The Secret Commandment
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. Exodus 20:17 ESV
Not covet – There is a reason why no other legal code of the ancient Near East contains a prohibition about coveting. The reason is obvious. This commandment is unenforceable! Coveting is entirely secret. It is the secret desire to have something God has given to another. No one could ever know that you covet something because coveting is not actually taking what you desire. It is simply craving it. Therefore, until the world’s systems employ thought police, the tenth commandment is impossible to administer.
So why does God include it? The answer is simple: God’s enforcement extends to even our thoughts. God is the only one able to enforce this commandment and that means that this code, the Ten Words, is not based on civil legislation but rather on the implicit acknowledgement that we serve the God who knows. In other words, the tenth commandment is about the fear of YHWH who sees even into the hidden depths of our hearts. Under civil, human regulations, we might disguise our secret motives. But such is impossible with God. We are called to a holy thought life, not simply a life of outward compliance. This is why Paul can exhort his readers to “take every thought captive.” We will certainly encounter the temptation of the yetzer ha’ra to covet what YHWH has assigned to another, but as soon as the idea is presented, we are to recognize it for what it is, a challenge to the sovereign decisions of the Father, and reject any such temptation. We are to remember Job’s declaration, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away.” Nothing we have or don’t have is a result of our own manipulation. In the universe created by YHWH, everything is a gift given in relation to the purpose YHWH has for each and every individual. To covet is to deny God’s right to distribute as He sees fit. To covet is to deny the perfect purposes of God. To covet is to blaspheme because coveting calls God unfair, unjust and irresponsible.
The root of the word “covet” is the Hebrew verb hamad. Amazingly, it is the same word used to describe the “delight” of the trees in the Garden, the beauty of the Shulammite’s lover, the delight of Jerusalem and the preciousness of the Lord’s commandments. What this tells us is that the object of hamad is not evil in itself. In fact, the object is truly desirable. God make it so. It is the twisting of desire that makes hamad something destructive. To desire a wife is good. To desire the neighbor’s wife is a sin. To desire a house is good. To desire the neighbor’s house is destructive. It is not what I desire that breaks the commandment. It is whose I desire. When the yetzer ha’ra twists God-given desires into challenges to God’s sovereignty, coveting is born. Perhaps we need to re-assess our declarations that coveting is not one of our sins. Perhaps we need to recognize even fleetingly how we are enticed to crave redistribution of God’s decisions.
Topical Index: hamad, covet, desire, sovereignty, Exodus 20:17
It is interesting that both the first and the last of the Ten Commandments deal with what goes on in our hearts. It has always been the Holy One’s desire that we serve Him with circumcised hearts.
What is interesting, is breaking the 10th commandment that leads to breaking the others, such as killing and stealing, because at first the person coveted.
Likewise, a bad heart toward YHWH leads us to make idols towards other gods, profane His name, and abhor His Sabbaths. In a similar manner, a heart for rebellion towards our Rightful Authority is the same heart attitude that leads children to dishonor their parents. 🙁
It starts and our actions will demonstrate what is there. 😉
Whoops…. :-O
“It starts in our hearts and our actions will demonstrate what is there.”
Legal “Lust!”
October 14, 2013 at 7:13am
Covetousness is craven cravin’! There is (Hallelujah!) a “cure” for covetousness! Learning to take great pleasure in the “successes” of another! Learning to revel in the abundant blessings God has given to another! And learning contentment. Contentment is the cure for the curse of covetousness. We MUST learn to take great joy in the prosperity of another! God, my friend, has been so good to you!- and I am truly happy for you. I delight to witness the goodness of our great God towards you (my brother or sister or neighbor!) and in your behalf. ~ It is the “goodness of God” that leads us (ALL) to repentance!! ~ And to repent (metanoia) is to”think differently!”
Contentment (most assuredly) is a learned behavior! Here’s the kicker: “less is more!!” Say what? Less is more! Do I (honestly) need more? I now have so much (stuff?) I am sometimes choked by it! “Things.” Things to organize, things to dust, things to paint, things to think about, – Is life all about “stuff and things?” No. Not at all. There is more to life than this!
Love “stuff” and use people? Or use things and love people? By the way, we ~ look not on the things which are seen, but on the “things” which are unseen! ~ to which I say, – Oh? Is that so? – It is so!, -lol! (amen!)
The answer to covetousness (a form of greed) is Love! And love takes great delight in the pleasure or successes of another! Do you, dear friend, “have” this, that or the other thing? Then I am happy for you and may say (can say) from the depth of my being- “congratulations!” Praise God, our Father for His benevolent grace and His goodness in your life!
