We all know the Bible says, you shall not covet. From this one command not to covet, many strange and weird doctrines have emerged, leading to confusion and even legalism in the church.
When the Bible says we are not to covet, it says we are not to take pleasure in something, and then it goes on to specify what we can take pleasure in what we can not take pleasure in. For instance, we are commanded to take pleasure in our spouse to covet our spouse. But we are forbidden to covet our neighbor’s spouse, so we can not take pleasure in him or her. So it is not a sin for us to desire sex with our spouse and have a healthy heterosexual appetite. It is not a sin to covet sex with someone of the opposite sex, but it becomes sinful if we act on it with someone who is not our spouse. There are many things the Bible permits us to covet, and then there are those things we are strictly forbidden to covet.
How can you tell when you have crossed the line and started coveting something sinful?
The Bible says the law of Moses shows us when we have crossed the line. Most Christians will never read the Mosaic law because they have been told that it does not apply to them, so they are ignorant of crossing this line. Ignorance of the law does not excuse you from the crime. Every Christian who has a Bible has access to the law given to us in the first five books of the Bible. So when Yehovah judges you for coveting the wrong things, you can not claim ignorance.
So how can you prevent a righteous desire from turning into a sinful desire?
First of all, you need to study Moses’s law; second of all, you can measure it by your level of contentment. If you have a need in your life and that need affects your happiness level, you have crossed the line.
The Bible says the only thing that has the authority to affect our happiness level should be the law of God. As long as we have the Mosaic law (God’s law), nothing else matters because we then have everything we need. If we know what the law says, we should continually be happy and content no matter what happens in our lives.
This does not mean we are forbidden to covet or desire health or to have our basic needs met. But the lack of health, the lack of money, the lack of peace, the lack of wisdom should never affect our happiness level as long as we have the Mosaic law.
Why is this so important?
Because the Bible says so, the Bible says in Psalm 1, Psalm 119 those who rejoice in, crave, desire, love, and worship God’s law are blessed. Jesus says, in Matthew 6:25-34, John 14 those who crave, want, covet, love, and cherish the law of God are guaranteed to have all their needs met, and they are the ones who love God. They are the ones who trust Yehovah, who is walking by faith and not by sight.
Most of Christianity has rejected God’s law, and by doing so, they have rejected Yehovah AND His Son Yeshua. They so desire for the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to heal them, deliver them, and give them an easy life, but they want nothing to do with Him or His Son Yeshua. In the book of Exodus and the letter to the Hebrews, the Bible says that when we covet what Yehovah can give us instead of Yehovah, it is guaranteed to invoke wrath upon us. In the book of Exodus, Yehovah punishes those who craved only what He could give them but wanted nothing to do with His law.
How did He punish them?
He killed them.
The Bible says our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So we know from the warnings in the letter to the Hebrews, Yehovah still gets angry when we covet what He can give us instead of who He is.
So make the right choice today to only allow the law of Moses to affect your happiness level. If you make the law of Moses (God’s law) your number 1 priority, your most coveted desire, Yehovah will give you everything you need, and He will know you love Him.
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