Commandment #5: Honour Thy Father and Thy Mother (Exodus 20:12)
2023-04-04
Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. (Exodus 20:12)
This commandment is quoted in the Synoptic Gospels and called “the first commandment with promise” (Ephesians 6:2). It is a practical commandment with returns: your days will be long. Why is that?
Solomon said to his son, “My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck” (Proverbs 1:8-9). We honor our parents by applying what they have taught us because they love us and want us to prosper. The God-fearing parent listens to the command, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). Most parents’ training is for children to grow up and succeed; to honor our parents is to obey them and we will receive their desire.
The importance of parents teaching their children the right way was dire, as you can see from this post here.