“You shall not covet” Exodus 20:17; Deuteronomy 5:21. The 10th command goes beyond a simple command to not covet listing specific examples. Exodus 20:17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” The command was restated a little differently in Deuteronomy 5:21 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
To desire something does not necessarily suggest evil. Desire becomes a sin only when it is directed toward unlawful things or things that belong to another. A great example of this can be seen in the story of David and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11-12). 2 Samuel 11:2-4 (1984 NIV) One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said “Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. David coveted his neighbor’s wife, a direct violation of the tenth command. This led to the sin of adultery and eventually murder.
To covet is to desire the possessions of others. It goes beyond simply admiring someone else’s possessions or thinking, “I’d like to have one of those.” Coveting includes envy – resenting the fact that others have what you don’t. Envy leads to coveting.
1 Corinthians 13:4 reminds us that love does not envy. Galatians 5:21 lists envy as one of the acts of the flesh or “sinful nature”. James 3:16 says that where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. That is why we are told in 1 Peter 2:1 to rid ourselves of envy. This all goes back to the second greatest command “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:39).
Jesus said in Luke 12:15 “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” Jesus said that the good life has nothing to do with an abundance of possessions, so be on your guard against greed or covetousness (NKJ). This is the exact opposite of what the world tells us. Advertisers spend millions of dollars to entice us to think that if we buy more and more of their products we will be happier, more fulfilled, and more comfortable. Politicians seek to stoke the fires of class envy in order to achieve their own political gain. In reality we will just be more stressed out worrying about all of our stuff. The truth is “less is more” when it comes to the things of this world.
Jesus also said in Matthew 15:19 “For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.” All outward sin begins with wrong desires (thoughts become things), whether it is adultery, stealing, lying, or murder. Coveting is a sin of the heart and as we saw in the example of David and Bathsheba can lead to a lot of other sins. Another good example of this is found in 1 Kings 21 and the story of Naboth’s vineyard.
The incident of Naboth’s vineyard shows the selective way in which the Old Testament is woven together. In one sense, the theft was a minor incident in King Ahab’s reign. Yet 1 Kings devotes an entire chapter, more space than to the entire reign of some kings. This act represented the abuse of power and disrespect for God’s covenant by Ahab. Every Israelite had the right to possess a piece of the Promised Land – not even a king could legally usurp that right. In fact, selling the land broke a law God had given Moses in Leviticus 25:23-31. Ahab’s covetousness combined with Jezebel’s wickedness led to murder and ultimately spelled doom for Ahab’s kingdom.
1 Kings 21:1-2 Some time later there was an incident involving a vineyard belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. The vineyard was in Jezreel, close to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 Ahab said to Naboth, “Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth.”
Naboth’s property was located close to Ahab’s palace. This was not Ahab’s official palace, which was in Samaria, this was an additional palace. Ahab did not need Naboth’s vineyard yet he coveted the property because he wanted it. Notice Ahab’s sense of entitlement in verse 2 “Let me have your vineyard”. Ahab didn’t even want the vineyard he wanted to put in a vegetable garden. Ahab did offer to pay whatever Naboth wanted for the property even offering to give him a better vineyard but his offer showed a total lack of respect for Naboth’s property and for God’s law.
1 Kings 21:3 But Naboth replied, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my ancestors.” Why wouldn’t Naboth make the deal? Naboth rightly regarded his inherited land as a trust. The land itself belonged to the Lord; Naboth and his family were simply stewards of the land. To sell it would, in strict interpretation, violate the land laws of Leviticus 25. So Naboth’s refusal was a two-fold sting to Ahab: (1) He accused the king of trying to break covenant law; (2) he didn’t want to associate with the house of Ahab (probably because he detested Ahab’s wickedness). Read 1 Kings 21:4-7
1 Kings 21:4 So Ahab went home, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my ancestors.” He lay on his bed sulking and refused to eat. After hearing Naboth’s answer, Ahab went home to pout. Ahab had no right to Naboth’s property but he coveted it. The same covetous heart that led to a career of power grabbing drove him to envy Naboth. Unlike Ahab, Naboth wanted to honor God and uphold God’s laws.
1 Kings 21:7 Jezebel his wife said, “Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I’ll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.” This was a sarcastic remark of disbelief spoken by one accustomed to the tyrannical practices of the Phoenician and Canaanite kings, who would not hesitate a moment to use their power to satisfy personal interests. But Ahab knew better, at this point Ahab should have stood up and shown himself a man. Ahab was a lot like many today who have entitlement issues.
Ahab should have followed David’s instructions to Solomon in 1 Kings 2:2-3: “be strong, act like a man, 3 and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses.” When a person has a covetous heart it’s hard to be strong. Those who covet, those who spend all their time wanting what others have worked hard for, in essence, are cowards, they are victims, and they are losers, always wanting something for nothing. Even though Ahab knew what Jezebel was going to do was wrong he was too weak, too much of a coward to stand up and be a man, because ultimately he just wanted to get what he wanted and felt entitled to.
