Do Not Take the LORD's Name in Vain...Ten Commandments pt 4

https://billrandles.wordpress.com/2020/03/10/do-not-take-the-lords-name-in-vain-ten-commandments-4/ ^ | 03-09-20 | Bill Randles

[pastorbillrandles]

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. ( Exodus 20:7)

The Third Commandment is a prohibition against blasphemy. We are to fear God, and to regard his name as sacred. The name of God is indeed a name, but it includes far more than the personal name He has revealed, (JAHWEH). The name includes all that He is, has done and stands for.

To ” take his name in Vain” is to profane that which is Holy, to invoke him falsely, to use his name in an oath, or as a curse word, as if the powers of damnation are our own prerogative and not his alone! Blasphemy is the height of arrogance and pride.

The name of God can never be spoken without meaning.

On the one hand, it is always meaningful to properly call upon the name of the LORD, in worship and prayer or in proclamation of the Gospel, out of a heart of true faith and reverence.

On the other hand to speak that name, or of the things of God in jest, lightness, or coarseness, is also full of meaning. What it means when anyone does so, is that that person has no fear of God, and regards nothing above the Self, he has a heart full of folly and rebellion, and is among the damned. God says He will not hold such a one guiltless, who takes his name in vain.

Profanity is just one of the ways that rebellious men take the name of the LORD in vain.

False prophecy is another way to profane the name and worship of God. When people stand up in the name of GOD and make proclamations , “Thus saith the LORD…” which are not scriptural, or they make predictions in God’s name that fail to come to pass, or when people approvingly listen to others speaking in the name of God, but in vanity, they are all partaking of this serious sin.

But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.(Deuteronomy 18:20-22)

False prophecy is definitely taking the name of God in vain, as is approval of false prophets. Jeremiah lamented that the Prophets and priests abused God’s name by prophesying falsely and ministering for gain, but the worst sin of all was that ” …My people love to have it so”. (see Jeremiah 5:30-31) We live in a day of false prophets, but people still follow the Benny Hinns, Kenneth Copelands and Rodney Howard Brownes, no matter how invacuate they constantly prove to be.

God’s people are allowed to call upon his name in prayer, and even to perform signs and wonders and miracle in Jesus’ name, provided they are in faith, and submitted to God. The name of Jesus features prominently throughout the book of Acts, as the Apostles acted on Jesus’ promise, “Whatever you ask in my name ,I will do it…” , or “These signs will follow those who believe in my name…”, and “Silver and gold have we none, but such as we have, we give you, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”.

But those who do not know God, and attempt to use God’s name, as a talisman, such as the professional exorcists, the seven sons of Sceva, are guilty of using God’s name in vain;

When certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.( Acts 19:13-17)

Finally to take the name of God in vain, means to bear the name of God, as a cloak to do evil. There are those who use the term Christian, to gain people’s confidence, that they might take advantage of them, or even worse, the modern scandal of “ministers” claiming to represent the name and cause of God, who use the ministry to exploit children or rob Widows, but who claim the be of God, are guilty of breaking the third commandment. Literally the Hebrew says, “Thou shalt not bear the name of God in vain…”.

Positively, we are commanded in the third commandment to Hallow the name of the LORD, to regard it and He as Holy, and to worship the Lord. Psalm 29 says,

“Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.”(Psalm 29:1-2)

Give Him the glory due his name… The word for Glory, Kabod, means heavy. We are to regard the LORD and his name as weighty, awesome, and heavy.

And the son of an Israelitish woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel: and this son of the Israelitish woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp; And the Israelitish woman’s son blasphemed the name of the Lord, and cursed. And they brought him unto Moses: (and his mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan: And they put him in ward, that the mind of the Lord might be shewed them. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him.(Leviticus 24:10-14)

Blasphemy was punishable by death in the theocracy. Those who heard it had to be witnesses against the blasphemer that they not partake of it passively. Constant exposure to blasphemy is an assault on the Spirits of those who hear it. The Blasphemer would tear down the esteem people have for God, He would “bring down God to our level” and diminish His Glory.

Jesus is the embodiment of what it means to keep this commandment. Jesus revealed the name of the Father, and glorified it in everything He did. The transformation Jesus brings into a life can be said to be to take someone from being a blasphemer into being a worshipper of God, in spirit and in truth.

When we who bear the name of God, in the family of God by adoption, live up to the standard of Love for God and for our fellow man, we glorify the name of the LORD, and in effect, we “Hallow God’s name”. This would be the positive fulfillment of the third commandment, and is glorifying to God.

[SkyDancer]

[delchiante]

Thanks!

I was curious about the 4th Commandment and got the answer.
Appreciate it!

[SkyDancer]

:) A lot of people only look at the Ten Commandments which is part of Mosaic Law handed down by YHWH - all six hundred plus of them; you break one, you’ve broken them all. There was only one person who lived and died who didn’t break any but fulfilled them all.