Rocket Science? – The Tenth Commandment

Rocket Science?

Exodus 20:17

“You shall not covet…”

The commandments of God are supported, elaborated, illustrated, and explained by a series of accompanying precepts, statutes, and rules. These are meant to demonstrate the application of any particular commandment into the everyday lives of the people of God.

These additional statutes also demonstrate the love of God for His people, and the lengths He’s willing to go to make sure that we understand what He wants of us, and how we may best love our neighbors as ourselves.

So all the commandments of God have this kind of “entourage” of supporting statutes that come into play whenever a particular situation requires. All the commandments have these, that is, except the tenth. The commandment not to covet stands by itself. Apparently, we all know exactly what God means by this.

But covetousness is the gateway to transgressing all the other commandments of God. It ain’t rocket science, but tolerating covetousness in your life will definitely blow up your day.

How do you know when coveting is beginning to augur for a place in your soul? What does it feel like? What kind of focus does it typically take? How do you deal with coveting as you become aware of its presence in you?

Daily meditation in the Law of God helps us along the path of holiness, righteousness, and goodness (Rom. 7:12). Order your copy of The Law of God, a compilation of the Mosaic Law for contemporary believers, by going to www.MyParuchia.com, point your browser to “Publications,” then click on the drop-down option, “Waxed Tablet Publications.”

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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.