As another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.
The 10th Commandment is Thou shalt not Covet, or Thou shalt not scheme and plot to connive other people's things from them.
Martin Luther had his own incorrect reasoning for listing two Thou shalt not Covet's in the 9th and 10th, as he removed creating images to empower, to replace God, but that does not change the Bible, nor this examination of the 10 Commandments, as both of Luther's Covetousness Commandments are placed here as the 10th as a warning for people to stop plotting to get other people's things that God gave them, and instead to be extolled for them to plead with God to give them their own good things which will be more suited to them, and not end up in hell condemned for stealing things.
Everyone reading this wants something, and once they have something, they figure on having more.
I can use myself as an example, but one of discipline of what is correct and what is incorrect, as there are always envious people out there looking to cast the first stone at me. Clergy fall short in this in not speaking from their personal lives to educate their wards on how they deal with situations.
A few years ago at the thrift store I picked up some Revereware, which is some copper bottom cookware. I hated it that the mother always had nothing to cook in, so I make it a point to have nice things to cook in.
TL has been desiring more cookware like this, and it is appearing cheaply in the store, and I believe we have an entire set now for under 15 dollars. It was the same issue with Corningware in our lovely sets.
We did not lust though in other people's homes in seeing their cookware. We just wanted it, and when God is killing off old people who have worthless children, that cookware appears in the store, and as women who hate to cook are in that store, they price things cheaply. That is the correct way to obtain things.
Too many people though are of the sort who take every grain out of a field, which leaves nothing for wildlife and most importantly that is how poor people used to have welfare. They went into fields and by their own work harvested food for themselves.
Leviticus 23:22
And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God.
Whenever anyone schemes, to get someone elses spouse, the things they have, from popularity to money, it begins a series of events which are a continuous degradation and payment for those people.
I can point to my evil uncle and aunt who pillaged my beloved Uncle's estate. They wanted his boat, and I laughed when that boat immediately cost them 600 dollars to repair, and of course they took it somewhere on the cheap and the boat was not repaired and in a short time it was sold. So much for taking the girls fishing as my Uncle intended, as I have watched for years an endless cycle of bad things happening to them over covetousness.
My things get destroyed by satan and evil people. Their stolen things degrade, because they have a perpetual bill always coming due.
From experience, why would anyone ever want someone elses date or spouse. First you end up with a person who is willing to cut off someone who trusted them, and that means you in time, and second, you always know you deceived that other worthless soul and you can never be honest, so your entire relationship is a perpetual lie, upon more lies.
The Tenth Commandment
You must not desire your neighbor's house.
Q. What does this mean?
A. We must fear and love God, so that we will not attempt to
trick our neighbor out of his inheritance or house, take it by
pretending to have a right to it, etc. but help him to keep &
improve it.
The Tenth Commandment
You must not desire your neighbor's wife, servant, maid, animals
or anything that belongs to him.
Q. What does this mean?
A. We must fear and love God, so that we will not release his
cattle, take his employees from him or seduce his wife, but urge
them to stay and do what they ought to do.
You do not have to envy or plot to get the things of others. Ask God and He will provide for you. God owns the universe and He promises that He does allow evil rich people to store up things, for when they die to be distributed to good people.
Put it this way, it is far more work to scheme and plot to get other people's things, than it is to obey God, be good, ask Him for things, and to have those things come to you freely.
There were certain things that my beloved Uncle had which I cherished and wanted since I was a child. I honestly did receive most of those things, but not all which does bother me, but in one example, he had wooden box that he would take to Canada for fishing. I wanted that thing at 5 years old, and when he died, I spotted it in a falling down shed, with a rotten raccoon hide in it, and as no one wanted it, I brought it home.
I reset all the screws, washed it painted it, and it will have a prominent place in our home.
There was not any scheming in this, no more than anything else. It was simply God moving to fulfill a little child's wonder at the magic box which went to Canada.
It was though with all my heart I yearned for that box for years and it did become mine by God.
Psalm 37:4
Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
And when you ask God for anything, make certain your heart is in the right relationship with God in what you are asking for, so that you are not asking God to assist you in your destruction in consuming what you want with your lusts.
God will not help you consume yourself.
James 4:3
Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
3And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.Pay attention to the amplified translation in your prayers can not be based in wrong motives and then your thinking you can indulge yourself by rubbing it in other people's faces. To put it more plainly, if you want things because others just have them or for revenge, and then the first thing you are going to do is rub other people's noses in those things, God is not going to assist you in that.
Put it to God what you desire, and then delight in Him for providing you those things.
Do not make the mistakes of the powerful and rich in the examples below, and that includes those who do not want to put in the Spiritual work to please God in obeying all of the Commandments and helping others less fortunate than themselves.
Matthew 23:14
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
James 1: 14 - 16
14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.
Covetousness is a shredding of the heart and soul. It is anguish and in each slice you make in scheming to get what you want, it slices deeper into you. Instead trust in the Lord, and more to the agenda, trust the Lord knows what to give you and when.
I Timothy 6: 8 -10
8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
In the following we have the examples of covetousness in two kings and a treasurer. Ahab for a vineyard got the owner murdered and was murdered himself. David for a woman got her husband murdered and caused mass murder in a civil war, including his own sons dead.
Judas kept the bag or the purse, which was his love, and in betraying Christ he sold his soul for 30 pieces of silver and ended up murdering himself.
The methods which people who scheme to get things, will manifest in taking things from those people. That is the penalty of the natural law, in what you put into this world is what comes back upon you.
You can desire things, but do not scheme to get them. Instead please God in the goodness He sows into you, and in that ask God to provide for you everything you desire, as that is His vocation in this.
I Kings 21:2
And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.
II Samuel 11:2
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.
John 13:29
For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor.
Nuff Said
agtG
