The Tenth Commandment: You Shall Not Covet
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· 999 viewsA converted and content heart will fight against a coveting heart.
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Introduction
Please open your Bibles to . Today we will look at the last and final commandment of the Ten Commandments: You Shall Not Covet.
If any of you have read or seen the Lord of the rings, there is one character who comes to mind when I think about when I think about coveting. That character is Gollum. Gollum was once a hobbit who turned twisted and corrupted because of the power of the ring or what he calls “my precious”.
Gollum’s real name was actually Smeagol. As a young hobbit, he went fishing with one of his relatives Deagol. Deagol found a ring on their fishing trip and Smeagol desired to have it. On Smeagol’s birthday, he asked Deagol to give it to him as a gift. When Deagol refused, he caught Deagol by the throat and strangled him, because the gold look so bright and beautiful.
Smeagol would use the power of the ring to steal, spy, blackmail, and antagonize his friends.
The ring gave him great power, yet it corrupted his body and mind. Although his life was extended through the power of the ring, it twisted his soul. He called the ring his precious. And he was always plotting and scheming to recover the ring when it was taken from him by the Hobbits Bilbo Baggins and Frodo Baggins.
In fact, the ring is what eventually led him to his death in the lake of fire on Mount Doom. The ring in Tolkein’s novels is a symbol of how greed and covetousness can corrupt a person. And how people will be willing to harm others in order to advance themselves.
Even Frodo, who is the supposed hero of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, succumbs to the temptations of the ring itself where he cannot manage to destroy it when he is so close to bringing peace to the world.
It was only through the greed of Gollum, where the ring is finally destroyed and he falls into the fire with his last words, “My precious.”
Today, we look at the Tenth Commandment: You Shall Not Covet. Covetousness, as we will see, is a problem for all humanity. Because of original sin, all of us have a “gollum” inside we must learn to crucify covetousness and walk in contentment. And only Jesus can give us the power to break its influence in our lives so that we would not use other people to advance our own agendas, but we would be people who advance the well-being of our neighbors. So I want to look at three things this morning as we look at the Tenth Commandment:
A Covetous Heart
A Converted Heart
A Contented Heart
Scripture Reading:
“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 is your neighbor’s.”
This is the reading of God’s Holy, Inspired, and Inerrant Word.
I. A Covetous Heart
I. A Covetous Heart
What is significant about this commandment is that this commandment goes to the the very attitudes and desires of the heart.
As we looked at the previous nine, some people may think they can keep the other nine externally if you muster up enough willpower.
But this commandment reveals our sinfulness because it goes to the very root of our hearts and desires. One OT Scholar says,
It is the function of the tenth commandment to make explicit the internalization of the whole law and reveal the sin of the heart.—Mark Rooker
Look at the text. This commandment forbids that we desire what belongs to our neighbor: house, wife, servants, animals, of anything that is your neighbor’s.
Desire is not wrong in itself. It is not wrong to want a house, it is not wrong to want a wife, it is not wrong to want possessions.
What is wrong is when you want your neighbor’s house, your neighbor’s wife, and your neighbor’s possessions!
Covetousness says, “I’m sick of this apartment we are living in, why can’t we have his house”
Covetousness says, “Why can’t my wife dress like that woman on the magazine?” Or “Why can’t my husband be more understanding or sympathetic like her husband?”
Covetousness says, “Why can’t I have his car or his job or his promotion”
Covetousness says, “Why can’t I have his toy. Or as my son said yesterday to my daughter, why does Jie Jie get letter crackers!”
You see, the covetous heart cannot rejoice at the well-being of others. And it envies others when others prosper and our successful.
Definition of Coveting
At base חמד means “desire, yearn for, covet, lust after” someone or something, specifically for one’s own use or gratification.
Jewish interpretation understood this commandment is only violated when the desire is acted upon, but I believe the commandment goes to the desire itself. Jewish Rabbis said that if we applied it to the desires, then that means all would be guilty! And that is the point!
Coveting
Coveting is desiring something that is outside of God’s law and God’s moral boundaries.To covet is to yearn and long for something that is not ours. Coveting is in inordinate desire or a desire gone wrong. John Piper defines covetousness as “desiring something so much that your lose your contentment in God.” The NT word for coveting that parallels it is sinful lust.
Biblical Examples
Let me give you some Biblical examples.
To covet is to yearn and long for something that is not ours. This commandment deals with desire. It deals with the attitude of the heart.
