That it may be well with you, and you may live long on the earth.
Truth to Learn
We should be obedient to God because we love Him, not because we want or expect something from Him.
Behind the Words
The verbal phrase “it may be” is translated from the Greek word ginomai, which means “to begin to be,” “to come into existence,” or “to come into a given condition or state.” It is expressed here in the subjunctive mood indicating the possibility or probability of occurrence.
“Live long” is from the Greek adjective makrochronios. This is the only place in the New Testament where this word occurs. It is made up of makros, meaning “large” or “long” and chronos, meaning “a length of time.” Thus, makrochronios literally means “long-timed” or “long- lived.” A literal translation of the second half of this verse might be, “and you will be long-lived on the earth.”
Meaning Explained
As we learned yesterday, Paul is basically quoting the fifth commandment. The first thing we have to notice is that he didn’t quote it exactly. We’ll see why in just a minute. Like the rest of the Law, this commandment was given to the Israelites after they left Egypt and before they entered the Promised Land. It specifically promises long life in the land of Canaan. But, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul modified the contents of the commandment to apply its principle to Christians living throughout the world.
As we have mentioned before, Christians are not under the Law of Moses. Keeping the Law does not make us righteous any more than it makes devout Jews righteous. In fact, Paul wrote his letter to the Galatians to address this very issue. In that church there were some who claimed that Christians had to keep the Law even after faith in Christ. He taught very clearly that we are not justified by obedience, we are justified by faith in Christ and we are no longer under the Law.
Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. (Galatians 3:24-25)
The other thing we need to observe is that this is not a “magic formula” for God’s blessing; rather, it is given to us as a general principle. There are many people who have honored their parents and yet died young. That doesn’t make God a liar. Paul gives us these verses to teach us that it is proper for us to obey our parents and that, in general, God blesses those who do. Far too many Christians today believe that obedience to a set of rules is what pleases God. Their religion is no better than that of the Jews who ultimately rejected the Messiah they claimed to be waiting for, even though they followed all the rules. Keep in mind what the writer of Hebrews said:
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)
Application
Our obedience to God should be because of our love for Him (see John 14:23), not because we want to win His favor. So, let us honor God by honoring our parents.
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2012 Will Krause. All rights reserved.