Holy Scriptures and Israel

Guest (Male): Shalom. Holy Scriptures and Israel is a ministry designed to share with the Jewish people the good news of the Lord Jesus, Yeshua the Messiah, and to instruct Christians on the Jewish roots of their faith. And now, teaching God's word from a Hebrew Messianic perspective, here is Gideon Levytam.

Gideon Levytam: Shabbat Shalom. Today, we are going to begin with Ephesians chapter 6. We are going to cover at least by the grace of God the first nine verses of this chapter. I'd like you please to turn to Ephesians chapter 6. I am going to read those first nine verses which are very much in connection with the previous chapter that we read, Ephesians chapter 5 and verses 22 to the end of the chapter. We dealt with Ephesians chapter 5 and we finished with it. Today, I would like us to read Ephesians chapter 6 and verses one to nine. Please follow with me.

The Apostle Paul, Sha'ul, continues. If there was no breakdown of chapters and verses and numbers, he would just continue to flow from what he just finished in verse 33 of chapter 5. He says now, verse 1: "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor thy father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise, that it may be well with thee and that thou mayest live long on the earth. And ye, fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."

"Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh with fear and trembling in singleness of your heart as unto Christ. Not with eyeservice as menpleasers, but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. With good will doing service as to the Lord and not to men. Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord whether he be bond or free. And ye, masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening, knowing that your Master also is in heaven, neither is there respect of persons with him."

I am stopping here in verse 9 of this chapter. As I just mentioned earlier, Ephesians chapter 6 verses one to nine is really very much linked with the previous verses that we read in chapter 5. If you remember in our previous ministry meeting, we talked about the importance of the relationship between the husband and the wives. The wife is to be subject to her husband, the husband is to love his wife. If there is to be harmony among the relationship as husband and wife in a home, it is such a blessing where we have such harmony because the moment we take our places in the will of the Lord, there is blessing.

The moment we do not follow up these instructions, we end up to have chaos and oftentimes a great loss in our relationship. Here I would like to continue to say, beloved brothers and sisters, that we understand now that the Apostle Paul, Sha'ul, speaking to believers. He is writing to the local assembly at Ephesus and he is writing to believers. Those that are already born from above, they are born again, they have the Holy Spirit of God indwelling them. Now they are being challenged, as we read in verse 18 of chapter 5, to be under the control of Ruach Elohim, under the control of the Holy Spirit of God.

When they are under the control of the Holy Spirit of God, things are moving about in the right way. Why? Because there is joy in our hearts, there is a thankfulness in the heart, and there is submissiveness one to another. Now he is building up and he is moving into these areas of our homes. We all have our homes and we all have our challenges in our own homes. To remind you again, he doesn't speak now to an unbelieving group of people. He is speaking to believers, to you and I. He is speaking to the Ephesians brothers and sisters in the local assembly in the city of Ephesus and apparently they had needs just like you and I have needs today.

Well, the verse out of which he began to speak about the husbands and wife, verses 22 to verse 33 of chapter 5, flew out of verse 22 or verse 21 of chapter 5: "Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God." If the husband and wives are to submit to each other in the fear of God and to take their places in the relationship at the home, now he is moving about and he is going to speak about another four groups of individuals. Notice that in verse one to three, he is speaking to children. In verse four, he is speaking to fathers. In verses five to eight, he is speaking to servants. And in verse nine, he is speaking to masters.

So what we really learn, the four words you might say, the four things that he is communicating: to children, he says obey. To fathers, he says do not provoke. To servants, he says be submissive and obedient. To masters, he says do not threaten your servants. Every one of us is fitting into one or two or more of these groups to whom the Apostle Paul is writing. Not all of us are husbands or wives. Not all of us are parents or fathers. But for sure, all of us are children or have been children at one point of time in our life as young children, of course, if we are older, but we are still children of our parents.

I want you to notice what the Apostle Paul does here. It's so interesting when he's speaking to the children. We have some children here and we are very thankful for you children that you are willing to be here sitting with us at the meeting to learn the word of God and as we heard the reading of the text from the Bible. It's so precious. In the synagogues many years ago when the young boys would come up to the front to read the text from the Bible from the Hebrew scripture, from the Tanakh, what a blessing it had been for the audible reading of the text of the Bible. It was precious to the people at the synagogue in our Jewish community.

