You can turn in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 5. Deuteronomy 5 as we come to the fifth commandment tonight. Deuteronomy 5.16. But I do want to read the section beginning in verse 6. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm. Therefore, the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. Honor your father and your mother as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be long and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's. These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly in the mountain, from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice, and he added no more. And he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. Amen. Well, let us pray. God, help us now as we consider this fifth commandment. Fill us with your spirit, forgive us of our sins, and help us to receive with thanksgiving the word of God. As well, Lord, we do pray for the children and the young people in this congregation. We pray that from their youth they would remember their Creator, that by Your grace they would believe on the Redeemer, they would know the joy of being found in Christ, not having their own righteousness from the law, but that righteousness which is from You through faith in Him alone. God, we pray that You'd open their eyes and their hearts to behold wondrous things from Your law. that you would just bless them and protect them all the days of their lives. We pray for the proclamation of truth throughout the earth. We see and are troubled by what we witness concerning young people in so many places. We know ultimately it isn't political power, it isn't more community programs. but it is the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ that sinners desperately need. So we pray that you would send forth your glorious word, cause it to run swiftly and be glorified. And we pray through Christ the Lord. Amen. Well, we have finished up the first table of the law. You'll remember that most of the time authors, commentators, the history of interpretation divide up these 10 commandments into two tables. The first table, commandments 1 to 4, are our duty toward God. The second table, commandments 5 to 10, are our duty toward man. Remember that the Lord Jesus summarizes the second table of the law with Leviticus 19.18. He said, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. So love to God love to neighbor, Jesus says, upon these two hang all the law and the prophets. And the fifth commandment is in an interesting place in this particular table. It is the first of the second table, not to try and be too confusing, but you see the connection. If persons mess up here, If persons reject parental authority, typically it will be easier for them to reject the following commandments. If we don't show respect and we don't honor and we don't esteem those lawful agents of God who are in our lives from the cradle, then we probably won't have as high a value upon human life. We probably won't have as high a value on the covenant relationship of marriage. or on property, or on truth, or on heart sins concerning covetousness. So if we fail here, or if we resist the command of God in this fifth word, then more often than not, the rejection of the sixth through the tenth will most likely follow. Now, as we look at verse 16, we see two main parts. There is, in the first place, a command stated, honor your father and your mother as the Lord your God has commanded you. And then there is a reason or a promise given that your days may be long and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God has given you. So I want to look at these two sections. In the first place, the command stated, and then secondly we'll look at the promise given. But under the command stated, where we will spend most of our time this evening, I want to note first the explanation of the command, secondly the scope of the command, and thirdly the sanction related to the command. Sanction means what happens to you if you disobey. In other words, what is the penalty imposed when persons disobey this fifth word. But in the first place, the explanation of the command. Note the word that is employed, honor your father and mother. The word honor means to be heavy. to be weighty, to be burdensome, or to be honored. I think the connection between something heavy and something honorable ought to be apparent. We don't treat lawful authority lightly. Rather, we treat them as something heavy. We treat them with honor. We treat them with respect. We treat them with reverence, according to Leviticus 19. And verse 3, we are to esteem them, we are to make honorable, we are to glorify. Not in the sense that we do with reference to God, but the idea here is that we do honor, we do revere those lawful authorities in our lives. And oftentimes the words employed here in this commandment relative to the way that children are to respond to their parents are the same sort of words that are used with reference to people and their God. So God takes this seriously. Lawful authority is appointed by God, and in many respects is the representative of God on earth over the children in this particular instance. As we'll notice in a few minutes, the scope of the command is broader than just the child-parent relationship. But notice as well, there is a covenant focus here. The covenant was central to Israel's life in the land. If you look back to chapter 4 at verse 40. Chapter 4, verse 40. So you see the connection. The adults are addressed specifically in 440, that they are to be faithful, they are to obey God, that it may go well with you and your children in the