We defined Israel’s sin today as covetousness. (See Part 1.) Covetousness is seeking to establish and build one’s personal kingdom at the expense of seeking first God’s Kingdom and His righteousness. Covetousness is greed and idolatry. Covetousness is the main reason why God’s People deliberately let things slide, allowing wickedness to prevail and take over our lands.
I think that our God convicts His People of this sin and in order to mitigate the guilt thereof, there are an endless number of creative and subtle ways to hide from God.
Pretexts to Mask Covetousness
It is common for the sin of coveting or greed to hide behind the lie of religious traditions, as did the Pharisees and scribes. It was called the “traditions of the elders” or, in the case described in Mark 7:1-5, the ritual hand washing before eating. Jesus confronted their hypocrisy, revealing that it was false praise and worship of God because their “heart” was “far away” from God (Mk. 7:6-7). In the same context, He further identified those religious traditions as masking their (and all men’s) true heart of “evil thoughts, fornication, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting (pleonexia) and wickedness” and so forth (Mk. 7:18-23).
A similar pretext for hiding covetousness is the outward show of religious demonstrations like seeking “respectful greetings,” places of honor, and “long prayers” for the sake of appearing righteous (Mk. 12:38-40). It was all a show of self-righteousness.
Add to this masking of covetousness tithing as a pretext of righteousness (Lk. 11:42; 18:9-14; 21:1-4).
Another pretense for hiding covetousness is convenient excuses offered to not respond to an invitation to a “dinner” in the context of “a wedding feast” (Lk. 14:8). The “big dinner” was a significant event of honor likened to being invited to the Kingdom celebration “at the resurrection of the righteous” (Lk. 14:14). But those initially invited “all alike began to make excuses.”
But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, “I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.” Another one said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.” Another one said, “I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.” – Lk. 14:18-20
Considering the nature of participating in this highly honored event, the excuses not to come to the dinner seem laughable. Lame excuses of the most ridiculous kind. Clearly, such excuses reveal a mind and heart set on earthly things. We could probably add any number of examples used today. All of them are a cover for coveting to avoid the duties and obligations of the Kingdom of God.
Greed, Possessions, and the Kingdom
Covetousness as greed comes in many different forms. A typical one is to have more possessions outside of what are Kingdom priorities – like justice, mercy, and compassion. A good example is the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31. The rich man was living lavishly every day, knowing that there was a “poor man named Lazarus” in a destitute physical condition “covered with sores” and starving as he lay helpless at the gate of the rich man.
As the story is told, both die. Lazarus “was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom” and the rich man was not. He found himself in “Hades” and in “torment.” He pleaded with Abraham to send Lazarus to bring a little cool water to ease his torment. Abraham told him that it was impossible because of “an impassible great chasm” between them. The rich man enjoyed his greedy lifestyle with all his possessions. That was his kingdom. But he completely was void of God’s Kingdom.
A similar story is found in Mark 10:17-25 about a rich young ruler who humbly approached Jesus to ask Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life.” Jesus answered with a series of commandments:
You know the commandments, “Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not seal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.” – Mark 10:19
The rich young ruler responded that he had kept these even from his youth. Jesus “felt a love for him” but told him that he lacked something. Sell everything he possessed and give to the poor and follow Him. Dejected, the young man “was saddened, and went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property” (v. 22). He couldn’t give it up.
The list of commandments Jesus gave to this young man did not include the command to not covet. Jesus left it out purposely in order to apply it to him personally. The young man was violating the commandment of not coveting. When confronted with a choice of giving it all up and following the Christ, he could not do it. He was sincere and the Lord saw that, but it was the sin of covetousness that he stumbled over. The young rich ruler went away knowing he could not or would not meet the standard that Jesus demanded.
Immediately following that, Jesus concluded the matter to His disciples:
And Jesus, looking around, said to His disciples, “How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” – v. 23
And then He repeated it in verses 24-25:
The disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.”
It was not that being a wealthy person was in itself wrong or a sin, but to choose the Kingdom of God over wealth was often too difficult a choice to make, though not impossible. The bottom line is that a wealthy person who is controlled by his possessions or anything else and will not repent cannot “enter the Kingdom of God.” It is the stumbling block of covetousness which is not exclusive to wealthy people, but also to the average guy. There are people who would not consider themselves rich who are just as guilty. They are just as greedy and place little or no value on the Kingdom of God. Most examples of the sin of covetousness are subtle and are the main reason we continue to experience God’s judgment and not God’s divinely powerful deliverance.
