Exodus 20:7 - "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who
takes His name in vain."
In the third commandment the Lord gives us instruction concerning the use of His name. We're told here in Exodus 20, as well as in other portions of Scripture, such as Deuteronomy 5:11 - "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain." So what exactly does it mean to take the Lords name in vain, and what's so bad about it? Obviously, the fact that the Lord commands it is reason enough to obey, but the Lords commandments are never without a reason.
The word "vain" means empty. This is the word used by Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes, where he often says "vanity of vanities, all is vanity." Speaking of life apart from God. The name of God should never be used in an empty or frivolous way. To use the name of God in vain is to empty it of it's value. There are over 300 different names for God in the Bible, each one giving us more insight into the wonderful, unchangeable character of God.
In Biblical times names were considered sacred. They represented 3 things, character, reputation and authority. So in 1 Samuel 17 when David comes before Goliath and said to him - “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands.” David challenged Goliath in the name of God, and when he did he was not taking His name in vain. He came before him in the character, reputation and authority of God, and he rightly represented Him.
The first occasion in Scripture we have of someone breaking this command is found in Leviticus 24. This is what we read in verses 10-16 - "Now the son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the sons of Israel; and the Israelite woman’s son and a man of Israel struggled with each other in the camp. The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name and cursed. So they brought him to Moses. (Now his mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.) They put him in custody so that the command of the Lord might be made clear to them. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Bring the one who has cursed outside the camp, and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head; then let all the congregation stone him. You shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘ If anyone curses his God, then he will bear his sin. Moreover, the one who blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly stone him. The alien as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death." This is a serious thing. The name of God is not to be taken lightly. God's name is sacred because it represents Him, and to use it lightly is to empty it of it's value and diminish who He is.
An obvious way people do this is by asking the Lord to do something that it's not His nature or character to do. People are foolish enough to ask God to bring damnation on something or someone. To doom to destruction is what this word really means, but that's not in Gods nature or character. We know from Scripture that God is not willing that any should perish but for all to come to repentance (Acts 17:30, 2 Peter 3:9). And the Lord Jesus even said of Himself in John 3:17 - "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."
God cares about His name, and He says that He will not leave unpunished the one who takes His name in vain. The name of God has been so misused and abused in our culture that even us as believers have become desensitized to it. We have, by and large, lost sight of the holiness and awesomeness, as well as of the importance of the name of God. Someone can take the name of God in vain in our own homes, on our television set, and we don't even flinch. We're so used to it that it doesn't even bother us, but it's an abomination to Him. Shouldn't be to us as well? We're His children, shouldn't we be appalled when our Fathers name is taken in vain? By it's vain repetition the name of God has been emptied of it's worth and power.
The Lord Jesus said in Luke 6:45 - "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." Careless speech comes from an unguarded heart. The Lord Jesus also said in Matthew 12:36 - "But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment." We need to be careful what we allow to come into our hearts, because what comes in will come out.
But there is more than one dimension to this commandment. The name of God can certainly be taken in vain in our words, but it can also be taken in vain by our lives. There are all sorts of people and groups that will take the name of God to themselves, but they take it in vain. They claim the name of Christ, they call themselves "Christians" but they don't live in a way that honors Him our reflects His person. We see an example of this in Matthew 7:21-23 where the Lord Jesus says - "Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’" The people spoken of here certainly took the name of Christ upon themselves, but they took His name in vain, because He says to them "I never knew you." There are those who claim to be witnesses for Jehovah, they take His name upon themselves, but they take it in vain. Their teaching and works contradict the person of God. We read in Psalm 50:16 - "But to the wicked God says, “What right have you to tell of My statutes and to take My covenant in your mouth?"" God says that those who misrepresent Him have no right to even speak His statutes, let alone take His name.
But we, as Christians need to take care that we do not take His name in vain. Either by our words or by our actions. The things we say and do should always represent Christ. In Proverbs 30:8-9 the writer makes this prayer - "Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion,That I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or that I not be in want and steal, And profane the name of my God." We can become so self sufficient that our very lives deny Christ. Or, on the other end of the spectrum, we can live in a dishonest way and our actions will profane the name of God, because though we call ourselves be His name, we live in a way that does not represent Him. He is our Father, we need to be careful that we do not defile His good name. I found an old newspaper clipping in a book that I have, and on it is a poem that makes me think about this. It's called " Your name." and this is what it says:
"You got it from your father,
'twas the best he had to give.
And right gladly he bestowed it.
It's yours the while you live.
You may lose the watch he
gave you and another you may claim,
But remember, when you're
tempted, to be careful of his name.
It was fair the day you got it,
and a worthy name to bear,
When he took it from his father,
there was no dishonor there.
Through the years he proudly
wore it, to his father he was true
And that name was clean and
spotless when he passed it on to you.
Oh, there's much that he has
given that he values not at all.
He has watched you break your
playthings in the days when you were small
You have lost the knife he gave
you and you've scattered many a game,
But you'll never hurt your father
if your careful with his name.
It is yours to wear forever,
yours to wear the while you live,
Yours, perhaps, some distant
morning, to another boy to give.
And you'll smile as did your father -
with a smile that all can share,
If a clean name and a good
name you are giving him to wear."
