PARENTS HAVE HONOR! No. 178

Leviticus 19:3, "Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father… I am the Lord your God."

God has given honor to the status of parenthood. God is a Father and He wants His children fathered in the anointing of His fatherhood. God also has a maternal heart and He has ordained that mothers should mother with the anointing of His mother heart.

God gives many Scriptures to remind us of the honor He has placed upon parents.

Exodus 20:12, "Honor thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long upon the land…"

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…"

So that we do not forget, this command is repeated in the New Testament in Matthew 15:4; 19:19; Mark 7:10; 10:19; Luke 18:20 and Ephesians 6:2-3.

I am always astounded by the Scripture mentioned at the beginning. Not only are children commanded to honor their parents, but to fear them. The word 'fear' that is used here is the same word that is used to 'fear' God. Do you also notice that the mother is mentioned first? Children often have a healthy respect for their father's authority but fail to honor their mother's authority. This is not God's intention. He wants children to have an awe and reverence for their mother too.

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A Constant Reminder, No. 177

Exodus 28:29, "And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goes in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the Lord continually."

I am always amazed at the incredible specifications God gave for the High
Priest's clothing. They were to be holy garments, made for "glory and for
beauty." A whole chapter of the Bible, Exodus chapter 28, is given to
these instructions. One of the instructions was to take two onyx stones
and grave on them the names of the children of Israel, six names on one
stone and six on the other. They were then to be set in gold and placed
in the shoulder-pieces of the ephod so that Aaron could carry these names
before the Lord as a constant reminder.

God knew the names of the tribes of Israel which represented every adult
and child in each tribe, but He wanted the names before Him continually.
In the Word of God the shoulders speak of responsibility and government.
It was the High Priest's responsibility to do this. I believe that it is
also the responsibility of parents to bring their children's names into
the presence of the Lord. We are to carry them before the Lord
continually. We often feel the weight and burden of raising children. It
can bear down upon us. But the greatest way to bear the weight is to bear
it upon our shoulders in prayer and to bring our children's names
constantly before the Lord.

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