Daily Devotions
Ephesians
"Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right."
Text: Ephesians 6:1
OBEY YOUR PARENTS
The word “obey” (“hupakouete”) must have been carefully selected. In using this word, Paul must have realized that the word “obedience” represented the centre of most conflicts in the family. It is a word that Scripture uses to describe the problem that ancient Israel had in its relationship to God. But no matter how difficult this word may have been to comprehend and to comply with, it must be understood.
1. The lexical idea behind the word “obey” (“hupakouo”)
The word “obey” is essentially a compound word. The root word emphasizes “hearing” (“akouo”). The second part is adding the preposition “hupo” resulting in the word “obey”. If only people would first hear, obedience might prove a little bit easier.
2. “Obey your parents in the Lord”
Paul was not advocating blind obedience. This qualifying phrase must cause Christian children to work a little harder at hearing and then obeying. We have a classic case in the Biblical Samuel. When God spoke to him, though he was but a young lad, Eli taught him to make this reply.
Therefore Eli said to Samuel,
‘Go, lie down, and it shall be, if He calls you,
that you must say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.”
1 SAMUEL 3:9
The ear if it is trained to first hear, would enable one to practise obedience. What
was Paul advocating when he wrote these words? Two levels of thoughts may be discerned:-
a) Parents
i) They deserve a listening ear, for all that they have done to bring up children.
ii) They deserve to be obeyed, if their words are sound and full of wisdom.
iii) Outright disregard of parental advice must not be contemplated.
b) The Lord
i) The Lord could be speaking through parents.
ii) The Lord has a definite role for parents to play in the rearing of children.
“THIS IS RIGHT”
The word “right” (“dikaiov”) has deep roots. One of the ideas behind it has to do with “righteousness”. It is good and commendable (or “righteous”) to hear parents out, and then obey them, as one would listen to the Lord and obey Him.