Day 1189: The heart of the matter - Exodus 20 vs 13-17

13-16 You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour. 17 You shall not covet your neighbour's house; you shall not covet your neighbour's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbour's.” Exodus 20:13-17 English Standard Version

Having been brought up in SA, and now living in Yorkshire, it amazes me that Israel was told what things they were 'not' to do. But SA has had over 300 years of the gospel, and Yorkshire over 1300 years! What a change the gospel makes to society. Yet even today, the news is still about murders committed, homes broken through adultery, theft (even shoplifting), and false testimony in courts, even by the lawyers themselves. Man's heart hasn't changed. And so God went to the very root of our wrongdoing. What was that? (vs 17)

It's not just the outward act of murder and adultery, it's the inward tilt of our hearts. Our hearts are disposed toward doing what is wrong. As Jesus said: “You've heard it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgement.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgement; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. And again: “You've heard it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28)

James also spoke of this inner conflict, saying: “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions (pleasures) are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel.” (James 4:1-2) He was remembering what Jesus had taught when He said: “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

This is surely the reason why none of us can ever be justified through keeping God's law. As Proverbs 20:9 says: “ Who can say, “I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin”?

The Bible tells of a man who came close. In Mark 12 we read of a scribe who noticed how Jesus answered the people well, and asked Him: “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered: 'The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’” Jesus continued and said: “The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There's no other commandment greater than these.” The scribe replied: “You're right, Teacher. You've truly said that He is one, and there is no other besides Him. And to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbour as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Jesus said: “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” Mark 12:28-34

Not far, but not quite there. We will always need the perfect sacrifice Jesus made at Calvary to wash our hearts. The prophet Jeremiah had said: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? I the Lord search the heart and test the mind,(his innermost being) to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” (Jeremiah 17:9-10) The promise of the gospel is that God gives us new hearts! (Ezekiel 36:26)

One last thought. The Bible doesn't teach that we're not allowed to own possessions. Peter said to Ananias “While the piece of property remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal?” (Acts 5:4) But rather than coveting what others have, we're taught to “honour marriage, and keep the bed undefiled,” and to “keep our life free from love of money, and to be content with what we have. For He has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'” (Hebrews 13:4-5)