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So there was traffic? Oh, there was an accident? Is that what it was? Who? All right, you can turn in your 
Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 5. We finished the 4th commandment 
prior to the summer break, so we'll pick up the 5th commandment, 
which is Deuteronomy 5.16, but I'll read the larger context 
just by way of reminder. The book of Deuteronomy is a 
series of exhortations by Moses to the children of Israel on 
the plains of Moab. It's the second generation. The 
first had been judged and cut off by God. And now the second 
generation is getting ready to enter into the promised land. 
And essentially there's a historical review in chapters one to four. Exhortation to pursue covenant 
loyalty in chapters four to 28. and then a summary and conclusion 
in terms of exhortation in chapters 29 and 30. It's followed by the 
succession of Joshua, and then the death of Moses. So that's 
a general overview of the book as a whole. And of course, the 
Ten Commandments are foundational to the rest of the exhortation 
concerning covenant loyalty, the moral law forming the basis 
of all that follows. So beginning in chapter 5 at 
verse 1, And Moses called all Israel and said to them, hear, 
O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing 
today, that you may learn them and be careful to observe them. 
The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. The Lord did 
not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who 
are here today, all of us who are alive. The Lord talked with 
you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire. I 
stood between the Lord and you at that time to declare to you 
the word of the Lord, for you were afraid because of the fire 
and you did not go up the mountain. He said, 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, "'but 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 a 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, as we look at the 
10 commandments, we break them down into two tables. That's 
probably not what the reference is. there in the end of verse 
22. He wrote them on two tablets 
of stone. Most likely, each tablet contained all 10 commandments. 
One copy belonged to Yahweh, and one copy belonged to the 
children of Israel, the covenant people. But when we speak of 
the Decalogue, we typically break it into the first table, which 
is our duty to God. That's commandments one to four, 
respect his day, or rather his worship, his name, and his day. 
And then the latter six are our duty toward man. And so foundational 
and somewhat of a linking commandment is the fifth commandment. It 
kind of looks back to the authority of God and it looks forward and 
foundational in terms of our relationship to our fellow man. 
So we'll look tonight first at the command stated and then secondly 
at the promise given. And under the command, I want 
to look at first the explanation of the command, second, the scope 
of the command, and then third, the sanction related to the command. 
I think at times you can see how serious something is when 
you see the sanction or the penalty involved for transgressing that 
particular commandment. Now in terms of the specific 
duty, in terms of the explanation of the command, the word translated 
honor, we see that very simply there in verse 16, honor your 
father and your mother, means to be heavy or weighty or burdensome 
or honored. Now the connection between heaviness 
and honor should be apparent. We're not to treat God lightly, 
we're rather to treat him heavily. We're to treat him with honor. 
In the same way, we're to esteem our parents and not to treat 
them with a lightness or a levity. Now in terms of the passage itself, 
the connotation is to make honorable, to honor, and to glorify. If you go back to Leviticus chapter 
19, you'll see this command given, and specifically the mother comes 
first. I only point that out to underscore 
that it's both parents, it's father and mother. Though fathers 
are addressed specifically in Ephesians chapter six by the 
apostle Paul, that encompasses or includes the mother as well. 
