The Priority of the Family – The Eighth Commandment

The Priority of the Family

The Eighth Commandment

The Law of God holds the family prior to the State.

Deuteronomy 24:5

“‘When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be liable for any other public duty. He shall be free at home one year to be happy with his wife whom he has taken.’”    

We note here, first of all, that there were situations in which war was necessary and legitimate in ancient Israel. This is not the place to outline the criteria for a just war, but merely to acknowledge that such was understood to be a lawful part of life in Israel.

What we note here, primarily, is the priority of family over state. A newly married man must be allowed the opportunity of being with his wife and, presumably, beginning a family, before he could be asked or required to risk his life in war against an enemy.

In Israel, under the Law of God, the people and their communities did not exist for the sake of the State. Rather, the State was instituted to protect families and communities so that the people could increase and multiply and thus fulfill their God-given mandate. What the State could require of the people—either in terms of money or service—was strictly regulated.

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.