COMMANDMENT # 5 EXODUS 20: 12

COMMANDMENT # 5

   Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.  Exodus 20:12  (NIV)

 LIFE APPLICATION STUDY BIBLE COMMENTARY



   This is the first commandment with a promise attached.  To live in peace for generations in the promised land, the Israelites would need to respect authority and build strong families.  But what does it mean to "honor" parents:  Partly, it means speaking well of them and politely to them.  It also means acting in a way that shows them courtesy and respect (but not to obey them if his means disobedience to God).  It means following their teaching and example of putting God first.  Parents have a special place in God's sight.  Even those who find it difficult to get along with their parents are still commanded to honor them.

  

MY THOUGHTS

   My problem is with the "father and mother" thing.  I have a problem fitting today's society into God's plan.  Webster defines a "mother" as a female parent.  Webster defines a "father" as a man who has begotten a child.  Answers.com defines "parent" as one who begets, gives birth to, or nurtures or raises a child. 

   Decades ago, parents got divorced on grounds of adultery or abuse or abandonment.  Today, parents don't even get married.  Today we have "friends with benefits" and both parents may not even be aware they are parents.  We also did not have homosexuals who were allowed by the courts to adopt children.  Where did we go wrong?  How can we get back to the place where we should be?

   None of today's societal ills absolve us of our duty to God or this commandment.  We are still to honor our father and mother.  Note that the father is listed first, as he is the head of the household.

    John MacArthur says, "The key to societal stability is reverence and respect for parents and their authority."  That respect and reverence transfers to those in position of authority.  Mystery Babylon has infiltrated our schools, government, and even our homes.  We believe those who preach evolution, promote homosexuality, and say that babies in the womb are just clumps of cells and that it is o.k. to destroy them.

   The Bible goes even farther in reverence to your parents:   "If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death.  He has cursed his father or his mother, and his blood will be on his own head."   Leviticus 20: 9  (NIV)

   Do you know  you are also instructed to "Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God"?  Leviticus 19:32   (NIV)

   What are your thoughts?

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EXODUS 20:7 COMMANDMENT # 3

THE LORD'S NAME IN VAIN

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   Commandment # 3 is "You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name.  Exodus 20:7  (NIV)....."Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain."  (King James Version)

LIFE APPLICATION STUDY BIBLE COMMENTARY

   God's name is special because it carries His personal identity.  Using it frivolously or in a curse is so common today that we may fail to realize how serious it is.  The way we use God's name conveys how we really feel about Him.  We should respect His name and use it appropriately, speaking it in praise or worship rather than in curse or jest.  We should not take lightly the abuse or dishonor of His name.   Anything that would bring disrespect or disrepute to His character is using His name in vain.

   Do not swear falsely by My Name and so profane the Name of your God.  I am the Lord.   Leviticus 19: 12    (NIV)   We are to perform our oaths to The Lord.  It is better not to swear at all, but let our yes be yes and our no be no.  (Matthew 5:  33-37)

Personally, my ears hurt when I am around babies who run around with the omg or actually say, "oh my God!"  It is the same thing.  My problem is that these kids don't realize what they are doing.  They are saying what their parents, friends, or tv shows say.  Everybody says it.  We have lost our first love.  Between shopping on Sundays and using God's name in vain, we have been extremely slack in paying God the respect He is due.  How do we change?  I usually call people down who use the Lord's name in vain.  They may say, "good Lord", or "Jesus Christ!"  I'll usually say, "you don't have to call me that."  It is just a way to call them out.  I would much rather people use the "f" word around me than disrespect the Lord's name.


  

What are your thoughts?  Can you justify using language that disrespects my Lord?  Let us know what you do to show Him the respect He deserves.

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COMMANDMENT #2: EXODUS 20:4-6

COMMANDMENT #2:  EXODUS 20: 4- 6

   "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in Heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.  You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments."  (NIV)

How long is a "generation"?  Bible scholars have varying opinion:  some say 20 years, some say 40 years, some say 100 years.  Regardless of how long a generation is, I don't want to be responsible for my children being punished by my God.  I have worked to provide a better life for my children than my parents were able to give to me.  The last thing I want is for God to be angry at them on my account.  I follow Job's lead by praying for them daily...He sacrificed for his daily. 

Here is the definition of  "idol" according to "dictionary.com":

 

1.  an image or other material object representing a deity to which religious worship is addressed.

2.

Bible .

a.

an image of a deity other than God.

b.

the deity itself.

3.

any person or thing regarded with blind admiration, adoration, or devotion: Madame Curie had been her childhood idol.

4.

a mere image or semblance of something, visible but without substance, as a phantom.

5.

a figment of the mind; fantasy.

Here is the definition of jealousy, according to Psychology Today: 

"As emotions go, jealousy is neither subtle nor kind, but it is definitely complex, encompassing feelings from fear of abandonment to rage to humiliation. It strikes both men and women when they perceive a THIRD-PARTY THREAT TO A VALUED RELATIONSHIP, and that distinguishes it from envy, which involves wanting something someone else has. Conventional wisdom holds that jealousy is a necessary emotion because it preserves social bonds, but it more often destroys them. And it can give rise to relationship violence."

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COMMANDMENT #1 EXODUS 20: 1-3

COMMANDMENT # 1    EXODUS 20: 1-3

And God spoke all these words:

  "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

   You shall have no other gods before me...."  (NIV)

COMMENTARY FROM LIFE APPLICATION STUDY BIBLE

      The Israelites had just come from Egypt, a land of many idols and many gods.  Because each god represented a different aspect of life, it was common to worship many gods in order to get the maximum number of blessings.  When God told His people to worship and believe in Him, that wasn't so hard for them---He was just one more god to add to the list.  But when He said, "You shall have no other gods before me,"  that was difficult for the people to accept.  But if they didn't learn that the God who led them out of Egypt was the only true god, they could not be His people--no matter how faithfully they kept the other nine commandments.  Thus, God made this His first commandment and emphasized it more than the others.  Today we can allow many things to become gods to us.  Money, fame, work, or pleasure can become gods when we concentrate too much on them for personal identity, meaning, and security.  No one sets out with the intention of worshipping these things.  But by the amount of time we devote to them, they can grow into gods that ultimately control our thoughts and energies.  Letting God hold the central place in our lives keeps these things from turning into gods.

   The Israelites had been in bondage to the Egyptians and God had led them out of that bondage in a major way.  I imagine how long the trek out of Egypt was after being mistreated by the captors.  I imagine working long hours with very little food or water.  I imagine they may have looked about like the children in the third world countries; severely malnourished, with the protruding bellies and big eyes.  But God remembered them.  When they  came up against the river and saw Pharaoh's army galloping toward them to slay them right there, God parted the waters and they walked across ON DRY LAND.  Then God took care of Pharaoh.  Why would we have any other God? 

   God will do nothing less for us today.  He is our God.  If His people, who are called by His Name will humble themselves and pray and seek His face and turn from our wicked ways, then He will hear from Heaven and will forgive our sins and heal our land.  (paraphrase of 2 Chronicles 7:14)

   I go about trying to identify gods in my life....the government is not one of them for me, but not everyone can say that, obviously.  I don't want to have ANY god before the Great I Am.  One day, I will stand before God as a Judge.  I want Him to say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."    I love my Lord and I like it when He is on the throne of my life.

   What about you?  Can you identify gods in your life?  Do you care?  For more information on how to become a child of The Most High God, click here:   https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/p/path-to-salvation.html

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