The Tenth Commandment

“Thou shalt not covet.”

Dean Chicquette

Linda Chicquette

The Tenth Commandment

3rd Revision

By Dean And Linda Chicquette

DLC Press

Copyright 2017 - Dean and Linda Chicquette

e-Book ISBN: 978-1-370-85250-5

Printed in the United States of America.

Published for and released by DLC Press

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Verses marked NAS are The New American Standard Bible (NASB) (NAS [1977] and NAU [1995]). Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1988, 1995, and La Biblia de Las Americas. Copyright © 1986, both by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.

Verses marked KJA, KJG Authorized Version (KJV) - 1769 Blayney Edition of the 1611 King James Version of the English Bible - with Larry Pierce's Englishman's-Strong's Numbering System, ASCII version. The KJG version also contains the Geneva Bible notes. Copyright © 1988-1997 by the Online Bible Foundation and Woodside Fellowship of Ontario, Canada.

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Dedication

Dedicated to those seeking God.

Contents

What Is Coveting?

Preface

1. Adam and Eve

2. Cain

3. Achan

4. Saul

5. David

6. Rich Ruler

7. Judas

8. Ananias and Sapphira

9. The End of Coveting

10. The Rest of His Story

About the Author Dean Chicquette

About the Author Linda Chicquette

Other Publications

What Is Coveting?

Coveting is what coveting does. It is living from a sense of lack and seeking to have what others have, believing what they have will satisfy our empty hearts. Of course, it does not work, but that does not stop people from wanting more and more. Here are a few people from the Bible who thought they needed things. For them, either God had not graduated from being a concept to a reality or for a moment they forgot to go to God first. Instead of introducing every problem to God they introduced the problem to the arm of flesh. Like most of us, they waited to go to God after they had exhausted every effort.

- Adam and Eve

- Cain

- Achan

- Saul

- David

- Rich Ruler

- Judas

- Ananias and Sapphira

The rest of this work will draw upon these people and the events in their lives that will help us understand coveting and its deep seated throne in the unregenerate heart.

Preface

Coveting does not send us to hell, it only proves we are in hell. Every commandment of God is a road sign. Again, not directing us toward hell, but marking out the fact we are in hell. For hell is living without everything you ever wanted. We were created to want and have the one we call God. We were created to be filled to overflowing with the one who fills the all in all. Until we are secure in Him we can only be insecure with what we have. Not having Him who fills the God shaped void in our hearts causes us to want more of what we already have, nothing. If reflected upon, this defines every day living as an addiction. We want because we lack and lack because we want.

The Tenth Commandment is an imperative for us not to covet. After receiving God’s gift of His Son, that same imperative becomes a promise. In Him, every one of God’s imperatives becomes a promise. That Ms. Empty is now filled with Mr. Complete. When we live in competition, we live out and from a sense of lack. We are on the wrong track. Lack is the wrong track.

This problem we were born with, dies with accepting Christ’s death. And He did not remain dead, nor do we, who live in Him. This new life never has a sense of lack. But we do! Why?

We identify with our flesh. We take hold of a mantra which says, “If anything is going to get done, I’ll have to do it myself.” Coveting is the continual gathering of what others have, to quench the fear of lack, or that emptiness.

If we continue to identify with things, we miss the One Thing that satisfies. When this body falls away we get to keep our coveting, but then there is NOTHING to take hold of us. That is Hell. It is the big HELL, not the little hell you now live.

God has given you life and that abundantly! Throughout the rest of this book we will investigate a few coveters and reinvestigate these principles we have just discussed.

Adam and Eve

According to the Bible the very first people had everything. They had a world so perfect that they did not need clothes, a home, plumbing, water district #3, city trash pick up services, a local transportation system, corrals, or fences, clocks or taxes. In short, it was heaven on earth. They had occupations that kept them busy. Most of all they had a very good Friend. This Friend was both their highest good and their dentist, doctor, sit down to lunch pal, and stroll in the garden at the end of the day confidant.

Considering this, what would ever possess them to mess things up? Ms. Deception!

One day, Ms. Deception showed up basically saying, “What you have is great, but you lack one thing that will make you just like your Pal. Eat this, you’ll like it! Oh! Your Pal did mention something about dying if you ate of this tree, but He was just holding out on you. You lack something, but if you act on your own you can fix it. Here, eat!”

They did eat.

They died.

