Loving God, you come to us in love and give us the commandments for the good of all. Teach us how to live in love, and empower us by your Spirit, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

            Professor Rolf Jacobson, as he is writing about the Ten Commandments, says the following: “The point of the law is not self-improvement, but neighbor improvement” (workingpreacher.org).  In other words, the commandments are not given in order to make you a better person, but for the good of your neighbour.  Have you ever thought about it in those terms?... At the same time, of course, your neighbour is given the same commandments for your benefit.

         Now before we go any further today, it would be good to clarify something.  When Jesus says, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself,” who does he mean?... Is he talking about the people who live next door to us?... Is he talking about other people too?... Your neighbour, at least in biblical terms, is any other person who walks this earth with you.  And sometimes it happens to be the person who lives next door.

         A couple of biblical stories illustrate two things at the same time: Why coveting is mentioned twice, and how the commandments are given for the good of the neighbour.  The first one is about King David, and it all starts with coveting…

         Some of you probably know the story – how King David was up on the roof one day and happened to see his neighbour’s wife bathing (2 Sam. 11).  Some coveting ensued, and he had some messengers go and bring her over. That led to adultery, which led to pregnancy, which led to David trying to facilitate a cover-up.  Uriah, which was the neighbour’s name, was summoned home from the battlefield in the hopes that he would go and lie with his wife. That way, she could pretend that the child was his.  However, Uriah refuses to enjoy the comforts of home while all of his men are still at the battle front.

         Thus, King David sends a message back to the battle front with Uriah, telling the general to put Uriah where the heaviest fighting is and then to draw back from him.  The result is that Uriah, and presumably the men who are with him, are killed in battle.  Bathsheba, who is Uriah’s wife, spends the requisite amount of time mourning the loss of her husband.  Then King David takes her to be his wife.  David has indulged in adultery, murder and theft.  And it all started with coveting his neighbour’s wife.

         The second biblical story also involves a king.  This time the story is about King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, and it all starts with coveting…

         King Ahab looks out one day, and he decides that he wants the vineyard that belongs to his neighbour Naboth.  It is close to his house, and he would like to make it into a vegetable garden.  And so Ahab says to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard… I will give you a better vineyard for it; or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its value in money” (1 Ki. 21:2).  However, Naboth refuses.  It is his ancestral inheritance, and there is no way that he is going to part with it.  And so Ahab goes home and pouts.

         His wife Jezebel, however, hatches a plan.  She writes letters in Ahab’s name and gets some deadbeats to bring some false charges against Naboth at a public event.  They accuse him of cursing God and the king, and so Naboth is taken outside the city and stoned to death.  Then, as soon as Naboth is dead, Ahab moves in and takes possession of his vineyard. Ahab and Jezebel have indulged in bearing false witness, murder, and theft.  And it all started with coveting his neighbour’s vineyard.

         No wonder Jesus teaches that what is in a person’s heart is the most important. “For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person” (Mt. 15:19-20).  And coveting, or envy, or jealousy also reside in our hearts. This is why coveting is mentioned twice.

         As for the good of the neighbor, wouldn’t things have been better for Uriah if David had actually lived according to the commandments?  And wouldn’t things have been better for Naboth if Ahab and Jezebel had actually obeyed the commandments?  The commandments are given for the good of the neighbour.  In fact, all of the commandments that we heard in today’s reading can be summed up in that other commandment that is quoted by Jesus: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself” (Mt. 22:39).

         Imagining that we might ask God how to do this, Professor Rolf Jacobson imagines God’s answer going something like this:

God says, “OK, let me be a little more explicit here. Make sure everyone gets one day off each week, take care of the elderly, don’t kill, don’t steal, don’t have sex with someone else’s spouse, don’t hurt your neighbor with your words, don’t desire your neighbor’s stuff. That’s how you love your neighbor.”

Then he continues: “Because the law isn’t about you. It’s about your neighbor. And God loves your neighbor so much that God gives you the law. And God loves you so much, that God gives your neighbor the exact same law.” (workingpreacher.org)

         Just like we heard a few weeks ago, the commandments start with God’s relationship with us and God’s love for us.  There is actually good news even in the commandments. They speak of God’s love for us and God’s love for every other person who walks this earth.  They speak of life in a community where people love God and love one another.  They speak of the way in which God always intended us to live – as free people, living in good relationships with God and with one another.  And because of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, God makes it possible.  Thanks be to God!  Amen.

Pentecost 4 (NL summer)                                                  Exodus 20:12-17

June 17, 2018                                                                      Matthew 22:34-40

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2018 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved