95. It May Go Well with You
Deuteronomy 5:16 Honor thy father and thy mother, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
This specific Commandment contains a conditional promise. It is the same promise as the general promise for keeping all the commandments: you will have a good and long life if you do this, that is, honor your father and mother. The NT in Ephesians 6:3 repeats this Commandment and says that it is the first commandment with a promise.
The principle is a general truth, and we believe God’s Word when He says you will live well and long if you honor your parents. This doesn’t seem like it should be true, but it is not wise to deny the Word of God. His Law is the law and there is a reason for it. To honor father and mother is to serve and obey, love and cherish them. Negatively, to dishonor is to despise, neglect, and just plain disobey. Presumably, for the disobedient child it will not go so well with that person as an adult. The reason for this seems to be that obedience produces a strong character, especially with respect to one’s father. There also seems to be a correlation between learning obedience to parents and having trust in God; it is easier to hold a strong belief in God when one has had a strong and loving father as a child. We can see the problems caused by absent fathers and abusive fathers.
God wants strong, loving, safe and happy families because they will produce strong, loved, secure and happy adults. This Commandment has much to say to the parents, especially fathers, who have the privilege and responsibility to raise obedient children who learn trust and respect for authority, especially trust in God.
But all parents are sinners raising sinners, and no one does a perfect job of raising children. We live in a flawed world. Nevertheless, the Lord forgives errors, mistakes, and failings and restores what we have messed up or failed to do well. He is in the business of repairing what was broken and fixing up what isn’t working well. By God’s grace and power through the Gospel the Lord makes long and happy lives.
The real promise is eternal life, a perfectly blissful life that never ends, given by grace to all and received by all who believe in Christ. Because of Jesus, we may lay hold of this promise and claim a long and well-lived life.