Exodus 20 sets forth a covenant document between God and man. These are the obligations we are to do. If we take one out then we destroy the covenant document and destroy the covenant relationship with God.
Our text “Honor your Father and Mother” is a universal command. EVERYBODY is supposed to do this; all that are in covenant with God. This is a moral law that is for you and I. It has a purpose and is Holy, righteous and acts like a mirror. It, the Law, shows us our sins and the Law cannot save us. We are saved by the New Covenant that is in Jesus and in the Blood of Jesus. ONLY the Blood of Jesus can save us. The blood of all those sacrificed animals could not and cannot save anybody. It is through the Blood of Jesus that we enter into a New Covenant with God. When we enter into the New Covenant then we can keep this fifth commandment to honor our father and mother.
Leviticus 19:3 Honor your Father and Mother. This is on the same level as keeping the Sabbaths of God. Have reverence for our parents. Give them reverence and honor is what the Lord says to do to our parents who are in covenant relationship with God. In the Old Testament an unruly child was admonished by his parents. If he didn’t listen then they took him to the elders of the church. If he still didn’t listen then they would take him out and stone him dead. The New Testament says to treat the child as an illegitimate instead.
For the parents who don’t have a covenant relationship with God but the child does, we look at I Peter 3:1-4. Don’t nag them, your parents, but act out your Faith. Pray for them and live as you are a Believer. You are to still love your father and mother. The scripture puts father and mother on an equal plain and you are to honor them both equally. Father and Mother are balanced-equal in the honor, reverence that they should receive. This also goes for your adoptive parents and your spiritual moms and dads. Spiritual parents can be your pastors, ministers, and church leaders. It can be those who lead us to Christ and who continue to nourish us in the Lord. We need to honor them all when they are alive and when they are dead. When a man leaves his father and mother to get married, to go to his wife, he is to still honor his father and mother.
Ephesians 6:1-2 “Children obey your parents for it is the first commandment with promise.” You will live a long life. Parents have been through things in the past that their children may need help with now. By the parents teaching the children how to do, act and behave in certain situations, the children will live a long life. God keeps His promises so what should we do to live a long life? Honor your father and mother. Ask God to teach you how to better honor your father and mother.
