“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
Exodus 20 [16.] “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
Exodus 20 [17.] “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 [18.] All the people perceived the thunderings, the lightnings, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they trembled, and stayed at a distance. They said to Moses, “Speak with us yourself, and we will listen; but don’t let God speak with us, lest we die.”
Meaning:
The tenth commandment closes the Ten Commandments that God spoke from Mount Sinai. The commandments before it forbid actions such as murder, adultery, theft and false testimony (Exodus 20:13; Exodus 20:14; Exodus 20:16). This one goes deeper, to the desire of the heart from which those actions come.
- “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house”
To covet is to long for something that belongs to someone else, so that we resent our neighbour for having it and want it for ourselves. The list is practical for a farming people: house, wife, servants, ox and donkey. Then it closes every loophole with “nor anything that is your neighbor’s.” No possession, relationship or position of another person is to become the object of our craving.
- A commandment about the heart
No court could convict anyone of coveting, because it happens inside. That is what makes this commandment so searching. A person may keep the outward commandments and still be ruled by envy and greed. James traces the conflicts between people to this root: “You lust, and don’t have. You murder and covet, and can’t obtain” (James 4:2). Paul calls covetousness idolatry, because what we covet takes the place of God in our affections (Colossians 3:5).
- The commandment and the rich ruler
When a rich ruler asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, Jesus listed the commandments about adultery, murder, theft, false testimony and honouring parents, but not this one (Luke 18:18-21). The ruler said he had kept them all. Then Jesus told him to sell all that he had and give to the poor (Luke 18:22), and the man became very sad, “for he was very rich” (Luke 18:23). The tenth commandment had quietly exposed his heart. Jesus also warned, “Beware! Keep yourselves from covetousness, for a man’s life doesn’t consist of the abundance of the things which he possesses” (Luke 12:15).
The Significance of Exodus 20:17
- Contentment instead of craving
The remedy for coveting is not merely trying harder not to want things, but trusting God. The letter to the Hebrews says, “Be free from the love of money, content with such things as you have, for he has said, ‘I will in no way leave you, neither will I in any way forsake you’” (Hebrews 13:5). Paul adds, “But godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6).
- Love fulfils the law
Paul sums up this commandment with the others in the command to love: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Romans 13:9). Love rejoices in a neighbour’s good instead of wanting to take it.
Cross-References:
Colossians 3:5: "covetousness, which is idolatry" Why coveting is so serious.
1 Timothy 6:10: "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil." Where greed leads.
Hebrews 13:5: "Be free from the love of money, content with such things as you have" The way of contentment.
Conclusion: The tenth commandment forbids desiring what belongs to our neighbour. It reaches beyond actions to the heart, exposing the envy and greed behind many sins, as it did for the rich ruler. Its answer is contentment in God, who never leaves his people, and love that seeks the good of others.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible