We have focused on the first 4 of the 10 Commandments over the past few weeks. Let’s focus on commandments 5 and 6 today. These two commandments deal with relationships with other people.

Notice the order of the 10 commandments:

The first two commandments brought focus on our devotion to God.

The next two commandments deal more with our personal behavior in relationship to God. Now, commandments 5 & 6 start to deal with our relationships with other people. Let’s see what God has to say about the first relationship we encounter as well as relationships with people outside of our home.

Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

Honor means to respect, protect, and hold a person in high regard.

·         Honor is due to your parents for birthing you into the world. No matter how you feel about your parents . . . honor your parents for the role they already played in your life. You could never birth yourself into the world.

·         When you honor your parents you are learning to honor God. Parents are your first teachers, caregivers, friends, and people you love. If you do not learn to honor them, you will have difficulty honoring God.

·         God included a supernatural promise with this commandment . . . that God would lengthen your days. In order to receive the promises of God we must cooperate with Him. When there is no honor/high regard for parents, people live reckless lives thereby calling for an early demise.

Thou shalt not kill

·         Only God can give life and sustain life. Therefore, no person has a right to end another person’s life except God. Consider the people who perished when Noah built the ark, the first child David fathered with Bathsheba, and all of the people who died of natural causes down through the years.

These two commandments cause us to face our daily challenges. It may not be easy to honor your parents – that does not change the fact that it is a commandment from God.

When we look at the commandment not to kill, we may think that is not a problem – because most of us will never kill another person physically. We need to consider our behavior and our words. Words can kill the innermost parts of a person in many ways.

I pray for this review of the 10 commandments to help all of us as we take inventory of where we stand with God. When you go to prayer … repent and ask God to forgive you for wrong things you have done. Also, ask the Lord for guidance.

Be blessed

I John 1:9