10 COMMANDMENTS EXPLAINED . . .

FIFTH COMMANDMENT

“HONOR YOUR FATHER & MOTHER . . .”

¨      In the fifth commandment, the children were charged: “honor your father and mother.”

¨      If the children did not honor their parents and were rebellious and self-centered, they would not be able to learn about the covenant relationship with God which had been so central to the lives of their parents.

¨      And as a consequence of dishonoring their parents, they would not prosper in the promised land, for they would not know intimately the Lord of the covenant promise.

¨      Although the primary significance of the commandment had to do with the continuity of the covenant, one of the fruits of children honoring their parents was to provide a solid family structure for the Israelites.

¨      The fulfillment of the promise of the covenant God would be experienced only as the parents…