The tenth commandment

Exodus 20.17

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

Deuteronomy 5.21

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

Luke 12.13-21; Ephesians 5.5; Colossians 3.5; 1 Timothy 6.6-8

The Ten Commandments end in a rather strange way, by proscribing covetousness.

All the other commandments thus far can be envisioned in practice. We can see people worshiping other gods, profaning God’s Name, defiling the Sabbath, dishonoring others, committing murder, adultery, and theft, spreading false information and lies. These are outward practices which can be judged by righteous people and corrected by specific courses of action in order to restore justice (Rom. 12.21).

But who can observe covetousness? Who can look into the soul of another and see that covetousness is taking root and beginning to plant the seeds of other sins? Only God can do this. So the tenth commandment reminds us that, at the end of the day, the Law is rooted in a relationship with God, and must be conducted from the “inside-out”, as it were.

We must not covet because all coveting is idolatry (Col. 3.5), and idolatry leads to a wide range of other transgressions against God and neighbor.

This series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.ailbe.org and click on our Book Store.