Ten days ago we began our prayer emphasis with the first commandment, "You shall have no other gods before Me" (Exodus 20:3).  There is only one, true, living God, and He is to be at the center of the heart and life of His people.  Absolute obedience to this first commandment safeguards the worshiper from falling prey to the sin of covetousness.  Covetousness begins as an attitude of the heart, a desire for something with an evil motivation, that is satisfied by breaking one or several of the other commandments.  "...the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart...For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander" (Matthew 15:18-19). 

 

To break this one commandment is to undermine, what Jesus called, the greatest commandments:  "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it:  'Love your neighbor as yourself'" (Matthew 22:37-39). The desire of our heart, should be to desire our God; the One and Only God, the Holy One of Israel.  All of our attention should be directed (and devoted) to Him alone.  Everyday the Jewish people recite the Shema, calling attention to God's rightful place at the center of their lives.  He is a jealous God who will not share His glory with another (reference Exodus 34:14).  He desires, and deserves the full devotion of His people.  "I am the LORD; that is My name!  I will not give My glory to another..." (Isaiah 42:8).

 

At the heart of covetousness is a lack of faith, unbelief in God's ability to provide for all of one's needs.  It is an unhealthy craving or longing for what one doesn't have, instead of trusting God to give all that He has planned and purposed for your life.  "Watch out!  Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions" (Luke 12:15).  In our reading of Matthew 19:16-30, we find the Lord answering the rich young man's question regarding eternal life by listing five of the six commandments that deal with relationships with other people, which Jesus summed up with "...and 'love your neighbor as yourself" (v. 19b).  At the heart of the young man's need was an issue of his heart that he wasn't willing to confront.  Covetousness was his main problem, and he wasn't willing to sacrifice his earthly possessions for the eternal treasures of heaven.  "When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth" (v.22).  He was willing to fill his life with all kinds of material possessions, but refused to believe in the One Who held in His hands the greatest reward.  By choosing to fill his life with things that could not satisfy he missed out on finding what true contentment really is.  "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5).

 

All that we need is found in Jesus Christ.  "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33).  Only by submitting to the Lord do we find all that we need.  "What causes fights and quarrels among you?  Don't they come from your desires that battle within you?  You want something but don't get it.  You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want.  You quarrel and fight.  You do not have, because you do not ask God.  When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives., that you may spend what you get on your pleasures" (James 4:1-3).  The Apostle Paul expressed his contentment in the Lord well:  "...I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do everything through Him Who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:11b-13).  Ultimately, when everything has been stripped away from us the only thing that truly matters is our relationship with the Lord, our desire for peace and prosperity in this world should not be as important as a desire for an intimate, abiding relationship with the Lord, which can never be destroyed.  "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39).  This is a truth we need to stand upon as our faith will face greater challenges in the days and weeks ahead and as we are being called to live our lives with greater perseverance in these troubling times.  "If you don't stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all" (Isaiah 7:9b).

 

At Mount Sinai the Lord revealed His glory to His people Israel and gave them the Law to remind them daily that He is their God and is to be the center of their hearts and lives.  "The LORD our God has shown us His glory and His majesty, and we have heard his voice from the fire" (Deuteronomy 5:24a).  The glory of God has been revealed through Jesus Christ His Son, yet it is still important, even under grace, to know the Law.  The moral law of God is what  holds the fabric of society together, when it is obeyed.  Unfortunately, the removal of the Ten Commandments from our public schools in 1980 only further weakened the moral fiber of our nation that had already begun to fray with the removal of the Bible as its' primary textbook, and prayer as a once integral part of our daily life.  The Lord's prayer for His people still rings through the generations:  "Oh that their hearts would be inclined to fear Me and keep all My commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!" (Deuteronomy 5: 29).  Time has only shown the truth of Abraham Lincoln's statement, "The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of the government in the next."  We have departed from His Word, His Law, and now His people, Israel.  May we pray in this present, and very critical, hour for a change of heart in our land, and for a resurrection of the Truth that we might fulfill our calling to bear His light to His people and see His kingdom plan fulfilled (reference Matthew 10:5-23).  "Brothers, my hearts desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved" (Romans 10:1).

 

Heavenly Father, we praise you for this time you have entrusted to us to pray for your people Israel.  You have looked for someone to stand in the gap for your people, and only you know the purposes this dedicated time of intercession has accomplished for your kingdom, your people, and your holy city.  "...drive out the nations before [them] and enlarge [their] territory, so that no one will covet the land when [they] go up three times a year to appear before the LORD your God."  We commit to faithfully pray for your beloved people from this moment forward.  "For you are a people holy to the LORD your God.  The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be His people, His treasured possession."  Give us patience and perseverance as we wait upon you with humble anticipation and holy fear for your kingdom plans to be fulfilled.  Place inside all your people a holy jealousy to desire you; to long for a deep abiding relationship with you and to experience all the spiritual blessings that personal relationship has to offer.  Godliness with contentment is great gain.  Guide the steps of your people to "flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness...to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in His own time - God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, Who alone is immortal and Who lives in unapproachable light, Whom no one has seen or can see.  To Him be honor and might forever. Amen."

 

 Oseh shalom bim'romav

Hu ya'aseh shalom aleynu

v'al kol Yisrael

v'Imru Amen.

 

He who makes peace in High Places,

He will make peace for us and for all Israel

and let us say, Amen.