0112 - WHAT DOES IT MEAN THE TENTH COMMANDMENT?

WHAT DOES IT MEAN THE TENTH COMMANDMENT?

• Exo 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.”.

I delayed very much to figure out this commandment. After all, what is the problem if I desire to have something equal to my neighbor or if I try to negotiate with my neighbor about something that matches to what I need?

Finally, it sank in my mind that “covet” is “desire greedily something forbidden”. The problem isn’t simply desire something forbidden, but persisting mulling over this continually until finding a way to encroach the law. For instance:

• *Seeking other gods and using craved images* in order to evoke some spiritual entity and convince them to do something against the one who are hampering us of getting what we consider boon;

• *Using the Creator’s name in vain* – (for example, to swear falsely in His name and, thus, convince people to believe or use His name to gain prestige);

• *Violating the rest of the Creator* – in the Old Testament, we have an example of this in Neh 13:17-21; Amos 8:5,6; today, instead of resting and waiting in Jesus until He carries out His works (Ps 37:7), we don’t bear with biding and end up tiring the Creator with our sins (Isa 43:24);

• *Murdering* in order to make easy the access to the object coveted;

• *Adulterating* in order to get delight easier and faster than to reconcile and improve the quality of the relationship with the spouse;

• *Stealing*;

• *Lying*, making people to favor them in exchange of false promises and expectances.

In other words, the violation of the tenth commandment is the base to the others sins. And James avouched this:

• Jas 1:14,15 -> “But every man is tempted by his own concupiscence, being drawn away and allured. Then, when concupiscence hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin. But sin, when it is completed, begetteth death.”.

The concupiscence (exaggerative desire for something forbidden), after having conceived, brings forth the sin (makes people to belittle the law which serves of linking to the person who are being a problem – see 1John 5:3) and, when the sin is consummated, breaks the bonding that unites them (it is the death of the relationship – Rom 6:23):

• Jas 4:1 -> From whence are wars and contentions among you? Are they not hence, from your concupiscences, which war in your members?”.

So, have a good day seeking and waiting in Jesus only what He conquered for you (1Cor 2:9; Eph 1:3; 2Peter 1:3).