Message: Inner Cleanness
Time: This book chronicles farewell messages by Moses, the 120 year old leader of the Israelite, primarily intended for the lay person. It covers about one month, at the end of the forty-year period in the wilderness - 1405 BC. It is a renewal of the old covenant given at Mount Sinai to the plains of Moab.
What the Lord is Saying:
In these last several studies, I have been looking at offenses or crimes taken against other people. You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, and You shall not steal -- all of these are offenses toward the greater population, toward everyone in society. Then in the last lesson, it seems, at least by the wording, the commandments are more focused on our neighbor - not bearing false witness against your neighbor and then today, to not covet. I love what Jesus does as recorded in Matthew 15:10-20 as he mentions that it is from the heart, that defile man and out of the heart come evil thoughts. It is actually tough because we are so focused on what people can see. I often find that I am hiding sin often, doing it in secret, thinking it is only me that it is affecting. When the kids were younger, we read the book Shepherding a Child's Heart and this book focused on these type of thoughts, that out of the heart springs forth the child's heart and so we want to learn how to shape the heart. Clearly Jesus is wanting us to be aware that how we are on the inside and think impacts us and even those thoughts can be a breaking of the Law.
Luke 6:45 - The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.Matthew 12:34 - You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.Proverbs 4:23 - Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.
There are many more references, but the idea is the reason we are who we are -- is because of our heart. In my reading and studying of scripture, I am training my thinking, my heart.
In this commandment of covetousness, it needs to be clear that the issue is not to desire something or want something, but when that desire hurts another person then something is off. I see this in me often. There is something about me that actually finds pleasure when someone my age does poorly in life. I know it happens. I feel in competition with many of my peers and often I am not unhappy when they struggle. That is sin. That is this problem of coveting and thinking that I am the one that must come out ahead. Romans 12:15 says - Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. This is how I am commanded to live to rejoice with those who rejoice. Ultimately in this situation, what I desire is to come out ahead. This is where I really struggle with this commandment.
Covetousness is also wanting something and then wanting to belittle or move others out of the way so that I can get it. At the beginning of the pandemic, I watched people in the supermarket rush to get paper towels, out of the concern they would be scarce. The concern was not with other people. The concern was only self and making sure myself was under good care. I think this is covetousness. I have seen friends want their neighbor's wife for their own, even those that ended up getting the wife of a friend. Am I always wanting hard work to pay off for everyone. Not all the time. Often, I want the raise and promotion because I feel like I work harder than others. And for me to get the promotion means others cannot. Hopefully I am not pushing people out of the way to get what I want.
I admit it is very hard to not compare and want and be happy with other's successes while at times ours are not present. As with all of these commandments, I am to recognize it and then work to put it to death. I also need to remember the way I am being trained, often to want things through marketing that I really do not need or should not have. As I mentioned, visiting Las Vegas, Nevada, recently, I was flooded with those temptations of sin luring me in to desire something I do not need.
My goal instead is recorded in Psalm 119:11
Your word I have treasured in my heart,
That I may not sin against You.
Summary: To covet is to desire something that is not rightfully ours, to unlawfully desire something that another person has. I also see it as wanting good things to only happen to me.
Promise: Sin is a matter of the heart. Repent for those thoughts and desires that you have that do not conform to God's law.
Prayer: Lord, create in me a heart that more consistently and deeply loves the things that You love. Change my thinking Lord so that my mind is approaching life differently, rejoicing when others rejoice and weeping when they weep. Take me far away from this feeling in me often that I must be better than others. Thank you for showing me continually the person I am and the person You want me to be.
Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines celebrating the 500th year of the Reformation. The month of July is about the right use of God's Law; June was justification by faith alone; May about solus Christus - Christ Alone; April, salvation by grace alone; March, the sovereign providence of God; February, the doctrine of revelation and the various aspects of the doctrine of Scripture that sola Scriptura seeks to preserve; January, the doctrine of God.
Bringing me to Christ
The Restraint of the Law - the law is given for lawless, unholy, disobedient people, to restrain us from acting on our sinful thoughts. Restraint and Guilt - the law is meant to restrain Christians and non-Christians alike; so that others may see Christ. The Law's Revelation of Sin - The Law reveals sin, at times making it more desirable, and show the sin which people commit and the complete standard it expects. The Law and Our Powerlessness - We are powerless over the Law and Sin revealed. It is in Christ that we receive forgiveness and the power to resist sin. The Law our Guardian - The law is not a tool of justifying me, but rather it is an instrument to bring me to Christ and show me my need for Him.
Guiding our Lives
The Guidance of the Law - The Law is a guide in our lives for what pleases God and what it looks like to walk in holiness. The Antinomian Error - We were slaves to sin, but now we are slaves to obedience and righteousness. Judaizing Legalism - The error of Judaizing Legalism is the idea that obedience brings about God's acceptance of us for salvation. The Deadliest Form of Legalism - This legalism is that one would get too focused on external practices instead of focusing on the heart.
The Law is our Guide
The Centrality of Love - Love and the law go hand in hand. We do not belong to God unless we love our neighbor, and we cannot love our neighbor without knowing and doing God‘s law and loving him. Finding Guidance in the Law - God's Word, all if it, is a guide to my life and I am to meditate on it continually.
Caring and Protecting Us
The One and Only God - I seek to trust and love God above all else today. Images and Idols - Pictures, statues, symbols, art, people are not bad; but be careful about placing too much emphasis on these things I see. Using God's Name Frivolously - Blasphemy or using God's name frivolously are examples of taking God's name in vain. Keeping the Lord's Day - It is vital that we are setting apart a day to gather for worship and fellowship, resting from our ordinary vocations. Honoring Father and Mother - Parents are to rear their children in faith, teaching them to respect authority and children are to follow. Murder, Self-Defense and Hatred - Murder is not unforgivable and yet like any other sin, even hatred, we need to avoid it. It has consequences in this life. Adultery - Breaking the covenant of marriage by replacing what God has commanded with our own choices. The Many Forms of Theft - Any time we take anything from another, a store, another person, our employer, or another owner of those goods or services, we are committing the crime of thievery. False Witness - say something about another person that is not true or accuse someone who has committed no crime.
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