Who remembers Mel Brooks, "The History of the World"? Remember Moses coming down with the 3 tablets of the commandments? Moses presented the tablets to the people and says, "The fif... [he drops one of the tablets]...the ten commandments!" Is there a lesson to be learned from this story? No I am not saying there were more than the Ten Commandments. But can we gain something out of the humor of Mel Brooks? I personally believe there is.
Exodus 20:14
...don't covet anything that is your neighbors.
Several years ago I read the TEN Commandments very carefully and discovered an interesting anomaly. The first 9 Commandments are fairly specific in terms of what to do and not to do. They tell us what actions not to or to take part in. But the Tenth commandment seems to have a slightly sublime aspect to it. After all, taking anyones possession is stealing (which is already mentioned in "thou shalt not steal"), committing adultery was also already mentioned in a previous commandment. So it should be clear that the subject is coveting!
Coveting is a process that takes place in the mind first then realized in action. It is the cause of the action. In this case a sin reaction. The Tenth Commandment is concerned with the intentions/motives for the sin, not the sin itself. Thus we could easily extend the concept of intent to the first 9 commandments as well.
In short it is teaching us that the INTENTION of our HEART is to be in play. The Commandments are not simply a do as I say, though there are times for simple obedience.
In short the Ten Commandments are to be simply obeyed otherwise the idea of Intent would have been specifically mentioned. However, including that insight from the Tenth Commandment teaches us that Intent must eventually become part of the picture.
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