The Fifth Commandment
Exodus 20.12
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land that the LORD your God is giving you.”
Deuteronomy 5.16
“‘Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.’”
God teaches us to gain the promises of His blessings through obedience to properly-constituted authorities. In this we see His great wisdom by making the home the training-ground for justice and mercy. Children who honor their parents will become adults who respect others, defer to God-ordained authorities, care for the Lord’s creation, and honor and obey the Lord Himself. The last six commandments issue from the first four: Love for our neighbors flows from learning to love God. And as the first commandment is to the first four – foundational in many ways – the fifth commandment is to the remaining six.
Hence, we must always seek ways of showing proper honor to those whom God has set in authority over us. Put another way, since, as Luther observed, the Christian is free in the Lord to be the servant of all men, we must nurture an attitude of deference and respect toward others if we would serve them faithfully, as Jesus taught (Mk. 10.42-45).
T. M. Moore
The Law of God is the soil which, fertilized by the rest of God’s Word and watered by His Spirit, brings forth the fruit of Christian life. If you’d like to understand this process better, and how to make best use of the Law in your walk with and work for the Lord, order the book, The Ground for Christian Ethics, from our online store.
Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