land that I am giving to you. Now when we get to this fifth commandment in the Decalogue, this is addressed still primarily to adults, but the emphasis here in the text is upon children. It doesn't do parents any good to teach the Word of God, to instruct their children in the things of God, if their children don't listen. If their children don't honor, their children don't obey, their children don't revere, their children cannot be reasoned with. And so this command comes specifically to inferiors in this relationship that they are thereby commanded to pay attention. Peter Craigie, in his commentary on Deuteronomy, said the close parallel between these words in 516 and 440 indicates that the basic issue involved in the commandment was the continuity of the covenant. Parents were responsible to teach their children concerning the covenant, and by so doing, both children and parents would prosper in the land and see the fulfillment of the covenant promise of God. Now notice, but to teach effectively there must be a receptive audience, hence the fifth word, the inferior. Now I know that language is probably not something that would go over well in our modern politically correct climate, but in the history of interpretation, all interpreters look at the fifth commandment and see the relationship between superiors and inferiors. This doesn't mean that some people are better in their being. It has a reference to functionality. It has a reference to age. It has a reference to office and to status and to position. So if I say superiors and inferiors, I don't mean really good people and really bad people. I'm simply talking about function, office, title, age, places that God has placed us. Now, Craigie goes on to say, but to teach effectively, there must be a receptive audience. If 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 the 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. Christopher Wright says concerning this particular law, just as the fourth commandment, remember the Sabbath day, does not merely describe a cultic taboo day, but governed Israel's social and economic life as a whole society under God. He says, so here the fifth commandment forms part of the structure and fabric of Israel's covenantal relation with God and is not merely a recipe for happy families. Now, I say all that and rehearse those things for this. The fifth commandment does provide a prescription for a happy family. That's a corollary though. The primary emphasis is that the family subject themselves to God and to His rule and to His order and to His will. In other words, in terms of God, the command is, in terms of God is how the command ought to be viewed. Now notice, with reference to other references to this law. Kids, you gotta understand, in the Bible, you are addressed a lot. There is a lot on this fifth word in the scriptures. It's not just a passing reference, as if Moab or Sinai were passing references, but it is expounded on in great detail in the book of Proverbs. It also makes other appearances in the rest of the law, the first five books of Moses, and we see it in the New Testament as well. So in the Old Testament, notice in Exodus chapter 21, Just a few sample passages to show that this was really an important command with reference to God and His purposes for man. Exodus 21.15, and he who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. Verse 17, and he who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. Leviticus 19.3, I've already made reference to that. Leviticus 19.3, every one of you shall revere his mother and his father. Note that order as well. Note the order specifically that mother comes first. There were cultures and there have been persons that see the father and the father alone as the authority figure in the family. That's not what God says. God says it's Sinai and God says on the plains of Moab and God reiterates here by placing mother first. It's not the case if dad is gone that you can run amok in the home. It's not the case that when dad is gone, all bets are off and we can, you know, run like screaming banshees through the house, swinging off the furniture and doing all sorts of things. You need to understand that God has stationed mother and father over you in this particular realm. Notice in the Proverbs, again, a sampling of passages. We don't have the time to look in detail at all that the Proverbs have to say. concerning this particular issue. 1520, a wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish man despises his mother. That's heavy, isn't it? A foolish man despises his mother. You know, it's one of the best signs of grace in a young man's heart is the way that he relates to his mother, the way that he shows her esteem and reverence and respect and the things that God Most High has commanded. If you as a young man continually despise your If you as a young man continually resist your mother, if you as a young man continue to violate what God has put over you in this regard, you're not some sort of a cool guy at your school. You are a fool according to God in his word. It truly is a word necessary for today as well. We see so many young people that are derelict in this regard. 