THE 5TH COMMANDMENT“Honour thy Father & Mother...”

A Lesson By: Tam Walls

THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT

“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)

PARENTS

Parents are the first to love you. They work hard to provide you with all of your basic necessities as well as some of the fun things you want. God gave you to your parents and commanded them to care for you and teach you right from wrong. Most importantly he commanded them to teach you the word of God. “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it,” (Proverbs 22:6)

HONOR & LOVE

The word Honor means to hold with high respect. Your parents are not your friends and they hold a distinct role of authority given to them by God. Do NOT curse at your parents, roll your eyes or talk back in disrespect. No matter your age, your parents should always be given this level of respect. When you honor your parents and obey them, you are showing parental love. Parental love is the love between a child and parent.

HONOR & LOVE

If you obey and honor your parents, you then are obeying and honoring God, thus showing Divine Love because you are keeping his commandment. We may not always like the rules, regulations or restrictions set forth by our parents but understand they are looking out for your best interest. Obedience is a an ornament of grace upon a child “My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: For they shall be an ornament of grace upon thy head, and chains about thy neck.”

The fifth commandment is a commandment of promise. God said “…that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” Obedience to our parents can keep us from dangers. If they say, “Don’t ride your bike in the street.” and you obey, the likelihood of a car hitting you is very slim. Remember your parents have lived a lot longer than you and are more aware of the dangers and traps Satan has set up to destroy and harm you.

A LONG LIFE

CONSEQUENCES OF DISOBEYING

However, understand that disobedience can lead to a short life and many problems “For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it,” (Proverbs 2:21-22)

SAMUEL 2: 15-19

Let’s look at an excellent lesson in the bible that illustrates the importance of honoring your parents. King David was a king anointed by God to lead the children of Israel. David loved the Lord and was an upright man however, he had a son, Absalom, who didn’t walk righteously and broke the fifth commandment to fulfill his own personal desire for power.

ABSALOM’S REVOLT

Absalom knew that the hearts of the children of Israel were toward his father David, so he had to figure out a way to position himself to be king by becoming favorable in the eyes of the people of Israel. In order to accomplish this, Absalom stood at the gate of the city where the people went in to meet with the king to resolve any conflict or problems they had. Absalom would stop the people and greet them with a kiss.

DECEAT & LIES He would give the people advice about their problems while cunningly telling them that no one was authorized by the king to help them with their problems and concerns. Absalom acted as if he was so concerned with the welfare of the people and declared that if he was made judge over the land he would be just and fair. Absalom soon stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

CONSPIRACY

Once Absalom realized that he had gained the hearts of the people, he then preceded to have his father over thrown as king. Absalom had a group of men travel with him and was even able to convince King David’s counselor, Ahithophel, to join the conspiracy against the king. When David heard of all that was done he was very sad. He had no choice but to quickly depart out of the land.

SADNESS Many people departed with King David

out of the land. David wept as he fled and had his head covered in mourning. I’m sure he could not believe what was happening. Many of the people who fled with David wept also. David took time to worship God during this time, David knew quite well that God was the only one who could help him.

TREASON Although David fled from the face of Absalom, Absalom was still not satisfied. He gathered together a very large group of men to go out with him to fight against David and his men of war. Absalom’s intent was to have his father killed in the battle. But God wouldn’t have it end that way. Despite all that Absalom had done against his father, David still loved his son and asked his men of war to deal gently with Absalom and not kill him.

ABSALOM’S DEATH The battle was very sore

between David and Absalom’s men and many died that day because the men fought in the woods. During the battle, as Absalom was riding a mule under a great oak tree, his neck was caught on a tree bough. As Absalom hanged on the tree, a certain man named Joab, who was on the side of David, took three darts and thrust them through the heart of Absalom.

REVIEW

Let us review this lesson. We learned that the Fifth Commandment tells us that we should honor our father and mother. We understand that honor means to hold or esteem at a special level of importance. Absalom did not honor his father but was wise in his own eyes and did that which was evil. Absalom’s actions ultimately cost him his life.

CONCLUSION

“Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and not depart from the words of my mouth. My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother. For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.” (Proverbs 5:7, 6:20 & 23)

THE END!

QUESTIONS?

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