The Tenth Commandment (No Coveting)
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. (Ex 20:17)
Who is our neighbor?
We are to treat all people as our neighbor. (Lk 10:33-37)
Coveting Encompasses a Number of Selfish Sins
Coveting is desire. (Dt 5:21, Pr 21:10)
Covet - "To desire inordinately; to desire that which is unlawful to obtain or possess; in a bad sense" (Webster's Dictionary 1828)
Coveting is selfishness. (Isa 56:11)
Coveting is greed. (Pr 21:25,26, 1Ti 3:2,3, 1Sa 8:1-3)
Lucre - "Gain in money or goods; profit; usually in an ill sense, or with the sense of something base or unworthy." (Webster's Dictionary 1828) (compare "lucrative")
Coveting is materialism. (Lk 12:15)
Materialism - "a preoccupation with or stress upon material rather than intellectual or spiritual things" (Webster's Collegiate Dictionary 2003)
Coveting is lust. (Ro 7:7, Jas 4:1-3)
Coveting is idolatry. (Eph 5:5)
Coveting breeds envy. (Jas 4:4,5, Ac 7:9)
Envy - "Pain, uneasiness, mortification or discontent excited by the sight of another's superiority or success, accompanied with some degree of hatred or malignity, and often or usually with a desire or an effort to depreciate the person, and with pleasure in seeing him depressed. Envy springs from pride, ambition, or love, mortified that another has obtained what one has a strong desire to possess." (Webster's Dictionary 1828) (compare "lucrative")
Coveting is Widespread in its Desire
Coveting includes desire for forbidden comfort.
Example: Coveting someone's house.
Coveting includes desire for forbidden pleasure.
Example: Coveting someone's wife.
Coveting includes desire for forbidden status.
Example: Coveting someone's manservant/maidservant.
Example: Coveting someone's career position.
Coveting includes desire for forbidden resources.
Example: Coveting someone's ox/donkey.
Example: Coveting someone's business.
Coveting includes desire for any forbidden item.
"any thing that is thy neighbour's".
Coveting is Contrary to God's Law
Love is the essence of God's law. (Mt 7:12, Mt 22:35-40, Ro 13:8-10, Gal 5:14)
Being selfish in nature, coveting is contrary to love.
"I want it."
"I want it even though it belongs to someone else."
"I want it even if I have to get it by force or deception." (Eze 22:12)
Coveting is the Root Cause of all Sin
Coveting is the root cause of all sin. (Ge 3:6, Ro 6:12, 1Ti 6:10, Jas 1:14,15)
The Ten Commandments define sin. (1Jn 3:4)
Breaking one of God's commandments implies the willful exercise of covetous desire as an active agent of rebellion against God's standard of right and wrong.
Therefore, the root cause of breaking any of God's commandments is coveting. (Jas 2:10)
Since God defined the Ten Commandments, God is the definer of right and wrong. (Ex 24:12, Ex 31:18, Dt 4:12,13)
Those who covet God's position want to define their own version of right and wrong.
Those who covet God's position want to again eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Ge 2:15-17)
They want to replace God's standard of right and wrong with their own.
Those who covet God's position commit self-idolatry. (Col 3:5)
1. No other gods
Coveting God's position leads to deciding that someone or something else is a god. (Jer 9:13,14)
2. No idols
Coveting God's position leads to deciding that someone or something else is worshipped. (Zec 11:15-17)
3. No Misuse of God's Name
Coveting God's position leads to the degredation of and fruitless semblance of God's name. (Eze 20:39)
4. Keep Seventh-day Sabbath (Saturday)
Coveting God's position leads to spending the Sabbath working, buying, selling, and in worldy pleasures. (Isa 58:13)
5. Honor Parents
Coveting personal authority leads to disobedience of parental, church, and civil authorities. (2Pe 2:10)
6. No Killing
Coveting leads to the murder of persons who are obstacles to self gratification. (Mt 14:3-11)
7. No Adultery
Coveting someone's spouse leads to adultery. (2Sa 11:2-4)
8. No Stealing
Coveting someone's property leads to theft. (Jos 7:1-21, Mic 2:1,2)
9. No Lying
Coveting leads to false witness against persons who are obstacles to self gratification.
10. No Coveting
Coveting is the root cause of all sin.
Coveting is the Cause of the Great War between Good and Evil
Satan covets God's position. (Isa 14:12-14, Rev 12:7-12)
Satan desires unchecked power, not God's character.
Satan is trying to remove all obstacles that block his goal.
