Jul 13
29
Doctrinal Standard WSC #79 & 81
- Q. What is the tenth commandment?
- A. The tenth commandment is: 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.
- What does the tenth commandment forbid?
- The tenth commandment forbids any dissatisfaction with what belongs to us, envy or grief at the success of others, and all improper desire for anything that belongs to someone else.
Memory Verse(s)
- “Nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer” (1 Corinthians 10:10, ESV).
Scripture
- Study Passage: Psalm 112
- Support Passages: Exodus 20:17; Deuteronomy 5:21; 1Kings 21:4; Esther 5:13; 1 Corinthians 10:10; Galatians 5:26; James 3:14,16; Romans 7:7,8; Romans 13:9;
- Bible Story: Numbers 11:1-15,31-34
Thoughts
- “God requires us to be content with what we have. He is angry when we covet what He has not given us. God had set the Israelites free from slavery in Egypt. He led them to the land He had promised to give them. There were no grocery stores along the way where the many Israelites could buy food. They would have starved to death, but God provided for them. He caused bread to fall out of heaven for them. It was called manna. It would fall in the night and every morning when the Israelites got up, there was fresh manna on the ground. All they had to do was to go out with baskets and gather it.
- From the description the Bible gives of the manna, it must have been very tasty. You would think the Israelites would have thanked God. Out in the middle of nowhere, He had provided food for so many people. However, the Israelites were sinners like we are. They were thankful enough at first, but they became dissatisfied. Day after day, the same old food, they complained. Read what they said in Numbers 11:4-6. God sent quail, birds that can be eaten, to the Israelites’ camp. Thousands of them flew very low over the camp, making it easy for the Israelites to catch them for food. God was angry with the Israelites, though, because of their dissatisfaction over the manna. Read verses 33 and 34 to see what happened because of God’s anger.” [1]
Discussion Questions
- What is the Tenth Commandment?
- What does the Tenth Commandment forbid?
- What does it mean to covet something?
- What does covetousness reveal about our heart towards God?
- What are specific heart changes that need to be made to overcome covetousness?
[1] Meade, Starr (2000). Training Heart, Teaching Minds. Phillipsburg, New Jersey, USA; P&R Publishing Company.
