The 10 Commandments: “Do Not Covet”

Introduction:

The commands reflect God’s character. God gave us His commands to show us who He is.

The commands reveal our condition. When we’ve been changed by the love grace and mercy of Christ Jesus we will desire to obey them. If we don’t desire to obey the commands of God, then we have a heart or sin issue that needs to be addressed. In that way the commands show us who we are.

God’s commands are relational as well. They are about our relationship with God and our relationships with others. That’s why loving God and loving others are the two greatest commands. If we love God, we will show it by obeying His commands. If we love others, we will show it by treating them in a way that aligns with the commands of God.

Exodus 20:1–17 (NASB)

1 Then God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 5 “You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. 7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain. 8 “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. 11 “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. 12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. 13 “You shall not murder. 14 “You shall not commit adultery. 15 “You shall not steal. 16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” 17 “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.”

The Tenth Commandment: “Do Not Covet”

17 “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.”

Webster’s 1828 Dictionary: Coveteousness

1. A strong or inordinate desire of obtaining and possessing some supposed good; usually in a bad sense, and applied to an inordinate desire of wealth or avarice. (Mark 7:22; Colossians 3:5)

Be Delivered (4. A Life of Responsibility (Ex. 20:17); Warren Wiersbe)

“To covet is to feed inward desires for anything that God says is sinful…”

Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume (Exodus 20:17)

“This is certainly the language of discontent at our own lot, and envy at our neighbor’s…”

Romans 7:7–11 (NASB)

7 What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; 10 and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; 11 for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.

1 John 2:15–17 (NASB)

15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

Mark 12:29–31 (NASB)

29 Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; 30 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 “The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

1 Timothy 6:6–11 (NASB)

6 But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. 7 For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. 8 If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. 9 But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 11 But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.

Luke 12:15 (ESV)

15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Hebrews 13:5 (NASB)

5 Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,”

Philippians 4:11–13 (NASB)

11 Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. 13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

A Tale of Two Hearts:

1. The Selfish Coveting Heart.

(1 Kings 21:1-16) The sad case of King Ahab.

…is fueled by discontentment.

(v. 1-6) Ahab was King, he had all anyone could have wanted, more than anyone else had, but it wasn’t enough for him. Things never satisfy!!! Coveting is a lust for more. No matter what you have, not matter what you get, nothing can quench the thirst.

Ecclesiastes 5:10 (NASB)

10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money…

…hurts itself and others.

(v. 2 Kings 9:26) Naboth’s family was killed too! When you covet, it harms you, eats away at you…leads you to do things that might harm others…feelings, welfare, etc.

…makes you callous.

(v. 15-16) All you care about it getting what you want. Ahab didn’t even care the Naboth was killed! Often we don’t care how others feel or what happens to them as long as we are seemingly unaffected.

…results in a dissatisfied customer.

(v. 21-22) Things won’t satisfy! Ahab got the field, but in the end, he lost everything. Stuff or more stuff isn’t the answer. I have a friend that wants a girlfriend, a career, more than anything else. Getting those things won’t fix the problem. We all have a God shaped hole in our hearts and things don’t fit.

A Heart Satisfied with Christ.

(Philippians. 4:4-19) Paul’s example.

…gives you peace.

(v. 6-9) Surpasses all understanding…can’t explain it. It guards your heart and mind. (protects, keeps clean, keeps you attitudes right.)

...keeps you content.

(v. 11-13) Paul learned the secret! If you have a lot or a little, the way to be content is to have Jesus.

…brings you joy.

(v. 10, 16-18) He received joy because his heart was spiritually controlled. “Rejoice always!” It is a mindset, an attitude. Happiness is based on circumstances, on stuff…remove the stuff, change the circumstances, happiness is gone. Joy is based on Jesus. It can’t be taken away! REJOICE!

…is satisfaction guaranteed.

(v. 19) If Jesus is the Lord of your life and you find your joy and contentment in Him, you will be one satisfied customer. The is nothing better, no better warranty than eternal life, no better guarantee that peace the can’t be explained and joy that can’t be stolen.

Memory Verse of the Week:

1 John 2:15 (NASB)

15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.