A. Eve
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
Eve bought into Satan’s deception. Satan deceived Eve into thinking that a good God was withholding from her by not allowing her to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
And Satan was saying that when you eat, you will be like God. And here is where deception came it: Eve was already made like God because she was made in his image! But Satan was tempting Eve by telling her she could be more like God and she can have more power and knowledge.
In other words, her desire was to have more by going against God’s commands.
B. Achan
Or think about Achan. The Israelite army was defeated at the Battle of Ai. And Joshua was perplexed. And what does the Lord say to Joshua?
Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings.
Joshua
After Joshua gathered the tribes to find out who stole the devoted things, Achan came forward and said:
when I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, then I coveted them and took them. And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”
Achan was punished and stoned with stones because many lives were lost in the battle of Ai because of his covetous heart and greed.
C. David
And then we can even think of the King of Israel, who was a man after God’s own heart. When he saw Bathsheba bathing on a rooftop, he called for her to sleep with her. And David tried to cover his deception by making Uriah go to the Frontlines and be slaughtered.
In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house.
In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?”
Then Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh-gilead, and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.” But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “On this condition I will make a treaty with you, that I gouge out all your right eyes, and thus bring disgrace on all Israel.” The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days’ respite that we may send messengers through all the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will give ourselves up to you.”
In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house.
In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful.
D. Judas
And then in the NT, we get to Judas. He was a thief and stole from the moneybag. He would eventually betray his master, the Lord Jesus, for thirty pieces of silver.
D. Judas
Covetousness or greed led to the Fall of Man, the death of Israelite men at Ai, adultery, and the betrayal of our master. Isn’t this why Jesus said,
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
How do you know whether you are coveting?
The command not to covet is actually the practical summation and heart-level culmination of the other nine commandments—DeYoung 161
What do you love? What are you chasing? What do you think about in the shower, on your way to work, on the drive, or folding laundry? What is the one thing you think you need in order to be really, truly happy? If the answer is anything other than God, you’re an idolater” DeYoung 165
Covetousness is the sin of if only....
“If I only had___, I would finally be happy.” A house? A car? Spouse? Children? Grandchildren? Looks? Career? Good Grades? Job? That Promotion? Acceptance by one’s peers?
What are some signs?
1.You might be coveting if you’ve hurt others in order to get more for yourself.
2. You might be coveting if you’re preoccupied with making or accumulating more.
3. You might be coveting if you’re unwilling to give up what you already have.
4. You might be coveting if you’re frequently grumbling about your house, your spouse, the quality or quantity of your possessions and the general state of your life.
I would add a 5th one, you might be coveting if you can’t rejoice in others successes.
How can you rejoice in others success when you are sad about other’s successes?
A covetous heart is a greedy heart. It wants more and it is willing to step over others to get whatever it is that will satisfy.
A covetous heart is a discontent heart. It refuses to believe that God has provided all we need to do his will.
The Westminster Confession of Faith: Edinburgh Edition The Larger Catechism
Q. 148. What are the sins forbidden in the tenth commandment?
A. The sins forbidden in the tenth commandment are, discontentment with our own estate, envying,e and grieving at the good of our neighbour, together with all inordinate motions and affections to any thing that is his.g
Non-Believer—The truth of this commandment is seen in our desires. If you desire something else more than God, you have a covetous heart. It shows you have an idolatrous heart.
Christian—Examine yourself and see where does your heart go when you are all alone. What does your heart long for? What does your heart think will satisfy you? If we are honest with ourselves, some of these desires have nothing to do with contentment and satisfaction in Jesus.
Transition: So the next question is: what can break the power of this green-eyed monster in our lives whose lust is never satisfied?
II. Converted Heart
II. Converted Heart
As we have mentioned, this commandment goes directly to the heart of man. It is interesting to note that the Reformers believed that a violation of the Tenth Commandment was also a violation of the First Commandment. To covet something more than God is to have another god isn’t? Jesus said,
For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.
It was this commandment where Paul felt the power of the law. Paul believed he was externally blameless in regards to the commandments, but when it was the commandment to not covet was what made him realize his wretched condition.
What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
Romans 7:7-
Paul wanted to desire God above all else. But in his heart, he found himself desiring other things beside God.
Let’s be real here. We can say we desire God above else, but our hearts tell a different story. The reality is that we may desire pleasure more than God. We may desire sex more than God. We may desire money of fame more than God. We may desire wordly approval and success more than God. We may desire entertainment and video games more than God. Our actions often show where our hearts are.