But notice in 19.3, every one of you shall revere his mother 
and his father and keep my Sabbaths. I am the Lord, your God. In a 
passage in the prophet Malachi, God says, as he's indicting the 
children of Israel through the prophet Malachi, in chapter one 
at verse six, God says, a son honors his father and a servant 
his master. If then I am the father, where 
is my honor? And if I am a master, where is 
my reverence? Says the Lord of hosts to you, 
priest, who despise my name. Yet you say, in what way have 
we despised your name? So this idea of honor and reverence 
given to God Most High is what the commandment demands with 
reference to children toward their parents. They are God's 
representatives. They are God's authority. That 
doesn't mean they're divine beings. It doesn't mean that they share 
deity. But it simply means that they 
are God's representatives in the home, and children therefore 
are to honor and respect them. As well, there's a covenantal 
focus. If you look back just a little 
bit in chapter 5, specifically at verses 9 and 10, the parents 
on the plains of Moab would have heard already something concerning 
their responsibility. Notice the prohibition against 
idolatry in chapter 5 at verse 9. but showing mercy to thousands 
to those who love me and keep my commandments. So the parents 
would have been mindful in light of the second commandment of 
their responsibility to make sure they weren't raising up 
Arius or Nestorius. They were to be responsible to 
train their children in the religion of living in true God. And then 
if you look back to chapter four, specifically in verse 40, we 
see another emphasis this way. you shall therefore keep his 
statutes and his commandments which I command you today that 
it may go well with you and with your children after you and that 
you may prolong your days in the land which the Lord your 
God is giving you for all time. So the adults are primarily the 
ones that are receiving the commandment of God here on the plains of 
Moab. So they are mindful that within 
the family, God's Word applies. God's Word is all-pervasive. It is comprehensive. It is not 
simply for the cult. It's not simply for worship, 
but it's for all of life. Whether you're in a family, whether 
you're in the cult, that means just the religious apparatus 
of Old Covenant Israel, whether you're in the Commonwealth, whatever 
it might be, you owe honor to those over you. Craigie gives 
us this covenantal focus with reference to the fifth commandment. He says, the close parallel between 
these words and 440 indicates 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. 
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 their parents. And as a consequence of dishonoring 
their parents, they would not prosper in the promised land, 
for they would know intimately the Lord of the covenant promise. 
Or rather, they would not know intimately the Lord of the covenant 
promise. And then another commentary by 
Christopher Wright. He says, just as the fourth commandment 
does not merely describe a cultic taboo day, but governed Israel's 
social and economic life as a whole, a whole society under God, 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. I think that's the tendency. 
Well, if you want to have a happy family, simply implement the 
fifth commandment. Now it yields happy families 
when children are obedient to their parents, but there's a 
covenantal obligation placed upon the parents, placed upon 
the children in Old Covenant Israel. So that's sort of the 
duty involved, honor and reverence toward your parents. Then secondly, 
the other references as we continue in the explanation of the command. 
If you turn back to Exodus chapter 21, Exodus chapter 21, it speaks 
specifically concerning patricide, which is the murder of a father, 
In Exodus 21, 15, he who strikes his father or his mother shall 
surely be put to death. And then in verse 17, and he 
who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to 
death. And then as I read in Leviticus 
19, three, but you can turn over to the Proverbs as well. And 
there's a whole host of texts in here that are relative to 
the parent-child relationship, child to the parent relationship, 
but just a few to show the seriousness involved. In Proverbs 15, 20, 
a wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish man despises his 
mother. Now when Solomon uses foolish 
in the book of Proverbs, he doesn't mean just a dullard. He doesn't 
mean just a rude. He doesn't mean just somebody 
that's stupid or ignorant. There's an ethical dimension 
involved. It has to do with sinfulness. 
And so Solomon says it is sinful to despise one's mother. And 
then over in chapter 17 in Proverbs at verse 25, a foolish son is 
a grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him. Proverbs 
chapter 19 in verse 13, a foolish son is the ruin of his father 
and the contentions of a wife are a continual dripping. A foolish 
son is the ruin of his father. Again, we see the emphasis that 
God places on this particular commandment. Notice in verse 
26, he who mistreats his father and chases away his mother is 
a son who causes shame and brings reproach. And then in chapter 
30, specifically at verse 17, Chapter 30 at verse 17. 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. So when we come 
to this fifth commandment, it, again, isn't just a recipe for 
a happy family, but it's a God-ordained duty that respects children with 
reference to their parents. Now, of course, in the New Testament, 
you can turn to the book of Ephesians. There's other passages, but Ephesians 
chapter 6, I think we're all somewhat familiar with. Ephesians 
chapter six, verses one to three. Children, obey your parents and 
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. Just by way 
of a preliminary observation, notice that Gentile children 
in the city of Ephesus are bound by the moral law of God Almighty 
as spoken at Sinai and repeated on the plains of Moab. The Ten 
Commandments are perpetual. The Ten Commandments are trans-covenantal. Whether you're Old Covenant Israel 
on the plains of Moab, or you're a New Covenant person in the 
city of Ephesus, you are under the law of God. As well, notice 
he appeals first to the light of nature. Verse one, children, 
obey your parents and the Lord, for this is right. Before he 
appeals to the Decalogue in verses 2 and 3, or special revelation, 
he appeals to what we call general revelation, or the light of nature. Children, obey your parents and 
the Lord, for this is right. There's an epidemic in the land 
today where children don't obey their parents. They're not doing 
what's right. Listen to Gil, he says, it appears 
to be right by the light of nature, by which the very heathens have 
taught it, and it is equitable from reason, so it should be. It makes perfect sense. In God's 
moral universe, it is fitting that children obey their parents. 