For us as Messianic Jewish and non-Jewish people, it's precious for us to hear the text of the word of God being read publicly. So listen to this what he is saying now. We begin in verses one to three. The Apostle Paul is writing now to the children. Here children, young people, please listen to this. This will do you good if you will only listen to the word of God, to what we read here in the scripture. I'm rereading these verses one, two, and three. Paul is saying: "Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right. Honor thy father and thy mother, which is the first commandment with promise, that it may be well with thee and that you may live long on the earth."

I want you to notice what he is saying here to the children. There are four things that Paul is saying to the children in verses one, two, and three. Why should the Yeladim, the children, obey their parents, the Horim? Why should they obey their parents? Paul gives them four reasons here in verses one, two, or three. The first reason is found in verse 1a. He says: "Children, obey your parents in the Lord." Notice this expression, in the Lord. The first reason that the children are to obey their parents is simply because they belong to the Lord, to Yeshua the Messiah.

You remember what John said in John 1:12: "As many as received him," Yeshua, "to them he gave the right to be called the children of God." The reason that we as children, you as children, whether you are boys or girls and you are under the authority of your parents in a home, the reason that you ought to obey your parents is because you belong to Yeshua. You belong to God. You belong to the Messiah. If you are belonging to the Messiah and you have a new life and you are a regenerated person, you are born from above, you belong to the Lord. You belong to God.

It is the thing to do because you belong to Yeshua the Messiah. Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord. Notice he used this expression: in the Lord, in Mashiach, in Christ, in the Messiah. This expression in the scripture when it says in Messiah: those that are in Christ Jesus, in the Messiah, are a new creation. All things are passed away, all become new. If you belong to Yeshua the Messiah, things are different. You belong to the one that loved you and gave himself for you and therefore you ought to obey your parents simply because you are a child of God.

Paul said to the Colossians in chapter three and verse 20: "Children, obey your parents in all things." Parents are not always right. Parents are not always perfect. Parents make mistakes. We know it as parents. But still, because you are a child of God and you belong to Yeshua the Messiah, children, simply obey your parents because you are a child of God. You received Yeshua and you belong to him. Verse 1a. Notice what it says in verse 1b. He gives the second reason: why should children obey your parents? It is simply because it is the right thing to do.

Again, I'm reading: "Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right." It's right. You didn't give your parents life. Your parents gave you life. Your parents brought you into this world. Your parents are providing for you and caring for you. So the first thing is because you belong to God, but also because God has given you to your parents and therefore it is the right thing to do to obey the parents because you have been brought into this world by your very own parents. Again, I remind you in Colossians chapter three and verse 20 where we have already read: "Children, obey your parents in all things for it is well-pleasing unto the Lord."

God finds joy in it, it's really well-pleasing to him, obedience unto the parents. Now the third thing that he is saying to the children in verses one, two, and three. This is the first part of verse two. Notice what the Apostle Paul said: "Honor your father and your mother." Here is the third thing that we find out for the reason why one should obey his mom and dad, his Ima and Aba, as we say it in Hebrew. It is simply because it was a commandment of the Lord. Many years ago when our people Israel came out of the land of Egypt and they stood before Har Sinai, Mount Sinai, God gave to our people commandments.

The fifth commandment that God gave to the people of Israel was simply: "Honor thy father and thy mother." That was a commandment of God. It was not something that one should debate about that. God did not give an option to the children of Israel. God simply said to them: "Honor thy father and thy mother." In Hebrew, we say: "Kaved et avicha ve-et imecha." Honor thy father and thy mother. We are talking now to the children in Ephesians chapter six and verse one, two, and three. We have the instruction of the Apostle Paul to the brothers and sisters in the local assembly at Ephesus and he is speaking now to the children.