From then on they were living from a sense of lack and shame. From that time every child of these characters was born empty. What we think is living is a living death in an ocean of things that never will take away the lack, the emptiness, the alone.

Adam and Eve went from God’s garden to being outcast, both from their heaven on earth and their communion with God. Since then, we have all lived from the fruit of the Trying Tree. Even those who try to convince us there is no God, sin, or judgement, are very trying children.

Adam and Eve coveted (wanted) what they believed they did not have. Today, even those who call themselves believers try to be like Jesus thinking they lack what God wants them to have, or be.

What is most confusing about our desire for more (coveting), is that by the age of eight you should have learned that things do not fill your emptiness. Every new thing, in time, ends up an echo. Then we head out to purchase that new car, house, or latte’, whichever you can afford. Once we drive the car long enough to need gas, or live in the house until it needs cleaning, or gaze longingly into the bottom of the coffee cup, we covet once again.

Coveting is an addiction, a genetic malady of the greatest proportions. Adam wanted Eve more than life. Eve wanted to be more like God. And that serpent wanted company. Everybody, including God, became lonely. Everyone lost but that serpent, until...

At the perfect time God injected His antivirus into His creation, Jesus Christ, His Son. When He died, He made everyone live forever. But there is one problem. If you do not eat (identify with) Christ, who lives for ever in God, you get to live forever with nothing. For everything is now in Christ.

Cain

Once there were two brothers. They were in fact the very first brothers of humanity. One got stoned and died. The other was responsible for doing the stoning. Prior to this event they were having a special get together with God.

By the way, when was the last time God showed up to your party?

Back to the story. One came to praise God for His ownership of life itself. The other came to have more than whatever his brother got. God said, and I paraphrase, “I can respect that Abel. You get the blue ribbon.” The other brother, Cain, was given a peek at his empty heart. He used that empty heart to get rid of the competition. I guess he thought he could show up with just about anything the next time he threw a party, except without his brother of course, and please God by default.

After the awarding of the blue ribbon and prior to the stoning, Cain got a lecture that is applicable to us all. I know you don’t want to hear it, neither did Cain. But since I don’t think you know where I live I’ll share it with you.

Paraphrased again, of course.

It is as simple as this. If you pass the test you’ll get a blue ribbon. If you don’t, you have been feeding that stray dog Sin, who has made his home at your door. He will make sure God cannot visit. If you take Sin in, he will take you.

So Cain, knowing what he deserved, asked God to protect him and God did. The first murderer was shown mercy but was sent out of town and was instructed not to come back. Unfortunately, he took his dog Sin with him.

What is the the middle name of that dog? Of. The last name? Coveting. Mr. Sin Of Coveting walks by the side of every child ever born. If you don’t think so, you have never raised a child. She can have a thousand dolls to play with, but if you walk in with one of your own, well, the dog barks.

Later, we will talk about a very notable King of Israel named David. He coveted, killed, lied, and was kicked out of town too.

Achan

Achan is pronounced almost like aching. In a bit we will see why this name fits. Till then, let us recap the story. Israel was entering the promised land. God had promised them every city in Canaan and more, but the first city they had to overcome was Jericho, which means place of fragrance. It was to be like a sacrifice of the first fruits, a burnt offering to God. Nothing was to be taken after its collapse except the harlot Rahab and her family. She was the one who hid the two spies of Israel whom Joshua sent to spy out the land, especially Jericho. Also, the gold and silver was to be dedicated to God.

Now don’t get hung up on Doctor God using His scalpel to cut out the cancer in Canaan. He had given them four hundred and fifty years to stop killing their children in the name of god and many more unmentionables. So, like a flood, here comes Israel.

Well, during the destruction of Jericho, Achan found a Babylonian designer garment, about two thousand four hundred dollars worth of silver, and sixty six thousand one hundred and fifty dollars worth of gold. No problem in finding it, but he kept it. He coveted what belonged to God. He wanted what God had. He lied to himself, his family, and his nation. Once God caught up with him, Achan told the men of Israel where he had hidden it. Guess what had greeted the Israelites at the door of Achan’s tent? Hint, it barks.

Of course it is easy for us to say, “What was he thinking? Didn’t he know that God had his exact address?” But this is a good time not to cast the first stone. You are God’s treasure yet you covet more. What more? More of Jesus? You have every bit of Him. What more is there? More patience? More sonship, daughter-ship? No! You want your own patience. Then, once convinced you got it, you don’t need His. You don’t want God. You want things that make you look and act like God. I hope you hear that dog barking.

