Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother
Exodus 20:12
Today is Father’s Day, a day in which we honor our earthly fathers. By doing so, we are keeping the fifth commandment just as we do on Mother’s Day. Our parents are worthy of honor and respect. In honoring our parents, we are honoring God as well who established the earthly family unit. This is under attack by the world today who works hard to alter and then destroy the family unit. By doing so, they are fighting against God. The breakdown of the earthly family has led to and will lead to further disaster.
When we look at the commandment, we must place it in the context of the other nine commandments. Yahweh gave them through Moses to Israel at Mt. Sinai. The foundation of the Ten commandments is not law, but grace. They begin with: “I AM the LORD thy God who brought thee out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. The commandments were given that Israel might enjoy the freedom which the LORD had given Israel. It was meant to prevent them from returning to bondage. The detractors of Christianity try to tell us that the Law is bondage, and sin is freedom. This is a total lie. God wants us to know the truth, and this truth liberates us. The one who sins becomes the slave of sin.
The first four commandments deal with Israel’s relationship with Yahweh. The name “Yahweh” is a special covenant name given to Israel. Even though He is Lord over all people, His relationship with Israel was special. If Israel failed to honor Yahweh their God, they would be like everyone else. In other words, they would be in bondage. No other god was to be worshiped. Israel was not to make idols and bow down to them. They must hold the name of Yahweh as holy and honorable. They must remember Him as creator. This was to demonstrated in the Sabbath. This love for the LORD of the Covenant came first.
But Jesus tells us that our love for the Lord leads us to love our neighbor as well. In this, Jesus is quoting Leviticus. So there are commandments in the Law meant to bring harmony to the covenant community as well. Failure to observe these would degrade and destroy the community and bring strife rather than harmony.
When we look at the commandment proper, we notice that is says “Honor your father and your mother.” It does not just say: “Honor your father.” The word “and” seems like such a small word, but it is powerful. It is called a coordinating conjunction. This means that the word or words on each side of the “and” are equal. We are to equally honor our fathers and our mothers. If we follow the King James Version, we see “thy” father and “thy” mother. We don’t speak the Old English any more which distinguishes between the second person singular (thy) and the second person plural (ye). Modern versions use “you” for both singular and plural. But by using the singular “thy” it means that we individually are commanded to give honor to our father and our mother. The idea of individual responsibility is brought out. Even if the world were to disregard the commandment to honor our father and our mother, we are still individually responsible to honor our father and mother, even if they take “Father’s Day” and “Mother’s Day off the holiday schedule, this does not annul God’s word on the matter.
There is a promise attached to the commandment: “that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.” The opposite is also true. Failure to honor thy father and thy mother will lessen your days. Note that the singular “thy” again. Also note the word “giveth” here. The land was God’s gift to Israel. They had done nothing to earn this land. It was a gift, and a gracious gift at that. Their ability to enjoy this gift was based upon their observance of the covenant Yahweh made with Israel.
The reflection made on the commandment to observe the Sabbath was to remind Israel that Yahweh was the Creator of heaven and earth. In remembering the commandment to honor our father and our mother also reflects back to the creation of Adam and Eve. They were commanded to be fruitful, have children and fill the earth. The means of procreation was jointly the effort of Adam and Eve who were joined together in covenant. Beyond the act of procreation, the man and the woman were to raise their children. Parenthood passed down to the children who in turn became parents on their own. Each of us owes our existence to a biological male and a biological female. If for no other reason, we should honor our parents for the very fact that they brought us into the world. We cannot dishonor them without dishonoring ourselves.
The question now arises whether we should honor a father or a mother who have failed to live up to their responsibility as a parent. There are too many abusive parents, and there are parents who abandon their children. We live in a world of easy divorce. We can only be sympathetic with those who have had a bad parent as we show sympathy for orphans who have lost their parents. A person’s relationship with his or her father also causes problems with identifying with God as Father. When we think on this, let us remember that it is the Fatherhood of God that is supposed to be emulated by earthly fathers. We must not project the faults of our earthly fathers upon God. So we honor God as the first Father of the universe. Earthly fathers need to reflect on who the Heavenly Father is and what he has ordained earthly fathers to be.
One of the greatest revelations of the bible was when Jesus addressed God as His Father. There are hints of the Fatherhood of God throughout the Old Testament, but by the time of Jesus, the Jews were afraid to even address God as “God.” They would call the “Kingdom of God” the “Kingdom of Heaven.” They would swear by the gold of the Temple rather than by the Name. The very speaking of Yahweh which was the covenant name of God to Israel was forbidden. The vowel points which were added as a pronunciation guide to the Hebrew text which contained only consonants were changed so that an inexperienced reader who came across YHVH and forgot to substitute “Adonai” (LORD) would pronounce the meaningless “Jehovah” rather than Yahweh. The idea of addressing God as “Abba” seemed as blasphemy to the Jews.