It is interesting to note that the Reformers believed that a violation of the Tenth Commandment was also a violation of the First Commandment. To covet something more than God is to have another god isn’t?
You will rob, steal, commit adultery, lie, disrespect authority in order to get your true god.
Everyone worships. It is a matter of who and what we worship. Paul realized his wrecthed condition and said:
Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
If we want to be converted, we must realize and acknowledge our sinful condition. There is a gollum and green eye monster within the soul of every fallen sinner. And only Jesus can break its power. You remember the story of the Rich Young Ruler? He thought he was righteous and Jesus goes to the very root of his heart...
And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ ” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Mark 7:17-22
The rich young ruler thought he deserved eternal life. Jesus recites the the second table of the law. But there is one commandment Jesus does not mention: You Shall Not Covet.
The problem was that the Rich Young Man did not realize he had a covetous heart. He couldn’t follow Jesus because he loved possessions more than he did God which broke the first commandment: You Shall Have No Other Gods Before Me.
The Westminster Confession of Faith: Edinburgh Edition The Shorter Catechism
Q. 80. What is required in the tenth commandment?
A. The tenth commandment requireth full contentment with our own condition, with a right and charitable frame of spirit toward our neighbour, and all that is his.t
Q. 81. What is forbidden in the tenth commandment?
A. The tenth commandment forbiddeth all discontentment with our own estate, envying or grieving at the good of our neighbour,w and all inordinate motions and affections to any thing that is his.
And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
Only God can save from a covetous heart. Only God can grant a heart that longs for God more than possessions. Every true believer will say:
Mark 10:17-
Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
“The law said, ‘Thou shalt not covet,’ in order that, when we find ourselves lying in this diseased state, we might seek the medicine of grace.” Augustine
The medicine of grace is found in Christ alone. You see, Jesus had everything, as the Son of God, left everything so that He could be a substitute for our sins, bearing God’s wrath in our place, and rose again on the third day, ascend into Heaven, and give us His Spirit so that we could crucify a covetous heart.
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
Faith in God’s promises and seeing Christ as the soul’s true treasure is what will break the power of covetousness in our lives.
We can’t do this by sheer will power because the power of the law will show us our covetous desires.
But we can do this by grace, when we see that we have everything we need in Christ alone.
Christian-Be on guard against this sin.
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.”
When your heart is not satisfied in Christ, you will turn to other things. People drift from church to pursue work, money, or a relationship because they no longer find contentment in Christ.
Many sermons lie dead and buried in earthly hearts. We preach to men to get their hearts in heaven; but where covetousness is predominant, it chains them to earth, and makes them like the woman which Satan had bowed together, that she could not lift up herself.
People will turn to all sorts of other things because they no longer believe God can and will satisfy.
Watson, Thomas. The Ten Commandments (p. 153). Unknown. Kindle Edition.
Christian-Be careful that covetousness does not choke out the word:
Matthew
Knowing the love of Christ is the one and only source from which true contentment ever flows.
It is impossible to be earthly minded and charitably minded. Thomas Watson
As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
Many sermons lie dead and buried in earthly hearts. We preach to men to get their hearts in heaven; but where covetousness is predominant, it chains them to earth, and makes them like the woman which Satan had bowed together, that she could not lift up herself.
Watson, Thomas. The Ten Commandments (p. 153). Unknown. Kindle Edition.
Non-Christian—Do you find it that the things of this world leave you unsatisfied and empty? Maybe you achieved all that you wanted in life, and you still are left empty? Maybe you have been looking in all the wrong places.
Well, have you considered maybe what will satisfy your soul is not the things of the earth, but the things of God?
“Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire: well, there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing. If that is so, I must take care, on the one hand, never to despise, or be unthankful for, these earthly blessings, and on the other, never to mistake them for the something else of which they are only a kind of copy, or echo, or mirage. I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find until after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country and to help others do the same.”
God has given you something greater than wealth, success, fame, and pleasure. He has given Himself you in His Son.
If you repent and believe in Jesus Christ, you will have eternal treasure. That eternal treasure is Christ! That treasure is God! God is the Gospel!
Church—This is why the prosperity gospel is from the pit of hell. When you only want God to get a better marriage, a better financial portfolio, better health, better sex, better you fill in the blank, you make God a functional Genie like in Aladdin only to fuel your hearts desire for your true functional god.
A Christian is someone who is satisfied with God alone!!!!
A converted heart is one that recognizes its own covetous nature, repents of it and trust in Christ to break its power over your life.
And when Christ becomes more valuable to you, you will have a content heart.
