The Promise of Long Life

The instruction of fathers to sons and of parents to children continues in Proverbs chapter three and additional reasons are given for submitting to instruction – “for length of days and long life” (verse 2). We can easily see that this is what the fifth commandment from Exodus 20:12 says.

“Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.”

This promise of long life is not just for those in the Old Testament. Paul repeats it for us in Ephesians 6:1-3.

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.”

The Proverbs includes another reason (verse 4) for obeying our parents – to gain “favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.” Now a person might say they know people who have honored their parents and yet were despised and hated and those people died young. Does this mean that God does not keep His promises? There are two ways to answer this question. The first way is to say that wisdom is a principle to live by that tends toward life and not death. All other things being equal, foolish people die young and wise people live a long and fruitful life. And this is true – but – not all other things are equal. Here is a good example. Jesus lived a sinless life. He was the embodiment of wisdom. Luke 2:52 tells us,

“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”

Yet Jesus ended up with a lot of people hating him and they finally crucified him. He died young at about 33 years of age. Yet this is not the whole story. We just started the year A.D. 2010. A.D. is an abbreviation for anno domino and is a Latin phrase that means "in the year of our Lord." Jesus arose from the third day and is still alive as a man! Our calendar is dated from the year of Christ’s birth because he is still alive! See, the promise of long life on the earth really is true of Jesus after all! But Jesus isn’t on the earth you say. Yes, that’s true right now but history isn’t over yet and Jesus has been promised the earth as his inheritance (Psalm 2:8). And because of the resurrection all those who are in Jesus by faith will also be resurrected and inherit the earth according to Romans 4:13-14.

“For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:”

Now this promise starts to make sense. While the commandment and the promise tend toward life yet they are thwarted due to sin coming into the world through Adam. But Jesus came to die for sin and by the power of his resurrection to conquer sin and death. When we are united to Jesus by faith these promises become absolutely true for us according to 2 Corinthians 1:20.

“For all the promises of God in him [Jesus] are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.”