The end of Achan was his getting stoned. His whole gene pool gone. God said, in effect, I will show mercy on those who obey Me by not forcing them to live with this mongrel and his mutt. They should not have to listen to Mr. Sin Of Coveting barking all day and all night.

Saul

There is a lot to say about Saul. He was a natural born leader, like BIG! He solidified all of Israel as their first king. He, like all kings, was, once placed in office by God, eager to stay in office by doing what he wanted and placating to irritating people like Samuel the prophet. Samuel worked for God. So, in a way, Saul worked for Samuel.

Well, one day Saul, having not read the previous chapter about Achan, did an Achan thing. He was supposed to nuke Amalek. Nothing was to be retrieved. So, after the battle, guess who showed up? That pesky Samuel who just happened to hear sheep bleating and oxen lowing. So he asked Saul what was up with the oxen and sheep and Saul says something like, “Ya, I did everything God told me to do. God had a good idea but these unruly Israelites took everything good they could get their hands on. So I thought, being God’s man, that I’d like sacrifice the sheep and oxen to God. Oh ya, I also saved the king Agag.”

Samuel says, “It it better to obey than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.”

Say what? It’s like, if God says jump one foot up and you jump two for good measure, you have just exited His rest and eaten of that Trying Tree. Anything, other than doing what you are instructed, is your best effort of trying to be your own destiny. Saul was not satisfied with being God’s man, he wanted God to be his man.

Of course none of us do anything like that. Like when God sums up all we need to do with Jesus saying, “All the law and the prophets are summed up in this saying, ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength...you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Anything more than this is idolatry, which is finding your identity in things, or actions, and not in God.

Coveting.

David

Now David has history. He did things both worth remembering and forgetting. He, by believing God, killed a very big Philistine enemy. He also killed his neighbor because he coveted the neighbor’s wife who was with David’s child. In fact, if you take a naked inventory of his successes they are few. But as a failure, he ranked high. Yet, God promised that the Eternal King would come through David’s seed.

What did David want? He had it all.

Nathan, another pesky prophet, showed up asking David what should be done with a man who having many sheep also steals his neighbor’s only lamb and eats it. David proclaims the man should be put to death. Nathan, after clearing his throat, reported to David, “You’re that man.”

Now David instantly repented and proclaimed that he had sinned against the LORD. God as good as said, “You are right!” He forgave David his sin, but the boy died. David and Israel suffereds for this bit of intrigue. David coveted his neighbor’s wife. That is like right in the Tenth Commandment. There is forgiveness in honesty, but most often with consequences. You might be right with God, but out of sorts with the world.

By now, you have to be asking, “Why can’t I hear that dog barking?” Good question. The answer is simple. You have lived with it since you were a pup. You think it is your master, whereas you are supposed to be its master. You think, because it literally takes time for things to show up, that with a little bit of effort you can speed things up. No, I am wrong. You think you should help things happen by trying very, very hard. Like the horse in Animal Farm, “Work harder!”

In Christian circles the saying goes like this, “Trust in God after you’re exhausted.” By now, you’ve probably concluded, and rightly so, that coveting produces trying. God said you were to enter His rest and live out from that rest. The dog says, “You are master of your own soul. Carpe Diem! If you don’t do it, it won’t get done.” In short, if you agree with the dog, you are saying, “There is no God in Israel. Or, God in Christ Jesus, is not enough.”

Rich Ruler

You can have it all and still feel the need. The need for what? The need to fill the void in your soul. Oddly, this Rich Ruler who could buy anything he wanted, had extended his sense of possibility, by having power over others. He had satisfied the social requirements of the law from his youth up. He even came to Jesus for the answer to his nagging problem.

Jesus challenged him to do just three more things. “Sell

all you have. Give it to the poor. Come follow me.” In short, go sell your safety net, give it to those who will consume it on their lusts and never repay one penny. Then leave hearth and home and follow Jesus, who up to that time had no publicized plan of action on how to become King of Israel.

The Rich Ruler left the meeting with great sorrow. His identity was in his position, power, money, right standing in the community, and right living before God. Jesus wanted it all. The man came coveting eternal life and left with what he had coveted up to that time. Like a hot air balloon, his world of hope was cooling off and what he had, no longer hid the deep lurking echo behind his every need.

Now he had what everyone of us has when we forego taking Jesus’ gift. He is the master of filling every one of your needs with Himself.

