FourFifteen

Exodus 20:17 - " You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's. " When It's GOOD To Covet Simply put, to "covet" is to desire or have a craving for something that isn't currently in your possession. Most people read "covet" and automatically assume it's always a bad thing - but that is not the case. There are actually times the Bible commands  us to covet! The Hebrew word that is used in the tenth commandment is the word " chamad " - it is variously translated as covet, desire, take pleasure in, lust after, long for, and enjoy.  For many misguided Christians, this idea of such extreme passion could never be a good thing! But let's be clear: God is very interested  in what is desirable, pleasing, and fun for us. He isn't some "prude" in Heaven, forbid...

Exodus 20:16 - " You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. " Truth and Justice Strictly speaking, this commandment was concerned with lying under oath . The purpose behind the ninth command was to protect people from false accusations in a court of law. Trials at this time didn't depend on " physical evidence"  - this was way before the days of forensic science. Trials back then depended mostly on eyewitness testimony. Eyewitnesses are  still  the best evidence in trials today - but back then, they were even more credible and reliable. True, there were  liars back then as there are today; but false testimony was much  less common  back then. Ancient people had a high priority on personal integrity and trustworthy words. A person's reputation would be irrevocably damaged if they were caught telling a lie. Not only was integrity a powerful safeguard against lying under oath, but there were two additional factors in ancient Israel that vi...