The Coveting Hall of Shame Part 1 – The Tenth Commandment

Adam and Eve

The coveting Hall of Shame, Series 1

The tenth commandment

Exodus 20.17; Deuteronomy 5.21

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, his house, his field, his male or female servant, his ox or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

Genesis 3.6

“So 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 to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. “

To obey or to rebel?

Covetousness is unique among the Ten Commandments in that it has no supporting or illustrative case laws to flesh out the various forms it might take. Instead, God gives us a Bible full of world champion coveters. From their failure to rule their hearts have come all the ills that beset the world of men. This week we’ll be taking a look at what I call “The Coveting Hall of Shame, Series 1.” We begin, of course, with Adam and Eve (I include Adam because, after all, he was “with her” and could have intervened to stop this travesty at any point, but did not.). Helmut Thielicke, the great German theologian, once described temptation as being at the point of wanting to be disloyal to God. That’s true, but doesn’t go quite far enough. In most of its forms, temptation appeals to lust – we want something we cannot have. Thus, in a very real sense, all sin germinates from covetousness. Because we fail to check our covetous desires, we fall into all manner of sin. In the case of Adam and Eve, they lusted to indulge forbidden fruit, so that they could be like God. Who needs God when you can be like Him? Their rebellion against God was the fruit of their covetousness – just as it is with every one of us.

What are some situations you’ll face today in which you might be tempted to rebel against God?

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“In the Gates” is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001,2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.