Coveting Hall of Shame – Part 6 – Tenth Commandment

Simeon and Levi

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 34.30

Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me stink to the inhabitants of the land…”

“Don’t push me!”

The high point of tragedy in West Side Story comes when Tony, the peace-making Jet, is pushed by an opposing gang member. The Shark had crossed a line, and Tony cries out, “Don’t push me!” The ensuing death of Bernardo leads to the murder of Tony and the ruin of five young lives. Tony coveted his props more than his peace; Simeon and Levi would have understood. Angry about the sin committed against their sister, the two trick the Canaanites, then murder them all and steal all their possessions. The result is that Jacob has to move on, and all his neighbors fear and keep their distance from him. Simeon and Levi coveted their props, and they didn’t care what they had to do to get back at those who’d dissed them. Or was all this just a ploy to lay their covetous hands on the Canaanites’ goods and women? Whatever they were coveting, shame and exile were the consequence. Sometimes coveting disguises itself as righteous indignation, but don’t be fooled.

Do you agree that anger can obscure covetous inclinations? How can you resist the temptation to respond in anger?

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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.