How does Deuteronomy 27:20 connect with the Ten Commandments on honoring family? Setting the Scene Deuteronomy 27 gathers Israel on Mounts Ebal and Gerizim to pronounce blessings and curses. Among the curses is one that shocks modern ears yet reveals God’s heart for family purity and honor. The Specific Command (Deuteronomy 27:20) “Cursed is he who lies with his father’s wife, because he has uncovered his father’s nakedness.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’” • The action: sexual relations with a step-mother. • The language: “uncovered his father’s nakedness” (cf. Leviticus 18:8) shows that the sin attacks the father as well as the woman. • The penalty: a covenant curse, underscoring how seriously God views the violation. Links to the Fifth Commandment “Honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16). • Honor means more than polite words; it includes protecting parental dignity and marital boundaries. • Sleeping with a father’s wife strikes at his honor, authority, and marriage, turning what should be reverence into humiliation. • By attaching a curse, Moses highlights that dishonor in the most intimate arena—sexuality—invites God’s direct judgment. • Paul repeats the commandment in Ephesians 6:2, calling it “the first commandment with a promise.” Deuteronomy 27:20 shows the flip side: a curse for violating it. Links to the Seventh Commandment “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). • The relationship is adulterous, breaking the exclusive one-flesh covenant between father and wife. • Thus the sin dishonors both marriage (Seventh Commandment) and parents (Fifth Commandment), revealing how God weaves the Commandments together. Why Honoring the Family Matters • Family is the first human institution (Genesis 2:24). • Respect for parents establishes respect for all authority (Romans 13:1). • Protecting marital boundaries preserves societal stability; when those collapse, so does the nation (see 1 Corinthians 5:1 for New-Testament shock at the same sin). • The curse warns Israel—and us—that personal acts have communal fallout. Practical Takeaways • Guard sexual purity; it is inseparable from honoring family (Hebrews 13:4). • Teach children that honoring parents extends to respecting their marriage and reputation. • Recognize that sins against family invite God’s discipline; conversely, honoring family invites His blessing (Proverbs 3:1-2). |
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