Question: What does God require in the fourth and fifth commandments?

Answer: Fourth, that on the Sabbath day we spend time in public and private worship of God, rest from routine employment, serve the Lord and others, and so anticipate the eternal Sabbath. Fifth, that we love and honor our father and our mother, submitting to their godly discipline and direction.

Scripture: Leviticus 19:3

Fourth Commandment. The fourth commandment instructs God’s people to set aside one day in every seven for rest and worship. God set the pattern for Sabbath in creation, “And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.” (Genesis 2:2). The first instruction concerns resting from work. Rest does not mean abstention from all work; but rather, that any work engaged in is restful and restorative. A business man who works in an office all day might find working a garden restorative or construction worker who works outside all day might find reading a good book in his recliner restorative. The second instruction concerns worship. The Sabbath is not merely a day of rest but is to be holy to the Lord. As such, God’s people are to reflect on God, his work in the world, and his work in salvation throughout their day of rest.

Fifth Commandment.The fifth commandment instructs God’s people to honor their father and mother. Children honor their parents as they learn from them, obey their instructions, and submit to their discipline. While the practice of these actions change over time, they apply at age five, fifteen, twenty-five, and even sixty-five. God has placed parents in children’s lives as an authority that is to be respected all the days of their lives (Romans 13:10).

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