Years ago I snuck up behind my brother-in-law and stuck my finger into his back commanding, “Your money, or your life.” Instantly he declared, “You can have all my money. I can always get more money, but I cannot get more life.” That was wisdom.

How many people think that money, once gone, is irreplaceable, and will lose their life to keep it? Jesus knows how our hollow gods separate us from Himself. Jesus by His own Life, gained the right to possess His possessions, us. This gift, called grace, will cost us absolutely everything. Like the Rich Ruler we must leave every-THING to gain our place in Him. God transforming our greedy little selves to being His children, full of His grace and truth.

Now would be the appropriate time to say, “Thank You!”

Judas

Judas was part of the ‘in crowd’. He was not only an apostle, but held he the money bag. He talked with the Christ, walked with Him, and even made suggestions on how best to use the money. He had a vision and a plan. He wanted Jesus to be King of Israel. He was willing to even facilitate a crisis to initiate the needed coup. He had faith in this Jesus and even His rag-tag band of followers. He was sold out to the idea. Where did he go wrong?

He was on a do-it-yourself campaign. It was up to him. He desired what he did not have and went about doing the hard stuff to get what he wanted. He had only one flaw. He was writing his own book and had either ignored or forgotten God’s plan revealed in His book. He became his own road to God.

Like all good Israelites, he wanted what God wanted. He would have fit in this century of instant potatoes. His void was time. He had to spend his time in such a way as to clothe his emptiness. He could not add time to his life. Every peek into his soul screamed back, “You’re running out of time.” In the end, he was willing to even gamble the loss of his hope in Jesus being King.

Of course, you have never wanted to nudge God on and get things done your way, but some people do. Some people, like Simon the sorcerer, are willing to pay for power. Today we call them politicians. Well, it will not work. When you have done everything you can to get things done, there will be an ocean of stuff yet to do. Unlike Jesus Who said, “It is finished.” Your void will chase you to your grave.

This heart of Judas, is bubbling away in every soul to some extent. We get excited knowing God’s plan and jump right in to help Him. Help who! Maybe it is time to reread Job chapters 38-41. In short, do we want God in our lives, so we can have His power, or do we want to humble ourselves and be obedient to His plan, even unto death?

Poor Judas died at his own hand. But if you do not exchange your coveting, your greed, when you wake up in eternity with no-thing, it will be by your own hand. You will receive eternal coveting with absolutely no way to satisfy it.

Ananias and Sapphira

This couple wanted to fit in but not pay the price. Now the price was not even giving up everything, the price was honesty. You see, many believers with property were selling it and giving it to the Apostles to help support the believers. These two sold their property, but contrived to keep back some of the money and said they had not kept back any for themselves. They were preparing to lie to the first Christian community.

Have you ever noticed how quickly honesty takes a hike if you are challenged to tell the truth. The truth was that they were afraid God would not come through. Like Judas, they needed to help Him cover the bases. They wanted to be seen like the others, but were not willing to trust God.

Both were found out by Holy Spirit Himself and he virtually said to them, “Time to leave the program and not muck things up.” They both died on the spot for lying to Holy Spirit. They coddled their wants. By now you have the picture. Every story in this book tells of people who lived from lack and tried in one form or another to fill that emptiness with some-thing. Do not misunderstand, I mean you cannot fill that sense of lack with things and activities. The good news of God is that, in eternity, He will fill your every need with His Son. He invites us to begin eternity today.

The End of Coveting

As someone has said, “At the end of life you drop off this planet into God’s hands or into nothing.” If the void scares you now, what do you think it will do for you when there is nothing to hide it from your soul?

Some people like to chant, “When I’m dead, I’m dead. When I’m dead, I’m dead. When I’m dead, I’m dead. When I’m dead, I’m dead. When I’m dead, I’m dead.”

You know better.

Yes, the free Gift of God, eternal LIFE, will cost you everything. You will have to give up being you to being His. Oddly, eternal death will cost you everything as well.

Either way, eternity costs you everything. On the one hand you get to do what Father God is doing, and that for eternity, or for eternity you get to try to do something with nothing to do it with. Your choice. Keep doing what you’re doing and even what you now have will be lost or receive God’s eternal gift of life in Jesus the Christ and you have Life eternal.

9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for the witness of God is this, that He has borne witness concerning His Son. 10 The one who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the witness that God has borne concerning His Son. 11 And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life.

