daily bible readings

The Ten Commandments (or the Ten Words of the Torah) are neatly broken down into two sections. The first four commands

         1.  I am the LORD your God: you shall not have gods before me

         2.  You shall not make any idols

         3.  You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain 

         4.  Remember the Sabbath, to keep holy the LORD’s Day 

relate to the greatest commandment spelled out so clearly in Deuteronomy 6:5, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”

The second set of commands

         5.  Honour your father and your mother 

         6.  You shall not kill

         7.  You shall not commit adultery

         8.  You shall not steal

         9.  You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour

        10.  You shall not covet your neighbour’s house, nor his wife, his man-servant, his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbour’s

       relate to the second greatest commandment outlined in Leviticus 19:18, “… love your neighbour as yourself. I am the Lord.”

As you study the commands it becomes easier and easier to see the prime position that obeying and honouring one’s parents is in the larger scheme of things. God is our heavenly Father and we are called to obey Him with our entire being. Our entire lives are given over to God in joyful obedience. The obedience of children to their parents is modelled on the parents’ obedience to their heavenly Father. As the parents obey God, so the children obey the parents.

The command to obey and honour parents also stands as the gateway between the two sections of the commands. If a child loves God and does not take the name of God in vain and if that child keeps the Sabbath, then one could reasonably expect the child to be obedient to the parents as well. The reverse also applies. A child who obeys parents who, in turn, obey and love God, will be more likely to love God and obey Him than a child who does not obey or honour their parents.

Even more so, while it is still possible, it is less likely for a child who loves and honours their parents to move down the list and to commit the sins further down the list. A child who loves their parents is less likely to kill, to commit adultery, to steal and so on than one who does not love and honour their parents.

Finally, it is easy to see the effect of this command on society. If the number of family units throughout society is largely filled with children who obey their parents, then it is easy to see how that society would be blessed with peace, harmony, security, and prosperity. If  however, the opposite were true and many families did not have obedient children, it is easy to see how that society would be unstable, insecure and subject to much angst and suffering.  

When God created Adam and Eve, He created them as husband and wife. Children were to be born into a God-loving, God-honouring family that would form the stable platform of all societies. No wonder Paul was able to say without hesitation in Colossians 3:20 (NIV84) “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.”

PRAYER

Adoration:

• Adore God that all His ways are perfect and right.

Confession:

• Take time to confess your sins to the Lord and to ask for forgiveness

Thanks:

• Thank God that He made the family unit to be the stable platform of society.

Supplication:

• Pray that God would give our parents wisdom and skill and lots of love in raising their family.
• Pray that God would give our children a deep love for God and a desire to obey and honour their parents.