1725, again, a foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him. Does anyone ever set out to be bitterness to their mothers? Hopefully not, but none of us should want to, on that track, engage in it. We ought to want to stop by the grace of God so that we don't bring that grief to parents. Notice in Proverbs 19.13, a foolish son is the ruin of his father and the contentions of a wife are a continual dripping. Don't you love how real the Bible is? God tells us like it is. This is the reality of it. A foolish son is the ruin of his father. How many men could testify concerning the reality of this? 1926, he who mistreats his father and chases away his mother is a son who causes shame and brings reproach. And then notice 3017. Again, we're missing many of them here. But 3017, this is a terrifying verse. The eye that mocks his father and scorns obedience to his mother, the ravens of the valley will pick it out and the young eagles will eat it. That's a scary passage of Holy Scripture that underscores the gravity of this fifth word. In the New Testament, Ephesians chapter six, children are to obey their parents in the Lord. They are to honor their fathers and their mothers. According to Colossians 3, the same thing is in view. The word obey is used, so we have honor, we have obedience. I think as well when we compare Matthew 15 and 1 Timothy 5, one of the responsibilities upon children is that they provide for their aged parents as far as they're able to. They ought to try and alleviate the financial burdens that old people face. in their elderly years. So there are several things that the command enjoins upon young people toward their parents. To honor or reverence them, to provide for their material needs in their old age, to obey them, and then to give thanks to them and for them. I always want to make this qualification. Always want to make sure that we understand. that it's insofar as the parents do not command the children to sin. Act 529 is always a standing order for everybody. We must obey God rather than men. It is never the case that a wicked man can force his children to do wicked things under the guise of the fifth commandment. Any man that would utilize the fifth commandment and so teach or so engage in wickedness with his children is a man that deserves to be disciplined by the church and he needs to engage in criminal proceedings. If he would torture his children, if he would sexually abuse his children, if he would do anything of the sort. So there is that qualification that is inherent inherent in all of this. The same thing with the husband and the wife relationship. Wives are to submit unto their husbands as unto the Lord, except if the husband commands sin. We need to make sure we understand that. There is a pocket of teaching that is growing up in evangelicalism that is essentially telling women they need to submit to everything. Well brethren, that is not legitimate. If we need to go over Matthew 19 again and 1 Corinthians 7, there are legitimate reasons when a woman is not to engage in that sort of practice. And for these men to teach this authoritarian structure that everybody under their rule must always obey, those men have gone past the lawfulness of Scripture, the lawful bounds of Scripture. This is terrible and we ought not to tolerate it. So that's the command, the explanation, the specific duty, the other references. Now notice the scope of the command, going back to Deuteronomy 5. The relationship between superiors and inferiors. Most interpreters are in the interpretation, interpretive history of this commandment. The commandments in Sinai and the commandments here on the plains of Moab were addressed primarily to adults. And so not only is the parent-child relationship in view here, but all relations between superiors and inferiors. Again, it's not that some people are better and some people are worse. Some people are prime ministers and the rest of us aren't. Some people are husbands or fathers and some people are children. That's just the reality of it. I think the Westminster larger catechism hits on this well. Who are meant by father and mother in the fifth commandment? By father and mother in the fifth commandment are meant not only natural parents but all superiors in age and gifts and especially such as, by God's ordinance, are over us in place of authority, whether in family, church, or commonwealth. So it's the basic idea that when we have a lawful authority in our lives, we are to be submissive, we are to honor, we are to obey, again, insofar as they do not command us to sin, insofar as they do not command us to do something that would violate the law of God. And as the Westminster Larger specifies, in the family. This is the primary emphasis in the fifth word as it stands. Honor your father and your mother. They go on to mention the church. There is passages, or are passages, in the New Testament. Obey your leaders. They have, watch out for your soul. Again, we're not talking about a cult. If your leader says, here, I want you to drink this Kool-Aid, and I'll see you on the other side. You're not to obey him. Please don't do that. We need to be rational, mindful, intelligent beings when it comes to these realities. In fact, I'm always a bit wary to even mention those passages because I don't ever want it to look like we're a cult. I've heard that many a time. Ah, you're a cult, you're a cult, you're a cult. Well, I purposely don't want to make it look like we're a cult. So I typically try and avoid passages that say, obey your leaders. But this is what Westminster Larger Catechism says, reflecting what the Bible teaches on this whole issue of superiors and inferiors in the family, in the church, and in the commonwealth, as those divines said. Let every soul be subject to the governing authority, for there is no authority except from God, and the authority that exists is established by God, Romans 13, one to four. Now, superiors and inferiors. Let's come finally to the sanction related to the command under this head of the command stated. Children, this