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Canada and many other countries set aside 1 day in 365 to honour mothers and the same for fathers
while most Christians observe this day we don’t do so because because it knows something we don’t
long before there was a Mother’s Day God gave us the 5th commandment in which he commands us to honour our mothers and fathers 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, taking your mother out to eat, and gifts are all nice ways to honour your mother
but what is most important in the eyes of God is the kind of honour that flows out of a heart full of gratitude and reverence
it’s very easy to give a gift or do something but quite another to cultivate the attitude that is pleasing to the Lord
man looks on the outward appearance but God looks on the heart (1 Sam 16:7)
when we consider God’s requirement for honouring our mothers the world does not even come close to his 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 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)
and we note that there is a promise, an incentive or reward if you will, for obedience:
living a long time in the land; i.e. many years of enjoying God’s protection and blessing
Paul refers to this as the first commandment with promise (Eph 6:2)
how serious was this command?
we might be tempted to say that of the 10 commandments that murder is the most evil of all the sins that are covered
however we would be wrong to do so!
the penalty is the same for breaking either of these 2 commandments!
God commanded that children who dishonour, revile, curse or slander their parents be put to death!
seems like God went overboard until we think about the consequences
dishonouring and reviling parents ultimately leads to rebellion against God and brings his terrible curses down upon his people
remember what happened to the generation after those who entered the Promised Land
responsibility of parents is to teach their children to love and obey them so that their days might be long (Dt 6:2, 4-9)
Israel failed to do this and brought upon themselves great evil and distress
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
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?
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, greatness
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 places 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 this 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
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 the opposite
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
a positive example of this is Ruth
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 mother and father the responsibility of raising godly offspring for him
God deals with the issue of divorce because it destroys one of the primary purposes of marriage!
parents have a high responsibility and thus a high honour regardless of how well they 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
“remember his sabbaths” - 1 rest day in 7 set aside from work in order to remember God as creator, and submit to him as Lord and king
on the 7th day he rested from his work of creating and thus his people are to set aside 1 day in 7
refocuses the mind and heart upon the Lord
God concludes the 1st table with a positive command and starts the 2nd table the same way
the first table teaches how we are to love, obey and honour God
no other gods, no graven images, no taking his name in vain, keep 1 day holy
the 2nd table teaches how we are to love, obey and honour one another
honour parents as the first authority we experience in life, representative of God’s authority
if we don’t learn to honour our parents we won’t learn to honour God
6th: preserve life being God’s image bearers (vs.
abortion)
7th: preserve marriage by being sexually pure
8th: preserve personal property rights by not stealing
9th: preserve truth by being honest in all your dealings
10th: preserve contentment by submitting to divine providence
at the very heart of the 10 commandments is honouring God and honouring parents
we are to honour God and the first institution he has ordained for the good of countries is the family
father and mother are God’s ordained authority from which all other authority springs
if a child is taught to live rightly under parental authority they will find it much easier to submit to God’s authority
parents, you have a high responsibility to teach your children this love and respect
God has placed you under them
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