I John 5:9-13

- The Tenth Commandment battle rages from within, not without.

- Efforts to squelch the need for more by human efforts breeds lack.

- The human condition places us before an eternal choice.

- We can accept Christ as our life or live forever in a state of want.

- Jesus is the fullness of God in you. Say yes Lord!

The Rest of His Story

Some people, not many, have asked me something like, "How can I get to heaven?" I find that a curious question. What I want to say in reply is something like; "Why would you want to go to heaven?" Most of the time people simply want a change of address. Maybe they just want some peace and quiet, no bills, no running from the past, hopeful expectations, escape from fear, or they just think they live in a bad neighborhood and want to upscale a bit. Really, they do not want heaven. What they want is to escape the hell they are in.

Let me explain. Heaven is no more your turf than this earth. It does not belong to you. Then there is this other problem, it is not a some-thing, it is God, the Only Thing. That which gets to heaven is not the you, you are running from, nor just a change of address. It is a transformation from clinging to earth to clinging to eternity. We all will cling to one form of eternity or another. But which eternity? Yes, there is more than one.

There is a universal miracle in Jesus' death. By it He purchased eternal living for everybody. He also divided those two eternal experiences by one simple thing called desire. Those who desire things to cover up the void, will experience one type of eternity, while those desiring the complete will experience a different type of eternity. The first is called eternal death. The second is called eternal life in Christ Jesus. Those who choose things, or simply a change of address, have a big surprise coming. Those who choose Jesus will give up this independent sense of self who lives to satisfy its personal needs or desires and walk in His will for eternity.

Let me elaborate, Heaven is God. If you don't want to play with God now, why would you want to play with Him, non stop, for eternity? What is called eternal death is that place where you get to continue to try to be what you want to be.

Most people do not want God and therefore do not want heaven. What they want is some new set of life skills that give them the ability to get what they want without all the fuss and drudgery. They want instant satisfaction at any expense of others or especially at the cost of The Other. They really think God said, "Mi casa, su casa." For them, the sign over the Pearly Gates reads, "Have at it!"

My conclusion is that most people have things turned upside down. Hell is that place wherein you get to continue trying to have all you ever wanted, including God. In hell, you literally live eternally, dying for things.

In hell, every new search for getting some-thing, disintegrates the very core of you. You put your identity in things, but there are no things left to gather around you. Worst of all, no matter how dis-integrated you become, you have an eternity more to go.

Jesus made a strange statement, saying something like, To those headed for Hell, they get to live there with NO-THING.

Even what they thought they had will be gone. There, they will not have any ground on which to stand...well, not even a body to try it with. Letting you have what you really want is the best I can do for you.

In short, hell is where your well practiced identity of "me, me, me" will get to go on forever, only like here, without one bit of satisfaction. Sounds much like the neighborhood where you now live, only worse.

The good news is that God loves you.

Now heaven is stepping out of yourself into the ETERNAL-ONE and continuing to enjoy God's Person in His eternal sandbox of Love. If you wake every morning now enjoying your corner of His sandbox, if you rejoice now in Him and Him alone, if your very identity is in Him and who He is (Jesus, or God is your everything) then upon dropping this cloth of flesh, you, just like the others, will get what you really wanted.

So, do you really want to go to heaven? I mean go to Jesus' core, His eternal obedience to the Father, forever? If so, believe on His Name. He saves, makes you whole, completes you, fills you to overflowing by replacing what you thought was you with His very Person as you.

Men, women, and children try to upstage God through fixing the flesh God killed. Doing this is like chasing your tail. You can chase your tail forever.

How has that worked out so far?

Either way, in the end, you will get what you want.

Both come with a big surprise!!

About the Author Dean Chicquette

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Dean Chicquette holds a BS in Computer Science and an MA/ABS in Systemic Theory. His favorite things to do are translating with Linda, visiting friends, praying for others, playing music, writing, teaching, and attending Bible Study, encouraging those who have proven they are already in God’s service.

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www.itransformyou.com

itransformu@yahoo.com

About the Author Linda Chicquette

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Linda Chicquette holds a BS degree in chemistry and biology with a secondary teaching certificate. Her favorite hobbies are translating the New Testament from Greek to English, teaching, playing with grandchildren, running, knitting, playing music, Navajo Rug weaving, and attending Bible Studies.

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www.itransformyou.com/

itransformu@yahoo.com

Other Publications

Published by DLC Press

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