In Exodus, chapter twenty, verse seventeen is the tenth and final commandment that goes beyond the external sin of word and deed to condemn evil motives and desires. Coveting involves the passion or lust for all that is wrong or belongs to another person. This commandment reveals the depth of human sinfulness that exposes the depravity of men and women that calls for them to seek grace and moral power from God. Only by the regenerative function of the Holy Spirit can one live a life pleasing to God.
Covetousness can cause a person to constantly compare themselves to their neighbor and be under pressure to make bad decisions. Genesis sixteen, verse two depicts Sarai telling Abram to go unto Hagar and have a child by her. Why would Sarai do that? She blames God for not being able to have children during that time. She may have faced the difficulty of bearing children and saw the youth and potential in her maid. Hagar felt rejected, while Sarai did not want her around after the child was born.
To covet someone else will eventually create dislike or hatred towards the victim. The problem with this is the instigator builds unnecessary conflict against someone that did nothing wrong. The only mistake is watching the neighbor as Sarai did with Hagar. She had to leave with her child Ishmael because of the bad treatment from Sarai. Even though it was her idea in the first place, not God’s, the mistreatment Hagar receives from Abram’s wife cause Abram to let them depart.
An example of extreme Covetousness is Ahab, King of Samaria, toward Naboth and his vineyard. The passion Ahab had for Naboth’s vineyard was to the point that he was burdened down and displeased that Naboth said no to his request. He covets the vineyard so much that his wife devises an evil plan that King Ahab eventually was able to possess the vineyard. To lust after can do external damage to another with the potential of verbal and physical harm.