The fifth commandment says, "Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee." (Ex. 20:12).  This is the first of the ten commandments that takes the focus off of God and onto man.  This is what I would call the bridge commandment.  The first five commandments focus on our relationship with God and the last five commandments focus on our relationship with man.  The fifth commandment is the bridge commandment in that it focuses on both God and man.  Parents are the first God given authority in our lives.  When we honor our parents that is honoring our God.  If those parents are God-fearing parents then the children have a much greater chance to be God-fearing as well.

          There is a provision in the fifth commandment that promises long days in our land if we keep this commandment.  At first, this seems like a strangely placed promise.  Clearly this promise belongs under a different commandment.  However, a second look reveals exactly how this promise plays out.  Throughout the scripture God warned the nation of Israel that if they broke His commandments they would be removed from the land of Israel and brought into national captivity.  In Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, God warned Israel about breaking His commandments.  YHVH said, "But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant: I also will do this unto you;" (Lev. 26:14-16).  The rest of the chapter contains all the things YHVH will do to Israel for breaking his law.  Here are a few of the things God will do:

• He will appoint "terror" over us (Lev. 26:17).

• He will appoint "disease" and "pestilence" (Lev. 26:16, Deut. 28:21-22, Lev. 26:25, Deut. 28:27, Deut. 28:35, Deut. 28:58-61).

• He will curse our food production (Lev. 26:16, Deut. 28:16-18, Deut. 28:30, Deut. 28:33, Deut. 28:38-40)

• He will cause us to be slain by our enemies (Lev. 26:17, Lev. 26:25, Deut. 28:25)

• He will curse our cities (Lev. 26:31, Deut. 28:16).

• He will destroy our court system (Lev. 26:30, Lev. 26:31).

• He will bring us to national captivity (Lev. 26:32, Deut. 28:48-50, Deut. 28:64-68).

          These are just a few of the many curses God will give us for breaking His commandments.  The last of which is the removal from our land and into national captivity.  To avoid this, we must honor our father and mother.  This is the key to avoid being removed from the land.  If children are taught to honor their father and mother, then criminal behavior will be very low in your nation.  Here is how this works.

          The father is the head of the family and bears all the burdens of that family.  In Numbers chapter thirty, God appoints the father as the head of all contracts and vows made by the family.  The father can disallow, or allow, any vows made by family members (Num. 30:3-5, Num. 30:6-8, Num. 30:13, Num. 30:15).  The father bears the "iniquity" of any vow made by the family (Num. 30:15).  This is what the scripture means when it says the father is the head of the family (Eph. 5:22-24).  As the head, the father bears the burdens of the family.  If a child does any harm to another person, the father will pay the price because the child cannot.  We do this even today.  If a child broke a window on a neighbors house, the father would have to pay for that window.  A good father will make sure the child is disciplined accordingly so the problem does not persist.  The more severe the sin of the child is, the more severe the punishment should be.  The extreme of this would be death.

          The scripture tells us how to deal with a rebellious child.  "If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:" (Deut. 21:18).  This is a "stubborn" and "rebellious" child.  This is what we call today juvenile delinquency.  This is not a small matter but a great matter.  "Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard." (Deut. 21:19-20).  The gate of the city is where the cities judicial system was.  The elders of the city were the judges.  This is a father bringing his child to trial to receive a judgment.  If the judgment is guilty, then "all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear" (Deut. 21:21).  This might seem harsh and extreme, but keep in mind that the father is responsible for all damages of that child.  This child has been chastened, but still did not listen to his father.  If the father knows that the child is dangerous and does nothing, then he is responsible even unto death (Ex. 21:28-29).  Here is a video to help further understand the fifth commandment.

Conclusion:

          The fifth commandment is the key to keeping a nation on the right path.  God's first authority is the family.  When the family is intact and keeping God's commandments the nation will be righteous.  This is how the fifth commandment allows our days to "be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee" (Ex. 20:12).  The father is the head of the family.  A good father will discipline his family to keep God's commandments.  Keeping God's commandments will keep us in the land that God has promised us.  It is really that simple.  The titles of law that fit under the fifth commandment are: