This is the tenth and final video in a 10-part series that focuses on the covenant law of Yah which was inscribed on tablets of stone at Mount Sinai. What do these laws really mean and how are we to keep them?
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Covetousness is the gateway to many other sins, such as adultery, hatred or murder, stealing, etc. It is also idolatry, which takes us back to the first two commandments, and in some ways the third and fourth also. And coveting starts with the lust of the eyes. The very first sin our first parents committed in the garden was a result of coveting.
6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her.
—Genesis 3
In fact, the word used to describe Eve’s lust for wisdom or knowledge, wanted, is word 2530 in the Hebrew section of the Strong’s Concordance, chamad, KHAW-MAD which is the same word that has been translated covet in the tenth commandment, meaning to desire, or take pleasure in.
17 You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor any thing that is your neighbor’s.
—Exodus 20
It is that wicked desire that drives many to the sin of covetousness, which usually starts with the eyes. People will see something that others have and they will desire it for themselves. And like lying and murder, covetousness also has its origin in the devil, who was the very first being to covet. What is more, Satan is guilty of coveting the Creator himself, as we see in the account of Isaiah chapter 14.
12 How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations!
13 But you said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of Elohim, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north.
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.
15 Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit.
16 Those who see you will gaze at you, They will ponder over you, saying, Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms, 17 Who made the world like a wilderness and overthrew its cities, Who did not allow his prisoners to go home?
—Isaiah 14
This is why it is so crucial to guard what we take in with our senses, especially as concerns what we behold with our eyes and hear with our ears. The worldwide Babylonian system in which we live bombards us on a daily basis with sensational and alluring ads and marketing campaigns that incite covetousness. Companies spend billions each year enticing us with glossy images of people who appear to be happy because of the many splendid things they have; things that we are led to believe we should have also.
This continuous manipulation that is led by ads appeals to the base selfish appetites of those who do not guard their eyes and ears from these things. And that manipulation is not driven solely by commercials and print ads, but also by music, television shows, movies, art, books, and other forms of entertainment that causes many to buy into the business of covetousness, which is very lucrative, thanks to the many billions who are blind to this sin. But what does Scripture say about all this?
37 Turn away my eyes from beholding vanity; and revive me in your way.
—Psalm 119
We should not behold vanity! If desiring a woman or man in your heart leads to fornication or adultery without actually engaging in the physical act, this can be done simply by watching an inappropriate music video or movie, not just looking at someone in public. We have to guard our senses at all times and from all forms of enticement, including television, radio, magazines, video games, books, etc.
With regard to this very topic, the Prophet Isaiah asks an important question to which he supplies the answer.
14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness has surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
15 He that walks righteously, and speaks uprightly; he that despises the gain of oppressions, that keeps his hands from the holding of bribes, that stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, and shuts his eyes from seeing evil.
—Isaiah 33
Deuteronomy chapter 4 verse 24 tells us that Yah is a consuming fire, and according to the book of Isaiah, only people of a certain quality will be able to dwell in his presence when his throne comes down to earth and he makes his eternal abode with us (see Revelation chapter 22 verse 3). Those people will shut their eyes from seeing evil and stop their ears from hearing of blood. That means that the violent movies that many believers watch are in violation of Scripture. The same goes for some of the music that is enjoyed along with other forms of entertainment.
Remember that it is the heathen among us who are causing us to crave these things. By beholding them and their actions we will want to be like them. But we are to be a set apart people.
26 You must be pure because I, Yah, am pure. I have set you apart from all other people to be my very own.
—Leviticus 20
It was the emissary James who, under inspiration of the Spirit of Yah, counseled as follows:
13 If you are wise and understand Elohim’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.
14 But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying.
15 For jealousy and selfishness are not Elohim’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic.
16 For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.
—James 3
And again he said:
1 What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you?
2 You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask Elohim for it.
3 And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.
—James 4
Also, covetousness leads to the accumulation of possessions, which we covered in The Covenant Law of Yah Part 2. Concerning this, Yeshua taught as follows:
15 Then He said to them, Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.
16 And He told them a parable, saying, The land of a rich man was very productive. 17 And he began reasoning to himself, saying, What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?
18 Then he said, This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.
20 But Elohim said to him, You fool! This night your very soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?
21 So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward Elohim.
—Luke 10
Seeing we are in the last days, many are bearing witness to the signs of the times, considering all the judgments that have been poured out by Yah in the form of floods, hurricanes, tornados, tsunamis, earthquakes, sinkholes, and much more. Fiat currencies are losing value in various countries, and inflation and hyperinflation are being experienced in many parts of the world. It is causing a lot of people to hoard gold and silver and other hedges against the coming financial turmoil.
Many see the end of currency ahead, and that will result in the wealth of individuals being wiped out virtually overnight, not to mention what will happen to those of us who are barely scraping by or are dirt poor already. But because of the culture of covetousness and idolatry, people feel they need to store up treasures in this life and surround themselves with many lavish things. This is why gold and silver is being purchased in such massive quantities. But as our ancestors experienced the following in the days of old, so too will the people today experience likewise:
19 They will throw their money in the streets, tossing it out like worthless trash. Their silver and gold won’t save them on that day of Yah’s anger. It will neither satisfy nor feed them, for their greed can only trip them up.
20 They were proud of their beautiful jewelry and used it to make detestable idols and vile images. Therefore, I will make all their wealth disgusting to them.
21 I will give it as plunder to foreigners, to the most wicked of nations, and they will defile it.
—Ezekiel 7
Considering all this, it would be wise to obey the tenth and final commandment in the covenant law that was inscribed in stone by Yah’s own finger:
17 You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor any thing that is your neighbor’s.
—Exodus 20
In closing, the first four commandments in the covenant law instruct us on how we are to love Yah, and the result of that love, which is the keeping of these laws, is seen in the redeemed. In Revelation chapter 7 we are told:
13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, Who are these who are arrayed in white robes? and from where did they come?
14 And I said unto him, Sir, you know. And he said to me, These are they who came out of the great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 Therefore are they before the throne of Elohim, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sits on the throne shall dwell among them.
Revelation 7
Since they serve Elohim day and night in his temple, they have no other deities before them. This speaks to the first commandment. And in Revelation 20 verse 4 another company is described as those:
4 . . . who had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands. . . .
—Revelation 20
Since this redeemed company worshipped only Yah and refused to worship the beast and his image and receive any of his marks, this speaks to the second commandment. And in Revelation 14 verse 1 we read concerning the 144,000:
1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.
—Revelation 14
The Father’s name being written in their foreheads means that they do not make Yah’s name vain, empty, or false, and this speaks to the third commandment. Also mentioned in Revelation chapter 20 verse 4 is the fact that the redeemed:
4 . . . lived and reigned with Messiah a thousand years.
—Revelation 20
This refers to the millennial Sabbath and speaks to the fourth commandment. I’ve found references to some of the other commandments as well. In Revelation 14 verse 4 we read:
4 They have kept themselves as pure as virgins, following the Lamb wherever he goes. . . .
—Revelation 14
This speaks of the seventh commandment, for they are not adulterers and commit no spiritual fornication. And in verse 5 of the same chapter we read:
5 They have told no lies; they are without blame.
—Revelation 14
This fulfills the ninth commandment. You can look for others on your own. That said, the ten commandments are also promises of the perfected character and heart we will soon possess. At this present time they are commands, but in the near future, when the words of Ezekiel 36 and Jeremiah 31 are fulfilled, and we are given new hearts and Yah writes his laws on our hearts and puts them in our minds, the commands will then express who we are. So in a sense they are also promises. For in the future:
1. We will not have any other deities but Yah. (This is promise number 1).
2. We will not make for ourselves an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. And we will not bow down to them or worship them. (This is promise number 2).
3. We will not misuse the name of Yah our Elohim. (This is promise number 3).
4. We will remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it pure. (This is promise number 4).
5. We will honor our father and mother. (This is promise number 5).
6. We will not murder. (This is promise number 6).
7. We will not commit adultery. (This is promise number 7).
8. We will not steal. (This is promise number 8).
9. We will not testify falsely against our neighbor. (This is promise number 9).
10. And we will not covet anything that belongs to our neighbor. (This is promise number 10).
Bear in mind that these videos are just an introduction to this subject. We are attempting to get you to look deeper into Yah’s law, so that you might attain a greater understanding of it on your own and keep his law as it was intended to be kept. That being said, may you fully embrace the covenant of Yah and enjoy your walk with him with a renewed commitment to keeping his law. Praise be to the Most High Yah. Shalom!
Keywords: do not covet, thou shalt not covet, how to keep the commandments, which commandments should we keep, new covenant, law done away, 10 commandments, ten commandments
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