The Desires of the Heart
By Jay Memoria INTRODUCTION: Exodus 20:17: “ 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 .” This is a fitting climax to the Decalogue because it is the culmination and summation of the other nine. It goes deep into the heart of all the commandments. Without the 10th Commandment, we might think that the first nine are merely external laws, and we might begin to think that they are easy and that we can fulfill them and therefore earn our right to eternal life. This is precisely what the rich young ruler thought in Mark 10. In verse 17, he asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” (v.17). Jesus answered in verse 19, “ You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother. ’”Jesus quoted the second table of the law. What is the re...