That's the pecking order, that's the way it ought to be. He goes 
on to say, and it is just by the law of God, which commands 
nothing but what is holy, just, and good. So the twofold appeal 
by the apostle, first to natural law or to the light of nature, 
and then to the Decalogue, and he repeats it. 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 live long in the land is now expanded, live 
long on the earth. The gospel goes forth, conquering 
from every nation, every tribe, tongue, people, and nation, even 
sinners in the city of Ephesus in the Roman empire in the first 
century. And the promise is appended that 
if you do this, it will be well with you and you may live long 
on the earth. Now, when he says obey in verse 
one, it means precisely what it means. It means to obey. It 
means to do what you're told. Again, just take a trip to Walmart 
sometime and see if the fifth commandment is actively being 
pursued. either in its decological giving 
at Sinai and the plains of Moab, or in its natural law expression 
in the way things just ought to be. This is a horrific sort 
of a situation that we face today. So the word obey, as I said, 
means precisely what it says, and it involves reverence, to 
honor or reverence them, which speaks to the attitude of the 
child to its parent. It means to provide for their 
material needs in their old age. Jesus assumes this in his combat 
with the Pharisees in Matthew chapter 15 verses 4 to 6. Paul the Apostle commands this 
in 1st Timothy chapter 5 with reference to the widows, Who's 
the first line of defense in terms of providing for them? 
It's the family. It's not the church. The church 
is there to help out and put widows on the list, provided 
there isn't a family member that is able to provide for those 
widows. This is something that is right, 
light of nature. It is something commanded by 
God in the Decalogue. As well, it means to obey them, 
to submit to their authority, to engage in right actions toward 
them. So if attitude speaks to reverence 
and honor, then obedience speaks to compliance and to actions 
toward the parents. As well, to give thanks to them 
and for them. Be thankful to God for the parents 
that you have and express that gratitude from time to time. 
Again, I think this is something good for parents to inculcate 
in their children. That doesn't mean every moment 
of every day, you should be thanking me that you're able to draw a 
breath. You should be thanking me for that bowl of Cheerios. 
You should be thanking me for that whatever it is. But try 
to promote and produce that attitude of gratitude. There are a whole 
host of kids in Myanmar, for instance, that don't even have 
rice on a given day, and our children are throwing away food, 
and they have ingratitude. Now, of course, whenever we come 
to these commands where it says to obey, when it says to submit, 
we need to give the necessary qualification. Obey and submit 
in things lawful. Obey and submit with reference 
to an understanding that God is the ultimate authority. Parents 
are not supposed to torture their children. Children are not supposed 
to submit to the torture of their person. Children are not supposed 
to submit to sexual sin. Children have the lawful right 
to not submit when it comes to something that is commanded by 
parents that is sinful in and of itself. Submission to God-ordained 
authority does not mean absolute submission. It means submission 
in all things lawful, but in things unlawful, call the cops, 
call a pastor, call somebody from the church, call a family 
member, and report that. Now, secondly, after the explanation 
of the command, we should see the scope of the command. the 
scope of the command. You can turn back to Deuteronomy 
chapter 5. As I mentioned, the specific 
audience at the base of Sinai and on the plains of Moab would 
have been adults, would have been parents. The supposition 
is they're going to go home and catechize their children. Their 
children likely could have been with them. But the primary reference 
with reference to the commands given by God through Moses on 
the plains of Moab is to adults. And so I would suggest that the 
primary emphasis in this command transcends fathers and mothers 
and speaks to all relationships marked by superiors and inferiors. Superiors and inferiors. I realize that sounds offensive 
in this politically correct age to suggest that somebody is superior, 
to suggest that somebody is inferior, to suggest that a parent is superior 
to the child that's an inferior would probably land you in a 
cell depending on what part of the world you are in. So with 
reference to this distinction, it is not ontological. It has 
nothing to do with metaphysics. It has nothing to do with the 
doctrine of being. It does not mean that a man who 
is a father has more value intrinsically than his child does. It speaks 
to functional categories. It speaks to superiors in terms 
of rank and function and inferiors in terms of rank and function. 