is one of those messages that Your parents, sometimes, I know this happened to us, Rebecca and I, you know, consistency. Isn't that the difficulty in parenting? It's hard to be consistent, isn't it? I mean, maybe it's not for you guys, praise God, I'm glad you're all doing a bang-up job, but consistency, you know, faithful, day in, day out. The kid does something, you deal with it the same way. We get lazy, at least we did, at least I did, you know? Okay, you know, you just kind of overlook something. But we hear a sermon like this on the use of the rod and reproof and we'd institute a reign of terror at home for a week or two. I can only imagine the kids were saying, please, Pastor Barcelos, don't preach sermons like that again. We can't take it. We don't like it. The Bible is clear on this whole issue, the rod and the reproof. The rod and reproof when it comes to the penal sanction involved with reference to the fifth commandment. Just a sample of text in the book of Proverbs again. Proverbs 13, 24. Proverbs 13, 24. Passages that a lot of young mothers know by heart. Proverbs 13.24, he who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly. Now, I'm just focusing on the rod passages, but the reproof passages are more so. You are to reprove, you are to speak. It ought to be verbal more often than not. It ought not to be the case that every infraction and every issue and every Every violation means necessarily corporal punishment. You ought to be able to speak to your child and hopefully train them in such a way that they will respond to the verbal admonition and stop doing the folly. But in this instance, he who spares his rod hates his son. Notice the contrast, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly. Proverbs 19.18. Proverbs 19.18. Chase in your son while there is hope and do not set your heart on his destruction. You see the gravity of this? Chase in your son while there is hope and do not set your heart on his destruction. If you don't chase in your son, if you don't restrain your son, think Eli, and you don't deal with your son, what's your son's end? It is destruction. Notice in Proverbs 20, 30. Proverbs 20.30, blows that hurt cleanse away evil, as do stripes the inner depths of the heart. Again, brethren, the Bible is not enjoining upon anyone the opportunity to abuse a child. Biblical discipline is carried out with restraint. It isn't about a running through the house. I think I've shared before an early memory of my mother was her chasing me with a yardstick through the house to let me have it. But she wasn't mean. I'm making it sound like she was Hitler or Satan or something. It was kind of a joke, but I do believe if she'd caught us, she would have given us that yardstick. But it's not that. Running through the house, howling and yelling and screaming and, you know, letting. That's not it. If you have questions about biblical discipline, there's some good books out there. There's some helpful tools and resources. Brethren, the point is, We like to think that little bundle of joy has no sin in his heart, and that's just not the case. Foolishness is bound up in it. That's what the Bible says. And it's the rod and the reproof that drive it from him. Parents who are negligent in this, parents who renege on their responsibility in terms of the Fifth Commandment, speaks not only of the duty of the inferior but to the superior as well. If you're going to call on your children to honor you, be an honorable man or an honorable woman, and that means doing what God says the way God says to do it. This is an important issue, and I think that just looking at the news or just looking around Just watching and seeing what happens. We have a general disregard for the fifth commandment throughout society. I mean, if you question that, may I suggest that you do a little research in the news, that you see the sorts of things that are happening in terms of shootings and killings, and just go to Walmart and watch parents and their children. I mean, maybe not, because you'll probably go nuts. It's just frustrating. The kid asks for something, the mom says no, and the kid whines and cries and yells and screams, and then the mom gives it to them. You're hardening them in a rebelliousness. Don't do that. When I was first converted, one of the things that we used to do is we would go to the laundromat, because we didn't have a washer and a dryer, and we'd take the girls, the little girls, Kelly and Brittany, and they'd look around for little treasures and trinkets and stuff. But I noticed in those laundromats that there were parents that didn't discipline their children. There was one time this kid was running around screaming. I mean, it was just nuts. I wanted to spank him. I'm sorry. I got to confess that. I wanted to deal with this kid because he was out of control. So I thought, OK, I'm going to make up a list of proverbs. This was probably not the wisest thing to do. But when I would see parents with their kids and their kids were acting up, I'd hand them this list of proverbs. I'm sure they were very thankful, by the way. Thank you, sir, for helping me. Basically, I'm telling them, read this and deal with your kid. Brethren, this is an epidemic. I mean, what were the crimes, the sins, the issues, the problems that were happening a generation ago in schools, in public high schools, running in the hallway, probably maybe a little more than a generation ago, chewing gum, talking in class? What kind of stuff goes on today? Multiple sexual partners, drug abuse, drug use, drunkenness, rebellion to teachers, police killings. All over North America we see these sorts of things. If ever there was a commandment that is necessary for our day and age, it is this fifth word. It is this fifth, this relationship between superiors and Inferiors. Again, don't go home and cry because Pastor Butler called you an inferior. Pastor Butler's an inferior. I am inferior to the superior state. I must submit. I must be obedient, insofar as they don't tell me to sin. Proverbs 22, 15, I've already mentioned this, foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child. The rod of correction will drive it far from him. Pretty simple recipe for victory in this case. Proverbs 23, 13 and 14, do not withhold correction from a child for if you beat him with a rod he will not die. You shall beat him with a rod and deliver his soul from hell. So the rod and reproof are certainly given with reference to the parental control in this manner. Notice in Deuteronomy 21, I always like to try and explain these seemingly difficult passages, and this is a good time to do so with Deuteronomy 21, 18 to 21. There's another penalty, another sanction attached to a violation of the fifth commandment, and it's the death penalty. We already saw that in Exodus 21, if someone strikes his father or his mother, what happens to him? You put him to death. Now I'm not saying we go out and put to death every incorrigible son or daughter out there, but I just want to lead us through Deuteronomy 21, 18 to 21. Again, to underscore the gravity of this fifth word. And there's some things we ought to observe in this passage. Notice, if a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and who, when they have chastened him, will not heed them, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of the city, to the gate of his city. And they shall say to the elders of his city, this son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey our voice. He is a glutton and a drunkard. Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall put away the evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear in fear." Again, I bring this up because it is a passage that persons can read and go, wow, is that still binding upon us today? Pastor Butler preached the fifth commandment. Here's a violation of the fifth commandment. Do I take Junior out and deliver him over to the elders in the city and have them throw stones at him until he dies? I mean, is that what I'm supposed to do? Well, a couple of things by way of clarification with this particular passage. In the first place, this text does not speak to a naughty two-year-old. This text does not have in view the two-year-old that won't eat his peas. It's dealing with an adult rebel son. Two-year-olds are not drunkards and they're not gluttons. They may have eating problems when it comes to peas, but they're not drunkards or gluttons. It is an adult rebel son in Deuteronomy 21, 18 to 21. Secondly, notice the text assumes parental discipline. The parents have worked with the child. The parents have exercised discipline. It says, when they have chastened him, he will not heed them. So they have done their job. They have been active. They have been obedient and compliant with the demands of God upon them as parents. Notice thirdly, this demonstrates the state's role with reference to capital punishment. The family nor the church were ever tasked with executing civil offenders or criminal offenders. It was the task of Israel. It was the task of the body politic. It was never for the family and never for the church. In the fourth place, this shows again the seriousness of the Fifth Commandment and the necessity to honor one's parents. And in the fifth place, it highlights symptoms of a bigger problem. I really don't believe that this man is being executed because he's a drunk and a glutton. The drunkenness and the gluttony are symptomatic. They are manifestations or evidences of a rebel spirit, a hard-heartedness, a rejection of parental authority. Peter Craigie says the latter words, glutton and drunkard, do not specify the crime, but indicate by way of example the kind of life that has resulted from disobedience to parental authority. The crime, in other words, is disobedience. But the result of the crime is the dissolution of a proper style of life. So don't take the passage and say, wow, if you got drunk in Israel or you were a glutton, they would stone you to death. No, these are symptoms of the problem that is being addressed in this particular incident. They are adult rebel sons against the authority of their parents And as a result, the parents can no longer exercise the sort of influence upon the child or the young person that is necessary, and they are turned over, and in this particular instance, they are put to death with stones. Notice, Verne Poythress makes this comment. He says, the death penalty for wholesale violation of parental authority may seem harsh to modern sentiments. I'm sure it does. I am sure that it does. He says, but I would argue that it is not only just, but realistic. Parental authority, even if very imperfectly exercised, takes place in the context of personal relationships and natural pressures in the direction of love. What he's saying is that children have a natural tendency to love their parents. If they're going to obey and honor anyone, it's going to be the persons that they have this natural tendency to love. Everybody with me? He goes on to say parents have many advantages over the state. If a person does not receive instruction from parents, The chance of receiving instruction from the states, more impersonal discipline, are nil. The person who rebels in wholesale fashion