the roadmap to national restoration 2014 apr 04
learning righteousness and wickedness from the ten commandments 2012 nov 19
1st commandment: have no other gods before God 2012 nov 20
2nd commandment: you shall not make idols 2012 dec 09
3rd commandment: do not profane YHVH’s name 2012 dec 18
4th commandment: honor the Sabbath day 2012 dec 21
God will do three things — hear from heaven, forgive our sin, and heal our land — after His people do three things — humble themselves and pray, seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways (2 Chr 7:14). The cooperation of atheists and the ungodly is not required. We are examining the summary of Torah, God’s definition of righteousness and wickedness, in the Ten Commandments, in order to understand what He considers wicked about our ways, from which He is waiting for us to turn.
The Ten Commandments are given in Deu 5. The 5th commandment, Honor your father and mother, is explained in Deu 16:18-18:22. Following is the summary of what Deu 16:18-18:22 teaches ‘honor your father and mother’ means. Please visit the links for the fascinating in-depth analysis. But the real reason for the in-depth analysis, is so that we can recognize any wicked way among us, in falling short, and repent of it! As His people do so, He will hear us from heaven, will forgive us these sins, and will heal our land!
The Hebrew paragraph divisions are:
Deu 16:18-20 {s} Injustice is detestable to YHVH
Deu 16:21-22 {s} Idolatrous groves and pillars are detestable to YHVH
Deu 17:1 {s} Blemished sacrifices are detestable to YHVH
Deu 17:2-7 {p} Idolaters are detestable to YHVH
Deu 17:8-13 {s} Authority of the priest and judge
Deu 17:14-20 {s} Authority of the king
Deu 18:1-2 {s} Authority of the Levites
Deu 18:3-5 {s} What is due the Levites
Deu 18:6-8 {s} Equal shares for Levites
Deu 18:9-22 {s} Authority of the prophet
At first glance it seems as if nothing in this section has anything to do with fathers and mothers. But let’s ask the question, Why are we to honor our father and our mother? They are the first authority in a person’s life. Their authority, in fact, has been given to them by God. And by looking at our Hebrew paragraph divisions and their topics, we see the theme of authority running throughout this whole section.
I propose that God’s authority is absolute, but in order to facilitate His authority among men, He has delegated some of His authority to men. Since God’s authority is absolute, and there is no one above Him or beside Him, He may do whatever He pleases. Fortunately for us, what He pleases to do, is to rule righteously and mercifully, in fairness, in order to increase blessing to us. Since authority begins with God, the purpose of authority is His purpose, and that is to bless those who are under it.
To facilitate that blessing, God has established authority among men. Men do not have absolute authority and cannot do whatever they please; they have delegated authority. They are given their authority for a specific purpose, and thus each type of authority carries responsibilities with it. Each type of delegated authority also has its boundaries. It is not absolute.
Fathers and mothers – parents – are the first delegated authority of society. The command to Honor your father and mother is the command which contains within it all other commands of this type, which might be restated to say Honor God’s authority. This section explaining the fifth commandment explains the delegated authorities among men with their responsibilities and boundaries.
First are local judges, appointed in every city. They must agree with God’s word on what is just and unjust, and judge the people with just judgment, using the standards for determining truth that Torah outlines. Next is national authority, and the principles which govern their responsibilities, when the local judges have cases that are too hard to judge. The king is a specific national authority with special instructions in Torah, as his responsibility is political; however he must still obey God and Torah. The priests and Levites are another type of national authority, with spiritual responsibilities; and finally there is the authority of the prophet, the one whom God has appointed to speak to men on His behalf, instead of soothsayers, sorcerers, mediums, and spirits. The chiastic structure of the explanation of the 5th commandment reveals even more truths like buried treasure.
The studies on ‘Honor your father and mother’ linked in this explanation:
judging with just judgment (deu 16:18-17:7) 2013 jan 08
national authority (deu 17:8-13) 2013 jan 09
the authority of the king (deu 17:14-20) 2013 jan 10
the authority of the levites (deu 18:1-8) 2013 jan 13
the authority of the prophet (deu 18:9-22) 2013 jan 14
5th commandment chiastic structure (deu 16:18-18:22) 2013 jan 15
This series is continued:
6th commandment: do not murder (deu 19:1-21:9) 2012 jan 16
7th commandment: do not commit adultery (deu 21;10-23:14) 2013 jan 24
8th commandment: do not steal (deu 23:15-24:7) 2013 feb 13
9th commandment: do not bear false witness (deu 24:8-9) 2013 feb 25
10th commandment: do not covet (deu 24:10-26:15) 2013 feb 28
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