Is “blessedness” (happiness) a state of having or of being? “Have happy?” or “be happy?” May I take great delight in the prosperity of my neighbor? Absolutely. Has God (already) provided for me ~ all things that pertain unto life and godliness? ~ Lol! – “It is so!”- Amen!- I have the love of Jesus in my heart!
But don’t be thinkin’ I don’t want more!- Believe me, – I do!! But the question is- More what? More “stuff and things?” More “premature junk?” I do want more, but THIS is what I “crave..”
More about Jesus would I know,
More of His grace to others show;
More of His saving fullness see,
More of His love Who died for me.
More, more about Jesus,
More, more about Jesus;
More of His saving fullness see,
More of His love Who died for me.
More about Jesus let me learn,
More of His holy will discern;
Spirit of God, my Teacher be,
Showing the things of Christ to me.
More, more about Jesus,
More, more about Jesus;
More of His saving fullness see,
More of His love Who died for me.
More about Jesus; in His Word,
Holding communion with my LORD;
Hearing His voice in every line,
Making each faithful saying mine.
More, more about Jesus,
More, more about Jesus;
More of His saving fullness see,
More of His love Who died for me.
More about Jesus; on His throne,
Riches in glory all His own;
More of His kingdom’s sure increase;
More of His coming, Prince of Peace.
More, more about Jesus,
More, more about Jesus;
More of His saving fullness see,
More of His love Who died for me!
(and He is “jealous” for me!!)
This is it. “You shall fear the LORD,” and, “I AM the LORD.” These two phrases, found throughout the Torah, are pointing to the thoughts of our hearts, that tend to push us in our actions, and ‘actions’ are how humans see us, but HE knows our thoughts.
“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”
We should also note that is the action of coveting that which is not yours is at the core here. Coveting that which YHVH has given to you is not a problem. Indeed, if we truly covet that which is ours, we will give it a place of honour and guard and protect it appropriately. [“It” may of course be “him” or “her” also].
Tom and Elena are correct; obedience begins with the heart.
If we truly know that YHVH and YHVH alone is God, then we will:
– not take any other gods before Him
– not take His Name “in vain”
– not dishonour the day He set apart and called “holy” (Shabbat)
– not dishonour our earthly parents, because in doing so we dishonour Him also.
Likewise, if we covet only that which YHVH has entrusted to us, and not that which is given to others, we will:
– not bear false witness;
– not murder;
– not steal;
– not commit adultery.
It all boils down to this; You shall love YHVH your God with all your heart, mind and strength (and the first 5 show us what that looks like) and you shall love your neighbour as yourself (and the second 5 show us what that looks like).
Ultimately, though, it all begins with this: “Shema Yisra’el, YHVH eloheinu, YHVH echad.”
“Hear (and act accordingly) O Israel, YHVH your God, YHVH is One.”
Rodney, you spelled out what I was implying in my post. Obedience to the middle 8 commandments begin with the heart attitude towards the first and last commandments. 😀
MULTIPLE CHOICE
Coveting is a choice.
Obeying God is a better choice.
But the BEST choice is HIS choice!
“for He chose us in Him before the creation of the world
to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us
to be adopted as His sons through Christ Jesus, in accordance with
His pleasure and will – – – to the praise of His glorious grace, which He
has freely given us in the One He loves.” Eph 1:4-6
Skip says today we are called to a holy thought life.
And Paul exhorts us to “take every thought captive.”
Think about Eph 1:4-6.
And take it to heart.
When the yetzer ha’ra twists God-given desires into challenges to God’s sovereignty, coveting is born. (Skip)
And Paul exhorts us to “take every thought captive.” (Rich)
Hmmm
I’m not sure if the yetzer ha’ra twists God-given desires
In my understanding, God gives us all desire
Seems to me there are two classes of objects of desire
One is forbidden and one is not
When we desire forbidden objects or actions, we call that desire “hara”
When we are young, we don’t know the difference between hara and tov
We learn through punishment and counseling from parents and other authorities
WE end up owning our desires, becoming responsible for our desires
God desires us to do good, the right thing
Sometimes we would prefer to do the wrong thing, because it is more attractive
Paul was a bit insane IMO
IMO as long as we focus on doing the right thing
We don’t need to “capture every thought”
Coveting is something I struggle with almost every day. It’s like the wind. I feel it coming and instantaneously I’m surrounded and engulfed in all aspects of coveting. Not the good aspects of coveting, but the destructive qualities of it.
Sometimes I think it would be simpler to just live out in the dessert. I’d just need to be focused on basic survival. Food, water, shelter, clothing would be the extent of my thoughts and actions. No new and improved anything. No new model, no new features, no new something I could convince myself I need.
Less mind junk to clutter my thoughts. Sometimes I feel like my mind will explode thinking about so many things that come at me in any typical days events.
Makes Sabbaths all that more alluring, appealing and COVETED! 🙂