In an article published this week in Torah.com, Jack Sasson asked an interesting question.
“Why is ‘Do not covet’ in the decalogue?’”
The Decalogue forbids patently reprehensible acts, but the prohibition against coveting is a potentially victimless offense and is the only one that exclusively addresses men. Moreover, this tenth commandment has no clear parallels in ancient Near Eastern law.
As we trace through the Commandments in Exodus 20, all are public, outwardly discernible sins with offended parties—divine, human, or both.
The first four commandments (Exodus 20:3-11) demand fealty to Jehovah. It must be exclusive—no polytheism. It must not be expressed in idol worship. He must be honored in all speech. He must be honored specifically on the Sabbath.
The next five commandments in verses 12-16 are one-another commands that protect people from people. Honor your parents. Do not murder. Honor marriage and remain faithful to your spouse. Do not take what is not yours. Do not commit perjury, damaging your neighbor.
But then comes that last commandment (Exodus 20:17), which is about a heart attitude—about desire. After noting that this commandment is exclusively addressed to men (It doesn’t mention coveting your neighbor’s husband, and women could not own property in the ancient Near Eastern world), Sasson says this about this commandment.
Another oddity makes the Tenth Commandment stand out from the others: The previous commandments forbid patently reprehensible acts such as stealing, murdering, kidnapping, or committing perjury. By contrast, coveting in the Tenth Commandment is an emotional capitulation to intense envy, remediable only through introspection and self-examination.
It is truly a commandment about jealousy and envy and is at the heart of all biblical sin. This might be one of the most important commandments of all.
It is the commandment that sums up the New Testament commands of Christ.
We think that Jesus expanded the Law on adultery in Matthew 5:28 when He said that anyone who looks on a woman to lust after has committed adultery in his heart, but He was also pointing to the last commandment, which most people ignore because it is so hard to quantify. When does admiring what belongs to my neighbor become coveting what he has?
If coveting my neighbor’s wife is adultery, then coveting his property is stealing? Hating him for what he has is murder.
All of these are violations of Jesus’ two great commands—love God and love your neighbor (Matthew 22:36-40).
Covetousness is loving the world.
John urged the New Testament Church to remain devoted to God and not to the world. In fact, he said clearly that you cannot love both (1 John 2:15). His description of what loving of the world looks like reprises the 10th commandment.
Our world runs on covetousness. It is built into our highly commercialized society and is used as a motivator to sell everything from cars to condos. Certainly the 10th commandment is not a comprehensive list; that’s why the commandment ends with the inclusive words “nor anything that is your neighbor’s” (Exodus 20:17). We must not desire his house, job, good looks, opportunities, status, popularity, or anything else.
Covetousness is often the foundation of breaking the other commandments.
A man commits adultery because he wants his neighbor’s wife. He steals because he wants his possessions. He falsely testifies against him because he wants to deny him his reputation or belongings.
Even the God-focused commands can be covetousness-related. The first expectation God has of all people is that they recognize God as God and be thankful (Romans 1:21). Covetousness is discontent with what God has given me, and that is ingratitude. With a heart of ingratitude, people pursue other gods who will give them what the true God did not. As they do that, they turn to idols, curse the God of heaven, and defile His holy days.
Covetousness covers the “victimless” sins.
Some have tried to categorize some sins as worse than others based upon whether or not there are discernible victims. Pornography, though not victimless, is often perceived as such would be included here. Lying sometimes is put in this category when it is done for the “good” of another, or to hide embarrassment. Covetousness, in its purest form, would be categorized as victimless by most people, yet it is in the Mosaic Law.
How do we know?
Sometimes it is hard to discern what covetousness is. When our fifth child was on the way, my wife and I began looking for a larger home. We also live in Arizona so, we were hoping to find a home with a swimming pool. When you have five kids at home during the summer, with it being 110 degrees outside, having a cool activity for them is almost essential. As we looked, we struggled in our own hearts. Are we coveting something that God has chosen not to give us? We had friends who had homes that were similar to what we were looking for. Were we coveting what they had? Were we trying to just keep up with them?
As we took it to the Lord in prayer, we told God that we were very thankful for the home that He had given us. We laid out before the Lord the reasons why we were looking (He already knew, of course), and we asked Him for wisdom (James 1:5). We determined in our hearts that if God said, “no” we would be not only content with His answer but thankful for what He had given us. That was our defense against covetousness in our own hearts.
I know I am coveting when I am unhappy with and unthankful for what God has given me and when I become obsessed with what others have.
Do not covet. Be content with God’s good gifts. They are all better than we deserve.
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