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The Ten Commandments (they are not suggestions) – #10 (Do Not Covet)

Artwork by Alex Levin

This is an excerpt from my book, GRAFTED: Embracing Torah, which can be purchased on Amazon.

Enjoy!

The Ten Commandments (The Big Ones)

And God (Elohim) spake all these words, saying, (Exodus 20:1)

Exodus 19:25 states, “So Moses went down unto the people,
and spake unto them.” This is the third time Moses came down from
Mount Sinai (between Exodus 19:3 and Exodus 34:29, Moses goes
up to meet Elohim atop Mount Sinai and comes back down seven
times – not bad for an eighty-year-old guy).

The verse following Exodus 19:25 (Exodus 20:1) states, “God
spake all these words…” so it appears Elohim audibly spoke to all the Israelites.

This seems to be confirmed in verses 18–22:

18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. 19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. 20 And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not. 21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was. 22 And the LORD said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.

The people in the valley were so shaken by the experience that
they did not want Elohim to speak to them again (I’m sure there was
a lot of reverb and pyrotechnics). The word Elohim is used because
His Message was for more than just the Israelites. This tells me that
what we refer to as the Ten Commandments are so important that
Elohim felt the need to personally tell them to His people. This is
why I wanted to start with them.

10. “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt
not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor
his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing
that is thy neighbour’s” (Exodus 20:17).

Envy is like a gateway drug: left unchecked, it can lead to any number of sins. King David comes to mind again. He committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered her husband, Uriah. But it started with David watching Bathsheba from afar and desiring her greatly. As king, he could have had any woman in the kingdom he desired, but envy caused him to covet his neighbor’s wife.

Cain murdered his brother, Abel, because he was envious that God preferred Abel’s sacrifice over his own. The murder did not take place at the sacrifice, but the seeds of vengeance were planted at that time.

Wanting what your neighbor has is not necessarily a sin. If they have a riding mower and you are still pushing a mower over your two-acre lot, then you are naturally going to want what they have or something similar. If you go about doing the right things to get your own riding mower, then it is a good thing. In this case, desire sets a goal for you to achieve. You don’t want their actual mower but something similar.

If you sneak over and steal their mower and then paint it so that you can claim it is not theirs, then you have crossed an ugly line that used to be a barrier to you, but is now only a minor obstacle that you can readily cross again in the future. In the same way, if you sneak over and sabotage their riding mower so that they will be as equally miserable as you are pushing a mower over their lot, then you have let envy begin to tear down the fabric of your society.

The story of the two families driving past a mansion is illustrative. One family drives past the mansion, and the parents tell their children, “Look at that big house. It’s much too big for what they need. They should not be allowed to waste money so frivolously.” The second family drives past the same house, and the parents tell their children, “Look at that big house. If you work hard and save your money, then you will be able to afford a big house someday.”

The story is oversimplified and not very realistic (lots of people work hard and save their money but cannot afford a mansion), but it does demonstrate the two mindsets.

Socialism is the ideology of envy. “Don’t think it’s fair that others have more than you?” Your leaders will take what the rich have (this class of people will eventually include the not-so-rich, the “doing okay,” and finally the “barely scraping by” as the leaders drain more and more wealth from its citizens) and give it to others (the “poor”).

Socialism breaks down the entrepreneurial spirit because no one will want to work harder for more because it will be taken away. In the end, people stop working because they know that someone else’s labor will provide for them. At this point, people must be forced to work, and those who cannot produce must be eradicated because they are a drain on the economy (the Nazis referred to them as “useless eaters”).

This is why socialism always fails, and the results are devastatingly deadly. Everyone becomes equally miserable, except for the leaders who impose socialism but exempt themselves from its deprivations. The only way to maintain the system is through force and murder.

The Greatest Commandment?

Jesus was asked which is the greatest Commandment (Mark 12:28–34):

28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. 32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: 33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

Yeshua was quoting from Deuteronomy 6:4-5, so we know that the Commandments given in Exodus are still relevant today. The Word differentiates between the “works of the flesh”

19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

(Galatians 5:19–21)

and the “fruit of the Spirit”

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking
one another, envying one another.

(Galatians 5:22–26)

Our walk, based on keeping the Commandments and the rest of the Torah, helps us to manifest the Spirit.

[1st Commandment – No Other Gods]

[2d Commandment – No Graven Images]

[3d Commandment – Taking the Name of Yahweh in Vain]

[4th Commandment – Keep the Sabbath Holy]

The first four Commandments are considered to be vital to our relationship with Elohim. The last six Commandments concern our relationship with others. This is why, when asked what the greatest commandment is, Yeshua is able to embody all ten in his short answer:

37 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

(Matthew 22:37–39)

[5th Commandment – Honor Your Father and Mother]

[6th Commandment – Do Not Murder]

[7th Commandment – No Adultery]

[8th Commandment – Do Not Steal]

[9th Commandment – Do Not Swear Falsely]

[10th Commandment – Do Not Covet]