against parents will also rebel against the state and create general destruction and disorder until eliminated. It is mere sentimentality to refuse to come to grips with this reality. So I'm not saying we ought to impose this currently, right now, but I am suggesting that the data in scripture evidences and indicates that God takes seriously this whole relationship between superiors and inferiors and the way that we respond to those who are over us. It is not up for grabs, it is not up for bargaining, it is not up for debate, but rather as children Honor your father and your mother. As citizens, obey the governing authorities. As long as they're not commanding you to sin, do what they say. Why do we have this natural antipathy to such things? I don't want to do what they say. We've just got this independent spirit. So the gravity of the offense is seen here, it's also seen as a reason for the exile in Ezekiel 22 verses 7 and 15. And then it's also a recurring item in New Testament vice lists. This is the gravity of the offense. Notice in Romans 1, we're coming to a close soon, Romans chapter 1. Interesting place where this fifth commandment finds itself relative to other sorts of sins. Romans 1.28, and even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind to do those things which are not fitting, being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness. They are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents. Undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful. You see, it is a big deal with God. Those who do not obey their parents, it is condemned. For us, 2 Timothy 3, when Paul describes what men in the last days are going to look like, this is one of the identifying marks. 2 Timothy 3.1, but know this, that in the last days perilous times will come. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God." I read the whole vice list so you can see that it's included with some heavy hitters there. The fifth commandment is absolutely crucial for the proper ordering of the family, of the church, of the state, all those things involved with reference to superiors and inferiors. The promise given, it's very clear in Deuteronomy, that your days may be long and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. Again, that whole idea of obeying God covenantally in the land, it will go well with us. Deuteronomy 27, the curses. One of the curses, one of the reasons that they would be expelled from the land is if they cursed their parents. Again, Ezekiel 22 indicates that this was indeed one of the reasons why the exile took place. It wasn't the only reason, but it was certainly one of the reasons. And then finally, turn over to Paul in Ephesians 6. When we see this statement or this promise given, expand it. A couple of interesting observations here in Ephesians 6. Notice in verse 1, children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right. Honor your father and mother which is the first commandment with promise that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth. Notice what was land in old covenant Israel is earth in new covenant Israel. Notice as well that Gentile children, that's what Ephesians So that's what the Ephesians were. They were Gentiles, weren't they? Has anybody ever wondered or we've seen those churches that don't hold the fourth commandment? Some of those churches under dispensational hermeneutics say, well, the ten commandments were given to Israel. That's interesting because Paul is talking to Gentile children in Ephesians and telling them they are subject to the fifth commandment. Paul expressly tells these Gentile children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right. Where does he go to substantiate this to the fifth word? That word that transcends Israel. That word that is natural law written on the heart of Adam, summarily contained in the Decalogue given at Sinai and repeated at Moab. That law that is transcendent over any covenantal structure that the person happens to be in. That moral law of God, all men everywhere are subject to. They are told, honor your father and your mother, which is the first commandment with promise that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth. Now that's not a hard and fast rule in terms of if I obey my parents, God's going to add another five years to my life. Hodge says this is the usual course of his providence. Edy says it is a principle of the divine administration. and the usual course of providence. So there's our exposition. We ought to learn from this particular commandment that we as inferiors have responsibility. Those who are subject to governing authorities, whether parental, ecclesiastical, or civil, or commonwealth. And it certainly touches on the employer-employee relationship as well. Masters and slaves are spoken to in Ephesians and in Colossians. Behind that structure, certainly, is the Fifth Commandment. But we need to make sure that as inferiors, we obey, we honor. It doesn't mean we bow down and kiss their feet when they walk into work. That's not what it means. But it is to show reverence. It is to show respect. Workplace, respect, family, respect, church, respect. These are all things that unfortunately have gone by the wayside. Young people in our church, if you see some of the older people coming in, help them, get out of their way, do nice things. That's all legit. We need to make sure that we understand that these things are for good in the lives and in the conduct of God's people. So inferiors have responsibilities to those who govern over them, but so do superiors. Again, the larger catechism, what is