Desire [The Tenth Commandment]

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Exodus 20:17

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 like the word “covet” because it is an English word that we only use in religious contexts:
1. We use it in the tenth commandment. (More on this below.)
2. We use it in the Christian phrase, “I covet your prayers.” (This is an
example of what you might call “Christianese.”)

The word covet means desire, and in fact in Hebrew the word used in the tenth commandment has the same root that is used in Genesis 3:6 when Eve sees that the tree with the forbidden fruit is desirable.

The tenth commandment is strange, because it obviously cannot be legally enforced—you cannot prosecute someone for his thoughts. This is an important insight into the nature of the Ten Commandments overall, because it indicates that the Ten are less about specific legislation than they are about the ideas behind the laws. The Ten, in essence, are guiding principles from the Lord about how to live well. The right way to use the Ten Commandments, then, is to use them as bedrock principles on which to build a well-ordered society.

The tenth commandment is important and occurs last because our thoughts determine our actions. It is very hard to commit adultery if you haven’t first coveted another person’s spouse; it is very hard to steal if you haven’t first coveted another person’s property, etc.

HOW TO KEEP FROM COVETING
One of the marks of Christian maturity is to learn to discipline your thoughts. The way to practically do this is to practice gratitude. When you give thanks, you leave no room for desiring that which you do not have. By its very nature, coveting requires ingratitude—I’m not grateful for my house, or my wife, or my donkey, or my car, and so I desire yours.

What if you woke up tomorrow with only that which you thanked the Lord for today?

 

False Witness [The Ninth Command]

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Exodus 20:16

16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

 
 

Just as the previous commandments spoke about my responsibility to my neighbor, so does this one: I am responsible for telling the truth about my neighbor. In any society, truthfulness is necessary for there to be flourishing. When you cannot trust other people, everyone suffers.

What if Christians were known in every community to be scrupulously honest and faithful to the truth?

How does the ninth commandment relate to the third commandment?

 

Why Stealing Is Wrong [The Eighth Commandment]

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Exodus 20:15

15 “You shall not steal.

 
 

One way to look at the second half of the Ten Commandments is that they are about my responsibility for my neighbor. I don’t take my neighbor’s life, I don’t take my neighbor’s wife, and I don’t take my neighbor’s property. The Ten give me the responsibility to look out for my neighbor.

Theft is also a sign of a lack of trust in God. In essence, when I steal I’m saying, “I want that person’s property and I do not trust that the Lord will provide it for me, so I’m going to take what I want.”

Theft begins in the thoughts. How can you direct your thoughts away from theft today?

 

The Adultery One [The Seventh Commandment]

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Exodus 20:14

14 “You shall not commit adultery.

 
 

Jesus said that part of the greatest commandment is to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39, though He was quoting from Leviticus 19:18).

One of the ways to love one’s neighbor is to stay away from his or her spouse. It is a wicked thing to steal another’s spouse, and the consequences of adultery will affect future generations. Because adultery requires two people, an adulterous spouse still needs a willing partner for adultery to be possible. Think how different life would be if one of the two parties in an adulterous relationship had refused to take part. The seventh commandment teaches that I am responsible for guarding my neighbor’s marriage by staying away from adultery.

How can you stay as far away as possible from adultery today?

(Remember, adultery always begins first in the mind.)

 

What Is The Difference Between Killing And Murder? [The Sixth Commandment]

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Exodus 20:13

13 “You shall not murder.

 
 

The difference between killing and murder is that murder is unlawful killing.

But that answer just raises another question:

What is lawful killing? By whose law?

In some ways, the rest of the Torah will offer answers, as it spells out times when death is the consequence for human sin. Pharaoh himself was killed in the Red Sea as a consequence of his behavior. But, what about when human laws are unlawful in God’s eyes? Just because a human law permits killing doesn’t mean it aligns with God’s justice.

Jesus himself in the Sermon on the Mount draws attention to the heart behind this law when He tells His disciples to beware even of hateful thoughts:

21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. 23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. 25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny. [Matthew 6:21-26]

In the background here is the story of Cain and Abel: Cain is so angry with the offering his brother Abel offers to the Lord that it drives him to murder.

Anger, Jesus says, can lead to murder—be careful.

So, when is killing justified? An answer lies beyond the scope of this commentary, but I won’t dodge the question completely. The sixth commandment seems to imply (and the rest of the Bible supports) the idea that some human sins bring with them the consequence of death. A relatively easy example would be murderous actions against the innocent. If the innocent defend themselves and the result is the death of the would-be murderer, then that killing would be justified (though a human tragedy). The problem is that people nearly always claim that their actions are justified. This is why due process and a judiciary system is so important for human societies—we must watch over each other and seek justice in every situation. Of course, we will fail at this and some people have concluded that since justice is always imperfect, it is better and safer never to permit lawful killing. I understand that point of view, but I do not totally agree with it. To me, there are times and situations when death is the consequence for human sin. Sometimes that means defending yourself in war, and sometimes that means a society defending itself in times of peace. But always, death is a tragedy and ought never to be shamelessly celebrated.

But, this is what I think, and I certainly could be wrong. What about you?

Is there a difference between killing and murder? If so, what is it?

 

What Does It Mean To Honor Your Father And Your Mother? [The Fifth Commandment]

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Exodus 20:12

12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

 
 

What does it mean to honor your father and your mother?