By rkeck777

I have carefully searched the Scriptures for decades to find the Truth of what God wanted for my life. I was raised Roman Catholic and even attended seminary in the 1980s in Indianapolis, IN. They asked me to leave because I kept questioning the faith by pointing out where Catholic doctrine was counter to the clear teachings of the Scriptures (these differences are covered in many books). I was told that I was “too orthodox” and asked to leave.
I thank the Way International for teaching me ‘how’ to read the Bible. Just as one needs to be taught to read Shakespeare, there are literary rules used throughout the Word (e.g., context, first use, figures of speech, etc.) that make the study of the Bible thrilling and fulfilling (These rules are covered in many books). The Way had its own problems and their proclivity for teaching how to understand the Scriptures led to their undoing when some of their teachings were exposed to be counter to the clear teachings of the Word.
This is not intended to be an auto-biography but I want you to understand that my search has taken me in many varied directions and at the age of 58, I once again made a ‘shift correction’ towards what I believe to be a greater understanding of true faith. It is never too late for God to reveal the answers to the desires of your heart.

I began a thirty day fast after Thanksgiving 2018 for both spiritual and physical health reasons. I listed my reasons on a dry-erase board so they were constantly before me. Those who know me were shocked that I planned to go thirty days without food. I explained that Christ went forty days and he wasn’t sixty-five pounds overweight. I don’t believe I would have been successful without my list and a desire to see the changes come about in me.
Number one on my list was to ask for forgiveness. My transgressions unto the Lord are numerous and senseless (as I’m sure is the case with most people). This is where the opening verse comes in. Someone actually shared it on Facebook (see, FB is not totally worthless) and I was struck by what it said of God’s own heart. I looked it up in my Bible so I could see the context and I saw the verse was highlighted and there were notes in the margin. I was shocked. I had seen this verse - I had parsed the Hebrew words in the verse - I had saved my thoughts in the margin - and I had completely missed the Heart of God in the Verse.
Parsing, examining and searching the Word and various study helps is important and it has its place, but God only wrote one Book for His People so seeing the why, the heart, of what is written is vital. In a nutshell, in Isaiah 43 God tells us that HE forgives us for HIS sake because unforgiveness is so toxic that God worries about its effects on Himself. I couldn’t believe I had missed this simple, yet powerful truth and knew I had to examine every aspect of my faith to see what else I had ignored.
It is very easy to delve into the Bible to verify the doctrine one already has and this is what I had done for decades. Luckily, I had been ‘thrown out’ of my church the year before based on a personal disagreement with the Pastor. God had some major Truths He wanted to share with me and I was now not as likely to bend scripture to whatever my current church was teaching. The process behind the Revelation does not have a linear path that can be easily transcribed and this narrative is already lengthier than I had planned so let’s just cut to the chase. The epiphany is probably the reason you are reading this book in the first place and you are probably wondering if I will ever come to the point.

God told me that ‘Christ did not come to start a new religion or a new Covenant’.

Read that again.

Yes, Jesus brought about the New Covenant promised by God (Jeremiah 31:31) in the Old Testament, but he did not bring about something different than what had been prophesied. “Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). Where, in scripture, is it prophesied that God will ‘suspend’ His Laws for a time?
I could not have received that a year ago because I was so steeped in the Faith I had ‘clothed’ myself in. I understand that early believers were referred to as “Christians” but that was merely a derisive label given to them. In my civilian jobs, I was called supervisor, foreman, boss fellow, and several other names I chose, in good taste, to not repeat. These are all titles and did not change the underlying character of who I am. There are two very good YouTube videos I found that explain this so well that I recommend you stop reading now and watch them before continuing.

The Error of Dispensationalism (Remastered) - 119 Ministries
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RL2hZSpKEE
Identity Crisis - Passion for Truth Ministries
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN-1jUc963g

Yes, I understand Jim Staley is (was, depending on when you read this) in jail. He is an imperfect messenger (as are we all), but if you cannot distinguish between the messenger and the message then you are going to miss out on much of what God is sharing to you with the Scriptures and in life.

I was reminded of the lesson of Ananias and Sapphira from Acts 5:
1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, 2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet. 3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? 4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. 5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things. 6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him. 7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. 8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much. 9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. 10 Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. 11 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.

Ananias and Sapphira had obviously done a good work in selling their property and giving much of the proceeds towards the Ministry but their hearts were wicked in that they wanted praise for having done this and false praise at that since they kept back some of the money but they led people to believe that they had contributed the entire amount. Any amount would have been a worthy contribution but they wanted to be puffed up in their pride by lying to the Apostles and to the Holy Spirit. The shock and shame of having their hearts exposed by the Spirit through Peter was too much for them.

You must work out your path AND you must want to follow that path. Our Father is not impressed by people who feel obligated to do something they do not want to do (“This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.” Matthew 15:8). God also tells us that, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous” (1John 5:3). The Torah was not intended to be burdensome but the Religious Leaders, over time, added to and agonizingly interpreted the existing Instructions with their traditions (Talmud). I do not believe that this was God’s intention. God’s Instructions are not based on circumstance but the application often must be. This is your responsibility - please do not relinquish the accountability of your walk to others.

The two most important things you much figure out for yourself are, “what is God’s Heart in commanding such and such” and “what is my heart in obeying His Commandments”. This is a journey, much like marriage, and diligence to your relationship will produce wonderful results.

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