DO NOT COVET
Primary Scripture: Exodus 20:17–21 (ESV)
Central Focus: God is not only concerned with our outward obedience but also with the desires of our hearts.
Scripture Reading — Exodus 20:17–21 (ESV)
“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.”
Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.”
Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.”
The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.
May God add a blessing to the reading of His Word.
Introduction
There is something dangerous about the human heart that we often overlook: we can be completely surrounded by God’s blessings and still be consumed by what He has given someone else.
We live in a world that constantly encourages us to compare our lives, our possessions, our marriages, our accomplishments, and even our spiritual journeys with those around us.
And if we’re not careful, comparison will give birth to discontentment, discontentment will give birth to covetousness, and covetousness will eventually lead us into sin.
But here’s what makes coveting so dangerous: you don’t have to touch what belongs to someone else to sin against God in your heart.
You can look obedient on the outside while entertaining rebellion on the inside.
When God gave Israel the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai, He wasn’t simply establishing rules to govern their behavior. He was revealing His holiness and exposing the sinful condition of the human heart.
The tenth commandment reminds us that God is not only concerned with what we do with our hands but also with what we desire in our hearts.
And here’s the question we must wrestle with today:
Are we genuinely grateful for what God has given us, or have we become so consumed with what belongs to someone else that we’ve lost sight of His goodness toward us?
Because the same God who commands us not to covet is the holy God who sees beyond our outward appearance and examines the desires of our hearts.
Understanding Covetousness
To covet, in the biblical sense, means to have an inordinate, wrongful, or obsessive desire for something that belongs to someone else.
This is the central concern of the Tenth Commandment.
Covetousness is not simply about possessing something. It concerns the desires that take hold of the human heart.
I. Exodus 20:17 — God Commands More Than External Obedience
“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.”
This is the tenth commandment, and it reveals something profound about God’s moral law.
The previous commandments addressed actions such as murder, adultery, theft, and false testimony. But the tenth commandment explicitly addresses something hidden from human observation: the desires of the heart.
The Hebrew word translated covet is chamad, which describes desiring or taking pleasure in something.
In this commandment, it refers to a wrongful desire for what belongs to another person.
God was teaching Israel that sin is not limited to what people do outwardly. Sin can also reside in what people desire inwardly.
Central emphasis: God commands more than the appearance of obedience. He is concerned with the condition and desires of the heart.
II. Exodus 20:18–19 — The People Encounter the Holiness of God
“Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off…”
The dramatic manifestations in this passage were not isolated events. They began in Exodus
19.
God had instructed Moses to consecrate the people, establish boundaries around Mount Sinai, and prepare Israel for His descent.
Exodus 19:16 describes thunder, lightning, a thick cloud, and an exceedingly loud trumpet blast.
Exodus 19:18 explains that the mountain was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended upon it in fire.
The people were encountering the holiness of the God who had given them His commandments.
This context reminds us that God’s commands are not detached from His holy character. The
God who commands His people not to covet is the same holy God before whom Israel trembled.
III. Biblical Illustration — David and Bathsheba
Scripture: 2 Samuel 11:2–5
“And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon…”
This account provides a powerful illustration of the danger of sinful desire.
David was a king. He possessed a kingdom, a throne, influence, and material blessings. Yet he allowed his desire for another man’s wife to lead him into devastating sin.
His story demonstrates the danger of allowing what we desire to take precedence over what God commands.
We can be completely surrounded by God’s blessings and still become consumed with what He has given someone else.
Connecting David’s Example to Our Lives
We live in a world that constantly encourages comparison.
We compare our possessions, relationships, accomplishments, opportunities, and even our spiritual journeys.
And if we are not careful, that comparison begins to shape our desires.
Comparison can give birth to discontentment. Discontentment can give birth to covetousness. And covetousness can eventually lead us into sin.
David’s example reminds us that having much does not prevent the heart from desiring what belongs to someone else.
IV. New Testament Connections — The Relevance of Covetousness Today
The New Testament continues to address the sin of covetousness and its relationship to the human heart.
1. Romans 13:9 — Covetousness and Loving Our Neighbor
The commandments “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and any other commandments, are summed up in this one decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Paul connects God’s commandments to the responsibility of loving our neighbors.
The command not to covet is therefore not merely about what we desire. It also concerns how we relate to and love other people.
2. James 4:2–3 — Covetousness, Conflict, and Wrong Motives
“You crave what you do not have; you kill and covet, but are unable to obtain it. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask. And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.”
James exposes the relationship between sinful desires, conflict, and improper motives.
Covetousness is not always confined to private thoughts. The desires within the heart can become evident through our attitudes and actions toward others.
3. Colossians 3:5 — Covetousness and Idolatry
“Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.”
Paul identifies greed as idolatry.
This passage demonstrates the seriousness of allowing sinful desires to govern our hearts.
Covetousness is not merely dissatisfaction with what we possess. It can become a matter of misplaced devotion.
4. Romans 7:7 — God’s Law Exposes Sin
“What then shall we say? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed, I would not have been mindful of sin if not for the law. For I would not have been aware of coveting if the law had not said, ‘Do not covet.’”
Paul explains that the law reveals the presence of sin.
The commandment does not create the sinful condition of the human heart. Rather, it exposes what is already there.
This connects us back to Exodus 20:17.
God’s command against covetousness reveals that His moral law examines more than outward behavior. It also reveals the desires hidden within us.
Conclusion — A Heart Satisfied in Christ
As we close today, I want us to understand something: covetousness is not simply a problem with what we want; it is a problem with what has captured our hearts.
God told Israel, “You shall not covet,” because He knew that a heart consumed with what belongs to someone else will eventually lose sight of the goodness of the God who has already provided.
David had a kingdom, a throne, possessions, and influence, yet he allowed his desire for another man’s wife to lead him into devastating sin.
And the same danger exists for us today.
You can have a beautiful family and destroy it chasing somebody else’s.
You can have a good marriage and ruin it desiring another.
You can have a calling from God and become so distracted by someone else’s assignment that you neglect your own.
But here’s the good news of the gospel: Jesus Christ did not come merely to change our behavior; He came to transform our hearts.
The law reveals the sin within us, but Christ provides the grace to forgive us, redeem us, and change us.
At Mount Sinai, the people stood at a distance, trembling before the holiness of God. But through Jesus Christ, our greater mediator, we are invited to draw near to that same holy God through faith in Him.
So today, don’t simply ask God to give you more. Ask Him to teach you to be content with what He has already provided.
Don’t allow comparison to rob you of gratitude, and don’t allow your desires to become greater than your devotion to God.
Because the answer to covetousness is not getting everything your heart wants; it is having a heart that treasures Christ above everything else.
Church, when Christ becomes our greatest treasure, we can celebrate what God is doing in somebody else’s life without despising what He is doing in our own.
So examine your heart, repent of sinful desires, and surrender yourself completely to Jesus.
Because when your heart is satisfied in Christ, you no longer have to spend your life chasing what belongs to somebody else!