Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
What is meant by this Commandment?
We should so fear and love God as not to despise nor displease our parents and superiors, but honor, serve, obey, love and esteem them.
PARENTS are God's representatives in the family for the maintenance of law and order in it. They are charged by God with the care and training of their children, and are clothed by Him with authority over them. Their will is law for their children, so long as it does not conflict with the law of God.
SUPERIORS are those who are placed over us in a position of authority in the Family, Church, School, or State; e. g., guardians, step-parents, grand-parents, pastors, teachers, rulers, etc. They also are God's representatives to maintain order, and are to be honored and obeyed as such. In every case of a conflict of authority, we must "obey God rather than men." [Acts 5:29]
This commandment forbids us to despise or displease our parents and superiors, and commands us to honor, serve, obey, love, and esteem them.
We must not
DESPISE them, mock at them, [Prov. 39:17+] make light of them, think ourselves wiser or above their authority, nor speak disrespectfully of them or to them. [Deut 27:16+]
We must not
DISPLEASE them by lack of affection, grumbling, disobedience, stubbornness, rebelliousness, or wickedness. [Exod. 21:15+]
We should
HONOR them as those who are placed over us by God's appointment, look up to them, and always treat them with proper respect [Lev. 19:3, Eph 6:2, 3+] and consideration.
SERVE them, be helpful to them, lighten their burdens, and anticipate their wishes. [I Tim. 5:4]
OBEY them by cheerfully and promptly doing their will, even when it is not to our liking. [Eph. 6:1, Col. 3:20+, Prov. 1:8]
LOVE them, and show our love by a constant desire and effort to please them. We should call to mind what they have done and still do for us, that our love for them may grow deep and tender. [John 19:26, 27]
ESTEEM them. We should regard and appreciate them as a precious gift of God. Children who have lost father or mother have met with a great loss.
IN LATER YEARS. We should honor, love and obey our parents while we are young; and we should still love and honor them when we are older. We must not despise or be ashamed of them if we happen to rise to a higher position in life than they. When they have grown old and feeble, we should care tenderly for them; and after they are dead, we should treasure their memory.
OUR DUTY TO OUR SUPERIORS. [Rom. 13:7+]
The Pastor is to be honored for the sake of the office which he holds. He is the ambassador of Christ; [II Cor. 5:20] and when he preaches the Gospel, or speaks words of admonition and counsel in private, the Saviour speaks through him. Those who hear him hear Christ; those who despise him despise Christ. [Luke 10:16] We should heed his admonitions, [Heb. 13:17+, I Thess. 5:12, 13] and, as far as we are able, help and encourage him in his work.
Our Teachers in Sunday-school and in other schools are placed over us in a position of authority, and must therefore be respected and honored.
Rulers and the Government. The State is God's servant to regulate temporal affairs and to maintain law and order in the land. Rulers and officials of the government must be respected and honored. [Matt. 22:21+, Rom. 13:1-4+] Christians must be good citizens. They must always obey the law, so long as it does not conflict with the law of God. [I Pet. 2:13, Acts 5:29] They should be patriotic, pray for their country, be ready to defend it, pay their taxes, and be concerned that it shall be a Christian land. Every voter shares in the responsibility of securing righteous government, and should cast his vote conscientiously.
OLD PERSONS in general are to be treated with respect and honor. [Lev. 19:32+]
A special blessing is promised to those who keep this commandment.
QUESTIONS.—1. What does the Second Table of the Law teach? 2. What is meant by "our neighbor"? 3. What is the position of parents in the family? 4. What is meant by "superiors"? 5. To whom is our highest obedience due? 6. What does this commandment forbid, and what does it command? 7. In order to avoid despising or displeasing our parents, what should we not do? 8. Why and how should we honor them? 9. How should we serve them? 10. How should we obey them? 11. How should we show our love to them? 12. What should we always remember concerning our parents? 13. What is meant by esteeming them? 14. How should we regard and treat them when we have grown older? 15. What is our duty to our pastor? 16. What is our duty to our teachers? 17. Why should we honor our rulers? 18. What are a Christian's duties to his country? 19. How must we treat old persons in general? 20. What special blessing is promised to those who keep this commandment?
SCRIPTURE VERSES.—Prov. 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.
Deut. 27:16. Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother: and all the people shall say, Amen.
Exod. 21:15. And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.
Eph. 6:2, 3. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
Col. 3:20. Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.
Rom. 13:7. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
Heb. 13:17. Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.
Matt. 22:21. Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.
Rom. 13:1. Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
Lev. 19:32. Thou shall rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD.
READING.—Joseph and his Father, Gen. 47:1-12.
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