What Does Covet Mean? (Exodus 20:17)

Exodus 20:17 says, “You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.” What does covet mean?” The Old Testament Hebrew word for “covet” is ḥāmaḏ, meaning “to lust after or long for with great desire.” The New Testament Greek word for “covetousness” is pleonexia, which comes from the two Greek words pleiōn, meaning “more,” and echō, meaning “to have.” Covetousness is a strong desire to have more. Read this material from Being Content God's Way, or watch the accompanying sermon, to learn what coveting means and how dangerous it is. https://youtu.be/mcXanxrQJVM Exodus 20:17 says, “You shall not covet your neighbor's house, wife, male servant, female servant, ox, or donkey.” What does covet mean?” Table of contentsJesus’s Warning About CovetousnessThe Danger of CovetousnessCovetousness Is A New Testament Command in the Old TestamentCovetousness Is a Sin Even Paul CommittedCovetousness Is a Heart IssueWhen Covetousness Takes RootThe Unhealthy Relationship Is the ProblemCovetousness Is Desiring Too Strongly Sometimes, when people are at sea without fresh water, they become so thirsty that they drink the saltwater. The one thing they desire more than anything else—water—surrounds them. They must look at it until the craving becomes uncontrollable. They are dehydrated when they give in and drink it, making them thirstier. They drink more, and the cycle continues. They are getting what they want while it is killing them. This illustrates what covetousness does. We desire something, and the craving seems uncontrollable. We give in and pursue what we covet, but satisfying covetousness only increases it. Coveters don’t need their covetousness satisfied any more than drug addicts need drugs or alcoholics need alcohol. Picture a family trying to have a nice dinner together. Their dog starts begging at the table. To get the dog to go away, they give it some food. But all they have done is increase the likelihood that the dog will return. This is covetousness. Giving into it only increases the likelihood it will keep coming back. Jesus’s Warning About Covetousness When Jesus was teaching, He encountered a covetous man. We can learn much from how Jesus responded to him. Hint: He didn’t give him what he wanted! But first, the account’s background. Luke 12:1 says, “In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, [Jesus] began to say to his disciples first, ‘Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.’” Jesus was teaching “many thousands.”  The crowd was so large people “were trampling one another” to hear Him. He taught about hypocrisy (verses 2-3), fearing God versus man (verses 4-7), and the danger of denying Him (verses 8-12). Jesus never taught anything unimportant, but these were particularly heavy topics. Right then, an interruption allowed him to teach on an equally important topic: covetousness! Luke 12:13 says, “Someone in the crowd said to [Jesus], ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.’” Deuteronomy 21:17 says, “Acknowledge the firstborn…by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the firstfruits of his strength. The right of the firstborn is his.” The firstborn received a double portion of the inheritance to care for the family in the father’s absence. The man was either the firstborn and wanted his inheritance, or he believed his older brother received too much. Jesus was a recognized rabbi, and it was common for them to settle disputes, but not in the middle of their teaching! Not only did he interrupt with something trivial compared to what Jesus was saying, he even told Jesus what to do! But the interruption didn’t surprise Jesus. He used it to speak to the man and then the crowd. We can learn from both addresses. Jesus said, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” (Luke 12:14). When I die and meet Jesus, I hope He calls me friend, brother, disciple, or—my personal preference—good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:21, 23). But I don’t want Him to call me “Man.” This term is used for a stranger, like “Mister.” There is no affection or acknowledgment of a relationship. Considering how gracious Jesus was, even to tax collectors and sinners, it is noteworthy that He responded this way. In answer to Jesus’s question, God the Father made Jesus a Judge: “The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son” (John 5:22). Because Jesus was a judge and an injustice had been committed, why didn’t He help? Jesus is the judge over all the earth, but not over petty disputes. This was unrelated to His primary purpose, which was heavenly and spiritual rather than earthly and physical. Jesus is a good example of how we don’t need to get involved in every cause. Just because a wrong has been committed doesn’t mean it is our business. John 2:24-25 says, “[Jesus] knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.” Because Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves, He knew giving the man the inheritance would have hurt him because it would have increased his covetousness. Jesus didn’t want to give him saltwater. The man thought his problem was physical (not getting an inheritance), but his real problem was spiritual (covetousness). Jesus didn’t help him the way he wanted to be helped, but He did help him the way he needed to be helped. Jesus is a master surgeon, and He cut to the heart with great precision and exposed the man’s sin. The Danger of Covetousness Jesus would not render a decision on the man’s dispute, but He didn’t hesitate to render a decision on the man’s spiritual condition. He addressed the crowd: “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15). “Take care,” and “be on your guard,” are synonymous. Jesus repeated Himself to warn us about the danger of covetousness. Consider these people who will go to hell: Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). As we read the list, at first, we think, “Yeah, fornication, idolatry, adultery, and homosexuality are terrible sins. These people shouldn’t inherit the Kingdom of God!” But then covetousness is mentioned, and we think, “Are you kidding me? What’s the big deal about wanting stuff?” Ephesians 5:3 says, “Sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.” What would we expect Paul to couple with sexual immorality as the severe other sin that shouldn’t be part of believers’ lives? Maybe idolatry or murder? Instead, Paul mentioned covetousness. So, why is covetousness so severe? Here are three reasons: If you asked people about the most common sins, some probably would not even mention covetousness. This subtlety (that some people don’t even think it’s sinful!) makes it dangerous. Most sins are common to some people, but not everyone. For example, one person struggles with drunkenness but not lying, and the next struggles with lying but not bitterness. But covetousness is like pride; everyone struggles with it to some extent, which makes it dangerous. People who commit adultery might make excuses, but they know they are adulterers. People who steal might feel justified, but they know they are stealing. Covetousness, on the other hand, is not apparent to the coveter. It is a sin that sneaks into our lives without us recognizing it. We can be infected but not know we are sick. We think we want something without realizing we are coveting it. Covetousness was behind several of the most painful accounts in Scripture: Jacob coveted Esau’s birthright (Genesis 25:31) Rachel coveted Leah’s ability to have children (Genesis 30:1-2) Joseph’s brothers coveted the affection he received from their father (Genesis 37:4) Saul coveted David’s fame and popularity (1 Samuel 18:8-9) Satan coveted God’s position in heaven (Isaiah 14:13-14) The vineyard workers coveted those who worked less but were paid the same (Matthew 20:12) The religious leaders coveted  Jesus’s popularity (Matthew 27:18) The prodigal son’s older brother coveted what his younger brother received (Luke 15:29-30) For these reasons, Jesus warns, “Take care, and be on [our] guard against all covetousness.” Jim Elliff wrote: In our wealthy and materialistic society, Christians often tend to trivialize covetousness, but Paul lists it as one of a number of sins that are bringing the wrath of God “upon the sons of disobedience” (Colossians 3:5-6). Concerning the love (or coveting) of money, Paul told Timothy that it was a “root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). John was speaking of covetousness when he wrote, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15). “Do not be deceived,” Paul wrote to the church at Corinth. No covetous person “will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). Jim Elliff and Daryl Wingerd, Restoring Those Who Fall, Christian Communicators, 2006, p. 12. Covetousness Is A New Testament Command in the Old Testament We are probably most familiar with covetousness because of the Tenth Commandment: “You shall not covet” (Exodus 20:17). Consider that the rest of the Ten Commandments, like the Old Covenant in general, focus on the outward and forbid physical sins: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image” (Exodus 20:4).