- Exodus 9:1-7- Used to tell yo-mama jokes- not anymore. Dishonorable.
- Remember what we’re going through- We’re covering the plagues of Egypt, and connecting them to the false Egyptian God and showing how they connect with one of the ten commandments.
1. The Story
- Again, Moses tells the Pharoah to let the people Go, that they may serve him. Warns them- do it or all your cattle will get pestilence.
- This was to show a difference between the livestock of Israel and the Livestock of Egypt. All the Egyptian livestock dies, none of Israel lives. Pharoah’s heart was hard, didn’t let them Go.
2. The impact
- You can imagine the impact that this killing of their livestock would have on all aspects of their lives. It would hurt the agriculture, commerce, food, work etc. It would greatly affect the ability to be able to do what you need to do
- It takes their means of production and prosperity.
3. The False God
- The false God we’re covering this week is Hathor Major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion. Played various roles, including a sky deity Symbolic mother of pharaohs, representing their connection to kingship.
- Two sides- protective and vengeful aspect. Beneficent side music, dance, joy, love, sexuality, and maternal care. Often depicted a woman wearing a headdress of cow horns and a sun disk. as a cow, symbolizing maternal and celestial aspects.
- More temples dedicated to Hathor than any other goddess. Much worship and prayers.
- Particularly revered by women desiring children.
4. The Fifth commandment
- Exodus 20:12 Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
- This is a very important commandment Paul says this in Ephesians
- Ephesians 6:1-3 “Children, obey your parents in 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.'”
- This is a huge distinction from the previous commandments in that its connected to a promise
- If you honor your Father and Mother, Then it will go well with you and your future
- Your future blessings are connected to how you walk out honoring your father and your mother
- Deuteronomy 5:16 “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.”
- I want to get this one right. (I want to get them all correct, but the blessings sound great)
5. How to walk out the fifth
- Walking out this commandment Is interesting, because like all the commandments, It doesn’t have an expiration date. Its not just a command for children, commandment for adults as well.
- If you are here and you’re a young person under the age of 21, You still have a chance to get this right while you’re still at home.
- If you’re an older person, you can still walk this out in adulthood, but it think it looks different.
- What does it mean to ‘honor your parents’ it means that you respect them and show them honor. Doesn’t mean that you always agree with them, but you live and act in such a way that you revere them and respect them. You go out of their way to show that they are your parents
- Its like the President, I would honor and respect any President, because of WHAT they are, not WHO they are as a person
- You didn’t choose your parents, and regardless of who they are, God requires you honor them
6. Walking it out for young people
- Young people- listen up- your parents are not trying to ruin your life. If you have Christian parents, they are trying to honor God by raising you to know and love the Lord
- If they aren’t you still have a responsibility to honor them even if they aren’t Christian.
- One- You need to obey them- anything they tell you to do. All of it. (You a Christian?)
- This is how you honor God in this phase. You are sowing seeds for your own future.
- Colossians 3:20 “Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord.”
- In all things. That means they can tell you what to wear, watch, what friends you can have.
- That means they can make any decision they want about your life until you are an adult
- And if you want to change something about your life, do it when you leave the house
- You think you’re in the center of your life, but you’re not. Submit to God by submitting to your parents. Just do what they tell you to do and quit making their life difficult.
- There’s danger associated with disobedience. The streets are filled with disobedient kids
- Pro 30:17 “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.”
- Pro 20:20 “Whoever curses his father or his mother, his lamp will be put out in deep darkness.”
- Those are word pictures to describe to you what dangers there are from disobeying your parents- your life will not go well and end will if you are disobedient
- When they tell you not do to something, its for your benefit. They aren’t just trying to hurt you.
- You need to get this down in your spirit. You need to have a good attitude about it.
- Right now you are sowing seeds of either obedience or disobedience. They will bear fruit
- At least you’re not living in the OT
- Exodus 21:17 “And he who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.”
- Exodus 21:15 “And he who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.”
- Curse or hit your parents in the OT and you get stoned. Disobedience wasn’t allowed.
- Remember, the NT standard is always higher- Now its not just the action- it’s the heart condition, that means you cant go to your room and stew and plan against them
- Pro 1:8-9 “My son, hear the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother; for they will be a graceful ornament on your head, and chains about your neck.”
- Do you know what that means? You are going to have a much more successful life if you follow what your parents tell you to do. I promise. (I see the contrast in dis v obed in adulthood)
- You would do well to ask yourself when given an opportunity for a decision- “what would my parents think” and it would keep you from harm.
- Pro 15:5 “A fool despises his father’s instruction, but he who receives correction is prudent.”
- If you despise your parents instruction, the Bible says that you’re a fool. Don’t be a fool.
- When I was a young man, I often thought of my mother and father and what they would think about what I was doing. It kept me from evil. It made me change my friends. Activities.
