What the Bible says about Dishonoring Parents leads to Spiritual Darkness
(From Forerunner Commentary)
This verse ought to give any person who has some measure of respect for God's seriousness about a child's responsibility toward his parents pause to think about things. Modern translations often choose to render "obscure" as pitch or complete. "His lamp shall be put out in pitch darkness (or in complete darkness)." It means in an area where there is no possibility of seeing anything, utter blindness. God's warning indicates utterly dark. If a lamp is snuffed out, extinguished in the darkness, how will a person see where he is going?
A lamp puts forth light, and light is a biblical symbol of truth. Therefore, God is in reality speaking of having correct guidance and direction. He is saying that if children curse their parents, the death penalty may not be not executed, but following right on the heels of this, God says He will remove the guidance that He would ordinarily make available.
This proverb, then, is saying that God will not necessarily put one to death. Instead, the penalty for cursing parents is that one will receive no guidance from Him. This imagery comes close to the punishment that is reserved for demons—to be able to see and desire greatly but to be able to do nothing about it.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Sanctification and the TeensRelated Topics: Cursing of Parents | Despising Wisdom | Dishonoring Parents | Dishonoring Parents leads to Anarchy | Dishonoring Parents leads to Death | Dishonoring Parents leads to Immaturity | Fifth Commandment | Lamps as Metaphors | Light as a Symbol | Light as Metaphor of Truth | Sanctification of Children | Sanctification of Teens | Spiritual Blindness | Spiritual Darkness | The Fifth Commandment