Read Deuteronomy 25 here (text coming …) or at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew Paragraphs:
25:1-4 {s} Do not withhold what is justly due the wicked or the ox
25:5-10 {s} Do not withhold seed that is justly due the dead brother
25:11-12 {s} Do not withhold just punishment
25:13-16 {p} Do not covet gain from unjust weights or measures
25:17-19 {p} Do not withhold what is justly due to Amalek
In my notes, I have Deu 24:10-26:15 explaining the 10th Commandment, Do not covet. This is its Chiastic Structure:
As we can see from the paragraph divisions, there is more to Do not covet than lusting for something that we do not have. It also includes grasping on to something that we do have, but which is due to another.
The central axis of the structure teaches us that we make it possible for brothers to dwell together in unity when we are careful to not covet, pervert justice, or do any of the other things we have been forbidden to do, that we have been studying. Obeying God’s commandments, or another way to say the same thing, walking in God’s ways, promotes unity among brothers because these commandments define for us what loving our neighbor looks like. Love does no harm to our neighbor, therefore love–God’s definition of love and not man’s–is the fulfilling of the Law (Rom 13:10).
If there are questions, this is a good resource:
Deuteronomy 24:10-26:15, 10th Commandment Summary: Do not covet – Christine Miller
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