The Fifth Commandment is about honor and dishonor.
The fifth commandment, from the Book of Exodus, states:
12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. (Exodus 20:12)
Most read this as laying out a proper relationship between parents and their dependent children.
And that is true.
But, it involves more than just the relationship between young children and their parents.
Parents should rule their households honorably.
The fifth commandment has applications for children and adults.
In the New Testament Adam is called the “son of God” (Luke 3:38, NKJV throughout unless otherwise noted).
This is because God created him. Adam was the son of God by a direct creation. Adam was not God’s son by regular human begettal or birth. Eve, was fashioned by God out of Adam’s rib (Genesis 2:21-23), and hence was not born the usual way.
When Adam and Eve sinned, they also dishonored their only parent.
Adam not only dishonored God, but he also broke the tenth commandment. There was also lust when the woman felt the forbidden fruit was good for food and desired to make one wise; vanity, egotism and pride entered into her heart (Genesis 3:6) which would violate the ninth commandment. She put the word of the serpent over the word of God and hence violated the first commandment. She made an idol out of worldly wisdom (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:19) and thus violated the second commandment.
God says:
30 … those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed. (1 Samuel 2:30)
Adam and Eve did not honor God.
Lust is what usually causes a person to have an inordinate desire to have something that is not to be theirs. Lust can cause some to steal, and Adam and Eve broke the eighth commandment by stealing what was not theirs to take.
At least six of the Ten Commandments were broken when Eve partook of the forbidden fruit.
And in other ways every one of the Ten Commandments was actually broken in that first human sin. Improperly disobeying parents can lead to many problems.
The version of the fifth commandment in Deuteronomy is a bit longer than the Exodus version:
16 ‘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. (Deuteronomy 5:16)
Deuteronomy means ‘second law’ and all the Ten Commandments are repeated in the 5th chapter of Deuteronomy.
If children would honor their parents and parents were honorable, it would go well in the physical land.
There are tangible benefits to keeping God’s commandments.
That said, notice an incident with Jesus:
1 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2 “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”
3 He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God” — 6 then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. 7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:
8 “These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
9 And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ (Matthew 15:1-9)
Jesus taught that we are not to make excuses or rely on improper human reasoning to disobey this command. We are to honor our father and our mother. Not make excuses not to do so.
The Continuing Church of God put out the following sermon on its ContinuingCOG channel:
Honor Your Parents and Rule Honorably
The fifth of the Ten Commandments (fourth commandment according to the Roman Catholics and Lutherans) says to honor your mother and father. Is there a promise associated with that commandment? Did Adam and Eve dishonor God, who was their Father? Are parents supposed to teach their children and act honorably? How does one rule one’s household well? What about love? What about correction and discipline? What about dishonorable parents? Are government officials to be given honor? Are husbands and wives to love each other and be willing to submit to each other? Do teens and adults need to honor their parents? Should you forgive parents who are not honorable? Did Jesus say this parental command meant that children may need to financially support their aging parents? Should you financially enable parents to sin? Was disobedience to parents prophesied for the last days? Whether or not you are a parent, are you to be honorable? Dr. Thiel addresses these matters and more by going over numerous scriptures as well as some writings from the old Radio and Worldwide Church of God.
Here is a link to the sermon: Honor Your Parents and Rule Honorably.
Some items of possible interest may include:
FIFTH COMMANDMENT: Honor and Be Honorable The fifth commandment involves family relationships. Is it more than parents and children? What about love and ruling well your household? Here is a link to a related sermon: Honor Your Parents and Rule Honorably.
The Ten Commandments: The Decalogue, Christianity, and the Beast This is a free draft/unedited pdf book explaining the what the Ten Commandments are, where they came from, how early professors of Christ viewed them, and how various ones, including the Beast of Revelation, will oppose them. A related sermon is titled: The Ten Commandments and the Beast of Revelation.
FIRST COMMANDMENT: Priorities and the Most Broken Commandment Which commandment is broken the most? Which one is most involved with what should be your top priority? Here is a link to a related sermon: The Most Violated Commandment and Priorities.
SECOND COMMANDMENT: What Did the Early Church Teach About Idols and Icons? Did the early Church use icons? What was the position of Christians about such things? A related sermon is available: The Second Commandment, Idols, and Icons.
THIRD COMMANDMENT: Words Matter Are you obeying the Third Commandment? Are you sure? Could you be blaspheming with your euphemisms or life actions? Here is a link to a related sermon: Third Commandment Plus: Words Matter. Here is a link to a shorter video: Was Increased Cursing Prophesied?
FOURTH COMMANDMENT: The Sabbath in the Early Church and Abroad Was the seventh-day (Saturday) Sabbath observed by the apostolic and post-apostolic Church? Here is a link to a related sermon: Fourth Commandment: Saturday or Sunday?
SIXTH COMMANDMENT: Anger, Murder, Abortion, Sports, Self-Control, & Kindness Is there more to the 6th commandment than not murdering? What about abortion, hate, and violent sports? What is the attitude real Christians should have? Here is a link to a related sermon:: Murder, anger, kindness, and love.
SEVENTH COMMANDMENT: Love and Faithfulness, Not Sexual Immorality The seventh commandment prohibits adultery. Jesus made it clear that it involved more than marital infiedlity. What about the LGBTQ+ movement and the Bible? Here is a link to a related video sermon: 7th Commandment: Love and Faithfulness.
EIGHTH COMMANDMENT: Give not take. The eighth commandment prohibits stealing. This includes thievery, not tithing, debasing currency, cheating, and many other wrong acts. Here is a link to a related sermon: 8th Commandment: Do Not Steal or Cheat, Instead Produce and Give.
NINTH COMMANDMENT: No False Witness For a Better World What were the first lies in the Bible? What would happen if people obeyed God and did not bear false witness? Here is a link to a related sermon: NINTH COMMANDMENT: Joys to the World.
TENTH COMMANDMENT: Protects You From Sinning Against Yourself Lust is not a victim-less crime. A related sermon is available: Tenth Commandment: Sinning against yourself and society.
Husbands Love Your Wives An article written by the late Selmer Hegvold.