Whatever Happened to the Ten Commandments?

The Tenth Commandment

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 our neighbor's
(Exod. 20:16).

Before we consider some of the duties required and sins for idden by the Tenth Commandment, it will be helpful to make some general comments and observations about its distinctiveness.

There are several synonyms for covet. The most accurate synonym is desire, or desire ardently; others include lust, long for, yearn, pine and crave inordinately. To covet is to wish for something with eagerness.

Coveting is not always evil. The Bible teaches us that we are earnestly to covet the best gifts (1 Cor. 12:31, AV). We are to covet the Lord Jesus Christ and a holy life.

The Importance of the Tenth Commandment

The Bible says that covetousness ('the love of money') is the root of all evil (1 Tim. 6:10). This is enough to make the Tenth Commandment extremely important. It is important because:

It goes to the heart, the inner man.
It is spiritual: 'For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin' (Rom. 7:14).
It teaches us how the other commandments are meant to be interpreted; that is, the others are not just dealing with externals—they deal with thoughts as well as acts. The legalistic Jews missed this point. That is what our Lord is teaching them in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:20-48).
It has convicting power. It was the commandment that God used in Paul's conversion: 'What shall we say then' Is the law sin' Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, "You shall not covet. " But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died' (Rom. 7:7-9).

The great apostle was a blameless man (not sinless). He was scrupulous in his efforts to keep the commandments of God, so he thought he had kept them from his youth up. He had never worshipped any God but Jehovah; he had never done homage to any idols; he had never taken God's name in vain; he had never worked on the Sabbath; he honoured his father and his mother; he was never guilty of murder, adultery or theft. But when he began to reflect on the Tenth Commandment, which forbade him to covet, he discovered he had broken it flagrantly—he was 'sold under sin'. In many respects the Tenth Commandment is the greatest and most significant of all the commandments. Without the Tenth Commandment we would not realize that all the commandments are spiritual and go to the heart, the thoughts, the inner man.

All sins come from within: '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). This commandment condemns seeking things by dishonest means, that is, without labour, as in theft, gambling or lotteries.

DUTIES REQUIRED IN THE TENTH COMMANDMENT

The duty to be content with our own condition:

Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you' (Heb. 13:5). Now godliness with contentment is great gain (1 Tim. 6:6).

The duty to have a charitable attitude towards our neighbour, so that we desire his good:

Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep (Rom. 12:15).

Peace be within your walls, Prosperity within your palaces. For the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say, 'Peace be within you.' Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek your good (Psa. 122: 7-9).

Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith (1 Tim. 1:5).

For Mordecai the Jew was second to King Ahasuerus, and was great among the Jews and well received by the multitude of his brethren, seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his countrymen (Esther 10:3).

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things (1 Cor. 13:4—7).

SINS FORBIDDEN IN THE TENTH COMMANDMENT

The sin of discontent with what is ours:

So Ahab went into his house sullen and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, ‘I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.’ And he lay down on his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no food (1 Kings 21:4).

‘Yet all this avails me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate’ (Esther 5:13).

Nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer (1 Cor. 10:10).

The sin of envying and grieving at the good of our neighbour:

Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another (Gal. 5:26). But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there (James 3:14—16).

He has dispersed abroad,
He has given to the poor;
His righteousness endures forever;
His horn will be exalted with honor.
The wicked will see it and be grieved;

He will gnash his teeth and melt away;
The desire of the wicked shall perish (Psa. 112:9-10).

When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard of it, they were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel (Neh. 2:10).

The sin of inordinate desire for anything that is our neighbour's:

What shall we say then' Is the law sin' Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, 'You shall not covet.' But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead (Rom. 7:7-8).

For the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery', 'You shall not murder', 'You shall not steal', 'You shall not bear false witness', 'You shall not covet', and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself' (Rom. 13:9).

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

Let Thomas Watson summarize what covetousness really is:

Covetousness is the root of discontent. Why do any repine at their condition, but because they think they do not have enough' The Greek word for covetousness signifies an immoderate desire of getting. Covetousness is a dry dropsy, and because the thirst is not satisfied, therefore the heart frets through discontent and impatience.

Covetousness is the root of theft. Achan's covetous humour made him steal that wedge of gold which served to cleave asunder his soul from God (Josh. 7:21).

Covetousness is the root of treason. It made Judas betray Christ. ‘What will ye give me and I will deliver him unto you'’ (Matt. 26:16). Absalom’s covetousness made him attempt to pluck the crown from his father’s head. He that is a Demas will soon prove a Judas. ‘Men shall be covetous’ (2 Tim. 3:2), and it follows in the next verse, ‘traitors’. Where covetousness is in the premises, treason will be in the conclusion. Covetousness is the root of murder. Why did Ahab stone Nabothto death but to possess his vineyard' (1 Kings 21:13). Covetousness has made many swim to the crown in blood. And can the heart be pure when the ‘hands are full of blood’' (Isa. 1:15).

Covetousness is the root of perjury ‘Men shall be covetous’, and it follows, ‘truce breakers’ (2 Tim. 3:2—3). For love of money [men] will take a false oath and break a just oath. He that lives a Midas will die a perjurer .

Covetousness is the root of bribery and injustice. It makes the courts of judicature ‘great places of robbery’, as Augustine speaks. At Athens causes were bought and sold for money It is the cause of uncleanness. The Scripture mentions ‘the hire of a whore’ (Deut. 23:18). For money both conscience and chastity are set to sale. Covetousness is the root of idolatry: ‘Covetousness which is idolatry’ (Col. 3:5). The covetous person bows down to the image of gold. His money is his god, for he puts his trust in it. Money is his creator. When he has abundance of wealth, then he thinks he is made. It is his redeemer. If he be in any strait or trouble, he flies to his money and that must redeem him. It is his comforter. When he is sad he counts over his money and with this golden harp he drives away the evil spirit. When you see a covetous man, you may say, 'There goes an idolater.'

(The Beatitudes, London: Banner of Truth Trust, 1971, pp. 179'180).

One theologian called the Tenth Commandment 'God's Call to Contentment'. Contentment is the absolute antidote for covetousness.