AV 28
Honor
“Love one another with brotherly affection
[as members of one family],
giving precedence and SHOWING HONOR to one another.” (Rom 12:10
AMPC, emphasis mine)
After spending hours in reading and studying the Scriptures, I enjoy
relaxing in the evening with a good book, usually a novel. I have always been a fan of the medieval time
period, and I have never really questioned my interest in that time of
history. It has only been in the last
several years that the understanding has finally come to me. It is all about ‘honor’, which is one of the
dominate themes running through the Word of our Elohim.
Yes, the medieval time period was forged on the feudal system, where
there was one lord, or master, over extensive lands and people. However, the IDEAL master was the one who genuinely cared for his people,
provided for them, and protected
them. Each lord had his own elite band
of warriors, or knights, and the most critical principal that these men lived
by was that of honor and/or shame. What
has become known as the ‘Code of Chivalry’ surprisingly has many of the Ten
Words (Ten Commandments) incorporated into it, and it was by this code of
conduct that a knight was expected to live, and if necessary, die. William Marshall, the first Earl of Pembroke
(1147-1219) is considered to have been the greatest knight that has ever lived,
and had the reputation of honor and integrity; it was, quite simply, his life[1].
And so it should be with us. We
should have the mindset that everything we do, everything we say, must bring honor to our Lord, our
Master, our King. Everything. We must abdicate the throne of self-rule in
our lives, and recognize that the One who created us is the One in charge. He truly is the ‘feudal lord’, and our
rebellion does not make it any less so.
Something that we should also remember is that we are never to bring shame to our fellow man,
be he our neighbor or not. When we
deliberately bring shame to another person, with the words out of our mouths,
or by any action that has been taken, we are also bringing shame to our Father,
for we have not treated with honor
the one who was made in the image of our Creator. This concept is very parallel to the historic
‘Code of Chivalry’, for when any type of action was taken against one belonging
to a certain lord, it was as if you had done it to the lord himself. Bear it in mind, folks; vengeance belongs to
our Elohim (Rom 12:19; Deu 32:35; Ps 94:1-3; Heb 10:30), and He deems it a
righteous thing to repay with affliction those who distress us (see 2The 1:6).
As we approach the month of Elul, a time when we are to be engaged in
looking inward, into those dark corners of our lives, may we all resolve to
live out this ‘Code of Chivalry’ laid out for us within the pages of Torah, and
bring honor and esteem to the One who formed us.
Amein.
©2021
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