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Canada and many other countries set aside 1 day in 365 to honour mothers and another for fathers
while most Christians observe these days we don’t do so because because the world knows something we don’t
long before there was Mother’s Day and Father’s Day God gave the 5th commandment in which he commands all people, everywhere to honour their parents not just one day a year but every day, all day
this honouring is not only to be external but more importantly internal
giving flowers, going out to eat, and gifts are all nice ways to honour your parents
but what is most important in the eyes of God is the kind of honour that flows out of a heart that fears him and wants to glorify him
it’s very easy to say or do something occasionally but quite another to cultivate and possess the kind of submissive attitude that is pleasing to the Lord
man looks on the outward appearance but God looks on the heart (1 Sam 16:7)
the Christian life is about submission
Christ modelled this for us in his submission to the will of God in surrendering his glory, becoming man , taking the form of servant, becoming obedient to death, even the death of the cross (Php 2)
when we consider God’s requirement for honouring our parents we will discover that the world does not even come close to God’s expectation and demands!
this morning we are going to consider the 5th commandment in Exodus 20:12 and other passages in the bible where it is quoted so that we can learn what God requires of us in the matter of honouring our parents
the 5th commandment
in this commandment God requires the honouring of both father and mother (Ex 20:12 and quoted in Lev 19:3, Mt 15:4, 19:19; Mark 7:10; 10:19; Lk 18:20; Eph 6:1-3; Col 3:20)
for the OT Israelite living a long time in the land meant many years of enjoying God’s protection and blessing
a general biblical principle: if you want to enjoy God’s favour on your life, honour your parents and all those who have authority over you
if you want to enjoy God’s favour for eternity, submit to him by repenting of your sins and believing on his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ
how serious is keeping this command?
we might be tempted to say that of all the 10 commandments murder is the most evil of all the sins that are covered
and in fact it is a very wicked sin because God made us in His own image
murder then is ultimately an attack on God himself
this is one of the reasons why abortion is such a wicked thing in the eyes of God
we might also be tempted to think that not honouring our parents is really not that big a deal
however if we base the seriousness of the crime on the punishment God says it deserves we discover that many of the commands carry the death penalty
judging the commands to honour parents and not to commit murder by their penalties we find that in the eyes of God they are both very serious crimes
God commanded that children who dishonour, revile, curse or slander their parents be put to death!
seems like God went overboard until we consider the consequences
parents were God’s ordained means of passing from one generation to the next the knowledge of God, his marvellous works and the requirements of the covenant
permitting children to dishonour and revile parents cuts a child off from this essential knowledge leading to a generation that did not know God
this led to outright rebellion against God and brought his terrible curses down upon his people
remember what happened to the generation which followed those who entered the Promised Land
highlights the importance of parents teaching their children to love and obey them so that their days in the land might be long (Dt 6:2, 4-9)
if you want your children to be blessed teach them to honour you, don’t let them dishonour you
Israel failed to do this and brought upon their descendants great evil and distress and eventually destruction
fast forward 3500 years to our present day and we find the same problem
our culture has, for the most part, lost the biblical understanding of honour
in our culture we honour ourselves, we are the centre of our universe
the unwritten attitude of most people: “after me you come first”
we don’t honour the police unless we are getting a ticket but then we do so for our own advantage: that we might escape having to pay the fine
bosses are honoured for the same selfish reason police officers are: self interest
if FB is any indicator we certainly don’t honour our political leaders
teachers for the most part are not honoured by their students and often their parents are to blame for this
the closest we come to honour is when someone in our military loses their life in the line of their duty
Highway of Heroes to honour those killed in military action
Paul’s warning to Timothy about the attitudes of those living in the last days
the days we are living in mirror what Paul predicted
the question for us as believers is, are we going to honour God by honouring our parents as he commands and instructs or are we going to let the world dictate our attitude and behaviour?
will we be faithful to teach our children to honour us or will we leave them to be instructed by the world?
what we decide will determine whether we experience God’s favour and blessing or his wrath and displeasure
What Does Honour Mean?
honour in Ex 20:12
depending on context:
heavy or weighty - something of high value
to be in a situation of increasing prosperity and thus have high status; to be glorified
to be in a state of being great and wonderful
honour then means to recognize in your parents something of high value, people to be honoured as great and wonderful
doesn’t mean they always deserve it!
must separate actions and attitudes of parents from their God ordained position
to flesh out what honour means let’s look at other passages in the bible where this command is quoted
Honouring vs. Reviling
in Mt 15:4 honouring is contrasted with reviling
honour: to show esteem or respect
the worth one ascribes to a person
revile: to use foul or abusive language, speak evil of, curse, make false or defamatory statements
how serious is this in God’s eyes? it carries the death penalty
God does not change
even though the death penalty is no longer enforced does not mean that God looks on the violation of the 5th commandment any less seriously!
how serious is honouring your father and mother in your eyes?
we ignore this command to our own shame and hurt and that of our children and ultimately our culture!
curse: to invoke harm
examples:
“I wish you never existed, go to hell, damn you …”
bless: speak words invoking divine favour, with the intent that the object have favourable circumstances at a future time
to wish good on another
always speaking well and wishing the best for her
cursing is to wish evil on them
God requires all children, regardless of age, to positively acknowledge father and mother, to speak well of them, to honour them, to desire the best for them
anything less than this is a violation of God’s will
for those who have had abusive parents this will be extremely difficult, but it is not impossible!
since God has called you to this noble task he will give you the grace to do it with a right heart!
you do this not primarily for your parents because they deserve it but you do it for the glory of God who will reward you for honouring him
you do not do this because what they did was not wrong
you do this first because God requires it but second because it is for your own good
an unforgiving spirit puts your soul in danger
example of Christ before his accusers and torturers
Ruth’s positive example:
her mother-in-law had lost her husband and her sons and as such was without protection, subject to be oppressed, easily impoverished
Naomi certainly saw herself as under the curse of God (Ruth 1:16)
Ruth was willing to abandon her family, her people, her nation and her gods in order to stay with Naomi
required her to do menial labour when Naomi returned home
this involved risk to her person
Ruth honoured Naomi and she was rewarded with a godly husband, a long life and a place in the lineage of the Messiah
Honouring and Revering
revere: acknowledge the high status of the one in authority and give them appropriate honour even bordering on fear
the reason for their high status: God has given parents the responsibility of raising godly offspring for him
God hates divorce because it destroys one of his primary purposes of marriage: raising godly offspring for him
parents have a high responsibility and thus a high honour regardless of how they struggle to fulfill it
secondly, note that honouring mother and father and keeping Sabbaths are somehow connected
honouring mother and father is the outflow of honouring God by keeping his Sabbaths
Sabbaths were commanded to help God’s people remember him, serve him, love him and obey him as their Creator
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