THE 4TH COMMANDMENT:SINNING AGAINST

GOD’S REPRESENTATIVES

Lesson 14Faith Foundations

Course One

How do we sin againstGod’s representatives?

THE EXAMPLE OF A WAYWARD SON

1. Recall 2 Samuel 15:1-14 and the account of King David’s son Absalom. In what way was David God’s representative over Absalom and over all the people of Israel?

He was Absalom’s father and Israel’s king.

THE EXAMPLE OF A WAYWARD SON

2. What did Absalom do that caused the people to lose respect for his father?

When people came with their problems, Absalom told them he could help them more than his father.

THE EXAMPLE OF A WAYWARD SON

3. Absalom dishonored his father. Read Deuteronomy 21:18-21. How did God emphasize to the Old Testament people that dishonoring a parent was a very serious sin?

The penalty was death.

THE EXAMPLE OF A WAYWARD SON

4. How might we dishonor the following people?a. Government officialsRidiculing, disobeying, saying bad things about them.

THE EXAMPLE OF A WAYWARD SON

4. How might we dishonor the following people?b. Police officersSaying bad things about them, disobeying the law.

THE EXAMPLE OF A WAYWARD SON

4. How might we dishonor the following people?c. TeachersDisobeying them, ridiculing them behind their backs, being critical of their work.

THE EXAMPLE OF A WAYWARD SON

4. How might we dishonor the following people?d. PastorsMaking fun of them, not taking their words seriously, harshly criticizing their work.

THE EXAMPLE OF A WAYWARD SON

4. How might we dishonor the following people?e. ParentsDisobeying them, speaking disrespectfully to them and about them.

THE EXAMPLE OF A WAYWARD SON

5. Evaluate this statement: TV shows that portray police officers as being corrupt are dishonoring God’s representatives.Police officers can also fall into temptation. It isn’t necessarily wrong to portray that. But if the show leads people to stop trusting all policemen, it is then dishonoring God’s representatives.

THE EXAMPLE OF A WAYWARD SON

6. In Proverbs 1:8 and 23:22, what are some reasons Solomon gives for not despising our parents in their old age?

Our parents gave us life, and devoted many years to raising us.

THE EXAMPLE OF A WAYWARD SON

7. Evaluate these statements:I don’t like our new president. I don’t agree with his policies and beliefs, and I don’t think he’s a very good leader. So I’m not going to obey him or give him the honor I felt for our former president.While we may disagree with him or even dislike a leader, he is still God’s representative and deserves our obedience and prayers. We should never speak evil of or dishonor him.

KEY POINT #1

We sin against God’s representatives…when we dishonor them.

A REBELLIOUS PEOPLE

8. Recall 2 Samuel 15:13,14. How did Absalom’s actions bring grief to his father, the king?

David had to flee for his life, and his soldiers had to fight against his son’s followers.

A REBELLIOUS PEOPLE

9. Read 1 Samuel 2:12-17,22-25; 4:10-18. How did Eli’s sons cause grief for their father?

They stole some of the peoples’ sacrifices. They also slept with some of the women who served at the temple. They wouldn’t listen to their father when he scolded them.

A REBELLIOUS PEOPLE

10.Recall the account of Elisha and the children in 2 Kings 2:23,24. How did the children dishonor Elisha?

They made fun of his bald head and laughed at him.

A REBELLIOUS PEOPLE

11. Read Proverbs 13:24, and evaluate this statement: God’s representatives have the right to become angry and correct us.

It is their responsibility to correct us so that we don’t become wicked. But they need to be careful that they don’t let their anger lead them to sin.

A REBELLIOUS PEOPLE

12.Discuss how the following comments or actions may anger parents or other authorities or cause them grief:a. A child says to a friend: “My old man doesn’t know what he’s doing. He’s so stupid.”Name calling is disrespectful.

A REBELLIOUS PEOPLE

b. “I promised my mother I’d be on the phone only ten minutes and then I’d clean my room. But I talked for over an hour, and now it’s time for bed.”The person either had no intention of keeping the promise or didn’t respect the mother enough to do what was promised.

A REBELLIOUS PEOPLE

c. Everyone in class knew who had thrown the eraser when the teacher’s back was turned. But when the teacher asked who did it, no one spoke up. By refusing to speak up, everyone was disobeying the teacher.

A REBELLIOUS PEOPLE

d. “I don’t understand why the principal was so upset that we punched those little kids who were teasing us at recess. We didn’t really hurt them, and we were just getting even with them.”The principal’s job is to keep all of his students safe. Revenge isn’t an excuse for sin.

A REBELLIOUS PEOPLE

e. “Old man Jenkins yelled at me when I walked across his lawn last week. On Halloween he is going to find an egg smashed on his car.”Walking on his lawn shows a lack of respect for him and his property. Retaliation for the scolding is a sin.

KEY POINT #2

We sin against God’s representatives…when we anger them and cause them grief.

HOW DO WE SIN AGAINST GOD’S REPRESENTATIVES?

1. We sin against God’s representatives when we dishonor them.

2. We sin against God’s representatives when we anger them and cause them grief.

SUMMARYWe sin against God’s representatives when we dishonor and anger them and cause them grief.

THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT

Honor your father and mother, that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.What does this mean?We should fear and love God that we do not dishonor or anger our parents and others in authority, but honor, serve, and obey them, and give them love and respect.

Ephesians 6:1

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.