Honour Thy Father and Thy Mother

Written With the Hand of God

Deuteronomy 5:16

1. Turn quickly over to Exodus 20:12.

2. Exodus 20:12 (KJV) 12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

3. This is the companion passage to Deuteronomy. The Exodus passage is the original giving of the law, when Moses was on the mountain.

4. Deuteronomy means second law. The point of this book is the retelling of the law for the generation that will enter the land of Canaan.

5. Look back at Deuteronomy 1.

6. Deuteronomy 1:1-3 (KJV) 1 These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain over against the Red sea, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab. 2 (There are eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir unto Kadeshbarnea.) 3 And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel, according unto all that the LORD had given him in commandment unto them;

7. This is the end of Moses’ life. He will not be going into the land of promise. Turn over to chapter 34 of Deuteronomy.

8. Deuteronomy 34:5-8 (KJV) 5 So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. 6 And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. 7 And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. 8 And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.

9. It is in this light that we are looking at our Ten Commandments. Today’s commandment is written particularly to those of us who have parents.

10. –Passage—

11. Every Bible-believing mom and dad has either quoted or paraphrased this verse. Usually, we do it when we’re almost ready to sell the children to a group of traveling gypsies.

12. As we move from dealing with our relationship to God to our relationships with other people, we have to look at this foundational human relationship.

13. Look around. A huge problem exists in this country in that children and parents have forgotten this foundation.

14. ILL: My neighbor is an engineer. We were talking about the bridge project. The pillar that is a survey mark…

15. This fifth commandment is the survey marker that verifies all of the rest of the boundaries in our lives. It all starts with our relationships at home.

16. Everyone Should Honor Their Parents.

I. Parents are Chosen by God.

1. The one part of this verse that we are not going to dwell on is the phrase, “…as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee…”

2. Parenthood is not an accident. It is not divine retribution, nor is it God showing His sense of humor.

3. ILL: Parent’s curse…

4. Parenthood is a divine calling.

5. The very first command to humanity in the Bible is to be a parent.

6. Genesis 1:28 (KJV) 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

7. Think of it from a purely scientific standpoint.

8. There is only one correct combination of genes that could make each of us.

9. That means that only two people at one point in time could create me. If you replace one person, you get an entirely different result. If you wait a month, or even a day, you get a different result.

10. Think about this family, created right in God’s time.

11. Luke 1:5-7 (KJV) 5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

12. Luke 1:13-17 (KJV) 13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. 14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. 15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. 17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

13. These parents were specifically chosen to have a son who would fulfill prophecy.

14. Isaiah 40:3 (KJV) 3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

15. Matthew 3:3 (KJV) 3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

16. God chooses parents who have specific personalities.

17. Have you ever stopped to think about the impact that your parents made on your life?

18. They say that we get our image of God from our fathers. I wonder what kind of divine image this man gave to his first son.

19. Matthew 1:19 (KJV) 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.

20. This couple was chosen on purpose. Joseph was a just man who would believe the angel and would protect the child is his own.

21. Mary was chosen because she was a devout young lady and (more importantly) she received grace.

22. Luke 1:26-30 (KJV) 26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

23. We can even say the same for adoptive parents.

24. Think about Moses’ mother, who had him during the time of the killing of the Hebrew boys in Egypt. She had him put in the ark and watched by Miriam.

25. Think about Hannah, the mother of Samuel, who by divine appointment gave her first born son to Eli, the high priest, for the service of the Lord.

26. The point is that parents are provided by God on purpose.

27. The personalities that we have are from our parents.

28. The fears and worries that we hold are from our parents.

29. The ambitions and goals come from our parents.

30. Parents are by divine appointment.

II. Blessings are Promised by God.

1. Look at the promises that God attaches to this commandment.

2. God promises prolonged days.

3. God promises that it will go well.

4. Before we tackle these promises, please look at all of the commandments for a moment.

5. Notice please that there are no other specific promises attached to any other commandment.

6. Oh, there is reference to God showing mercy, but it doesn’t specifically link back to the commandment. It’s a general statement.

7. Verse 11 gives a specific judgment for those who take the name of the Lord in vain.

8. There are six New Testament references to this commandment and the last reads this way.

9. Ephesians 6:1-3 (KJV) 1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) 3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

10. This actually clears up the first promise.

11. In Deuteronomy, the wording leaves room for a double meaning. Exodus doesn’t seem to, though.

12. Exodus 20:12 (KJV) 12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

13. What could the connection be to honoring our parents and living long?

14. The obvious first answer is that God will bless us. Does that mean that everyone who lives a long time honored their parents and that everyone who dies early didn’t?

15. Not necessarily, but it does remind me of other passages in the law.

16. Exodus 21:15 (KJV) 15 And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.

17. Deuteronomy 21:20-21 (KJV) 20 And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. 21 And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

18. It was serious business to be disobedient to your parents back in the day.

19. It might just be that in learning to honor our parents, we learn to obey authority.

20. If our view of God is shaped by our fathers, our response to God is going to be similar to our responses to our fathers.

21. Those who treat their fathers dishonorably will not honor God. Those who cannot bend their wills to their parents will not bend their wills to their God in Heaven.

22. This is part of what can turn people into criminals, deviants, and malcontents.

23. Yet, God promises long life to those who will honor their parents.

24. He also says that it will go well with us.

25. What does that mean?

26. Consider what a child learns when he learns to honor his mother and father.

27. He learns that there are boundaries in his life. He learns the safe zone.

28. Isn’t life easier in the safe zone?

29. He learns how to please those in authority.

30. He ought to learn much about life and godliness.

31. He learns that God blesses us for keeping this commandment.

ILL: Dad – finding out that he wasn’t biological…
Didn’t change anything in my life. He was still Dad and always will be.
Even as adults, we should honor our parents. They weren’t perfect and they made mistakes, just like we do with our children.
Honor them because they were selected specifically to be your parents.
Honor them because God has promised to bless those who honor their parents.