7. The connection
- So the connection we have here is the plague- death of the livestock, the False Goddess Hathor who is seen as a cow-like mother figure with the attributes of correction and blessing like parents- This goddess has the attributes of parents- a false hope
- protective and vengeful aspect, but also- joy, love, and maternal care.
- Why would God kill livestock as a plague upon this Goddess with this commandment?
- God has an order. God has a natural order of how the world works.
- You can’t breathe water, fly, walk on water, get dehydrated, live longer than he decides, not gain weight, not lose weight. God’s natural order.
- You can’t sin and not reap it. Go to heaven without Jesus. Live against the scriptures and experience the joy of the Lord. Men cant breastfeed and get periods. And God’s natural order is that a man and woman would be the parents of Children who would honor them. That’s his original design. Caveat- we can uphold the standard while not experiencing it. You’re ok!
- God’s killing of the livestock was to upset their natural order and belief in Hathor as a parent figure and grandstand the fragility of life. Animals die. People die. But Israel’s animals didn’t
- Be in God’s ways and natural order, and you’ll be protected, live out of it, and get destroyed.
- The 5th commandment further codified the standard of one man and one woman. ORDER
- The natural order is what it is, but we must align ourselves with God’s natural order of life.
- Includes- HONORING your FATHER and your MOTHER. Can’t walk it out any other way.
8. As adults- uphold the natural order
- Adults are not off the hook for honoring their father and mother. Not just for kids
- Who you are as an adult connects to who raised you as a child. Yes, you may not have had great parents, and sometimes there is extenuating circumstances. But lets not focus on the outliers.
- If you’re in relationship with your adult parents- honor and revere them.
- Proverbs 23:22-25 “Listen to your father who begot you, and do not despise your mother when she is old. Buy the truth, and do not sell it, also wisdom and instruction and understanding. The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, and he who begets a wise child will delight in him.”
- Theres no age restrictions on this. I am still my sons father even when he is an adult and he should (and he does) revere, honor and respect me. This never changes unless you believe in individual Christianity. I have no authority over him, but I still get honor.
- Leviticus 19:3 “Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and keep My Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.”
- My story- told ya’ll before- Raised by my mom because my dad took off. He’s now dead.
- I’ve never had a problem honoring my mom because she was a loving parent who lead me
- Through my whole life, I’ve honored her. She deserved it. She took care of me.
- My father, didn’t deserve it. (Story with neighbor) I’m a Christian, held to different standard
- Proverbs 30:11 “There is a generation that curses its father and does not bless its mother.”
- And I think that still goes on today. People, as individual Americans give little to no care about their parents. They figure when they are an adult, they have no responsibility to anyone
- With my dad- He moved away. He married a bunch and lived and died how he wanted
- Had it not been for Ps Butcher, reconnecting, maybe no. But visited him, called him. Etc.
- Nothing changed. My heart changed. I was blessed, but he was the same until death.
- “that it might go well with you.” Wasn’t bc of who HE is, but who GOD is and for ME
- Proverbs 28:24 “Whoever robs his father or his mother, and says, ‘It is no transgression,’ the same is companion to a destroyer.”
- that’s about valuables- but what about who you are? If they aren’t Christian and you are, what are you robbing them from? Eternal damnation? My dad probably wasn’t saved but I shared.
- Honoring your parents is walking out the good Bible they instilled in you. Its not becoming the unbiblical version of your parents. You don’t become them. You honor them.
- We don’t obey our parents in adulthood, we do that in childhood. In Adulthood we honor them
- Now, during covid my mom and I bought a house together. It’s a slick house. It is going very well with me because we honor my mother. Couldn’t be in that situation without her.
9. A Culture of honor- The natural order
- As a Church, and as people we should just be honorable people. In how we deal with everyone
- First and foremost- we should honor God above all else. You’ll honor someone who is writing your paycheck, but will you honor God?
- Malachi 1:6 “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?
- Secondly, we should honor our parents- we’ve covered that
- Speak well of them. Help them. Spend time with them. Treat them nicely.
- Third- Honor old people in the church (They stole my church) Lev19:32 “You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and fear your God: I am the Lord.”
- 1 Tim 5:1-2 Do not rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father, younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, with all purity.
- The older saints among us are worthy of honor. Treat them as such. Give them preference. Allow them to speak into your life and get out of their way. Help them. (Here forever- earned it)
- Fourth– Honor the elders and pastors- 1 Timothy 5:17 Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.
- How you treat your pastors matters. It’s not for our benefit (for that would be of no benefit)
- Fifth- We need to honor one another.
- Rom 12:10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.
- Kids, I’ll end with you today. You’re to honor your father and mother, but even as young people you’re to live out this scripture. Playing with your friends should be honorable. Not destructive
- Our church should be a place where we honor each other. We should be people of honor
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