1 Kings 21:8-10 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, placed his seal on them, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city with him. 9 In those letters she wrote: “Proclaim a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people. 10 But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them bring charges that he has cursed both God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.”
Here we see the covetousness lead to the violation of the 9th commandment, “you shall not give false testimony”. First, Jezebel forged Ahab’s name and then she misled the people. People often fasted to avert disaster or to regain God’s favor. This fast, however, was a religious pretense to disguise Jezebel’s murderous plot. The fast gave Jezebel’s plot an aura of respectability, except to those who knew her scheme. Jezebel attempted to create the impression that a disaster threatened the people that could be averted only if they would humble themselves before the Lord and remove any person whose sin had brought God’s judgment on them. Again, we see Ahab’s weakness.
Deuteronomy 17:15 “Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not an Israelite.” Ahab did what too many men have done in our nation over the last half-century, he abdicated his authority. In essence, Ahab had committed idolatry; he had placed Jezebel above the one true God, a violation of the first two commandments. Ahab was the king but he allowed Jezebel to run the show which was a violation of God’s command in Deuteronomy 17. A covetous heart develops from a selfish heart and all Ahab really wanted was to have what he wanted, he didn’t care how his desires affected those he was supposed to be leading and shepherding. Read 1 Kings 21:11-13
1 Kings 21:13 Then two scoundrels came and sat opposite him and brought charges against Naboth before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death. Now the covetousness has led to murder, a violation of the 6th command “you shall not murder”. In accordance with Mosaic Law (Leviticus 24:16) Naboth was taken outside the city and stoned. Some believe Naboth was actually stoned to death in his own field along with his sons, this would have taken care of any heirs laying claim to the land. 2 Kings 9:21-26 (Jehu kills Ahab’s son Joram) seems to support this belief. 2 Kings 9:26 Yesterday I saw the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons, declares the Lord, and I will surely make you pay for it on this plot of ground, declares the Lord.
1 Kings 21:16 When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of Naboth’s vineyard. Ahab’s covetousness led to the violation of the 8th command “you shall not steal”. Ahab had no right to Naboth’s property so he stole it. How did God feel about all of this? Read 1 Kings 21:17-29.
God sent Elijah the prophet to confront Ahab in his sin and to deliver God’s judgment against him. In God’s eyes Ahab was guilty of murdering Naboth and stealing his land. God’s judgment was that Ahab would soon die, his heirs would be “cut off”, and Jezebel would be devoured by dogs. All of this eventually came to pass.
In 1 Kings 22:28-39 we read how Ahab was killed in battle and the dogs licked up his blood, as the word of the Lord had declared. In 2 Kings 9:14-10:28 we read about the rest of Ahab’s family being destroyed. Jezebel was thrown from a tower, her body trampled by horses and then devoured by dogs (2 Kings 9:33-35). God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows (Galatians 6:7). God will avenge His people. “It is mine to avenge” says the Lord in Deuteronomy 32:35 and Romans 12:19. Naboth may have suffered an unjust physical death because of Ahab’s covetousness but if he was truly righteous, and nothing in Scripture implies otherwise, then he is at eternal peace with the Lord. God always takes care of His people, if not in this life, then certainly in eternity. And God always judges the wicked. Ahab’s covetousness led to his willing compliance with Jezebel’s scheme and made him not only guilty of coveting but of murder and theft.
The tenth commandment (you shall not covet) sums up the previous four (murder adultery, stealing, and lying). In other words, when we covet, we tend to commit other crimes, as well. How can we guard against covetousness? We need to focus on all that God has given us, not on the few things we don’t have. Remember Adam and Eve? They were free to eat from any tree in the garden except one (Genesis 2:16-17). What did the serpent entice Eve to focus on? The one thing she couldn’t have (Genesis 3:1-6).
The purpose of the tenth commandment was to encourage contentment with one’s blessings. This principle is timeless. 1 Timothy 6:6 tells us that godliness with contentment is great gain. Hebrews 13:5 reminds us to be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Paul, inspired by God, said in Philippians 4:11 that he had learned to be content whatever the circumstances. We should strive to do the same.
Coveting is a sin of the heart because “out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander” (Matthew 15:19). David’s coveting of Bathsheba led to sexual immorality and murder. Ahab’s covetous heart led to murder, theft, slander, and false testimony. We cannot be content unless our heart is right with God. Listen to the God-inspired words of the psalmist in Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” May the Lord create in each of us a “pure heart, a content heart, and a steadfast spirit that seeks to do the will of the Lord, not follow our own selfish desires or the wicked ways of this world.
Of course, Jesus summed it all up in Matthew 22:37-39 “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All of God’s laws, His “ways that work” are summed up in these two commands: Love for God and love for neighbor. If Ahab had honored the greatest commandment then he never would have let Jezebel run the show, and if he had honored the second then he wouldn’t have coveted Naboth’s vineyard. Love for God and love for neighbor, that what it’s all about always has been and always will be.