III. Content Heart
III. Content Heart
Our world screams to us in advertising, in commercials, in social media everyday that we do not have enough. My inbox is getting full and I just had to delete some of my inbox. And there were thousands and thousands of ads that get sent to my inbox over the years.
The Westminster Confession of Faith: Edinburgh Edition The Larger Catechism
Q. 147. What are the duties required in the tenth commandment?
A. The duties required in the tenth commandment are, such a full contentment with our own condition, and such a charitable frame of the whole soul toward our neighbour, as that all our inward motions and affections touching him, tend unto, and further all that good which is his.c
Heidelberg Catechism 44. Sunday
QUESTION 113. What is required in the tenth commandment?
That not even the least inclination or thought against any of God’s commandments ever enter into our heart; but that, with our whole heart, we continually hate all sin, and take pleasure in all righteousness.
Institutes of the Christian Religion 49. The Meaning of This Commandment
The purpose of this commandment is: since God wills that our whole soul be possessed with a disposition to love, we must banish from our hearts all desire contrary to love. To sum up, then: no thought should steal upon us to move our hearts to a harmful covetousness that tends to our neighbor’s loss
Christians will still have to battle this sin until we see Jesus in glory. But I want to give you three ways we can battle a covetous heart and replace it with a content heart. Jeremiah Burroughs defines contentment as:
Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition.
You see, Christianianity are not against desires. What the Bible forbids is inordinate, twisted, and sinful desires.
We do not adopt the Buddhist worldview where the goal of enlightenment and Nirvana is for one to cease from all desire.
No, Christianity is about replacing a disordered desire with a rightly ordered and Godward desire.
“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
C.S. Lewis said,
“Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire: well, there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing. If that is so, I must take care, on the one hand, never to despise, or be unthankful for, these earthly blessings, and on the other, never to mistake them for the something else of which they are only a kind of copy, or echo, or mirage. I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find until after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country and to help others do the same.”
“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
Keeping the Ten Commandments Chapter 15: Be Content
Coveting is a root of all social evil; desires that burst the bounds beget actions to match.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face and the things of this world will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace.
Keeping the Ten Commandments Called to Contentment
Knowing the love of Christ is the one and only source from which true contentment ever flows.
But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
We must replace covetousness with Christ! Jesus wants does not forbid us from desiring, he forbids us from desiring that which will leave us empty and unsatisfied!
He wants us to desire Himself, which will leave us full and satisfied and thankful.
Jesus is not against treasure, He is against worldly treasure that perishes.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Faith sees Christ as the soul’s supreme treasure and is willing to give up everything to have Christ!
Matthew 6:
By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.
Hebrews 11:23-
Faith is willing to lose possessions for greater possessions!
Hebrews 10:
But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated.
Faith is the cure of care. It not only purifies the heart, but satisfies it; it makes God our portion, and in him we have enough....if we covet heaven more, we shall covet earth less.
Watson, Thomas. The Ten Commandments (p. 156). Unknown. Kindle Edition.
The Content Heart will pray...
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
2. Believe God’s Promises
A godly and simple life
Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Old Testament III: Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy Avoid Coveting Property (Augustine)
Do not covet your neighbor’s property. “The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness.” What haven’t you acquired, if you have got hold of God? So don’t covet your neighbor’s property.
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say,
“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me?”
But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
3. Be Thankful
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say,
“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me?”
But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
4. Pray
Heidelberg Catechism 44. Sunday
QUESTION 113. What is required in the tenth commandment?
That not even the least inclination or thought against any of God’s commandments ever enter into our heart; but that, with our whole heart, we continually hate all sin, and take pleasure in all righteousness.
Institutes of the Christian Religion 49. The Meaning of This Commandment
The purpose of this commandment is: since God wills that our whole soul be possessed with a disposition to love, we must banish from our hearts all desire contrary to love. To sum up, then: no thought should steal upon us to move our hearts to a harmful covetousness that tends to our neighbor’s loss
At base חמד means “desire, yearn for, covet, lust after” someone or something, specifically for one’s own use or gratification.
Old Testament III: Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy Avoid Coveting Property (Augustine)
Do not covet your neighbor’s property. “The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness.” What haven’t you acquired, if you have got hold of God? So don’t covet your neighbor’s property.
Lord, dig the earth out of my heart; teach me how to possess the world, and not love it; how to hold it in my hand, and not let it get into my heart.
Watson, Thomas. The Ten Commandments (p. 157). Unknown. Kindle Edition.
