 and 4 we read “So David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, "Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" David sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him, he lay with her; and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house.” Remember this was all on David as he was the king. Bathsheba had no choice as she could not say no to the king. So what was David doing? He’s coveting another man’s wife. He’s lusting after another man’s wife. And he’s doing this knowing that the Law says if you commit adultery you die. Point two: a person who covets or lusts and follows through with it has become emotionally detached from the reality of the consequences if he or she gets caught. What they want, they want and they are not considering the consequences. In this case, death was the consequence. David wanted Bathsheba. And we know the story but I want to read verse 5. “The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, and said, ‘I am pregnant.’” Remember James said that when “lust has conceived it gives birth to sin”? This was a natural example of a spiritual concept.
We’re not going to read the whole story but I recommend that you do sometime this week. But let me hit some key points. Once Bathsheba tells David she’s pregnant, David sends for Uriah. Uriah comes home and David does everything he can to get him to sleep with Bathsheba. Uriah didn’t go home and at one point he slept outside the king’s door. I want you to hear their conversation in verses 10 and 11. “Now when they told David, saying ‘Uriah did not go down to his house,’ David said to Uriah, “Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?’ Uriah said to David, (now I want you to see this man’s integrity) ‘The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in temporary shelters, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? By your life and the life of your soul, I will not do this thing.”
The sad part of this story is, now listen to how I phrase this, because David coveted he had to conceive and give birth to a plan that would ultimately lead to Uriah’s death. Is this not what we read in James 1:13-15? David writes a letter to Joab, who was the commander, stating that he wanted Uriah placed on the frontline so he could be killed. David had Uriah deliver his own death sentence. Point three: a person who has committed this sin sometimes is willing to do the unthinkable to cover it up. Uriah was one of David’s most loyal soldiers and David had him killed to keep his secret. Now here’s the rest of the story. When you read Second Samuel 12 you find that the prophet Nathan confronts David and David repents. But, the consequences of the sin were already in play. Did you hear me? The consequences of David’s sin were already beginning to play out. The first was that the baby he had with Bathsheba died. The sin of coveting also resulted in the deaths of four of David’s sons. Now listen to me: All of this happened because David was not where he was supposed to be. Had he been on the battlefield with his men, he never would have seen Bathsheba bathing from his roof and he never would have sent for her.
All of us are faced with the desire for something belonging to someone else. It might not be their spouse or home, but it could be their job; their bank account; intelligence; or many other things someone possess that we desire. Have you ever heard the statement, “Keeping up with the Joneses?” This phrase is an expression in many parts of the English-speaking world referring to the comparison to one's neighbor as a benchmark for social class or the accumulation of material goods. To fail to "keep up with the Joneses" is perceived as demonstrating socio-economic or cultural inferiority. It originated in a comic strip by the same name is 1913 which depicted the social climbing McGinis family, who struggle to "keep up" with their neighbors, the Joneses of the title. The Joneses were unseen characters throughout the strip's run, often spoken of but never shown. How many of you know that we have some “unseen” Joneses in our lives that are driving our covetousness? You see if does not have to be the neighbor across the street, it could be someone or something you see on TV. It could be something or someone you read about in a book. You see or hear about it and then you begin to desire it. The desire begins to drive your behavior to obtain in. People may never know what’s driving your behavior, but you know. You know those Joneses that you’re trying to emulate.
How do we deal with our covetousness? I mean when you consider its impact, it can lead to our breaking several of the other commandments just to fulfill it. The only radical remedy to deal with our covetousness is to start by cutting at the root of selfishness. God, not the individual man, is the center of the universe. Man is related directly to Him, and to all other things through Him. It is God's will, not our own will, by reference to which we may live righteously. What then is God's will? It is that which corresponds with His character, which is love. To live in His sight is to live in the light of love. Love in us is kindled and developed by contemplation and experience of the love which is in Him. Love is that Divine affection which alone has power to expel all selfishness. Love alone can purify the heart, guard the thoughts, and discipline the desires. And what is love in practice? It is nothing more or less than doing to others as we would have them do unto us. All men as related to God are on an equality and in His sight have equal rights. However much we may differ, we are yet all on common ground. Those who acknowledge one God; who accept redemption through one Savior; who yield to the influence of one sanctifying Spirit; are on their way to attaining that love which is the fulfilling of the law.
Remember what was captured in I Corinthians 5:10-11? It says, “I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler--not even to eat with such a one.” Paul said that we should not be around other Christians who covet as it is sin. However, we can be around the world which covets because it’s our jobs to witness to them about Christ and the price He paid for the sins of everyone. It’s hard to do this if you are refusing to be around them. Our lights should shine in the world without our participating in the things of the world.
I leave you with what was recorded in Romans 13:10, “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”
Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
(If you are ever in the Kansas City, KS area, please come and worship with us at New Light Christian Fellowship, 15 N. 14th Street, Kansas City, KS 66102. Our service Sunday worship starts at 9 a.m. and Thursday night Bible study at 7 p.m. We look forward to you worshipping with us. May God bless and keep you.)
