Yes! There is Good News! 11.9.18

When I was young I was introduced to the Ten Commandments and given a simplified version of them to memorize. I recall that I memorized the fifth commandment as, “Honor your father and your mother.” And this is the gist of what is said there, but our Heavenly Father gives us a few more details in this next commandment.

“Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you.” (Deuteronomy 5:16) These are interesting details, are they not?

God has given us the first 4 commandments that teach us how our Heavenly Father desires to be worshiped; but before He gives us the last 5 commandments, ones that teach us how to enjoy a prosperous society, He tells us that we must honor our parents. This fifth commandment acts as a bridge from God to society. In it He teaches us that the family unit is the foundation of society. Without this understanding, society has no substance upon which to stand.

Our society today appears to be on a slippery slope downward toward calamity. The honor that a child is required to have for his parents becomes hard to find today. God, the Creator of all things and all people, knew that this command was imperative for an orderly society and so He added the promises to the base command.

Do we want a long life? I believe most of us, if not all, would answer yes. Do we want a long life that goes well for us? If I get to live a long life, I sure would desire it to go well!! I believe a sane person would answer yes! And what’s this about “the land the LORD your God is giving you”?

God is the owner of all things. In Leviticus 25:23 He tells us that the land is His. As the old song says, “This world is not my home, I’m just a passing through” – God brought the land into existence and He can surely take it all away.

There is a principle tucked away in this 5th Commandment – and it involves respect for authority. The first authority for a family (after God) is the parents. But in a solid society, authority extends outward to what the bible calls “elders.” When I was a kid, I knew that when my friend’s parents told me to change my behavior, I had better obey. I also understood that policemen were around for our good and they were to be respected.
God is the ultimate authority but He has placed others in society to keep order. Paul says it this way in Romans 13:1, “… there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted.”
God has told us to “Honor our father and mother.” And so I see that Jesus tells us that God is our Father – He is our Heavenly Father. Therefore honor God, all you His children!!