Learn to live in the world with a loose hand. Anything you hold on to tightly in this world will be just like trying to hold onto sand tightly. It will slip right through your fingers.
Learn to live in the world trusting God’s provision and his care over you.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Summary:
Covetous heart is a heart that desires something more than God, and is a desire that is gone wrong because it loses its contentment in God, and is willing to step over others to fulfill its lust.
Converted heart is a heart that recognizes these disordered and fallen desires, feels the power of the law, and runs to Christ for escape, and thus leading one to be changed and satisfied in Christ alone.
Content heart is a heart that finds its true soul’s satisfaction in God and trust God’s provision and one’s lot in life, even through affliction, because he or she knows that God has already given us the greatest treasure in Christ, and is thereby willing to give up everything to serve others because He has everything in Christ.
Conclusion:
A covetous heart will never bring you satisfaction in this life if you are only looking for treasure in this life. One preacher shared this poem...
It was Spring, but it was Summer I wanted:
The warm days and the great outdoors.
It was Summer, but it was Fall I wanted:
The colorful leaves and the cool, dry air.
It was Fall, but it was Winter I wanted:
The beautiful snow and the joy of the holiday season.
It was Winter, but it was Spring I wanted:
The warmth and the blossoming of nature.
I was a child, and it was adulthood I wanted:
The freedom and the respect.
I was 20, but it was 30 I wanted:
To be mature and sophisticated.
I was middle-aged, but it was 20 I wanted:
The youth and the free spirit.
I was retired, but it was middle-aged I wanted:
The presence of mind without limitations.
My life was over,
and I never got what I wanted.
Don’t let covetousness rob you of your joy and contentment in Jesus Christ.
A Christian is one who realizes that Christ is enough and we rest content in Him alone and we have all we need in Him alone so that we can live the abundant life here and now and live in great expectation of our future reward.
Prayer
Truly you are Good to your people and to the pure in heart. Lord, we stumble often because we confess and recognize that we too often don’t desire you and rest content in your.
We often are envious of others because of their success and happiness. We often compare our lives to others and grumble with our lot in life. And when we think like this, we often act like animals before you.
A Psalm of Asaph.
Truly God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
my steps had nearly slipped.
For I was envious of the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
For they have no pangs until death;
their bodies are fat and sleek.
They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.
Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them as a garment.
Their eyes swell out through fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.
They scoff and speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.
They set their mouths against the heavens,
and their tongue struts through the earth.
Therefore his people turn back to them,
and find no fault in them.
And they say, “How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
Behold, these are the wicked;
always at ease, they increase in riches.
All in vain have I kept my heart clean
and washed my hands in innocence.
For all the day long I have been stricken
and rebuked every morning.
If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
I would have betrayed the generation of your children.
But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their end.
Truly you set them in slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
How they are destroyed in a moment,
swept away utterly by terrors!
Like a dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
I was brutish and ignorant;
I was like a beast toward you.
Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;
you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.
Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;
you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.
Like a dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
I was brutish and ignorant;
I was like a beast toward you.
Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
I was brutish and ignorant;
I was like a beast toward you.
Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;
you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
I was brutish and ignorant;
I was like a beast toward you.
Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Psalm 73:
Rooker, Mark. The Ten Commandments: Ethics for the Twenty-First Century (New American Commentary Studies in Bible and Theology) (Kindle Locations 3306-3308). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Rooker, Mark. The Ten Commandments: Ethics for the Twenty-First Century (New American Commentary Studies in Bible and Theology) (Kindle Locations 3306-3308). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Jewish Tradition believes that the commandment is violated when it is acted upon.
Jewish Tradition believes that the commandment is violated when it is acted upon.
Traditional Interpretation believes that it refers to illicit desire or an evil desire that is contrary to God’s will. We can define it as greed. Coveting is desiring something too much.
It was this commandment that revealed Paul’s sinfulness. All the commandments can be kept externally, but only the tenth shows we are all gollums.
Rooker, Mark. The Ten Commandments: Ethics for the Twenty-First Century (New American Commentary Studies in Bible and Theology) (Kindle Locations 3340-3341). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Rooker, Mark. The Ten Commandments: Ethics for the Twenty-First Century (New American Commentary Studies in Bible and Theology) (Kindle Locations 3340-3341). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
when I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, then I coveted them and took them. And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”
Joshua
Do not envy a man of violence
and do not choose any of his ways,
For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.
They covet fields and seize them,
and houses, and take them away;
they oppress a man and his house,
a man and his inheritance.
But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.
