ALPHA MAAMA (A.M.)

Pulelulu Ma’asi 22, 2023

Living Long  in the Land  ארך

LAHI HO NGAAHI ‘AHO ‘I HE KELEKELE 

EXODUS 20:12

"HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER, THAT YOUR DAYS MAY BE LONG IN THE LAND THAT THE LORD YOUR GOD IS GIVING YOU."

‘EKISOTO 20:12

Faka‘apa‘apa ki ho‘o tamai mo ho‘o fa‘ē; koe‘uhi ke lahi ho ngaahi ‘aho ‘i he kelekele, ‘a ia ‘e foaki kiate koe ‘e Sihova ko ho ‘Otua.

The same phrase, "the LORD your God," occurs in the first four "words" or commandments of Exodus 20. Honoring one's parents, therefore, is the bridge between the first and second table of the law. To honor our Father in heaven entails honoring his parental icons on earth. Since the Hebrew verb kavad ("honor") literally means "be heavy or weighty," we might say, "Treat your parents with weighty significance" or "Don't make light of your parents." Paul reminds us that this "is the first commandment with a promise" (Eph. 6:2)-namely, that your days will be arak ("made long") in the land.

In the OT, the land is the kingdom of God, where the Father reigns over, blesses, and protects his children. For one's days to be arak is not simply to shoot for one hundred candles on your cake, but to live a full, blessed, God-soaked life in his kingdom. This long kingdom life was a foretaste of the resurrection, for the Messiah himself, after suffering, will "prolong [arak] his days" (Isa. 53:10). Having honored his Father and given himself as an offering for our guilt, he rises to prolong his days in the resurrection kingdom in which we, his brothers and sisters, share.

Heavenly Father, give us grace to love and honor you, along with our earthly parents.