Exodus 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

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1 Subject: Commandment #8 Title: Fifth Commandment - Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother Text: Exodus 20:12 Exodus 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. Introduction * The Fifth Commandment is one of the shortest of the Ten Commandments. * The Fifth Commandment is the least discussed among biblical commentators. * The Fifth Commandment focuses on honour which is greater than obedience. * The Fifth Commandment serves to link the first four, which speak of our responsibilities to God, and the last five, which speak of our responsibilities to our fellow man. * Obeying the Fifth Command to honour parents links us to the authority of God through our God-given parents, and the required attitude of respect with which we are to treat our fellow man. * To understand the connection, we must understand that honouring our parents, honours God. We cannot honour God without honouring the authority, parents, which directly links us to God. * In the grand scheme of things, God is the initiator of life, and He gave life to our parents, who gave us our lives. You may feel that your parents have done nothing for you, however, they have given you life! It is their greatest gift to you! Honour them, you honour God. * The Fifth Commandment has a great promise attached to it - long life. * The fundamental rules of obedience and respect are learned in a child s life in his relationship with his parents. What is not learned here will come back to penalize the individual later in life. * Recalcitrant or rebellious children have problems with teachers, coaches, bus drivers, school administrators, police officers and judges. I. Review of the Commandments - The Place of the Fifth Commandment No. 1 - No Other Gods The Lord knows that if we worship any other god, other than Him, that it will lead to personal and spiritual destruction (Romans ).

2 No. 2 - No Graven Images God cannot be represented in an image, statue or trinket. The creature cannot make anything to represent his Creator to the degree that it is absurd to even attempt to do that. In essence, we try to create our own gods. God in His infinite majesty and glory is beyond all that. No.3 - Don t Take His Name in Vain If you have taken His name, live a life worthy of that name. Profaning God s name is making it common. It is to be held sacred and revered. Honour and respect His name in all that you say and do. No.4 - Remember the Sabbath God wants us to take time to intentionally remember Him. He does not want us to be distracted by the everyday activities of life beyond our basic necessities. Work six and give one day to God in prayer, worship, ministry and service. No.5 - Honour thy Father and Thy Mother The Fifth Commandment speaks of: - Respect for God-given authority. - Gratitude for the very gift of life. - The great importance of the family, family unit and family respect. - Sets the stage for our attitudes and respect for all other people. Proof: What is the Six Commandment? - Thou shalt not kill. Your parents gave you your life, you have no right to rescind or take another set of parents gift to their child! - Failure to obey the Fifth Commandment dishonors God and sets the stage to deny other human beings the right to life, trust, ownership, honesty and satisfaction. The longer these basic lessons in obedience and honour are not learned and turned into the resultant behavior, the greater the penalties and consequences in life. II. Violation of the Fifth Commandment a Capital Offense Deuteronomy 21:18 If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:

3 19 Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; 20 And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. 21 And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear. Exodus 21:15 And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death...17 And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death. Leviticus 20:9 For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him. Proverbs 30:17 The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it. III. The Family, a Reflection of the Trinity What is the Trinity? Three persons in one God. The characteristic or attribute of unity is at stake. Father Son Holy Ghost Father Mother Child God Himself dwells in unity as a family unit as demonstrated by the Trinity. This is His will for us. God wants us to be in unity with our parents. God knows that if there is an harmonious relationship between sons/daughters and their parents (like the Trinity), then great blessing and fruitfulness will result. God has modeled family unity for us by showing us the wonder of the Trinity. IV. The Father and The Son, Their Relationship Jesus whole mission on Earth was to restore mankind to the level of relationship with God that was lost in the Fall. Since the Fall in the Garden of Eden, people had not known what it was like to have a one-on-one relationship with God. Throughout the New Testament, the relationship between Jesus and God the Father is a perfect example of fatherhood and sonship. In our new birth experience, we enter into a Father-son, one-on-one relationship. The Father and Son are co-equal, yet the Son submitted Himself to His Father s authority willingly. You, likewise, are an equal with your earthly father, yet you submit to His authority. 3

4 This is the example of Christ! Jesus relationship with His Father showed us how to relate to our parents. You say, Jesus Father was always right, true and holy, mine is not! Because Jesus Father was always righteous, Jesus could always obey Him. You may say, My Father is not, so why should I obey him? The commandment does not say obey, it says honour. You honour your parents for their position of authority. As an adult, you are not required to obey, but to honour. At the very least, we honour our parents because of their position, not performance. We honour them for the life they have imparted. We honour them, because it is a command of God. V. Eight Good Reasons to Honour our Parents 1. Obedience to a God-given command. 2. It is well pleasing to the Lord. 3. It shows respect and honor for God, Himself. 4. It shows gratitude for at least the life your parents gave you. 5. It shows respect to their position. 6. It has a promise of reward and blessing attached to it - that thy days may be long... Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. 7. It brings blessing to the institution of the family and home. It brings a rich family life and heritage which in turn serves as the backbone of society. 8. You will reap what you sow in your own children. The honoring of parents is a principle which has come under increasing stress in recent times, chiefly because we have allowed ourselves to create a societal culture where dishonor and rebellion have been allowed to flourish unchecked. The family unit has been under constant attack for many years. For the most part, society has spawned a generation of young people who react badly to leadership and authority. Unfortunately, they did not learn to honor the God-given authority in their lives, their parents. Exodus 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. 4

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