Tag: prudent

43.a. “Wilderness” – 7.h. Sinai – “Honor your father and your mother”

 

Exodus 20:12  “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

 Leviticus 19:3  Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.

 Proverbs 15:5   A fool despises his father’s instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is prudent.

 Proverbs 23:22-25   Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.  Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.  The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.  Let your father and mother be glad; let her who bore you rejoice.

 Colossians 3:20    Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

 Ephesians 6:1-3  Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise),  “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”

 Proverbs 30:17   The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother will be picked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the vultures.

 Malachi 1:6   “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the LORD of hosts to you

Of all our duties to our fellow-men, the first and most fundamental is our duty towards our parents, which lies at the root of all our social relations, and is the first of which we naturally become conscious. Honour, reverence, and obedience are due to parents from the position in which they stand to their children :—(1) As, in a certain sense, the authors of their being; (2) as their shelterers and nourishers; (3) as their protectors and educators, from whom they derive the foundation of their moral training and the first elements of their knowledge. (Ellicott)

Honour thy father and thy mother, includes esteem of them, shown in our conduct; obedience to their lawful commands; come when they call you, go where they send you, do what they bid you, refrain from what they forbid you; and this, as children, cheerfully, and from a principle of love. Also submission to their counsels and corrections. Endeavouring, in every thing, to comfort parents, and to make their old age easy; maintaining them if they need support, which our Saviour makes to be particularly intended in this commandment. (Henry)

How many sons and daughters, including us as sons and daughters, have done that which does not honor their fathers and mothers? It is my life and I will live it as I deem best for me. Your ways are old fashion and meaningless today. It is clear that when God’s Word and things of God are minimized in a person’s life, any attention given to that which will honor their parents will be as well, not to mention, more importantly, honoring and glorifying God. There is a promise that comes with obedience to this commandment. How many other promises of God are forfeited in our lives because of the lack of desire for honoring, glorifying, serving, worshiping, praising, and trusting Him? Honor and glory to God will honor and glorify parents.  Whereas God will always deserve and is worthy of honor and glory, parents may not seem worthy and may do things that their adult children do not agree with. (rightly or wrongly) Our parents and us as parents will have times in our lives when we make wrong choices, say and do wrong things, and hurt our testimony before God and others. Children are not blind and will see this. Adult children will see this. 

We can be Christian adult children with parents who are not. These parents can be full of vile words and do things very contrary to the things of God.  How is a person to honor their parents who reject God and things of God? In love. We do not support sinful behavior, ie giving money so they can buy alcohol or do more gambling. Though we might buy them food, mow their yard, fix their car, repair their home, visit them, etc…. and show them loving concern. I am not saying this will be easy. How do you respond to a parent who always ask for money and lies to you continually and belittles your love and support for them? This has to be one of the hardest tests of displayed love for an adult child. Ground rules and be expressed and established, in love, to your parents. If you are drunk when we come over with our children we will leave. If you talk evil of God and things of God in front of our children we will leave. There are many things we can establish to protect our children but there are also many things we can do to show love in the absence of the children present. 

Love will allow me to see the drunkenness and still show love. Love will allow me to see hate for God and things of God and still show love. Love will allow me to see wasted resources and still show love. Love will allow me to see a pity party and still show love. Love will allow me to hear belittling comments and still show love. This is an honor given to fathers and mothers who it would seem do not deserve it. Does that sound familiar? While we were yet sinners, God displayed His love for us by giving His only Son to redeem us. This is unconditional love, undeserved and freely given. 

Honor thy father and mother.

28.a. “Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you”

 

Ephesians 5:15   Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

 1 Corinthians 14:20    Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.

 Hebrews 12:25   See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.

 Philippians 1:27   Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,

 Proverbs 14:8    The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deceiving.

 John 12:35     So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.

While walking in the dark we are always exposed to some danger we did not see.  We learn this very early in life and will always choose to walk in lighted areas rather than darkened ones.  We understand there is a risk associated with walking in the dark.  

