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.

Dt 5:21 - Desire nothing of your neighbor's possessions.

Ro 7:7- The law against coveting brought awareness of coveting.

Ro 13:9 - Once more, subsumed by the command to love one's neighbor.

Eph 5:3 - Greed by any other name…

The Root of the Law

Covetousness is at the root of many, if not all of the other commandments. It is the root of the sinful plant that must be dug up and burned, if we expect to obey any of the other commandments.

The Original Sin

Ge 3:6 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 desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.

So began the fall of all mankind. What was at the root of that fall? It was covetousness. In spite of God's commandment not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, it took only a little push to convince Adam and Eve to eat from it anyway. What was that little push? It was simply the evidence that the fruit was desirable. It was the opportunity to have more than what was theirs. They were not satisfied with having communion with God, they wanted more. They were already like Him, for they were created in His image, but they wanted more; they wanted to be equal to Him.

Theft, Lies, and Murder

Jn 12:4-6
4 But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said, 5 "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii, and given to poor people?" 6 Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it.

It is coveting that leads to theft (8th), for if we didn't desire our neighbor's goods, we'd not steal them. Judas was not satisfied with being an apostle, with being a friend of God. He wanted more. He wanted riches. This desire for wealth led him to steal from the poor box. It lead him to accept bribes to betray his teacher. It led him to take his own life.

The story of Judas shows the progressive nature of sin. It began with simple covetousness, a seemingly harmless desire. But that desire led to action. It led to theft. The dam was opened. He moved on to bearing false witness. As we saw in studying the last commandment, the law regarding false witness covers far more than simply lying. It includes in its ruling every failure in protecting the rightful welfare of another. In leading the authorities to Jesus, who had done no wrong, Judas failed of the 9th commandment, as well. In that he did so in exchange for a bribe only deepened his crime. Even the authorities who paid that bribe knew it was wrong, for when he attempted to return the money, they would not accept it because it was unclean.

Still, his crimes against the Law did not stop. In his despair for what he had done, he took his own life. In doing so, he broke the 6th commandment, which declares the life of every man sacred. Only such authorities as God has delegated His own authority to are in a position to punish those who cause the loss of another's life, as Judas had done. He did not have the authority to exact God's vengeance. He took his own life in further violation of the holy Law of God. Indeed, the wages of sin is death. Even the least of sins, left uncorrected, will have its wages. Sin will build upon sin until death has come.

The Root of Adultery

Pr 6:25-26
25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart, Nor let her catch you with her eyelids.
26 For on account of a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread, And an adulteress hunts for the precious life.

It is coveting that leads to unfaithfulness (7th), for if we didn't desire our neighbor's wife, we'd not tempt them away. The desire of the eyes again leads to action. We must take great care as to what our senses our fed, for our senses feed our thoughts, and our thoughts lead to actions.

1Jn 2:16 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.

The lust that so attracts our attention is not from the Father, but from the world. Notice that here, boasting is included in the ways of lusting, for boasting is nothing more than coveting of prestige. All lust is coveting, whether it be lusting after goods, lusting after people, or lusting after position. It is all of the world, but we are not of the world. At least, we shouldn't be.

The Base of the Tables

It seems, then, that coveting lies beneath every commandment in the 2nd table. It won't take much to recognize that same issue of covetousness behind the commandments of the 1st table, those that deal with our relationship with God. It is coveting that leads to breaking the Sabbath (4th), for it is our desire to have more and better than our neighbors that leads us to work the harder. Again we see the progressive problem of sin. Having sinned against our fellow man, we allow the disease to spread and affect our relationship with God. We become so concerned about gaining more that we forget about Him. Our eyes are no longer upon the concerns of His kingdom, but are solely on the concerns of our own little empire. How can we so easily lose sight of the fact that our empire is not ours, but His!

Eph 5:5 For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

It is coveting that leads to idolatry (2nd), for it sets up our neighbor's possessions as a thing more desirable than God. Indeed, covetousness is idolatry. When our desires become more important to us than God's desires we have set them above Him, we have begun to worship our desires.

1st & 10th as Bookends of the Law

Satisfaction

What is the positive action that is required by this commandment? The protection against covetousness is satisfaction. How will we know satisfaction? What was Paul's secret in being content?

Php 4:11-13
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.

He tells us his secret outright! Know that you can do all things through Him who strengthens you. Know that your every circumstance is in God's hands. Know that you have no cause to be anxious for the details of your daily life so long as you are seeking out His purposes. He will care for you. He will provide all you need, and He will keep you from the things you want that would destroy you. I'll put it to you another way: The secret to being satisfied is to recognize God's providence! Recognize once and for all that all things truly do work together for the good of those working in His service. All things!

Riches are a snare to the man who doesn't understand this, for they will lead him to take his eyes off of God. But to the man who is working in His service, riches are an equipping, enabling him to bring greater glory to God through the thanks of those he can and does bless by those riches. Humble means are not a shame upon His people, but are a tool He uses to build them up in faith. Sickness is not always a punishment, not necessarily even a chastening discipline. It may be no more than a means of exercising our faith in God, to build perseverance.

The worst of our circumstances still work to our good. That is God's word to us. The best of our circumstances work no better than our worst. God is all-wise. In His infinite wisdom, He has decided what circumstances will best suit His intent to work good for us. To think that we know better is no more than pride, no more than covetousness. Satisfaction comes by faith, by recognizing Who is in control, how wise He is, and how good He is.

God help us. Help us to be satisfied with all that You have provided us. Help us to be satisfied with the joy You set before us. Father, our eyes are hopelessly lustful - ever desiring that next thing, when that next thing can no more satisfy us than the last one did. Let our desire burn only for You. Let our eyes find rest from their roaming in You. Let us find all our needs met and more in You.

From the Westminster Shorter Catechism:

From Calvin's Institutes

Concluding Thoughts

Truly, the Law is a matter of the spirit, for it strikes at our heart attitudes by bringing attention to our actions. Truly, the Law is summed up in the twin commandments of loving God and loving our neighbor. How hard it is! How impossible it remains to fulfill even in part!

How often, oh Lord, You remind me of how far off the mark my own thought life has gone. The cousin who seems beyond hope of redemption, the co-worker who is too foul to ever expect to find in your fold. Both targets of Your love. Both targets of Your purpose. Neither any worse than I was myself. Love hopes all things.

Father, I hope and I pray that Your mercy would extend itself even to these 'hopeless' cases, that You would arrange the meeting and the testimony that would speak to these ones right at the place they are, that You would break them free of their blindness, whether through me or others. I pray that You would help me to remember, to contemplate, to meditate on and implement the commandments Your love requires of me. I pray that I would somehow be found willing to Your will. I pray that You would accomplish in me the change that must come, in spirit, soul, and body, to fulfill all that You desire to do in me and through me. Make me like You, Lord, reform this clay into Your image.