8/12/2019 1991 Issue 5 - Law and Liberation: The Tenth Commandment - Counsel of Chalcedon

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Owen ourie

LAW

AND

LIBERATION

THE TENTH

COMMANDMENT

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house,

thou

shalt

not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his

manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor

his ass, nor any thing

that

is

thy

neighbor's,

(Exodus

20:17

Godly contenOllent

To

covet

is

evil.

To

covet is

good.

Bothstatementsare true but they require

qualification in terms

of

the object

coveted. To covet

is

to earnestl

y

desire

something with such affection that

satisfaction

is obtained

only

with the

actual possessionof the object

so

desired

.

f

he

panicular object

is

someone

else's

property and not

for

sale, no

r

obtainable

in a

way

that

s

in

keeping

with

the Law

ofGod, coveting it

s evil.

f he

object is

available

and it

may

be acquired

by

honest

means

in

accordance

with

the

Law of

God,

coveting

it

is good. The

tenthcommandmentforbidsevilcoveting

as do most of the references in sctipture

to coveting.

But there is

such a thing as

good

coveting.

In Habakkuk

2:

9 the

prophet

declares:

'Woe

to

him that

coveteth an

evil covetousness to

his

house ..

The

implication is clearly that

there is

a

good

covetousness and this

is

borne out by

the

apostle

Paul's use of the

tenn in I

COrinthians 12:31 where he

says:

"But

covet earnestly

the best

gifts."

n

thesameepist\e

he states: "Where

fore ,

. (1

Cor. 14:39).

Turning our attention to the

forbidden covetousness,

we

must note

that theHebrewword

for covet (chamad)

has two meanings. It

means not

only to

covet

but

also

to take.

In otherwords, it

speaks not only of the evil

desire of

the

hean but

also of

the ensuing outward

actionbywhich thesixth,seventh, eighth,

and ninth commandments

are violated.

Achan's confession

endorses

this

truth.

"When

I

saw

among the

spoils

a

goodly

Babylonish

gannent, and

two

hundred

shekels of silver, and a wedge of

gold

..

thenl

COVETED

them,

andTOOK

them

.. ." Ooshua 7:21).

"Woe to them

that

devise

iniquity, and work

evil

upon

their

beds

when the morning

is

light,

they

practice it, because

it

is

in

the

power

of their hand.

And they COVET

fields

,

and

TAKE them by violence;

andhouses,

and

TAKE

them

away

..

This

natural

and

Biblical

link

between

coveting

and

taking receives funher endorsement in

Mark 10:39

where our LordJesusChrist

cited the tenth commandment not

as

a

sin

merely of

the hean but

of the

vety

action which

atises

out

of

the hean.

'Thou knowest thecommandments,

Do

notcommitadultery,

Do

not

kill, Do

not

steal, Do

not

bear

false witness,

DEFRAUD NOT..." Moreover, in the

Luke 12:15

we read that Jesus said,

Take heed,

and

beware

of

COVETOUSNESS:

for a man's life

consisteth not in the abundance of the

things which he POSSESSETH." Once

again,

onecannot fuiltoseetheconnection

between coveting and taking. Coveting,

in this context,

is

to long after something

to

such a

degree

that it must beacquired,

possessed

,

and

enjoyedat the

expense

of

the person towhom it rightfully belongs.

It is obvious that coveting cannot

be understood to be a matter that

is

confined

to

the heart. That is an

interpretation which is imposed on the

tenth commandment by those who too

readilyintemaliz.e

religion and minimize

Its external expression. The same

interpreters see covetousness as

an

exclUsively evil

thing and

the desire to

acquire

goods

andwealth

as

unspiritual.

The practical effect

of

this

commandment

is

perhaps, nowhere

better stated than in the words of the

earlyMethodist theologian

Adam

Clarke

who is

quoted by

Dr.

RJ Rushdoony in

The

Institutes

o

iblical

aw

(page

634):

"This

is

a most excellent moral precept,

the

observance

ofwhich will prevent

all

public crhnes: for he who feels the force

ofthe

law

which prohibits the inordinate

desire

ofanything that

is

the propeny of

another,

can

never make abreach in the

peace

of

society

by an act of wrong

to

any

of

even its feeblest members. That

statement is abnost

two

hundred years

old. In the 1990s we are livingin aworld

that

lacks

the God-given

faith

to

enforce

the

Law of

God and, instead,

exalts

the

inordinate

desire

in

every

sphere.

No

wonder, then, that crime is on the

ra

mpage

amid vainhopes that talks, talks

about

talks,

negotiations, and man to

man reconciliation, without Christ and

without repentance and obedience

to

God

's

law,

will bring peace

to society.

