Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD.
Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head and honor the aged is a binding rule for how people treat one another, given under the authority of the Lord. To honor the aged in this way is to fear God and reverence Him, and is required of the young and of every age as the mark of a modest, God-fearing character. Such tender respect is due because white hair can tell of battles fought, victories gained, burdens borne and temptations resisted, and of weary feet nearing rest and places soon to be vacant. In practice youth owe reverence and marked respect to the aged, whether grandparents, relatives, acquaintances or strangers, shown in courteous attention, thoughtful service, patient and tender care for feeble parents, and in heeding their advice and reproof. This honor belongs especially to those grown gray in long, unselfish service to God, who are to keep an honored place in hearts and councils and to be respected and encouraged rather than set aside, for God still uses them as light-bearers and to slight them dishonors Him.
Command and Divine Authority
The command is to rise up before the hoary head and honor the face of the old, as a rule for how people are to treat one another, given under the authority of the Lord. That respect for the elderly is itself an expression of fearing God. It was spoken by Jesus Christ from the cloudy pillar with the same high standard as His teachings in the New Testament. As part of Leviticus 19 it stands as a lesson for future generations, calling those who have received the gift of Jesus and all heaven in Him to love one another as Christ has loved them, in holy obedience and sympathy for the afflicted.
Honoring the aged is reverence for God, required of the young and of people of every age. Rising before the aged and treating gray hair with respect are marks of a modest, God-fearing character, and they are no loss of dignity. Wounding an aged brother's feelings or slighting him, especially one grown gray in serving God, is shameful. The duty is grounded in reverence for God.
In the setting of verses 32-37, fearing God means honoring the old, not vexing the stranger but loving him as oneself, and dealing honestly with just balances, weights, and measures. This is the express requirement to fear the Lord, to walk in all His ways, to love and serve Him, and to keep His commandments for good. That requirement is loving God with all the heart and loving the neighbor as oneself, owing no one anything but love. It condemns oppression of the poor as actual robbery, which God in no case tolerates.
The verse commands tender respect for the aged because their white hair can tell of battles fought, victories gained, burdens borne, and temptations resisted. It can tell also of weary feet nearing rest and of places soon to be vacant.
Honoring the Aged in Practice
Youth owe reverence and marked respect to the aged, whether grandparents, relatives, acquaintances, or strangers, shown in courteous and thoughtful attention and in heeding their advice and reproof, which is doing what is right before God. This honor means not letting amusement or studies crowd out aged grandparents but loving them while God spares them, being courteous and attentive to them. It means making them happy by thoughtful service and running for them with youthful feet, always bringing pleasant news and withholding disagreeable things that would shadow their minds. It means living so they are not ashamed of their grandchildren, heeding their advice and reproof as readily as a father's and mother's counsel, and God blesses children who do this right.
Children are to meet old age and especially an aged, feeble parent with patience, tenderness, kind words, and attentive care, adapting efforts to the parent's need with self-denial to ease anxiety and distress. This honoring includes the feelings, advice, and counsel of parents, guardians, and grandparents, including a grandmother who has been as a mother. The verse forbids irreverence toward them and forbids leading a youth not governed by religious principle to think them too particular and exacting and their feelings, advice, and counsel immaterial. Such influence displeases God, works contrary to His way and will, and makes enduring impressions for harm on a susceptible young mind lasting for eternity unless speedily counteracted. The verse commands tenderly protecting and cherishing those with white heads and feeble steps, standing together with respect and obedience to parents, while rebellion against that authority lies at the foundation of misery and crime. Training children in this produces deference for superiors, propriety of deportment, and beauty of character that makes them beloved by associates and by God, makes the path of the aged easier, and brings grace and beauty into the children's own lives.
Respect includes caring for aged relatives at home when possible, and when family care is not possible the church should accept their care as both a duty and a privilege. Younger people are to honor those grown gray in long, unselfish service to God, especially men of experience, faithful standard-bearers who endured hardship and helped build the work. They are to be given an honored place in hearts and councils even when age limits their work or they sometimes judge wrongly, and younger workers gain wisdom, strength, and maturity through association with them.
God has not set these older workers aside but continues to use them as light-bearers, so slighting them dishonors God and Christ. Students and teachers are warned against an irreverent spirit unwilling to show them respect and honor, for honoring older people, especially men of experience and long service, is bound up with reverence for God. Aged workers weakened even in memory are to be respected and encouraged rather than treated as incapacitated, with blessing for those who respect them. The verse also charges old and gray workers themselves not to think they are released from service but to stand up to bear their message and carry on the work in simplicity as long as there is evidence the Lord is helping them, depending on the Lord for strength. It is applied against self-exaltation and lack of regard for age and experience, since rising before the aged and treating gray hair with respect are marks of a modest, God-fearing character and no loss of dignity.
Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head and honor the aged is a binding rule for how people treat one another, given under the authority of the Lord. To honor the aged in this way is to fear God and reverence Him, and is required of the young and of every age as the mark of a modest, God-fearing character. Such tender respect is due because white hair can tell of battles fought, victories gained, burdens borne and temptations resisted, and of weary feet nearing rest and places soon to be vacant. In practice youth owe reverence and marked respect to the aged, whether grandparents, relatives, acquaintances or strangers, shown in courteous attention, thoughtful service, patient and tender care for feeble parents, and in heeding their advice and reproof. This honor belongs especially to those grown gray in long, unselfish service to God, who are to keep an honored place in hearts and councils and to be respected and encouraged rather than set aside, for God still uses them as light-bearers and to slight them dishonors Him.
Command and Divine Authority
The command is to rise up before the hoary head and honor the face of the old, as a rule for how people are to treat one another, given under the authority of the Lord. That respect for the elderly is itself an expression of fearing God. It was spoken by Jesus Christ from the cloudy pillar with the same high standard as His teachings in the New Testament. As part of Leviticus 19 it stands as a lesson for future generations, calling those who have received the gift of Jesus and all heaven in Him to love one another as Christ has loved them, in holy obedience and sympathy for the afflicted.
Honoring the aged is reverence for God, required of the young and of people of every age. Rising before the aged and treating gray hair with respect are marks of a modest, God-fearing character, and they are no loss of dignity. Wounding an aged brother's feelings or slighting him, especially one grown gray in serving God, is shameful. The duty is grounded in reverence for God.
In the setting of verses 32-37, fearing God means honoring the old, not vexing the stranger but loving him as oneself, and dealing honestly with just balances, weights, and measures. This is the express requirement to fear the Lord, to walk in all His ways, to love and serve Him, and to keep His commandments for good. That requirement is loving God with all the heart and loving the neighbor as oneself, owing no one anything but love. It condemns oppression of the poor as actual robbery, which God in no case tolerates.
The verse commands tender respect for the aged because their white hair can tell of battles fought, victories gained, burdens borne, and temptations resisted. It can tell also of weary feet nearing rest and of places soon to be vacant.
Honoring the Aged in Practice
Youth owe reverence and marked respect to the aged, whether grandparents, relatives, acquaintances, or strangers, shown in courteous and thoughtful attention and in heeding their advice and reproof, which is doing what is right before God. This honor means not letting amusement or studies crowd out aged grandparents but loving them while God spares them, being courteous and attentive to them. It means making them happy by thoughtful service and running for them with youthful feet, always bringing pleasant news and withholding disagreeable things that would shadow their minds. It means living so they are not ashamed of their grandchildren, heeding their advice and reproof as readily as a father's and mother's counsel, and God blesses children who do this right.
Children are to meet old age and especially an aged, feeble parent with patience, tenderness, kind words, and attentive care, adapting efforts to the parent's need with self-denial to ease anxiety and distress. This honoring includes the feelings, advice, and counsel of parents, guardians, and grandparents, including a grandmother who has been as a mother. The verse forbids irreverence toward them and forbids leading a youth not governed by religious principle to think them too particular and exacting and their feelings, advice, and counsel immaterial. Such influence displeases God, works contrary to His way and will, and makes enduring impressions for harm on a susceptible young mind lasting for eternity unless speedily counteracted. The verse commands tenderly protecting and cherishing those with white heads and feeble steps, standing together with respect and obedience to parents, while rebellion against that authority lies at the foundation of misery and crime. Training children in this produces deference for superiors, propriety of deportment, and beauty of character that makes them beloved by associates and by God, makes the path of the aged easier, and brings grace and beauty into the children's own lives.
Respect includes caring for aged relatives at home when possible, and when family care is not possible the church should accept their care as both a duty and a privilege. Younger people are to honor those grown gray in long, unselfish service to God, especially men of experience, faithful standard-bearers who endured hardship and helped build the work. They are to be given an honored place in hearts and councils even when age limits their work or they sometimes judge wrongly, and younger workers gain wisdom, strength, and maturity through association with them.
God has not set these older workers aside but continues to use them as light-bearers, so slighting them dishonors God and Christ. Students and teachers are warned against an irreverent spirit unwilling to show them respect and honor, for honoring older people, especially men of experience and long service, is bound up with reverence for God. Aged workers weakened even in memory are to be respected and encouraged rather than treated as incapacitated, with blessing for those who respect them. The verse also charges old and gray workers themselves not to think they are released from service but to stand up to bear their message and carry on the work in simplicity as long as there is evidence the Lord is helping them, depending on the Lord for strength. It is applied against self-exaltation and lack of regard for age and experience, since rising before the aged and treating gray hair with respect are marks of a modest, God-fearing character and no loss of dignity.