At the very least, it means to be grateful that the Lord used them to give you life. Procreation is a partnership with the Lord; obviously, a man and a woman have to come together for there to be conception, but it’s God who makes life possible. The Lord has delegated power to fathers and mothers to make procreation possible. So, every human life is a product of what the Bible calls the “one flesh” union between a father and a mother. There are no people who do not have both a biological father and a biological mother.

Now, many people don’t know their biological parents for many reasons, and many other people had parents who were abusive or even evil. And yet, the basic fact is the same: none of us would be here were it not for our parents (and their parents, and their parents, etc.).

So, honoring your father and mother must always start with gratitude that the Lord used them to give your life. It can be more than that, but it’s not less. And gratitude is always a good place to start.

P.S. As the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus (Ephesians 6:2-3), this is the first commandment with a promise. Do this, and things will go well for you.

P.P.S. Note how both fathers and mothers are given equal place here—both are essential to life, and neither is more important than the other.

 

Stop [The Fourth Commandment]

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Exodus 20:8-11

8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

 
 

The command about the Sabbath is, along with the command to honor one’s parents, a positive command. That is, it is about doing something and not about forbidding something.

The word sabbath means “to stop, to cease.” The Sabbath is a day on which everyone puts down his tools, and it is a day for everyone in the community. Sometimes we think that the purpose of the Sabbath is to rest so we can work better in the future. Although, of course, rest is necessary, note that the purpose of the Sabbath is not work. In fact, it’s the opposite: the purpose of work is rest!

This is the logic of the fourth commandment: the Lord worked to bring order to the cosmos, and then when everything was ordered, the Lord ceased from work so He could enjoy His labor. So, work is not the point of life—living is the point of life, and work makes living possible. The Sabbath is a day when we cease producing and just start enjoying.

You can see what a disaster it has been that in America we have essentially abandoned what used to be called blue laws. These were laws that restricted forms of commerce on Sunday. What those laws did was make Sabbath possible for everybody. When those laws were repealed, the temptation to make money and get ahead of my competitors became nearly irresistible. What a loss for society that we gave up the practice of stopping one day a week.

Each Sabbath day is a little Eden, when we stop to enjoy and savor God’s blessings. I love the heart of the Lord that is revealed with this fourth commandment: God wants us to enjoy life.

For most of us, making Saturday special and different is a good goal. Starting at dinnertime Friday, what could you do in your household to make Saturday a day of enjoyment? What would it look like to cease from work on that day and just enjoy the life that the Lord has given you?

 

Way More Than Just Not Cussing [The Third Commandment]

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Exodus 20:7

7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

 
 

What Exodus 20:7 literally says is “Do not carry the name of the Lord in vain.” This is related to the way the high priest carries the names of the twelve tribes on his breastplate (see chapter 28) when he goes in before the Lord. He is representing the people before the Lord. And, he carries on his head the name of the Lord, so he is also representing the Lord to the people.

When Israel was told to be a kingdom of priests (see 19:5), this is their vocation—to represent the Lord to the nations. So, the third commandment is about much more than just not cussing. It certainly includes that, but more than just the words we use it’s about how we are supposed to live.

If we represent the Lord, we need to bear witness to Him and His character faithfully.

How does this change how you interact with other people today?

 

Watch Out For Idols [The Second Commandment]

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Exodus 20:4-6

4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

 
 

Note how much longer the second commandment is compared with the first. The lack of brevity implies that this word needs more explanation!

An idol is an image of a spiritual being. In the Bible, these spiritual beings are sometimes called “gods;" today, we might call them “fallen angels” or “demons.” It’s interesting that when God’s faithful servants—His angels—show up in the Bible, the first reaction of their human interlocutors is to prostrate themselves in terror, which is why angels always say, “Don’t be afraid.” When in Revelation John the visionary falls on his face before the angel, the angel hurriedly rebukes him and tells him to get up!

8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, 9 but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.” [Revelation 22:8-9]

Here, the Israelites are specifically told not to make idols of anything in the universe because there is only one Lord who made everything else, including the spiritual beings. To worship the created rather than the Creator is idolatry and will always lead to spiritual slavery.

In Genesis 1, we are told that people are made in God’s image. This is the reason why we ought not make idols, because the Lord has already made us in His image. If we worship idols, we are actually diminishing ourselves and failing to live as fully human. We are, in effect, giving the glory that the Lord has uniquely bestowed on us over to dark powers for whom that glory was not meant.

Although the occult is sadly on the rise in modern America, most of us are probably not in danger of creating literal idols in the way the Israelites were. Nevertheless, the second commandment is a grave warning against being pulled into idolatry. What the Lord tells us is that sin in one generation will have effects on our grandchildren and even our great-grandchildren. And, we know from experience that this is true—sin in families affects multiple generations.

And yet look at the effect that faithfulness will have: one life of obedience will be the means by which the Lord will cover a thousand generations with grace! If we are faithful now, our actions can be a covering for those who will come after us.

Look at Abraham—his faithful obedience to the Lord is still having its gracious effect today.

Your actions matter!

 

First Things First [The First Commandment]

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Exodus 20:3

3 “You shall have no other gods before me.

 
 

The first commandment is as simple as it gets—the Lord must be first. Now, most of us modern people today would deny that we are worshipping “other gods.” After all, we’re not sacrificing to Aphrodite or Baal. And, as far as it goes, that might be true. But remember that these various names for pagan gods rest on a deep spiritual truth, namely that there are dark spiritual powers at work in the world. And, as soon as we value sex or money above obedience to the Lord, we are in fact worshipping these “gods.”

So, it all starts with the first commandment: the Lord must be first, and the worship of anything else enslaves.

What "gods" are you in danger of worshipping today?