Bible Basics Explained | Ten CommandmentsPrimjer

Day 5 | Exodus 20:15-17 | Don’t Steal, Don't Lie, Don't Covet

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Kris: Hello Through the Word. Back in Exodus 20 today, as we reach the last of the Ten Commandments. We left off at conviction. The Ten Commandments are good, but they don't always make you feel good. If you take them to heart, they make you feel guilty. As Paul puts it: 

"We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do" (Romans 7:14-15). 

So what do we do?

Jonathan: Before we answer that, let's pick up where we left off in the Ten Commandments. So far: no other gods, no idols, don't misuse God's name, keep the Sabbath, honor mom and dad, no murder, and no adultery. Seven down, three to go. 

K: Number 8 in verse 15: 

“You shall not steal" (Exodus 20:15).

J: If it's not yours, don't take it. Respect of property is essential to society. More detail on enforcement in chapter 22. 

K: Commandment number 9:

“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16).

J: Don't lie. The words here specifically refer to telling lies against someone to convict them in court, slander them in public, or gossip about them in private. No false testimony.

K: Now we could argue here about whether every lie is a sin. Is acting a lie? I'd say there's a clear difference between imagination and deception. But what if a lie is for safety—like the Jewish midwives who lied to Pharaoh, or Dietrich Bonhoeffer lying to the Nazis? I believe those are valid cases, and this commandment does not address every form of untruth. But Colossians balances us out: 

"Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self" (Colossians 3:9). 

In Christ, you are made new, and the new you is truthful. 

J: You know, I'm not sure I would trust someone who takes a stand to defend little white lies. And trust is valuable. Just saying. 

K: Good point. Commandment 10: 

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor” (Exodus 20:17).

J: That is nine and ten for Catholics. Do not covet. This one applies directly to the heart. It is not enforceable in human courts. There’s no thought police. But God's jurisdiction extends to our minds, our hearts, and our desires, and we will be held accountable.

K: The Hebrew word for covet here means just that: desire. And desire itself is not a sin. It's the direction of that desire that makes it wrong. The same word is used in Genesis 2 to describe the good and desirable trees that God made, and again in Genesis 3 to describe Eve's sin as she desired the forbidden fruit. 

J: The first step of sin is setting your desires in the wrong direction. Desiring your neighbor's house becomes envy. Desiring your neighbor's stuff becomes stealing. Desiring your neighbor's spouse becomes adultery. 

K: Jesus reminds us to: 

"Be on (our) guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of their possessions" (Luke 12:15 ESV). 

Life is more than stuff. So store up your treasures and redirect your desires heavenward. 

J: That's all Ten Commandments. We'll see how the Israelites respond next time.

Next: Read Exodus 20:15-17, Colossians 3:9, & Luke 12:15

For Thought & Discussion:

1. Do not steal, do not bear false testimony, do not covet. Which of the last three commandments stands out to you today? Why do you think that commandment was important enough for God to include it in his top ten?

2. Pastor Kris pointed out that the word for covet or desire is used in the Bible in both positive and negative ways. How can we tell the difference between our good desires and our bad ones? Reread Exodus 20:17 and Luke 12:15 to help you think it through. 

All verses are quoted from the NIV.