The Westminster Larger Catechism helps us here. In question and 
answer 124, 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 you see there is a more comprehensive 
scope than just the family in this fifth commandment. It is 
superiors and it is inferiors. The family is obviously included. The text is very specific with 
reference to fathers and mothers. As well, Paul in Ephesians 6, 
1 to 3, very specific with reference to children obeying their parents. But the workplace, when you get 
to those sections in Ephesians and Colossians, which talks about 
masters and slaves, that's a superior and an inferior relationship. We might sort of translate it 
or push it into our particular context by saying employers and 
employees. Employees are inferiors to the 
employer. And as superiors, they should 
be honored and respected and thanked. Now that doesn't mean 
thank you, sir, that you've, I mean, it might mean thank you 
that you've allowed me to work here. Again, times are tough 
and probably getting tougher. We should all have a lot more 
gratitude for the things that we presently possess. but it 
certainly extends with reference to the family, the workplace, 
and then the church. The apostle in Hebrews chapter 
13 is very clear, obey those who rule over you in the Lord. 
Again, the obedience there isn't unqualified, it isn't absolute, 
it isn't all comprehensive, it is in things lawful. In so far 
as elders in the church are preaching and teaching the word of God 
to you faithfully, obey, listen, do, receive. And then, of course, the Commonwealth, 
Romans 13, one to four, 1 Peter chapter two, verses 13 to 17. Now, with reference to the Commonwealth, 
we should give the same qualification. Submission to God-ordained authority 
does not mean absolute submission. Insofar as the civil government 
is commanding things for the general welfare of the people 
under their charge, they should be obeyed, they should be honored, 
they should be held in reverence. But when they step out from that 
and they begin to act like or function in a God-like capacity, 
we must obey God rather than men. The classic text is when 
the apostles are prohibited from preaching and teaching the word 
of God, they don't say, well, yeah, you're right, we're gonna 
not preach Christ anymore. No, they say we must obey God 
rather than men. Our confession of faith in chapter 
24 on the civil magistrate in paragraph one. It says, God has 
ordained civil magistrates to be under him over the people 
for his own glory and the public good. Again, that's not something 
we ever hold politicians to today, the public good, but that's actually 
why they're instituted or ordained by God. He is God's minister 
to you for good. That's Romans 13. If he's ministering 
bad, or evil, or tyranny, or things opposed to God, then we 
must obey God rather than men. And then finally, under the command 
stated, we move to the sanction related to the command. The first 
is rod and reproof, and hopefully that'll take care of any problems 
in our home. Proverbs chapter 13, you can 
turn there. The rod and reproof. I'd say 
on balance, reproof is emphasized even more. In other words, the 
things that we say to our children, but the rod is certainly emphasized 
as well. Of course, living in a body politics 
such like we do, we need to be discerning, we need to be wise, 
we need to be careful, we need to make sure that we don't provoke 
our neighbors to call social services on us because we're 
beating our children and they're screaming wildly. We need to 
operate with a cunningness and a harmlessness that Jesus engenders 
for the people of God. So notice the rod and reproof, 
Proverbs 13 and verse 24. He who spares his rod hates his 
son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly. The idea that not 
spanking a child, not reproving a child, not dealing with a child's 
sin is somehow loving is rebuffed here by Solomon. He who spares 
his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him 
promptly. Look at Proverbs 19 and verse 
18. Proverbs 19 and verse 18, similar emphasis. Chasten your 
son while there is hope and do not set your heart on his destruction. You couldn't get more epic language. You couldn't get more grave language. Chasing your son while there 
is hope. I remember reading Bridges on 
Proverbs and he said, the father said, if the child's will isn't 
restrained by the age of two, you've lost him. Again, take 
a trip to Walmart and walk down the lanes there and see what 
you see in terms of children obeying and honoring their parents. 
