Closing out the Decalogue is the 10th commandment—a clause that, despite it’s blunt terminology, somehow includes every other part of the Law itself.
The phrase? “Thou shalt not covet.” And if there any questions as to what specifically not to covet, God elaborates: Don’t covet your neighbor’s wife, his servants, his livestock, or “anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
That was a big ask then, but it’s arguably harder in the age of social media. Within seconds, you’re suddenly aware of all the things you don’t have. A few scrolls and you see people’s elaborate vacations, homes, cars, accomplishments, and families. No more peeping over the fence to get a glimpse of the greener grass, now you just open up your phone and there it is.
The prohibition against coveting is more complicated because it addresses the heart. It could’ve been enough for God to simply say don’t commit adultery and don’t steal—which He does in the eight and ninth commandments—but He doesn’t. He addresses the concept of even wanting to steal and commit adultery. It’s exactly what Jesus says during the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:21-48).
You see this progression during the story of Naboth’s vineyard. In 1 Kings 21, King Ahab throws the world’s biggest hissy fit because Naboth won’t sell him his vineyard, which is Naboth’s ancestral birthright. Because he doesn’t get what he wants, Ahab’s wife Jezebel has Naboth killed so Ahab can take possession of it.
Two commandments are broken in that story: covetousness and theft. But one directly leads to the other; if Ahab hadn’t coveted the land, Jezebel most likely would’ve had no reason to murder Naboth.
The same thing happens with David and Bathsheba. Because David pines for a woman he can’t have, he not only covets her (strike one), but commits adultery (strike two), and kills Uriah (strike three). You can argue that stealing is another broken commandment, as well as any combination of the others. But it all began with covetousness.
According to Exodus 20, the Decalogue ends with covetousness, but in so many ways, that’s where it starts. If the heart is right, then the other commandments fall into place.