Subtle Covetousness
The foregoing study of the sin of covetousness was background to more fully understanding the biblical meaning and applications. The conclusion of the matter is that to live in covetousness is, in a word, greed, which is idolatry. The 10th commandment therefore returns back to the 2nd commandment to not make graven images or idols. But these don’t necessarily need to be physical idols, but often are revealed as idols of the heart. This hearkens back to the 1st commandment – you shall not have any other gods before the Lord God of Israel. Covetousness, therefore, is idol worship. It is the illegitimate pursuit of anything that is not ordained by God’s provision and is outside of and apart from the exclusive pursuit of the Kingdom of God. More often than not, it lurks under the surface of daily living and is very subtle, but just as deadly against the plans and purposes of God to advance and manifest the Kingdom of God here and now.
Examples of Covetousness
What are some of these modern-day examples of covetousness?
· The professing Christian pastor who, when he becomes aware of new information about the present-day Jews and their true identity, refuses to listen or investigate the matter for himself because he intuitively realizes that it could very well threaten his position.
· The professing Christian Bible scholar, when challenged with the clear and unmistakable truth of the exclusive parties to the New Covenant, arrogantly scoffs and categorically dismisses the truth of the matter. Why? Because his reputation is on the line among his peers. Surely, he could expect en masse rejection as a “heretic” and cancellation of book contracts.
· Likewise, the Bible school or seminary professor in the above case might do everything possible to ignore the biblical identity of the “Jews” as the house of Judah and the “Gentiles” as the house of Israel to save his job and avoid being summarily dismissed as a professor.
· The professing Christian who will not pursue the truth of what the Bible says and means or speak up against the ungodly politically-correct lies about racial equality and multicultural diversity because he might lose his job or business as an entrepreneur because his reputation is publically defamed.
And then, consider the following examples of those who will not compromise the high priority of seeking first God’s Kingdom and His righteousness because of the cost that they might have to endure.
· The leader in government who will not be swayed by political pressure to compromise the law to uphold what is right.
· The judge who will objectively rule on a case according to the facts and law despite being sanctioned by the bar association.
· The law enforcement officer who refuses to take part in a cover-up by his peers for the sake of justice.
· The medical doctor who refuses to follow the prescribed “standard of care” for his patients at the risk of losing his license because his own investigations shows that it would harm his patients.
· The pastor or elder who searches out a matter and, if he discovers truths that were contrary to what he used to believe, would change his mind and teach what he is now convinced of even though it may result in his dismissal.
· An employee who refuses to lie for his boss when that may result in a demotion and cut in pay.
· An employee who refuses to take part in the company’s tolerance and diversity program and faces discipline or even getting fired.
· The college student who would dare to stand against a professor’s teaching against “white supremacy” or “white privilege” nonsense at the risk of public chastisement and dismissal.
· The man who does not withhold tithes even though he does not know how he will pay the bills for the needs of his family next week.
· A man who delays his plans to build his house to help someone who has come into rough times and help him get back on his feet.
You get the idea. Perhaps the Spirit of the Living God has convicted you of covetousness.
We live in the midst of godless, Jewish ideas that can be summed up as the “American Dream.” When our lifestyle, our reputation, and financial security take first place, no excuses will prevail with God. Either we love God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind and seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness or we don’t. We will be called to account for how we lived our lives.
Summary
The sin of covetousness sneaks up on us. It arrives silently. It does not usually come by the way of aggressively seeking to grow rich and “have more.” It comes by way of everyday temptation to turn a blind eye to truth about what is right and good. The temptation to trust in oneself and possessions and not fully in God to provide everything we need in the face of potential hardship and lack.
Unless the sons and daughters of Israel confess and repent of covetousness and seek first God’s Kingdom and His righteousness, we will not be delivered from His righteous judgment. We will, as a Covenant People, continue to experience His wrath in the form of fear, plague, pestilence, chaos, all manner of tyranny and enslavement, destruction, and death.
If you decide to follow Jesus, don’t look behind you to see who is following. It will be a lonely road. On the other hand, you will receive a rich welcome into Paradise at the moment you breathe your last.
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