[12] “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. (Exodus 20:12, NIV)
[1] Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. [2] “Honor your father and mother”– which is the first commandment with a promise– [3] “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” [4] Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:1-4, NIV)
Have you ever wondered “why” the 10 Commandments are in the order that they are? I have!
In fact, the 5th Commandment – “Honor your father and your mother – seems rather strange to me. You have the 1st four commandments on Honoring and Loving God before it, and 5 commandments after it about Honoring and Loving our Neighbors. Yet this seems to be the only commandment about Loving and Honoring our Family. Parents seem to be the “bridge” between “Loving and Honoring God” and “Loving and Honoring Our Neighbor”.