By the way, you notice that the Apostle Paul does not first speak to the fathers and mothers first. He is speaking directly to the born-again children who know very well that they have accepted Yeshua the Messiah. He says that you are to obey your mother and father, verse 2a, simply because God commanded it. God simply commanded it. If you read in Exodus chapter 20 and verse 12 and Deuteronomy chapter five and verse 16, you will notice that God simply commanded our people, of all the people of Israel, by telling them that the children ought to obey their mothers and their fathers.

I'm just reading in Exodus chapter 20 and verse 12. This is the fifth commandment and God said to the people of Israel: "Honor thy father and thy mother." This is not a matter of discussion, it's simply a matter of acceptance of the word of God. When we don't, and unfortunately at times we fail to obey and to submit to the word of God, we simply dishonor the Lord and it's not pleasing to the Lord at all. Therefore, this commandment, it passed through. You notice that it was given under the law to our people Israel. Here we find out that it is applied to New Testament present-day dispensation of the church age and thereby the children are to submit and obey their parents.

Now here's the fourth reason in verse 2b and verse three which is very nice to see. I'm speaking again to you that are children here. Notice the fourth reason why the children are to obey their parents. Verse 2b and verse three: "Honor thy father and thy mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, that it may be well with thee and that you may live long on the earth." Here is a beautiful promise to the children. It has been given to Israel many years ago, 3,500 years ago, when our nation Israel was going to enter into the promised land, to Canaan.

God said to our people of all, he says: "Israel, listen. The children are to obey their parents in order that they may live long life in the land." The Hebrew word in verse 12 of Exodus chapter 20 is "Le'ma'an ya'arikun yamecha al ha-adamah," upon the land. God gave Israel the promised land. So it was a national promise. Israel, when the children obey their parents, the children and their parents and their family will remain in the land. When they disobey their parents, God will remove our people of all Israel out of the land and will scatter them upon the face of this earth.

Now Paul, Sha'ul, takes this and now applies it to children of the brothers and sisters in the local assembly at Ephesus and every believer upon the face of this world. He is saying to them: "Children, obey your parents. Why? You are to honor your father and your mother. Why? Because it is the first commandment with a promise." What is the promise? Notice verse three: "That it may be well with you." That's the first promise. And secondly: "That you may live long." And this time it doesn't say the land, meaning the land of Israel, but: "That you may live long on this earth."

You may be a child, a believer in Toronto, or a child, a believer in Yerushalayim, or a child, a believer in any place in the world in any country. There is a first commandment attached with it is a promise of blessing, two-fold blessing. The first one is that it will be well with you. You notice that when children obey their parents, really there is a wellness in their lives that those who do not obey, they lose out. Often they think if I will get my own way and I will do my own thing, I will be fine and I will be okay and I'm not going to listen to what my parents are telling me and I will get my own way, I'll be fine.

Well, you will notice that those that obey their parents, it is really well with them ultimately. It's better for them in their life. They can make better decisions in their life. They can walk in a better path in their life. It is always better to obey than to disobey. God made that promise, two-fold promise: number one, that it will be well with you, and number two, that you will live long life upon the face of this earth. So Paul took what applied to Israel under the law, Exodus 20:12, and he applied it to believers in the present-day dispensation, whether they are Jewish or non-Jewish. It's applied to all of us in the present-day dispensation of the church age.

By the way, the word in Greek, Ge, for the word earth; in the Hebrew word in Exodus 20:12, the word is Adamah and it's applied to the literal promised land that God had given to the people of Israel. Now let's see for a moment. Allow me just to elaborate a couple more minutes on that. I want you to turn to Romans chapter one. Look at what the Apostle Paul's description of the condition of the world in which we live. In Romans chapter one, Paul says in verse 28, 29, and 30 of Romans chapter one: "And even as they," meaning the unbelieving world, "did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient or are not right.

"Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things," and listen at the last point in verse 30: "disobedient to parents." When men rejected the Messiah, God gave them over. Over to what? Over to the list of what we have before us in Romans 1:28, 29, and specifically in connection with our text in verse 30: "disobedience to parents." That's the world. That's the world in which we live in. That's what Paul described for us in Romans chapter one and verses 28, 29, and 30.

