Deu 5:16 | KingComments | STEP | From this verse begins the second table of the law with six commandments for the relationship to one’s neighbor. If that relationship is not in order, the believer cannot enjoy the blessings of the land either. On the first table of the law the relationship with God is regulated. In it we have His love for us and our answer to Him. “We love, because He first loved us” ( ). Our love does not only concern God, but also the brother. To love the brother is also a commandment. The relationship with one’s neighbor begins with honoring father and mother, the first relation to one’s neighbor. Honoring father and mother has a purpose. It is about enjoying the blessings of the land. God has set up the family as a picture of God’s family, in which the relationship between parents and children should reflect the relationship between God the Father and His children. In a spiritual sense, it means that the believers will honor those who are fathers and mothers in Christ in the church ( ; ). In a similar way, we see it when young people are submissive to the elderly ( ). If these relationships are respected, blessing will be the result. Recognizing the authority relationships that God has given in the family and in the church causes enjoyment of the blessing of the land ( ). Whoever does not care about this authority will lose the blessing of the land, the delight in it will disappear.

‏ Deuteronomy 5:16

Fifth Commandment

From this verse begins the second table of the law with six commandments for the relationship to one’s neighbor. If that relationship is not in order, the believer cannot enjoy the blessings of the land either. On the first table of the law the relationship with God is regulated. In it we have His love for us and our answer to Him. “We love, because He first loved us” (1Jn 4:19). Our love does not only concern God, but also the brother. To love the brother is also a commandment.

The relationship with one’s neighbor begins with honoring father and mother, the first relation to one’s neighbor. Honoring father and mother has a purpose. It is about enjoying the blessings of the land. God has set up the family as a picture of God’s family, in which the relationship between parents and children should reflect the relationship between God the Father and His children.

In a spiritual sense, it means that the believers will honor those who are fathers and mothers in Christ in the church (Heb 13:17; 1Thes 2:7 ; 11). In a similar way, we see it when young people are submissive to the elderly (1Pet 5:5). If these relationships are respected, blessing will be the result.

Recognizing the authority relationships that God has given in the family and in the church causes enjoyment of the blessing of the land (Eph 6:1-3). Whoever does not care about this authority will lose the blessing of the land, the delight in it will disappear.