The Tenth Commandment

Exodus 20.17
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

Deuteronomy 5.21
“‘You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife; and you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, 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, spread 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.

T. M. Moore

The Law of God is the soil which, fertilized by the rest of God’s Word and watered by His Spirit, brings forth the fruit of Christian life. If you’d like to understand this process better, and how to make best use of the Law in your walk with and work for the Lord, order the book, The Ground for Christian Ethics, from our online store.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.