Jesus
Tried to kill Jesus (Lk 22:3-6, Jn 13:2,27, Mt 26:47-50, Lk 22:47,48, Jn 8:44)
Trying to remove belief in Jesus as God the Son - Through false religions
Trying to replace Jesus by human intercessors - Through the deception that human priests can forgive sins
The Bible
Tried to remove the Bible - Through removal of the Bible during the Dark Ages
Trying to remove belief in the Bible's divine origin - Through the deceptions of humanism, evolution, and "higher" criticism
Trying to change the Bible's doctrines - Through false doctrines (1Ti 4:1, 2Ti 4:3,4)
Trying to create confusion through disagreement - Through multiple denominations following conflicting false doctrines
The Ten Commandments
Tried to change God's law - Through veneration of idols and attempted change of the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday (Da 7:25)
Trying to remove obedience to God's law - Through confusion with legalism, which is confusion of motives (compare Jn 14:15 and Ro 3:31)
The remnant church
Tried to destroy through persecution
Trying to attract away through convenience and popularity
Trying to force away through false witness
For any created being to assume to take over the position of God the Creator is the most delusionary and malignant form of pride. (Ge 1:1, Col 1:13-16, Ro 12:2, Isa 42:8, Isa 48:11)
Coveting is a Global Plague
Coveting is a global plague. (Jer 6:13, Ro 1:28-32, 2Ti 3:1-5, 2Pe 3:3)
Coveting is an Identification Mark of Modern Babylon
Coveting is an identification mark of modern Babylon. (Rev 17:1-5, Rev 18:1-24)
God's People are to Remain Free of Coveting
God's people are to remain free of coveting. (Ge 13:8,9, Ex 18:21, Pr 23:17, Pr 28:16, Hab 2:9-12, Mt 6:19,20, Ro 13:14, 1Co 5:11, 1Co 6:10, Eph 5:3, Heb 13:5, 1Pe 2:11)
The Punishment for Disobedience is Death
The punishment for disobedience is death. (Jos 7:20-26, 2Sa 12:15-18, Ro 6:23, Jas 2:10)
As our substitute, Jesus paid the penalty for our sins. (Isa 53:6, Jn 1:29, Eph 5:2, Heb 7:27, 1Jn 1:7)
The Root Cause of Coveting is a Carnal Heart
The root cause of coveting is a carnal heart. (Ps 10:3, Ps 28:3, Ps 58:2, Pr 6:16-19, Jer 17:9, Eze 33:31, Mt 5:27,28, Mt 15:19, Mk 7:21-23, Ro 8:6,7, 1Co 3:3)
Carnal - "Pertaining to flesh; fleshly; sensual; opposed to spiritual; as carnal pleasure. Being in the natural state; unregenerate." (Webster's Dictionary 1828)
Since coveting is the root cause of all sin, it follows that a carnal heart is the ultimate root cause of all sin.
The 10th Commandment Calls for Spiritual Birth
Since spiritual birth is the only solution to the problem of a carnal heart, the 10th commandment calls for spiritual birth. (Jer 4:14, Eze 18:31, Eze 36:26, Jn 3:3-6, Heb 8:10, Heb 10:16, 1Pe 1:22,23)
Jesus is the only Door to spiritual birth. (Ex 12:1-28, Jn 10:9)
The 10th Commandment Calls for Living by the Spirit
The 10th commandment calls for living by the Spirit. (Ro 8:6-16, Ro 13:14, Gal 5:16,17,24,25, 2Pe 1:4)
Living by the Spirit implies joyful alignment of our will with God's will. (Mt 6:10, Mt 7:21, Mt 12:50, Mt 26:39,42, Jn 4:34, Jn 5:30, Jn 6:38, Jn 8:29, Ro 12:2, 1Jn 2:6)
Living by the Spirit implies joyful keeping of the Ten Commandments. (Ps 1:1-3, Ps 119:35,47,174, Jn 14:15, Jn 15:10,11, Ac 5:32, Gal 5:22, Rev 12:17, Rev 14:12)
The 10th Commandment Calls for Contentment
The 10th commandment calls for contentment. (Lk 3:14, Php 4:11, 1Ti 6:6-8, Heb 13:5, 1Jn 2:16,17)
God supplies all our needs. (Ps 23:1, Php 4:19)
God exceeds all our expectations. (Ps 37:4, Jer 29:11, Jn 10:10, 1Co 2:9,10)
The 10th Commandment Calls for Thanksgiving
The 10th commandment calls for thanksgiving. (Lev 22:29, 1Ch 16:8, Ps 69:30, Ps 92:1, Ps 95:2, Ps 100:4, 1Th 5:18, Rev 7:11,12)
We thank God for His holiness. (Ps 30:4)
We thank God for His justice. (Ps 119:62)
We thank God for His love. (SS 2:4, Jn 3:16, Ro 5:8, Ro 8:38,39)
We thank God for His mercy. (1Ch 16:34)
We thank God for His grace. (1Co 1:4, Heb 4:14-16)
We thank God for His gift of creation. (Ps 102:18, Ps 148:1-5, Rev 14:6,7)
We thank God for His gift of salvation. (1Ch 16:35, Jnh 2:9, Ps 9:14, Ps 118:21, Eph 2:8, 2Ti 4:18)
We thank God for His gift of eternal life. (Ro 6:23, 1Jn 5:11, Rev 22:17)
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.