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“You shall not covet your neighbor’s . . . ox, nor
his donkey . . .”
Exodus 20:17
Coveting another man’s property is a problem yet in today’s society. This has led to
thievery and rustling a farmer or rancher’s prize cattle and donkeys along with horses
and tractors among other things.
Samuel the Prophet
Lest he might be accused of similar sins, Samuel the prophet of God in ancient Israel
asked anyone to witness against him of any wrong doing:
I Samuel 12:1-4 “. . . here I am. Witness against me before the LORD and
before His anointed (
the new king
): whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey
have I taken, or whom have I defrauded . . .” And they said, You have not
defrauded us or oppressed us, nor have you taken anything from a man’s
hand.”
The Apostle Paul wrote to those complaining against him:
Acts 20:33 “I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel.”
Keeping the Wrong Company
Realizing one can be influenced by keeping the wrong kind of company which could lead
to sin, the Apostle Paul strongly wrote:
I Corinthians 5:9-11 “I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with
sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually
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