It's vile. It's vicious. Notice in Proverbs 
20 at verse 30. Blows that hurt cleanse away 
evil, as do stripes the inner depths of the heart. The King 
James, it says, the blueness of the wound scours away evil. That's a pretty hardcore statement. Again, discernment on the part 
of parents, wisdom. If you live in an apartment or 
you live in a townhouse or you live in a duplex and you've got 
nosy neighbors, Naftali's got noisy neighbors, we may have 
nosy neighbors and they're all too quick to pick up that phone 
and rat you out. I cannot commend discernment, 
wisdom, and judiciousness enough when it comes to child discipline 
in this present evil age. Given the opportunity, a God-hating 
neighbor will rat you out in a moment. If you have any doubt, 
think back a couple of years ago and see how people responded 
when there was a cold and flu epidemic or pandemic. Do you really wonder what people 
are capable of being shouted at because you didn't go according 
to the arrows in the grocery store or you didn't mask up? 
Neither of which had any substance in science. Neighbors got nasty. It was the Christian community 
oftentimes that sent more nasty emails to me during that time 
than the heathen. I got a few from the heathen, 
but I also got some commendation from the heathen as well. It 
can be very nasty, so I cannot stress enough discernment, wisdom, 
judiciousness, cunning as a serpent, harmless as a dove. Notice in 
2215. 2215, foolishness is bound up in the 
heart of a child. Again, there's that word foolish. 
Solomon uses it often. That doesn't just mean they're 
dummies. It doesn't mean that they can't do calculus. I mean, 
they can't. I'm sure there's someone out 
there that can, but for the general rule is they can't. He's not 
talking about they're ignorant. Their brains aren't fully formed, 
so they're just morons at this. That's not what he means. There's 
an ethicalness about it. There's a rebellious spirit. 
The wicked go estranged from the womb, speaking lies as soon 
as they're born. Psalm 58.3. So he says foolishness 
is bound up in the heart of a child. Timeouts will drive it far from 
him. Taking Nintendo away from him 
will drive it far from him. Not letting him have cake after 
he eats his supper. We'll drive it far. That's not 
what Solomon says, short of Nintendo and TV. Solomon could have withheld 
pie. He could have withheld cake. He could have withheld dessert. 
That would have been a sanction appended to any foolish child. 
The rod of correction will drive it far from him. So again, discernment, 
wisdom, judiciousness, but obedience. You can't just say, well, I'm 
afraid my neighbor's gonna rat me out. Well, you're gonna have 
to figure out a way around that to obey the word of God. And 
then, of course, Proverbs 23, 13, and 14. Do not withhold correction from 
a child, for if you beat him with a rod, again, I don't think 
these are just the English translations. Hey, let's really stick it to 
these kids. That's not it. This is good translation 
of Hebrew text. 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, 
notice, and deliver his soul. Deliver his soul from hell. Not 
just from prison, though if hell, then most likely prison. Not 
just, you know, a bad job. Again, if not hell, then most 
likely from a bad job. But he says specifically, deliver 
his soul from hell. So as I said, this ought to be 
hopefully, helpfully, that which will apply in our homes. But there is one other level 
of sanction appended to the command. You can turn to Deuteronomy 21. 
Deuteronomy chapter 21. We might as well go all in here. 
Deuteronomy chapter 21, verses 18 to 21. I'll read the passage 
and just make a few observations. Deuteronomy 21, 18, if a man 
has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice 
of his father or the voice of his mother, again, make sure 
you see that, it's father and mother. It's not just father, 
it's not just mother, in what appears to be an increasing matriarchal 
age, but it's father and mother. What's the supposition that homes 
have fathers and mothers? That really is optimum. That 
really is the pursuit. That really is what we should 
try and inculcate. Most of the times when kids go 
wayward, yeah, there's a lot of different factors involved, 
but one of the biggest is they don't have fathers in the home. 
I mean, I'd love to wax eloquent with statistics and this, that. 
It's just the reality. They don't have fathers in the 
home. You don't have two parents in the home, you've got challenges, 
not insurmountable challenges. I mean, some decent people have 
come out of single parent families and have managed to navigate 
and can chew gum and walk at the same time. But all things 
being equal, and this I think highlights the emphasis on marrying 
well, marry the person that you want to father or mother your 
children and the person that you can see being together with 
until death do you part. not only to honor God, not only 
for the benefit of one another, but for the good of the kids. 
It's a horrible thing when a parent departs from a child's home. 
That's rough, that's tough and difficult. So 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 his 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 think you see the gravity of 
the commandment when you see the punishment attached to the 
violation of the commandment. Now, the first thing we ought 
to observe is that this does not apply to a naughty two-year-old 
but to a rebellious adult son. This isn't the two-year-old who 
throws peas on you at dinner time. Now, that two-year-old 
is subject to all the proverbs that we just read. and should 
be taught not to throw peas at you from his high chair. But 
this is a drunkard and a glutton according to verse 20. I've not 
met any two-year-olds in my experience. Well, some of them are getting 
pretty heavy nowadays. But gluttony and drunkenness, 
yeah, that's not typically the problem or the malady with the 
two-year-old. It's flicking peas and screaming no and screaming 
mine. I always notice this in teaching 
our children to talk. We never had to teach them no, 
and we never had to teach them mine. It was just built in, hardwired 
in, mine, mine, mine. I mean, really? You want to do 
that, kid? All right, so it's not a naughty 
two-year-old. Secondly, notice that the passage 
presupposes the exercise of parental discipline. These were responsible 
parents. I know it's kind of common for 
us when we see parents who have a wayward son or daughter to 
somehow think that perhaps they were terrible parents. I always 
think about the prodigal son. Who's the father of the prodigal 
in Luke 15? It's God. He certainly wasn't 
a bad father. He certainly wasn't negligent 
in his duties or responsibilities. I just give this as a way of 
encouraging remark that we shouldn't be quick to judge when we see 
the adult children of our brothers and sisters going astray. Maybe 
they were lousy parents, but maybe they weren't. and in this 
instance they weren't. Notice in verse 18, and who when 
they have chastened him will not heed them. They carried out 
their obligation, they carried out their responsibility. As 
well, the passage demonstrates the civil authority's role with 
reference to capital punishment. It wasn't the father and the 
mother who were to execute the son. They bring him to the city, 
to the elders of the city, to the gate of the city. That's 
where judicial matters were dealt with and were resolved. And they 
were then turned over to them They made the sanction and they 
carried out the punishment. Genesis 9, 6, He made man. Now, early on, there 
were manslayers that were family relatives of somebody that had 
been murdered or unjustly killed that would go out and do this. 
But now we see it's localized in terms of civil authority. 
I think Romans 13, the magistrate bears the sword. He doesn't do 
it in vain. He does it as a servant of God 
Almighty. As well, this shows the seriousness 
of the Fifth Commandment and the honor due to parents. If 
you were a Walmart child living back in Old Covenant Israel, 
and you grew up with those Walmart child ethics, and you became 
a drunkard and a glutton, you'd be executed by the civil authority 
for your crimes against your parents, your sin against God, 
and your crime against the Commonwealth. This case as well highlights 
specific violations which are symptomatic of the larger problem. The gluttony and drunkardness, 
or being a drunkard, is simply rebellion against God's authority 
in your home. Craigie makes that observation. 
He says, the latter words, glutton and a 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. In other words, you 
see his rebellious spirit manifested in drunkenness and gluttony. 
There could be other manifestations. Well, he's not a drunkard and 
a glutton, yeah, but he's an embezzler and a bank robber. 
Yeah, but he's not drunk. No, no, he's got rebellion against 
his parents. He's got rebellion against civil 
authority. He's got rebellion ultimately 
against God. And then as far as taking this 
principle and applying it in this new covenant era, that's 
a tough one. But I think Verne Poitras gets 
us close in his book, The Shadow of Christ and the Law of Moses. 
He says, the death penalty for wholesale violation of parental 
authority may seem harsh to modern sentiments. I'm sure it does. Any mention of the death penalty 
seems harsh to modern sentiments. I mean, a guy could be the most 
disgusting, vile specimen of a criminal on the face of the 
earth, and there's going to be somebody saying, well, he doesn't 
deserve to die. Yeah, he does. Genesis 9, 6, 
and Romans 13, 1 to 4, he absolutely positively does. So again, Poythress, 
the death penalty for wholesale violation of parental authority 
may seem harsh to modern sentiments. 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. Parents 
have many advantages over the state. If a person does not receive 
instruction from parents, the chance of receiving instruction 
from the state's 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. Again, we live 
in a day and age where sentiment rules the individual, family, 
church, state, all these things. When you ask the question, what 
do we do with a 25-year-old that's been convicted three times of 
murder? Listen to the Bible, Genesis 
9, 6 hymn, Romans 13, 1 to 4 hymn. It's ludicrous that we don't 
listen to the word of the living and true God. And then in terms 
of the gravity of the offense, it's a reason for exile. According 
to Ezekiel 22, seven and 15, among other things, wasn't just 
disobedience to parents, but as Ezekiel is rehearsing, or 
got through Ezekiel is rehearsing, the reasons why the children 
of Israel were exiled into Babylon, guess what appears? Disobedience 
to parents. It appears or recurs in New Testament 
vice lists. That means lists of sins. You 
see it in Romans 1 at verse 30, 1 Timothy 1.9, 2 Timothy 3.2. When Paul is describing the Gentile 
wickedness in Romans chapter one, he says disobedience to 
parents. Again, we just excuse it. Well, 
you know, the terrible twos. Yeah, the terrible twos need 
to be crushed. That's what Solomon's talking about. Because if you 
don't crush the terrible twos, they're going to be a terrible 
twenty twos. they're gonna be terrible 32's, they're gonna 
be terrible 42's. If you do not do your job, you're 
creating nightmares for future spouses, for future churches, 
for future employers, you are creating nightmares. If you do 
not take seriously Solomon in the book of Proverbs, if you 
do not take seriously these vice lists and how they condemn along 
with all kinds of other transgressions of the Decalogue, the fifth commandment 
with reference to children, honoring their parents. If you do not 
have that, it is not long till society breaks down. If there 
is no authority in the home, as Poitras says, why would somebody 
not respecting the loving authority of his parents, why are they 
gonna respect or honor the unloving and impersonal and uncaring authority 
of the civil state or of an employer? It's just not usually gonna happen. Again, God's grace is good. He 
takes people from messed up situations. He cleanses them in the blood 
of Jesus. He imputes his righteousness to them. But notwithstanding 
God's sovereign grace, we have the potential as parents to create 
monsters in a whole host of ways by not giving heed to what God 
says in the fifth commandment and how Solomon tells us we are 
to deal with that. And then in terms of the promise 
given, it's simple. Notice, 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. Again, there's a covenantal 
connection involved. Deuteronomy 440, we've already 
seen that. There's a specific curse in the 
book of curses in Deuteronomy 27 for those who do not honor 
their parents. Those who violate or transgress 
the fifth commandment are cursed for that. And then as I mentioned, 
the partial cause for the exile in Ezekiel 22. and that it may 
be well with you and that you may live long on the earth. We 
see Paul expand that in Ephesians chapter six at verse three. Now 
that doesn't mean every jot and tittle, there's never an exception, 
but I honored my parents, why am I dying at 18? Again, these 
are general principles. As Hodge says, it is the usual 
course of his providence. John Eady says, it is a principle 
of the divine administration and the usual course of providence. In a moral universe governed 
by a glorious God, if you do what you're supposed to, things 
typically work out. Not always. There's problems. Things happen. Righteous people 
contract horrible diseases. They get bad things that come 
their way. But usually, the tendency in 
a moral universe is that the way of the transgressor is hard. But the way of the righteous, 
or even the externally compliant, the guy who shows up at work, 
who does what he's supposed to do, doesn't usually get fired. It's the guy who doesn't show 
up at work and the guy who doesn't do what he's supposed to do, 
at least in theory, should be fired. So it's not a promise 
that every act of obedience to your parents is going to give 
you another year of longevity with reference No, the usual 
course of his providence, a principle of the divine administration 
and the usual course of providence. That's the way I think many of 
the proverbs are to be understood. They're not absolute, matter 
of fact, certainties that everybody who does this is always gonna 
get this. No, but as the general course 
of God's providence, you do good, you obey your parents, that's 
right, most likely you're gonna do all right. You don't obey 
your parents. You curse them. You hurt them. You engage in vile rebellion. 
Most likely, prison is in your future. Most likely, bad jobs 
are in your future. Most likely, sleeping on other 
people's couches. That's just the way providence 
typically falls out. Again, it's a moral universe. 