required of superiors toward their inferiors? Answer, it is required of superiors according to that power they receive from God and that relation wherein they stand to love, pray for, and bless their inferiors. You see, it's much easier or simpler for a child to honor and to obey and to revere and to respect when the parent is a good man. or a good woman, when they pray for their children, when they love their children, when they esteem their children. You see, brethren, if all we have is the authority and we throw it around, That doesn't negate the reality that the child still must submit, but man, we ought to try and help them and facilitate that as far as we are able. I love the way these divines captured that. To love, pray for, and bless their inferiors. To instruct, counsel, and admonish them. countenancing, commanding, and rewarding such as do well, and discountencing, reproving, and chastising such as do ill, protecting and providing for them all things necessary for soul and body, and by grave, wise, holy, and exemplary courage to procure glory to God, honor to themselves, and so to preserve that authority which God has put upon them." So when we read the fifth commandment, we ought not to just say, oh God, I want you to wrap your hands around my wretched little child and make him obey. God help me to be a good and faithful leader. God help me to be a faithful father, a faithful mother. Give me the heart of love. Give me that tendency of esteem. Give me the grace to not exasperate them, to not be arbitrary, to not be flying off of the handle and flipping out, chasing them around the house with a yardstick. God, give me the kind of grace to be the kind of leader that I need to be. So don't just look at the fifth commandment and say, wow, that's only a word for inferiors. No, it's certainly for superiors as well. And then finally, the use of this law, the civil use. Imagine a society where children honored their parents. It's hard to, isn't it? It's hard to. Maybe I just see these things and I'm overreacting, but man, I think it's terrible. It's just an indicator of how far we have come. Calvin said, those who abusively or stubbornly violate parental authority are monsters, not men. I wonder what Calvin would say if he walked around Walmart today. It's not just Walmart. Bachmuel said this, the parents who reject the first commandment can expect their children to reject the fifth one. You see, I suspect those kids running down the aisles in Walmart flipping out and freaking out and screaming, I want, I want, I want. It's the old monkey with the gun. If you give a monkey a gun and he shoots someone, do you blame the monkey? No. When you see that kid running rampant and wild and the parents aren't doing anything, listen to Bachmiel. The parents who reject the first commandment can't expect their children to reject the fifth one. The parents who do not submit to God should not expect their children to submit to them. As well, the normative use of this law as believers in Jesus Christ, you children who profess saving faith, this is going to be the proof in the pudding. You will obey your parents. You will honor your parents. You will be faithful to your parents. You will esteem your parents. You will revere your parents. You will do those things which are pleasing to your parents. That is the surefire evidence that grace is in your heart. The normative use of God's law as those who are not children subject to parents in the home. It will be evidence in the way we relate to other forms of leadership. It'll be evident in the way that we relate to the governing authorities. All these things are normatively prescribed so that we would walk in them. And then finally, with reference to the pedagogical use of this word, certainly children and adults, I hope, you trust or see that this command shows us all out or finds us all out. Have any of us ever submitted to the governing authorities the way we ought? Have any of us ever rendered that sort of honor and esteem and reverence and respect to our parents as we ought? This command ought to hopefully drive us to the cross, to the one alone who always obeyed, always complied, always did what was enjoined upon him. Isn't it beautiful in Luke's gospel, Jesus continued in subjection to them. Ever consider that? Sometimes we say, but you don't know what kind of person they are. I don't know that I can submit because they're this or they're that. Jesus, the holy, harmless, and undefiled one, continued in subjection to Joseph and Mary. Praise God that he did that because you and I never have and never will. Perfectly. So pedagogically, child-tutor-ish, and the child-tutor use. May this law drive us to the gospel, to the Lord Jesus, who alone can forgive us of our insubordination and rebelliousness. Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank you for the Decalogue, for these 10 words that truly illustrate or display or reveal to us your moral law, your holy character, your righteous standard. Give us grace as those who confess faith in Jesus Christ to strive to obey these things, to do what the scripture says on these matters. And for those outside of Christ, I pray that this law would find them out, and it would show them their sin, and it would show them their need for the Redeemer. God, be merciful, we pray. Go with us now, we pray, and help us to honor and glorify you. And we do pray for a society. We pray for a generation. throughout this earth where there is such insubordination. God in heaven, have mercy, send forth your holy gospel and your holy law. And we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.