Ten Commandments Part 17
Commandment # 9 & 10 (Protestant 10) “You shall
not covet “
Protestants, Jews, and the Orthodox treat these two commandments as a
single commandment, based on the fact that the word covet occurs twice in
Exodus 20:17. Lutherans and Catholics,
based on their understanding of Deuteronomy 5:21 which uses two different words
(covet and desire) divide them into two commandments. In this, they follow the
teaching of St. Augustine. In the
Catholic tradition, commandment 9 touches on desiring a neighbor’s wife, much
as King David desired Bathsheba (2nd Samuel 11:2-4). It is concerned with the desiring of
persons. Commandment 10 deals with other
forms of coveting, specifically property.
According to the catechism, the 10th extends the 9th. In Luther’s Small Catechism the 9th is
concerned with property, and the 10th with people, especially one’s
neighbor’s wife. It is interesting that
the order of property, then person seen in Exodus is reversed in
Deuteronomy. This may have led to some
of the confusion regarding these two commandments.
The 9th and 10th commandments begin with the
will, the thoughts that are in our minds and hearts. They deal with the sin of concupiscence – the
lusting after what belongs to another.
According to 1st John 2:16 there are three kinds of covetousness. They are the ‘lust of the flesh, the lust of
the eyes, and the price of life.” The
commandment about persons centers on the lust of the flesh. The lust of the eyes focuses more on the
coveting of property. The pride of life
can be a violation of both, for one can take advantage of others as well as
acquire their goods. One way to
distinguish them is to say that one deals with desire, the other with envy.
The
Hebrew verb “desire in Deuteronomy 5:21 is in an intensive reflexive form. It can be translated “intensely desire for
oneself.” Covetousness is an intense form of human desire. It turns human desire, which is good, into
something something evil. It often leads
to the breaking of other commandments.
It implies a lack of trust in God.
These
two commandments also deal with envy.
Envy is often at the root of covetousness. It is a form of discontent and
ingratitude. One is not satisfied with
what he has. This is very common in our
society. We can want something that
someone else has, such as their status, home, job, wealth, etc.
Covetousness
is a moral vice which infects and pollutes our entire soul. It is often subtle. It can even wear a cloak of frugality. A covetous person is never a generous
person. They are always holding on to
what they have. It is an enemy of
grace. We find ourselves unable to live
by faith. It is an enemy of gratitude.
We become unable to accept the gifts given by God. It becomes the mother of all sins.
In
our world when we want to emphasize something, we bold or italicize it. This was not possible in the ancient
world. When the biblical authors wanted
to emphasize something they repeated it.
In Isaiah 6:3 the Seraphim cry out “holy, holy, holy.” Jesus several times states “truly, truly
(John 1:51, 3:3). As God gave us the Ten
Commandments he emphasized the seriousness of coveting by repeating it. In effect this duplication says “Pay special
attention to this! Coveting is extremely
sinful.” Coveting is such a dangerous
type of thought that it will lead to evil actions. It is often the cause of the breach of all of
the other commandments. King David
desires Bathsheba, steals Uriah’s wife, commits adultery with her, lies to
Uriah, and has him murdered (2nd Samuel 11:1-17). King Ahab’s envy of Naboth’s vineyard leads
to false witness, murder, and theft of the vineyard (1st Kings
21:1-16). Ephesians 5:5 says that
coveting will keep us from heaven. This
is why it is the only commandment that is doubled.
Covetousness
says something about our relationship with God.
It says that we distrust God’s providence for us.
You wanted me
to be happy Lord. But I have destroyed
my own joy in life by envying others.
There was always an occasion to feel I had been treated unjustly: one was richer than I, another was more
popular than I, a third was better than I.
Now the envious comparison has become second nature; and I live among
people for whom it is just the same. The
discontent gets greater and greater. We
deserve it, Lord, that you should let us perish in our pettiness and that we
should lose you for all eternity. We cannot
help ourselves, Lord, but be merciful and show us the secret of contentment![1]
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