Protect The Home

Fourth Commandment

Grace to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen

The Fourth Commandment, as well as the Third Commandment, had serious social implications. In a nomadic society like that of the Hebrews, elderly parents could become a burden in the desert. They were vulnerable and helpless. Throughout the Old Testament, God ensures protection for the fatherless, the widow, the orphan, and the foreigner. As we saw last week, he provided a day of rest for wives, servants, and animals. Human greed and oppression must be controlled. We must take care of our parents.

Honor, Respect, and Obey Authority

This commandment carried the severest penalty of the Decalogue. The greatest sin in Israel was to defy the First Commandment, which prohibited blasphemy and idolatry. The punishment was death. Working on the Sabbath in defiance of the Third Commandment also could result in death. Cursing God and cursing one’s parents received the same punishment. “Anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death” (Lev 20:9). Proverbs added a gruesome description: “The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother will be picked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the vultures” (30:17).

The Commandments given at Mount Sinai were to prepare God’s chosen people for life in the Promised Land. This commandment connects obedience with being allowed to stay in the land. God adds to the command to honor father and mother, “that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” The judgment once again is death. If you don’t obey this commandment, you will die out as a people.

Why is this commandment so serious? We don’t legislate honor and respect in our society. It is a personal matter, not one for state involvement. It’s nice if people honor their parents, but should we shoot them if they don’t? The commandment bridges the two Tables of the Law. The First Table deals with God. The Second Table deals with man. The first commandments call us to respect God; the other commandments call us to respect others—their property, their life, their reputation. The Fourth Commandment deals with honoring and obeying and respecting authority.

As Luther writes in his explanation, “We should fear and love God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them” (Luther’s Small Catechism, p. 14).

Honor Even if You Do Not Respect.

These words cover God’s representatives on earth who carry out his will—in the home, in government, at work, and in the courts. These positions are to be honored as “God’s servant[s],” as Paul notes in Rom 13:4. These structures prevent anarchy. In theological circles they are called the “orders of creation.” They are the ways God controls the spread of evil and chaos. Every society has some form of family, marriage, and government. These structures must be respected and honored or all hell—literally—will break loose.

Is there a difference between respect and honor? We are commanded by God to honor our parents and all in authority: we are to honor “the emperor” (1 Pet 2:17); “masters” (Eph 6:5); and church workers (Phil 2:29). But what if they are oppressive? What if they are abusive? What if they are lazy and immoral and evil? Are they still to be respected and honored?

We honor the position even if we do not respect the person who holds the position. Sometimes Satan usurps the office. Then, for the sake of the office and in obedience to God, we must oppose the one who perverts and misuses the divinely ordained authority. However, we still honor the office. If a parent tells his child, “If the phone rings, tell him I’m not here,” what should the child do? If a boss asks a salesperson to give false or partial information when making a sales pitch, should she do it? If the pastor is involved in with immorality, what should the congregation do? If a parent is abusive, must he or she still be kept in your life?

People may have positions we honor, but we respect them only if they are faithful to their responsibilities. Nobody has a right to hurt anyone else, especially if he or she is in a position of authority and power. For the sake of God and his order, that person must be rejected and opposed and disobeyed and removed if possible. As Peter told the Sanhedrin, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge” (Acts 4:19).

God our Father is our perfect, loving Parent.

That is the great joy of naming God as our parent. Jesus called God “Father.” We pray to our heavenly Father. He has all “kingdom and power and glory” and honor. But he also has all respect. He is the Father who loves even the prodigal son. He waits for him, eager to restore him. This Father’s forgiveness is perfect and full and free and eternal. He lifts up his humiliated son. He puts the signet ring of authority back on his finger. He puts sandals on his feet and covers his ragged body with the cloak of dignity. He kills the fattened calf and invites all to celebrate a son restored.

This is what your heavenly Father does each time you enter his house. He loved you enough to send his Son to die to pay for your sins. Since Jesus died and rose again, God the Father says, “Your sins are forgiven.” He kills the fatted calf for you, who is His Son. He invites you to his Table, where this Son is your host—a host who gives his body and blood to fill and restore and renew you. We honor him, for he is God. But even more, we respect and love and embrace him for time and eternity.

When We Honor, Love, and Respect Our Parents, We Honor God, Our Perfect Parent.

Do you want to be respected and not just honored by your children in your old age? Then treat them now as you wish them to treat you later.

This commandment is important. Who are we if we don’t deserve and receive the respect of those nearest and dearest to us? Who are we if we don’t honor the ones who took care of us when we were weak and helpless? Who are we to wield authority if we don’t first learn how to obey authority?

We learn from our heavenly Father to respect and love and give and serve. That makes us blessed and loved and respected in the land. In St. Paul’s words, “‘Honor your father and mother’ (this is the first commandment with a promise), ‘that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land’” (Eph 6:3).