A Covetous Heart.
A Converted Heart.
A Content Heart.
We violate this commandment when “failing to take pleasure in the success of our neighbor, desiring his or her possessions, prosperity, or position.” Horton 249
We must fight the gods of materialism, consumerism, and greed in the church.
Television commercials.
Television commercials.
Social Media knows what you want. Ads. Emails. Wicked. Legoland Tickets.
People’s post makes people sad.
“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 is your neighbor’s.”
People.
Property.
But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
We fight covetousness by desiring eternal treasure.
The heart of this commandment is to find contentment in Jesus Christ.
Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say,
“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me?”
What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.
Worldly Thoughts
Worldly Pursuits
Worldly Talk
Worldly Things
Worldly Business
Worldly Heart
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.”
It is an enemy of grace, it it damps good affections, as the earth puts out fire---Watson
Many sermons lie dead and buried in earthly hearts. We preach to men to get their hearts in heaven; but where covetousness is predominant, it chains them to earth, and makes them like the woman which Satan had bowed together, that she could not lift up herself.
Watson, Thomas. The Ten Commandments (p. 153). Unknown. Kindle Edition.
Watson, Thomas. The Ten Commandments (p. 153). Unknown. Kindle Edition.
As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
You may as well bid an elephant to fly in the air, as a covetous man to live by faith—Watson
It is impossible to be earthly minded and charitably minded. Thomas Watson
A covetous man bows down, though not to the graven image in the church, yet to the graven image in his coin.
Watson, Thomas. The Ten Commandments (p. 154). Unknown. Kindle Edition.
Watson, Thomas. The Ten Commandments (p. 154). Unknown. Kindle Edition.
Thomas Watson o
Faith
Watson, Thomas. The Ten Commandments (p. 155). Unknown. Kindle Edition.
Watson, Thomas. The Ten Commandments (p. 155). Unknown. Kindle Edition.
If we covet heaven more, we shall covet earth less.
Watson, Thomas. The Ten Commandments (p. 156). Unknown. Kindle Edition.
The cure for covetous is to have better treasure.
Watson, Thomas. The Ten Commandments (p. 156). Unknown. Kindle Edition.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus, and the things of this world will grow strangely dim.
Thomas Watson’s Prayer
Lord, dig the earth out of my heart; teach me how to possess the world, and not love it; how to hold it in my hand, and not let it get into my heart.
Watson, Thomas. The Ten Commandments (p. 157). Unknown. Kindle Edition.
I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel.
and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread.
Watson, Thomas. The Ten Commandments (p. 157). Unknown. Kindle Edition.
Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way.
Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? Testify against me and I will restore it to you.”
“Thou shalt not covet” is the internal commandment which shows the man who thinks himself to be moral that he really needs a Savior. The average such “moral” man, who has lived comparing himself to other men and comparing himself to a rather easy list of rules, can feel, like Paul, that he is getting along all right. But suddenly, when he is confronted with the inward command not to covet, he is brought to his knees.”
Keeping the Ten Commandments Chapter 15: Be Content
In Colossians 3:5 Paul calls coveting “idolatry” because the things coveted become your god, controlling your life.
Covetousness is the sin of if only.
Keeping the Ten Commandments Chapter 15: Be Content
Coveting is a root of all social evil; desires that burst the bounds beget actions to match.
Keeping the Ten Commandments Called to Contentment
Knowing the love of Christ is the one and only source from which true contentment ever flows.
The problem is not wrong desire, but low desires.
We replace idoltrous desires with Godward desires.
We replace empty desires with satisfying desires.
The last of the Ten Commandments, “You shall not covet,” stands out from the rest. In those few words, the very heart of the law of God is laid open to us. God’s law does not concern itself with our actions alone. “You shall not covet” unreservedly proclaims that our thoughts, feelings, inclinations—matters of the heart—matter a great deal to the Lord.
Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.
But godliness with contentment is great gain,
It was Summer, but it was Fall I wanted:
The colorful leaves and the cool, dry air.
It was Fall, but it was Winter I wanted:
The beautiful snow and the joy of the holiday season.
It was Winter, but it was Spring I wanted:
The warmth and the blossoming of nature.
I was a child, and it was adulthood I wanted:
The freedom and the respect.
I was 20, but it was 30 I wanted:
To be mature and sophisticated.
I was middle-aged, but it was 20 I wanted:
The youth and the free spirit.
I was retired, but it was middle-aged I wanted:
The presence of mind without limitations.
My life was over,
and I never got what I wanted.