One of the most enduring legacies we have from the Old Testament is that of the Ten Commandments.
To understand the Commandments, we have to understand their background. The Israelites had grown to a great nation under the tutelage of Egypt. For 400 years they had lived side by side with Egyptian customs and gods. In some ways they were as Egyptian as the Egyptians themselves.
When Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt, they were dispersed into a moral hinterland that was filled with ambiguity and strife. No doubt many of those under Moses’ care nightly prayed to the gods from their Egyptian homeland.
God had to change all that. He had to set down new rules and get his people on the right track. What he did was so insightful that we still apply his rules to our lives today. On Mount Sinai, underneath a dense cloud of smoke, God revealed to Moses the Ten Commandments.
Let’s break the Commandments down. Of the ten, fully half are stated in a handful of words that need no clarification. Another four expand or clarify what God means. Only one makes a promise.
Exodus 20:12 tells us to honor our parents, for if we do so, we will have long lives in the land the Lord God gives us.
What does it mean to honor our parents? There are four areas in which God expects us to show honor to those who gave us life.
Honor Opportunity #1: RESPECT
Leviticus 26:9 tells us that when we respect our parents, God will respect us in return, giving us good jobs, obedient children, and his promise to be with us always.
Honor Opportunity #2: OBEDIENCE
2 Corinthians 7:15 reveals that obedience to our parents opens up God’s affection to us. In our times of need, he will remember our obedience, and he will shower us with his blessings.
Honor Opportunity #3: MATERIAL SUPPORT
Numbers 18:29 teaches us that when our parents are in need, we are to offer them the best of everything the Lord has given us. Then we will not be guilty, and God will bless us with long life.
Honor Opportunity #4: KINDNESS
2 Peter begins with a list of attributes that defines the very best that God expects of us. For example, if we have faith, then we must add virtue. If virtue, then knowledge, and so on.
Then look at 2 Peter 1:7. If we are godly people, we must show kindness to our parents. If we do not, Verse 9 tells us we are blind, and we have forgotten that God wiped our sins away and brought us into the kingdom.
Back in Exodus, in the very next chapter, we are given no margin for error when honoring our parents. In Chapter 21:15, 17, we read that to hit or curse our parents is worthy of death. How then can we not see God’s true assessment of the importance of showing respect, obedience, support, and kindness to our parents?
The good thing is that God offers us something in return. When we honor our parents, he will remember us. We will be blessed with great wealth, and God will give us many years on this earth to enjoy it.
When we respect our parents, God will fall in love with us, and he will shower us with the best in his storehouses.
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