So what exactly is forbidden by the third commandment? The word vain (as it\u2019s rendered in the ESV) can mean \u201cempty,\u201d \u201cnothing,\u201d \u201cworthless,\u201d or \u201cto no good purpose.\u201d We are forbidden, therefore, from taking the name of God (or taking up the name or bearing the name, as the phrase could be translated) in a manner that is wicked, worthless, or for the wrong purposes. This doesn\u2019t mean that we have to avoid the divine name altogether. The name YHWH (or Yahweh)\u2014\u201cthe Lord,\u201d in most translations\u2014appears some seven thousand times in the Old Testament. We don\u2019t need to be superstitious about saying His name. But we must not misuse it.<\/p>\n
\nThe way to see God\u2019s glory is to hear his name. To know the name YHWH, the merciful and gracious one, is not to merely know something about God; it is to know God himself.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The Old Testament identifies several ways in which the third commandment can be violated. Most obvious is to blaspheme or curse the name of God, which we saw already in Leviticus 24:16. But there\u2019s more to the commandment than that. The third commandment also forbids empty or false oaths: \u201cYou shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord\u201d (Lev. 19:12; cf. Hos. 10:4a). When you make a declaration, swearing by God\u2019s name, it must not be a false promise or one you do not intend to keep.<\/p>\n
The third commandment also prohibits false visions and false claims to speak on God\u2019s behalf, for such prophets \u201cprophesy lies in my name\u201d (Jer. 23:25). Strangely enough, sacrificing one\u2019s children to the false god Molech was considered a violation of the third commandment because it profaned the name of God (Lev. 18:21). The Israelites were to stone the man who sacrificed his children in this way. Failure to do so would allow for uncleanness to permeate the camp, thereby besmirching the name of the Lord, who dwelt in the midst of his people.<\/p>\n
Similarly, to unlawfully touch the holy things was considered a violation of the third commandment. We read in Leviticus 22: \u201cSpeak to Aaron and his sons so that they abstain from the holy things of the people of Israel, which they dedicate to me, so that they do not profane my holy name: I am the Lord\u201d (v. 2). Likewise, the priests who cut corners in Malachi\u2019s day were devaluing the name of God by their polluted offerings and cynical hearts (Mal. 1:10\u201314).<\/p>\n
The Why<\/h3>\n
We\u2019ve already seen that breaking the third commandment is considered a terribly serious sin, but why? There are only ten commandments, after all. Only ten words to summarize everything God wants from us by way of obedience. How did \u201cwatch your mouth\u201d make the top ten? What\u2019s the big deal about God\u2019s name?<\/p>\n
Think about Exodus 3 where God speaks to Moses from the burning bush. Moses asks God, \u201cIf I come to the people of Israel and say to them, \u2018The God of your fathers has sent me to you,\u2019 and they ask me, \u2018What is his name?\u2019 what shall I say to them?\u201d God replies with those famous words: \u201cI am who I am. . . . Say this to the people of Israel: \u2018I am has sent me to you\u2019\u201d (Ex. 3:13\u201314). God names himself as the sovereign, self-existent one. In fact, the covenant name YHWH is probably connected to the Hebrew verb \u201cto be.\u201d God is that he is. That is his name.<\/p>\n
We see the same thing in Exodus 33. Moses asks God to show him his glory. And in reply, God speaks to him his name: \u201cI will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name \u2018The Lord\u2019\u201d (v. 19a). The way to see God\u2019s glory is to hear his name. To know the name YHWH, the merciful and gracious one, is not to merely know something about God; it is to know God himself (Ex. 34:6\u20138). God shows himself by speaking his name.<\/p>\n
\n\nPastor and best-selling author Kevin DeYoung delivers critical truth about the Ten Commandments as he explains what they are, why we should know them, and how we should apply them today.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nOur name is not tangential to our being. It marks us and identifies us. Over time, as people get to know us, our name embodies who we are. Think of someone whom you love deeply\u2014your child, grandchild, parent, friend, or spouse. The name of that person represents more than markings on a page. When someone says the name Trisha, I am overcome with good thoughts, because I cannot separate my wife from her name. A whole flood of emotions, experiences, joys, and desires comes to me at the sight or sound of those six letters put together in that name.<\/p>\n
Names are precious, which is why we don\u2019t like our name ridiculed, twisted, or made fun of. I have a name that is fairly difficult to malign. With the middle name \u201cLee,\u201d some people have called me \u201cHeavenly Kevinly,\u201d but that\u2019s hardly an insult. The worst name to stick is the name my friends in seminary gave me. Although \u201cDeYoung\u201d is a common Dutch name, apparently it was unfamiliar in Massachusetts, because people there would meet me and think my last name was Dion. So to this day my seminary friends call me Celine. Some friends! It\u2019s the only nickname I\u2019ve ever had. Not the best I could hope for, but my heart will go on.<\/p>\n
But funny nicknames given to us is one thing; irreverent use of God\u2019s name is another. Everywhere in Scripture the name of the Lord is exalted in the highest possible terms. \u201cO Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!\u201d (Ps. 8:1a). \u201cAscribe to the Lord the glory due his name\u201d (Ps. 29:2a). The first petition of the Lord\u2019s Prayer is \u201cHallowed be your name\u201d (Matt. 6:9). The apostles proclaimed that \u201cthere is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved\u201d (Acts 4:12). Paul assured the Romans that \u201ceveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved\u201d (Rom. 10:13). And the culminating event in all of creation is when, \u201cat the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father\u201d (Phil. 2:10\u201311). The Bible does not want us to forget the holy importance of the divine name.<\/p>\n
Content adapted from The Ten Commandments: What They Mean, Why They Matter, and Why We Should Obey Them by Kevin DeYoung. Article first appeared on Crossway.org; used with permission.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n\nShare This On:<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The What So what exactly is forbidden by the third commandment? The word vain (as it\u2019s rendered in the ESV) can mean \u201cempty,\u201d \u201cnothing,\u201d \u201cworthless,\u201d or \u201cto no good purpose.\u201d We are forbidden, therefore, from taking the name of God (or taking up the name or bearing the name, as the phrase could be translated) … Continue reading “What Does It Really Mean to Take the Lord\u2019s Name in Vain?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33186"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33186\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}