The Pulpit Commentary — Exodus — Volume 2 — Section 144

to consider how much depended on themselves in makmg their children dulv acquainted with ell the glorious doings and strict requirementR of Jehovah. If a parent bed to deal with e disube<lient and despising child, be was able to point out that this requira- ment of honouring father and mother we.s God's most strict requirement, and Uod was he who had rule and authority over parent and child alike. 2. Thm faJ,herand mother were evidently ~uired to honour themselvetJ. No special verbal utterance we.s here required, telling father and mother to remember the obliga.tions to offspring, and any- way this was not the proper place for it. The commandments here are universal commandments, such as all men incur the temptation of breaking. Thus it was eminently fitting to have a word for children, enjoining upon them the proper feeling Lowards parent~; e.s all know the filial relation, but all do not know the parental one. One of the merits of the Decalogue is its brevity and sententioueness. No father could ei.pect his children to honour the parent.a.I relation unless he did so himself; nnd in measure as he more and more comprehended the import of the relation, in that measure might his children be expect.ed t.o respond to his treatment of them. " Honour all men," l!llys the apostle Peter; and t.o do this we must begin at home in our own life, and put the proper value on ourselves. God has put immense honour on father and mother; and it is the curse, loss, and fearful reservation of penalty for many parents that they do not. see what moment.ous mterests have been put in their stewardship. 3. God thus 8howed his earnest desi,re to help parents in their arduo-us, an:i:ious work. The work of a parent in Israel who had weighed all his responsibilities was no light matter. Great opportunities were given him, and great things might be done by him; things not to be done by any other teacher or guide, and he had thus a very comforting ao;surauce that God was his helper. Helper to the father, and. bear in mind, to the mother also. It is worthy of note that father and mother are specially mentioned. She is not left in the obscurity of a more general term. God would give to both of them according to their peculiar opportunities all understanding, wisdom, for- bearance, steadfe.stness, discrimination of character, that might be necessary for their work. 11. As IT CONCEB1''ED THE cmLDBEN. .A commandment was not needed to teach children as to the me.king of some sort of distinction between their father and mother and other men and women. But, in order that the distinction might be a right one, and evermore real and deepening in its presence and influence, such a commandment as this was imperatively needed. .As we he.ve said. it was a commandment universal in its scope, because e.ll are or have been in the fi.lie.l relation, but as e. matter of fact it would address itself directly to the young. They were laid hold of as soon as anything 'ike intelligence, power to obey, and power to understand the difference between right and ~'rong manife,,ted themselves. God came and made his claim upon them, in a way as suitable as any to their childish consciousness. They were to honour father and mother, not because father and mother said ao, but because God said so. Plainly the honouring included both deep inward feeling and clear outward expression. The out- ward expression, important as it was, could only come from real and habitual feeling within. Outward expression by itself count.ed for nothing. Honouring with the lips while the heart was far removed from the parent would be reckoned a grievous sin age.ID.St God. The child had to grow up esteeming and venerating the parental relation everywhere. It could not honour its own father and mother and at the same time despise the parents of other children. The promise here given obviously a suitable one for children. To them the prospect of a long life, in the land already promised, was it.self a promise agreeable to the limitations of the old covenant, when there could be no pointing in clear terms to the land beyond death ; an? we may be very sure that, according to thili promise, filial obedience had a correspondmg temporal reward.-Y. Vers. 13-17.-The i,,n,d,ividual Israelite oonsi.derw in hu duti-es towards his neigh- bour. Of these five com.mandments--namely, against murder, adultery, theft, slander and oovetow;ness, it almost goes without saying that their very negativeness in form constitutes the strongest way of stating a positive duty. From a proper consideration of theae comma.ndmenti; all possible manifestations of brotherliness will flow. They sh,,w thE spirit we should cherish towe.rds our neighbours; those who equally with eur..6lves a.r" ths object6 of Divi.De providence and mercy. They show what we are en. xx. 13-17.] THE BOOK OF EXODUS. Lil