When we choose to walk in the dark (apart from Jesus Christ and the light of His Word) we foolishly tell ourselves there is no danger. We think we can see the dangers but we can’t and don’t.  We blindly walk about without a care.  We actually can be accustomed to the dark and shun the light.  This shunning takes on many forms; neglect of God’s Word, little to no generosity, kindness, patience, hope…., little to no commitment to attending church yet alone becoming active in serving in some area, thinking, speaking, and doing fleshly/worldly things, having no outward testimony that you are even a follower of Jesus Christ, the busyness of life, worry, fear, confusion, unthankfulness, division, gossip, hopeless, faithless, anger, hate, lusts of the flesh, ………….. and the list continues to whatever it is in the dark that draws you and keeps you from desiring and seeking to walk in the light.  Paul said to walk carefully, wisely, and make good use of your time.  Any time we spend serving anything other than honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ is not a good use of our time.  It is reckless and unwise.  Desiring and seeking to honor and glorify Jesus Christ will always be a guiding light for your path in all you think, say, and do.

27.y. “On the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak”

 

Ephesians 5:4  Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

 Proverbs 12:23   A prudent man conceals knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaims folly.

 Proverbs 15:2    The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly.

 Jude 1:10   But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively

 Colossians 3:8   But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

 Matthew 12:34-37   You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.  I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,  for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

 Romans 1:28    And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

Paul’s appeal to the Ephesians was to be ever mindful of who they were in Christ and as such there ought to be a difference in how they speak and act even if the rest of the culture approves. They ought to know what is right, pure, and God honoring in their speech and actions. They ought to weigh every word in the light of God-honoring speech. As men, don’t have to spend much time outside our homes before we are bombarded with course language, filthy jokes, or other meaningless talk that adds nothing of value to our soul and certainly not toward God.  We need to recognize and be able to discern what is right, honorable, and pleasing to God.  The problem is we don’t recognize it as wrong or we shrug it off as fitting in.  This problem has many roots that are anchored to our heart, mind, and soul.  Neglect, complacency, remaining an infant in things of God, busyness, a lack of desire to honor and glorify God, wanting to fit in, shallow and stagnate knowledge of God’s Word, no hunger or thirst for His leading, and unwilling to fully commit to the will of God.  

Psalms says: Understand, O dullest of the people! Fools, when will you be wise? He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see? He who disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke? He who teaches man knowledge— the LORD—knows the thoughts of man

9.w. “For I know how many are your transgressions and how great are your sins”

Amos 5:1   Hear this word that I take up over you in lamentation, O house of Israel: “Fallen, no more to rise, is the virgin Israel; forsaken on her land, with none to raise her up.” For thus says the Lord God: “The city that went out a thousand shall have a hundred left, and that which went out a hundred shall have ten left to the house of Israel.” For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel: “Seek me and live; but do not seek Bethel, and do not enter into Gilgal or cross over to Beersheba; for Gilgal shall surely go into exile, and Bethel shall come to nothing.” Seek the Lord and live, lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and it devour, with none to quench it for Bethel, O you who turn justice to wormwood and cast down righteousness to the earth! He who made the Pleiades and Orion, and turns deep darkness into the morning and darkens the day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the surface of the earth, the Lord is his name; who makes destruction flash forth against the strong, so that destruction comes upon the fortress. They hate him who reproves in the gate, and they abhor him who speaks the truth. Therefore because you trample on the poor and you exact taxes of grain from him, you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not dwell in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine. For I know how many are your transgressions and how great are your sins— you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, and turn aside the needy in the gate. Therefore he who is prudent will keep silent in such a time, for it is an evil time

This is from Matthew Henry’s commentary:  The scope of this chapter is to prosecute the exhortation given to Israel in the close of the foregoing chapter to prepare to meet their God; the prophet here tells them, I. What preparation they must make; they must “seek the Lord,’’ and not seek any more to idols; they must seek good, and love it. II. Why they must make this preparation to meet their God, 1. Because of the present deplorable condition they were in. Because it was by sin that they were brought into such a condition. Because it would be their happiness to seek God, and he was ready to be found of them. Because he would proceed, in his wrath, to their utter ruin, if they did not seek him. Because all their confidences would fail them if they did not seek unto God, and make him their friend. (1.) Their profane contempt of God’s judgments, and setting them at defiance, would not secure them . (2.) Their external services in religion, and the shows of devotion, would not avail to turn away the wrath of God . (3.) Their having been long in possession of church-privileges, and in a course of holy duties, would not be their protection, while all along they had kept up their idolatrous customs. They have therefore no way left them to save themselves, but by repentance and reformation.