So in conclusion, a positive aspect of the command, the inferiors 
are to render honor, obedience and gratitude toward their superiors. 
Honor, obedience and gratitude toward their superiors. That's 
God's order. That's the way God instituted 
things. Now the superiors are to govern in a godly way. Westminster 
Larger Catechism again, question 129. What is required of superiors 
towards their inferiors? So it's not just children obey 
your parents and the Lord for this is right, 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 in the 
earth. But then he goes on, doesn't he? Fathers, do not provoke your 
children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition 
of the Lord. Why? Because they're image bearers. 
They're your children that God has given to you, and you have 
a certain responsibility under God over them to function in 
a way that's responsible and function in a way that's for 
God's glory and for their good. That's one of the big chores 
in teaching kids is that discipline is for your good. Yeah, it doesn't 
feel too good. Yeah, it doesn't feel too good 
for the present, but it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness 
according to Hebrews chapter 12. So we do that because we 
love you. So what is required of superiors 
towards their inferiors? 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, to 
instruct, counsel, and admonish them, countenancing, commending, 
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 carriage to procure glory to God, honor 
to themselves, and so to preserve that authority which God has 
put upon them." So everybody's subject ultimately to God, superiors 
just as much as inferiors, inferiors just as much as superiors. We 
all have marching orders from God. And so the fifth commandment 
addresses that. I would suggest, secondly, the 
sins prohibited by the command, the failure of inferiors to honor 
and obey and express gratitude to their superiors. You've got 
that attitude within the inferior that doesn't want to comply, 
doesn't want to honor, doesn't want to obey. Again, brethren, 
children coming out of the womb, they go astray and speaking lies 
as soon as they're born. We need to understand that it's 
already a stack deck as parents. We know about sin and we know 
about in Adam-ness, and therefore we need to take seriously what 
God calls us to in his word. And then the failure of superiors 
to conduct themselves in a godly way. Remember Eli in 1 Samuel 
2. What was Eli's son's problems? Well, they stole sacrificial 
meat and they lay with temple prostitutes. But foundationally, 
they did not know the Lord. Who does God blame? He blames 
them. They're wretches. But he also 
blames Eli. Eli didn't restrain them. What's the implication? Eli, 
you should have restrained them. Samuel's sons weren't good either. You know, that's an unfortunate 
reality that the best of men are men at best, and you see 
their sins displayed on the pages of Scripture. I've often thought, 
I'm glad, you know, scripture is completed. If there was a 
Revelation 23 and all our sins were placed out for everybody 
everywhere to always have access to, like David, like Eli, like 
Samuel, that'd be a bit of a bummer. And then finally, the use of 
the command. Remember the threefold use of the law, the civil use, 
the pedagogical use, and the normative use. Listen to Calvin 
with reference to the civil use. Those who abusively or stubbornly 
violate parental authority are monsters, not men. from his institutes. Monsters, 
not men. Again, I'd love to invite John 
Calvin to Walmart tomorrow, say take a walk down the toy aisle 
and see for yourselves or for yourself what has become of us. 
A guy by the name of Klaus Bachmuel says the parents who reject the 
first commandment can 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. That's 
a heavy hit in one. Pedagogical, preach this to your 
kids. Preach this to your grandkids. 
Tell them they need Jesus Christ because they don't honor and 
obey the way that they ought to. And then normatively, we 
ought to strive to live in light of the fifth commandment and 
all of our relationships marked by being either superiors or 
inferiors or perhaps in many ways a combination of both. We 
may be a superior in one area, and an inferior in another area. So it is incumbent upon us to 
understand the commandment and how we ought to apply it in our 
own lives. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank you for your word. We thank you for the clarity 
of these 10 commandments and the simplicity of them. And God, 
we pray that you would give us as parents and as grandparents 
in this local church a desire to see our children come to the 
Savior. I pray that through the preaching of your law and gospel 
here on the Lord's day, you would convict children of their sins 
and show them the beauty of Jesus Christ in all of his offices, 
prophet, priest, and king, and the one who is able to save to 
the uttermost all who draw near to God through him. Pray that 
you would bless us with reference to these things as superiors, 
as inferiors. Help us to embrace these commands 
and live by your spirit according to your revealed will. And we 
ask this through Christ our Lord, amen.