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Their unwillingness to address the LORD by his covenant name given to them stands as a testimony of just how far out of relationship the Jews were with the LORD. He was so entirely “other” that he was effectively silenced. Jesus went even beyond the covenantal YAHWEH. He introduced the God of Israel to His disciples as “Father” and taught them to do so in the Lord’s Prayer.
When we reflect upon “Our Father, which art in Heaven” we reflect on His character. His name is to be held holy which is in accordance with the negative “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain.” In this respect, God is above all. The theological definition of this is “transcendence.” The Jews of Jesus’ day were right when they recognized that God is over all. But “Father” also means that this God stands in relationship with us. He is not totally inaccessible as the Jews and Greeks of that day held. “Father” is the perfect term which reflects that God is the head of the family and should be honored as such. But He has at the same time been made accessible to us. He is not distant. He is near us and with us. This is what one of the titles of Jesus, Emmanuel, means: “God is with us.” Through His Son Jesus, we have been granted the privilege of access to the Father.
It seems a shame today that we again are stripping God of His Fatherhood in the name of militant feminism. We must realize how great a disaster this has been for the Church. God is now addressed more remotely by the title “God” rather than “Father.” We hear prayers addressed to “Loving God.” “Gracious God,” or even “Mother.” The prayers seem impersonal, artificial, and lifeless. We have lost the sense of being in a familial relationship as a church. Our fellowship has suffered as a result. The Church must go back to addressing God as “Father.”
The church is a family where Jesus is the head as God the Son under the Fatherhood of God. The Church will not live long on this land otherwise. A church which does not honor God as Father will soon cease to exist as the “Church.” It might exist as an entity, but it will become increasingly irrelevant, both to the world and to God. One might say that because the commandment to Honor father and mother was given to ancient Israel that it does not apply to us. Does not Paul tell us that we are not under Law but under grace, This is why I mentioned earlier that the commandments were not meant to bind. God had graciously freed them, and the Law was given that this freedom might be enjoyed and maintained. It was meant to keep us from returning to bondage under the laws of men. Paul also says “For freedom, Christ has made us free.” He then warns us that we should not use our freedom as an occasion to indulge the flesh. The proper respect for God the Father is a means to maintain our Christian freedom. In this respect, the Ten Commandments address the church as well.
Jesus has called us to be witnesses to the world. Although the primary witness is the preached gospel, we also witness by the way we conduct ourselves. This is within the context of the church, our earthly families, as well as our individual selves. So we have to model what it is like to live under the Fatherhood of God. The church also maintains motherly functions as well. Th church is the Bride of Christ and is to be honored. Leadership in the Church are to be honored, even if some of them prove unworthy of it. Hopefully, the Church will purge those who are unworthy of this honor. In the earthly families, the father is to be honored as head of the family as this reflects upon the Father. But the fathers are to walk worthily of the honor which they have been given. As the Father is gracious and patient, so should they be gracious and patient. Fathers must realize that they need so much grace themselves. They have to acknowledge it when they are wrong.
One of the great advances of the church during the Reformation was that the leaders of the church were for the most part to be family men. Martin Luther was a monk who took an oath to celibacy. Even after when he was released from his vows, he continued to live the life of a monk. He saw his fatherhood role to be spiritual. Although the Bible does allow for certain people such as Paul himself to remain single, it seems to set this as the exception rather than the rule. Luther came to the realization that he must marry. At first, he forced his younger contemporary, Phillip Melanchthon, to marry which Phillip very grudgingly complied. But marriage took to him and he would later be seen reading a book in one hand and rocking a cradle. Finally Luther married Catherine Von Bora, also reluctantly. But Luther became entirely devoted to family life and his children and became a better pastor for it. Catherine was an excellent manager of the house and complimented Martin who was not. So even though the church is primarily a spiritual family, it promotes earthly marriage and family as being part of this spiritual mission.
So when we come to Father’s Day, we take time to honor earthly fathers and challenge them to live up to the privilege that is granted them. We also honor those who might not have an earthly family who have supplied the role of fatherhood for those where this has been lacking. We honor the fathers in our church who have great privilege and responsibility to care for the souls of those who have been entrusted to their pastoral care. Let us pray for them daily. If Satan can destroy fatherhood, he will destroy the family as well. God wants us to live our Christian freedom by being responsible. Let us not live below our privilege.
