TEN COMMANDMENTS

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TEN COMMANDMENTS

• LESSON TEN
• DEADLY DESIRES

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EXODUS 2017

• Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou
  shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his
  manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor
  his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's.

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• The last six commandments deal with human
  relationships.
• This commandment is the only one of the last six
  that is not written into the laws of any society.
  
• You can't legislate the heart.
• However, this is the very commandment God used to
  convict, and eventually convert Paul.

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• The Apostle was a Pharisee and a teacher of the
  law of Israel.
• But in Romans 7 Paul says that sin "wrought in me
  all manner of covetousness."
• He obeyed the law externally but found himself
  guilty before God because of his heart of
  covetousness.

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• 1. What does "coveting" mean?

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• Covetousness simply means -- "a strong desire."
• There is nothing wrong with having strong
  desires.
• We all desire to eat, sleep, etc.

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• Spiritually, Peter says we are to "desire the
  sincere milk of the Word."
• Paul said to "desire the best gifts," and Jesus
  said, "desire righteousness of God."
• A two-fold biblical definition of "coveting"
  would be

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a. To strongly desire something possessed by
another

• "Thou shalt not covet . . . anything that is thy
  neighbors" (Exodus 2017).
• King Ahab in 1 Kings 21 is a prime example of the
  dangers of covetousness.

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b. To strongly desire something prohibited by God.

• When Jericho was destroyed God told Israel not to
  take anything.
• But Achan "coveted" (Joshua 721) some gold,
  silver, and a Babylonian garment.
• He took them and as a result Israel was judged by
  God at the battle of Ai.
• Wanting or desiring is essential to physical and
  spiritual life, but it can become an evil thing.

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• 2. How is "coveting" manifested?

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a. Envy

• An inability to be happy for the success of
  others.
• Envy is the mother of covetousness and "envy is
  the rottenness of the bones" (Proverbs 1430).

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b. Complaining

• Murmuring about one's circumstances.
• "Let your conversation be without covetousness
  and be content with such things as ye have"
  (Hebrews 85).

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c. Greed

• Grasping for more riches with no thought of
  giving.
• John Gill said, "A covetous man is like a small
  creature with no passage through.
• It takes in all it can but lets out nothing.
• The covetous man and this creature burst with
  their own fullness."

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d. A general discontentment with life

• an inability to learn satisfaction in God.

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• 3. How is "coveting" managed?

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• Since coveting is a sin of the heart, the only
  way it is managed is for there to be surgery upon
  the heart by the Great Physician.
• In essence, Jesus Christ can make a person
  content in this life, regardless of his
  circumstances.
• But if you find yourself as a Christian fighting
  the sin of covetousness, there are two things
  that might help.

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a. Remember you are but a transient in this world
.

• An understanding of your own mortality will
  always help you keep in focus what is important
  in life.

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b. Rejoice in God's eternal love for you.

• The Apostle Paul describes the love of God for
  His people in Ephesians 317-19.
• He then prays that we might "know" this love and
  when we do, we will be "filled with all the
  fullness of God" (v.19).

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