Daily Devotional Thursday 30th May 2024

by William Moody

Exodus 20:1–17

The Ten Commandments

20:1 And God spoke all these words, saying,

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

“You shall have no other gods before1 me.

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands2 of those who love me and keep my commandments.

“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

13 “You shall not murder.3

14 “You shall not commit adultery.

15 “You shall not steal.

16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

17 “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.”

Footnotes

[1] 20:3 Or besides
[2] 20:6 Or to the thousandth generation
[3] 20:13 The Hebrew word also covers causing human death through carelessness or negligence

(ESV)

The word to covet, means to delight in, to greatly love, to set our heat on, to desire or lust after something which is not our own. This can include anything which our neighbour has.

In our modern age with a constant bombardment of adverts this commandment about not coveting is very difficult to keep. One of the dangers is that coveting robs us of our joy and contentment in life. The world gives us the false message that unless we have these other things we cannot be happy.

Many see this commandment as trivial compared to others, but it is as much part of the commandments as any other. We need to understand that what matters to God are not just our actions but what goes on in our hearts. The Holy Spirit lives in the believer’s heart and shares the thoughts we have and knows the desire we have within us.

The Holy Spirit knows is we are we people who find real joy in Christ or do we see joy in the things of the world first. Remember God is a jealous God, jealous for our love and worship which He deserves. It really matters to God what we desire and where we find joy and contentment. What brings you real joy? Is knowing Jesus your chief joy? Be honest before God about this.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®),
copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.