Now turn to one more verse in 2nd Timothy chapter three. The Apostle Paul moves from the world to the professing Christendom, to the professing church. In the last days in which we live today, Paul is now writing to the professing believers now. He writes to Timothy and he is telling Timothy: "That's what is going to prevail among the professing assembly, the professing church in the last days." Look what he says, verse one: "This know ye also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers," listen to this: "disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God."

Listen to the end in verse five: "Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof. From such turn away." While in Romans chapter one he described the unbelieving world, in 2nd Timothy chapter three, he described the condition that will prevail among the professing believers in Yeshua the Messiah. Paul is saying: "Timothy, that's what is going to happen in the last days. Children are also among the professing believers will take that position of disobedience." That's why he gives the warning: "Obey your parents." Why? Because you belong to the Lord. Number one. Number two, why? Because it is the right thing to do. Number three, why? Because God commanded it. And number four, why? Because God promised blessing to those believing children. If you are going to obey your parents, you are going to gain. You are not going to lose.

Now let me read one more verse in connection with that and we're going to move. Turn to the gospel of Luke and chapter two. Let me read there two verses. Luke chapter two and verse 51 and 52. I think this is the greatest example. The greatest example is the person of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. He the creator, the sustainer, the upholder. He is the one who is in charge over all the universe. All things were made by him and without him nothing was made which was made. He took humanity, union with his divine nature. He became a baby boy who was born in the city of Bethlehem in the land of our nation Israel. He grew up.

By the time he was 12 years old, he went up with his mother and father, Miriam and Yosef, to the temple in the city of Yerushalayim, Jerusalem. There, having all sort of discussion in the temple, look what we read about him at the end of Luke chapter two. The last two verses, he says in verse 51: "And he went down with them," this is his parents, Miriam and Yosef, "and he came to Nazaret, and he was," children, listen, young people, listen, you and I, all of us, he said: "he was subject unto them. But his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Yeshua increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and with man."

Children, obey your parents. Why? Because it is the right thing to do and you belong to God and this is the right thing to do. But look at the blessing that flow out of it. Look at the example that we have in Yeshua our Mashiach, our Messiah. He became subject unto his parents. Here's the son of God as man, subjected himself as a boy to his mother and father. Look at the result, verse 52: "Yeshua increased." Number one, increased in wisdom. Number two, increased in stature. Number three, he is increased with favor with God. Number four, he is increased with favor with man.

Mental growth, physical growth, spiritual growth, and social growth we have in verse 52. That's the result of submissiveness to God and submissiveness to the parents. Children, obey your parents. The Apostle Paul gave us the instruction in Ephesians chapter six and verses one to three. Let's go back now. In verse four, now that he dealt with the children, now he is talking to us as fathers. Notice what he says to the fathers. He is speaking directly to the fathers and now he is saying to believing fathers and that apply to you and I who are parents. Some of us have already grown children, they are no longer under our authority in our own home. But when we were parents and dealing with our children in our own home, that was the instruction that Paul is giving to the fathers.

Look at this what he is saying in verse four. Paul appeals to the believing fathers not to provoke their children. "And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." Those of us who are fathers know very well how often times we fail in the responsibilities that God had given unto us as Aba, as Avot, as fathers. Here again, I would like to suggest certain things that the fathers are exhorted to do as they raise their children. This is what the scripture teaches us. This is what the Apostle Paul is telling them. The first thing he is saying to them in verse 4a, the first part of verse four, that the fathers are not to provoke their children but to encourage them.

Guest (Male): You have been listening to the Holy Scriptures and Israel with Gideon Levytam. Gideon teaches God's word from a Hebrew Messianic perspective. For more information about this ministry, write the Holy Scriptures and Israel, Box 1411, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, L0S 1J0. Or visit our website at holyscripturesandisrael.com. You are also invited to Gideon's weekly Bible teaching on Fridays at 11:00 AM and 7:00 PM and Saturdays at 1:00 PM at Willowdale Christian Assembly Hall, 28 Martin Ross Avenue in Toronto. Holy Scriptures and Israel is made possible by your prayers and financial support. If you would like to support the program, visit holyscripturesandisrael.com. God bless you. Shalom, shalom.