IDEA: Covetousness, the last topic discussed in the Ten Commandments, can prompt us or lead us to breaking the first nine commandments.
TEXT: "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" (Exodus 20:17).
"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" (Deuteronomy 5:21).
PURPOSE: To help listeners realize the seriousness of a covetous spirit.
Have you ever had anyone come to your office to talk about a sin in their life?
Have you ever had anyone come to your office to talk about covetousness in their life?
Why is that the case?
I. We may not confess covetousness because, unlike the other sins which are evident, not only to ourselves but to others, covetousness lies within us like an unseen cancer.
No country in the world has ever passed a law against covetousness. Why?
I’ve never seen a pastor dismissed from a church because he was covetous.
Does that mean that covetousness never shows up in a person’s life?
II. Covetousness can prompt us to break every one of the first nine commandments.
"You shall have no other gods before Me." Covetousness places the objects of our coveting ahead of God in our lives and thinking.
"You shall not make for yourself any carved image . . . [or] bow down to them nor serve them." Covetousness draws into worshiping and serving the things that have replaced God in our lives.
"You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain." All profanity is the wail of lust.
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." The desecration of the day of rest is due to the restlessness born of unholy desire.
"Honor your father and your mother." Covetousness makes it possible for us to say "It is Corban" of things we should use for the care of our aging parents.
"You shall not murder, commit adultery, steal, or bear false witness." The whole realm of human interaction is broken when covetousness or unholy desire inspires us to kill, steal, etc.