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A Trap for the Heart--So the tenth commandment links the Law back to the first commandment, challenging us to cultivate love for God as the commanding affection of our hearts (Matt. 22.34-40).
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
So the tenth commandment links the Law back to the first commandment, challenging us to cultivate love for God as the commanding affection of our hearts (Matt. 22.34-40).
“Peter, do you love me more than these?” Over and over Jesus challenged Peter to examine his heart. What did he really love? And how much did he love it. God calls us to submit to the searching of His Spirit with respect to what is in our hearts (Ps. 139.23, 24), for we are not always as guarded as we should be with respect to our affections.
“Guard your heart with all vigilance!” was Solomon’s instruction to his son. But Rehoboam did not. He loved the idea of being king and wielding power more than of loving God and serving God’s people. Rehoboam’s covetous heart tore the nation of Israel in two and set the people of God on a downward spiral of rebellion, dissolution, and destruction.
Covetousness is not just a harmless peccadillo, a silly act of self-indulgence. It is a trap for the heart which springs up to snare not only us, but the people we should be loving as well.
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.