The Tenth Commandment – Thou Shalt Not Covet

1. Read: Exodus 20:17

2. About the Text:

1) The background of this text is the exodus of the children of Israel out of Egypt.

2) They were camped at the base of Mount Sinai.

3) And God speaks directly to them from heaven these “Ten Commandments.”

4) They are referred to as such in Exodus 34:28, Deuteronomy 4:3 and 10:4.

5) These commandments were the basis for the rest of the Mosaic Law.

6) They form the nucleus of God’s desires for men to live a moral and godly life.

7) God wanted to impress upon Israel the seriousness of these words.

8) And he did so; the children of Israel asked Moses to intercede for them upon hearing God’s words.

9) The commandments are introduced with a statement of identification by God.

10) Exodus 20:1-2.

11) The two verses emphasize to us the identity of the one giving the commandments.

12) They are not to be taken lightly.

13) The commands are also in two parts.

a. Love for God

b. Love for man.

3. The commandments today.

1) Today, we see the Ten Commandments politicized.

2) They are a symbol to many for morality and righteousness.

3) But do we know what they are and what they mean?

4) Let’s take a look at the Ten Commandments in an effort to understand them and how they apply today.

4. The Tenth Commandment – Thou Shalt Not Covet

1) Covetousness manifests itself in different ways in our society.

2) I think one of the best measurements of covetousness is the number of lawsuits that we have in our country.

3) Here’s an interesting statistic: “80% of the world’s lawyers live in the United States.”

4) In 2010, the US spent 251 Billion dollars a year on lawsuits, twice as much as is spent on new cars.

5) Only 15% of that 241 Billion went to the plaintiff, and he only wins 55% of the time.

6) Can we say that we live in a covetous society?

7) Do we need the tenth commandment today?

5. Ref. to S, T, P, O, and A.

1. The definition.

1) Definition: “to desire wrongfully, inordinately, or without due regard for the rights of others.”

2) Hebrew Lexicon: chamad – “inordinate, ungoverned, selfish desire.”

3) Greek Lexicon: epithumeo – “set one’s heart upon a thing, long for, covet, desire.”

2. The circumstances of the commandment.

1) “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

2) The commandment is speaking about things not already in one’s possession.

3) This commandment is not prohibiting business transactions. Leviticus 25:14 “And if you sell anything to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor’s hand, you shall not oppress one another.”

3. This is the only commandment that contains a prohibition of an attitude.

1) We are not supposed to overly desire something that belongs to another person.

2) Envy is a close relative of covetousness.

1. The wicked boast about it: “For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire; He blesses the greedy and renounces the Lord” (Psalm 10:3).

2. Precedes theft, Achan: “When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it.” (Joshua 7:21).

3. Associated with Laziness and contrasted with generosity: “The desire of the lazy man kills him, For his hands refuse to labor. He covets greedily all day long, But the righteous gives and does not spare” (Proverbs 21:25-26).

4. It leads to other sins: “Yet your eyes and your heart are for nothing but your covetousness, For shedding innocent blood, And practicing oppression and violence” (Jeremiahs 22:17).

5. Think about the example of Ahab and Jezebel in coveting the vineyard of Naboth (1 Kings 21:1-16).

1. Jesus said it comes from the heart: “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man” (Mark 7:21-23).

2. Covetousness is confusion of identity: “And [Jesus] said unto them, Take heed, and keep yourselves from all covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth” (Luke 12:15).

3. A reason for withdrawal of fellowship: 1 Corinthians 5:11 – “But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.”

4. It is idolatry: “For this you know,[a] that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God” (Ephesians 5:5).

5. We are to put it to death: “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5).

1. We’ve looked at the tenth commandment – thou shalt not covet.

1) We have defined it.

2) We saw it prohibited in the Old Testament.

3) We see it prohibited in the New Testament.

2. Invitation