Juue

1991

HE

COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon 9

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Evil Covetousness

Evil covetousness moves Iapidly,

then,

from the

thoughts

and

inordinate

desires of inind and hean to the actions

of the body to acquire

by

evil means

whateverbelongs to qurneighbor.

Such

means could

involve

the

employment

of

deceit,

fraud,

and

coercion.

Not

only

covetoUs indMduals but also covetous

institutions are gUilty of such

perpetrationswherebyotherindividhals,

fumilies, and institutions are deprived of

what is truly theilS. FIDm the dehbeIate

alienation of the

affection

ofsomeone's

spouse to the expropriation of property

by apparently legal means involves evil

covetousness. So, whiletheslxth,seventh,

eighth, and ninth

commandments deal

with openly illegal acts, the tenth

comtnandment

forbIds

he

claridestine

maneuvers by which the earlier

corrunandments are broken. therefore,

ill the tranSgression of commandments

six

to nine, the tenth is inevitably also

violated. Sulking KingAhab had triedby

ostensiblylegalmeanstoacquireNaboth's

vineyard

I

Kings 21)but o no avail. The

wicked ]ezebel hatched her

evil

plot to

satisfy

her husband s covetousness and

arranged for Naboth to be publicly

accused of blasphemy by

false wimesses

and to suffer execution.

The

third

commandment

was,

to

all appeanmces,

legaily

applied. The

law

was

used,

but

behind itsusage

lay thefraudu1ent use

of

the

very

wimesS that was forbidden

by

the ninth commandment in order to

meet what was forbidden

by

the tenth

commandment and in the

process the

third, sixth, and eighth

commandments

were

alsO

broken.

To

piltlt anotherway

andtosumup,bytheseenUrigIylegaluse

of one commandment; the

hird,

five

commandments were

broken. Score:

]ezebel sWicked

Ways

5, Righteousness

o

The tenth commandmentcondemns

those who

fraudulently

use the law

to

achieve their covetous purposes. In a

humanistic

law

system it is far easier to

legally deprive

othelS

ofwhat

is

ptoperly

their pOssession .

Here

sterilization,

abortion, and

euthanasia

would

speak

volumes

as

scientilicmancovets deity.

.

It

is evil covetousness that is the

root

of

any social

order - welfarism,

socialism,

communism that

takes from

the haves to give to the have-nots ,

thattakesbyexcesslvetaxationandother

StatuteS, the

h a r d ~ r n e d

wealth of

the

diligent

forthebenefit oftheindolent. Of

course, forsocialism

thisisverynecessary

because it is a parasite which, being

unable togeneratewealth

byproductlvity,

must prey on the

wealth

that

others

have

gained by diligent application to their

vocations,

Special privileges

Despite man's

pursuit

of equality

as

theidealwhich

will

eliminate

all

strife,

even those socialorders thathave sprung

from the ungodly philosophy of

egalitarianism cannot escape the God

given inequalities, especially the

inequality of

special

privileges. Dr.

Rushdoony points out in The Instirutes

ofBiblicall.aw{page 640l) thatnosociety

haseverexisted

without

special

privileges

and it is not

likely

that any will ever

succeedindoingso.Specialprivilegehas

its foundation in God's appointed order

and it is keeuly felt - and despised in a

fallenworld.

ItsII1ostoffensivestatement

isinMatthew25:29, Foruntoevetyone

thathathshallbei:iven,andheshallhave

abundance:

but from

him

that hath not

shall be taken away

even

that which he

hath. Initiativeandsuccessin

the

proper

and faithful

employment

of God-given

talents will be rewarded.

Sloth

willsuffer

just deprivation.

In

the face

of

such

reality, evil covetOUsness finds

provocation.

In

he M arxistideal,

special

privilege is not absent, By evil

covetousness,thewealthofthesuccessful

is distributed as a special privilege to the

incompetent, the unsuccessful, and the

lazy. Fabian Socialism is hostile to the

familybecauseitistheforemostinstimtion

20

nm

COUNSEL of ChaIcedon ;

June 1991

for promoting the

special

privileges ofits

members. y evil covetousness, Fabian

Sodalismdeterminesthatwhilethefamily

is the guardian

of children, the

the state

is

the guardian of collective

efficiency.

Inheritance taxes are imposed to

destroy

the family's

desire

to

confer special

privileges on its members. Asystem of

examinations militates against initiative,

inventtveness,andenterpriseandinstead,

promotes aselectionbymeritwhichsees

the rise of a specially privileged

class

of

statist-minded intellectuals and

bureaucrats who qualify for more

education and who

enter the professions

and

occupy

positions above many who

display greater ability. The

statist and

socialistworshipersofman-as-Godalign

themselves in

evil

covetousness against

the o d g i v ~ rightofsociety's

basicunit

-the

family-to

p e ~ e

in ermsofspecial

privileges. But, in doing

so, special

privileges are simply removed from

one

group to another

as

humanistic man

covetouslydistributesprivilegeaccording

to his own evil desires. To

families,

organizations,andemployersitisindeed

lawful forthem to do whatthey

will

with

their

own (Matthew

20:15) thereby

promotingthedevelopmentofindividual

initiative

and free enterprise,

But

to ovil

government,

which

is

Biblically,

only

a

minister of ustice in regard to God'slaw,

notitsownlaws,nosuchlawfulbbertyis

given.

Action s Root

The tenth commandment locates

the root ofall

illegal

and immoral

acts

to

depriveourneighborofwhatisrightfully

hisin

he

intentofman, in hismind.

the

evil

act

is rooted in the

lawless

thought.

Act

and

thonght

are inseparable.

the

law of

God rules over the mind and the

body of

man

in utter refutation of the

dualistlcsepaIation

ofmind and bodyin

the Illgan and Hellenistic philosophies

that influenced

Western thinking.

Such

(continued on page

24

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1ncCine

my lieart unto

tliy

testimonies) andnot to

covetousness.

Psalm 119:36

Fourie, The Tenth Commandment)

dualism has opened the door to

irresponsibility. By

treating

mind and

bodyastwoseparnterealmsanddivorcfng

intent and act, either the. mind

is

ftmdamental in the understanding of

man,andacts

become

irrelevant; orman's

acts alone

carty

responsibility while the

mind isset free

to indulge

in fantasy and

evil, the communication of which can

canseothersto do evil deedsandtosuffer

theconsequences. OurLordJesusC):uist

clearlyrejected this

dualismwhen,

in the

Sermon on the

Mount,

He linked the

thoughtsandinte1ltionsofthemindwifu

the acts

of

murder

and

adultery. Again,

in

Matthew

15:19,

jesus

linked evil

thoughts, murders, adulteries,

fornications, thefts, faIse wimess, and

blasphemies as all arising .out o th

heart. Onsuch good ground, the

collect

preceding the pronouncement of

the

Decalogue

in the

admtrrlsrrntion

of the

Lord's Supper in the Book

of Common

Prayeracknowledgestheurrttyofthought

and act:

Almighty

God, unto whom

all

hearts be open, all desires known, and

from whom no secrets are

hid.:

deanse

the thoughts of our hearts

.by

the

inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, that we l b ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

may

perfectly

love thee,

and

worthily

God's

commandments

will

be observed

magnify

thy holy Name: through

Christ

not

merelybypersonallyrefraining

from

our Lord. The

liturgical

response

to

outward

evil

acts but by conftnning or

eachstatementofthe

Decalogueendorses

putting into force

these

commandments

the link: Lord, have mercy on us, and in all their implications for every

area

of

incline our hearts to

keep

this law.

life. To

fuil

to obey

the

Law

of God fully

Amen. o

let it be

indeed.

from the heart is

to

inherit the mrse of

God. The fruit

of

obedience

from

the

Godly Contentment heartwillbeagodlysocietycharacterized

Such a

prayer

and such aresponse bygodlyfamiliesengagedinhonestwork

inconnectionwiththeLawofgodsurely and the

full

employment of

talents for

must

reflect

the

very attimde

and way of

just

reward and

private

gain and with a

life

by which

od

is

glorified

-

godly

righteous concern

for

the

well-being

of

contentment - the

very opposite

ofevil ourneighbor'sGod-given,

butfotfeitable,

covetousness. There

is another Amen

right to

life, wife property, and

good

that is of

vital

importance. It

is

in reputation. No evil covetousness here;

Deuteronomy27:26. Cutsedbehe that only godly contenunent, a contenunent

confirmeth not all the words

of

this law, not with sin but with God's sovereigu

to do them. And all the people shall say, providence and requirements. Let your

Amen. Inagodlysociety, theproduct of conversation be without covetousness:

the

Gospel

of our Lord

Jesus

Christ, and be content

with such

24

THE COUNSEl

of

Chalcedon

June

1991

have:

for

he

hath

said,

Iwill

never leave

thee, nor forsake

thee

(Hebrews

13:5).

Conclusion

By evil covetousness,

fallen

man

seeks

to

possess

the earth

on his terms.

is

quest

is

to establish the worldwide

humanistic kingdom

of

man, and

international

Socialism is currently

the

predominant force in this objective. But

the earth is the LORD'S and so we are all

involved in an unequal battle

for

dominion.

On the

one side there is God

and

is

people

who

keep

is

law as

the

tool for victory

.

On the other there s

man who

would be

like

God and who

seeks

to

remake the world

according to

his own

design, by

covetousness

and

coercion.

There

can be

no doubt

who

willwinforGodhasspoken. Theywho