Exodus 20:7 - "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain."
In the third commandment the Lord gives us instruction concerning the use of His name. We're told here in Exodus 20, as well as in other portions of Scripture, such as Deuteronomy 5:11 - "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain." So what exactly does it mean to take the Lords name in vain, and what's so bad about it? Obviously, the fact that the Lord commands it is reason enough to obey, but the Lords commandments are never without a reason.
The word "vain" means empty. This is the word used by Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes, where he often says "vanity of vanities, all is vanity." Speaking of life apart from God. The name of God should never be used in an empty or frivolous way. To use the name of God in vain is to empty it of it's value. There are over 300 different names for God in the Bible, each one giving us more insight into the wonderful, unchangeable character of God.
In Biblical times names were considered sacred. They represented 3 things, character, reputation and authority. So in 1 Samuel 17 when David comes before Goliath and said to him - “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands.” David challenged Goliath in the name of God, and when he did he was not taking His name in vain. He came before him in the character, reputation and authority of God, and he rightly represented Him.
The first occasion in Scripture we have of someone breaking this command is found in Leviticus 24. This is what we read in verses 10-16 - "Now the son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the sons of Israel; and the Israelite woman’s son and a man of Israel struggled with each other in the camp. The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name and cursed. So they brought him to Moses. (Now his mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.) They put him in custody so that the command of the Lord might be made clear to them. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Bring the one who has cursed outside the camp, and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head; then let all the congregation stone him. You shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘ If anyone curses his God, then he will bear his sin. Moreover, the one who blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly stone him. The alien as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death." This is a serious thing. The name of God is not to be taken lightly. God's name is sacred because it represents Him, and to use it lightly is to empty it of it's value and diminish who He is.
An obvious way people do this is by asking the Lord to do something that it's not His nature or character to do. People are foolish enough to ask God to bring damnation on something or someone. To doom to destruction is what this word really means, but that's not in Gods nature or character. We know from Scripture that God is not willing that any should perish but for all to come to repentance (Acts 17:30, 2 Peter 3:9). And the Lord Jesus even said of Himself in John 3:17 - "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."
God cares about His name, and He says that He will not leave unpunished the one who takes His name in vain. The name of God has been so misused and abused in our culture that even us as believers have become desensitized to it. We have, by and large, lost sight of the holiness and awesomeness, as well as of the importance of the name of God. Someone can take the name of God in vain in our own homes, on our television set, and we don't even flinch. We're so used to it that it doesn't even bother us, but it's an abomination to Him. Shouldn't be to us as well? We're His children, shouldn't we be appalled when our Fathers name is taken in vain? By it's vain repetition the name of God has been emptied of it's worth and power.
The Lord Jesus said in Luke 6:45 - "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." Careless speech comes from an unguarded heart. The Lord Jesus also said in Matthew 12:36 - "But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment." We need to be careful what we allow to come into our hearts, because what comes in will come out.
But there is more than one dimension to this commandment. The name of God can certainly be taken in vain in our words, but it can also be taken in vain by our lives. There are all sorts of people and groups that will take the name of God to themselves, but they take it in vain. They claim the name of Christ, they call themselves "Christians" but they don't live in a way that honors Him our reflects His person. We see an example of this in Matthew 7:21-23 where the Lord Jesus says - "Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’" The people spoken of here certainly took the name of Christ upon themselves, but they took His name in vain, because He says to them "I never knew you." There are those who claim to be witnesses for Jehovah, they take His name upon themselves, but they take it in vain. Their teaching and works contradict the person of God. We read in Psalm 50:16 - "But to the wicked God says, “What right have you to tell of My statutes and to take My covenant in your mouth?"" God says that those who misrepresent Him have no right to even speak His statutes, let alone take His name.
But we, as Christians need to take care that we do not take His name in vain. Either by our words or by our actions. The things we say and do should always represent Christ. In Proverbs 30:8-9 the writer makes this prayer - "Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion,That I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or that I not be in want and steal, And profane the name of my God." We can become so self sufficient that our very lives deny Christ. Or, on the other end of the spectrum, we can live in a dishonest way and our actions will profane the name of God, because though we call ourselves be His name, we live in a way that does not represent Him. He is our Father, we need to be careful that we do not defile His good name. I found an old newspaper clipping in a book that I have, and on it is a poem that makes me think about this. It's called " Your name." and this is what it says:
"You got it from your father,
'twas the best he had to give.
And right gladly he bestowed it.
It's yours the while you live.
You may lose the watch he
gave you and another you may claim,
But remember, when you're
tempted, to be careful of his name.
It was fair the day you got it,
and a worthy name to bear,
When he took it from his father,
there was no dishonor there.
Through the years he proudly
wore it, to his father he was true
And that name was clean and
spotless when he passed it on to you.
Oh, there's much that he has
given that he values not at all.
He has watched you break your
playthings in the days when you were small
You have lost the knife he gave
you and you've scattered many a game,
But you'll never hurt your father
if your careful with his name.
It is yours to wear forever,
yours to wear the while you live,
Yours, perhaps, some distant
morning, to another boy to give.
And you'll smile as did your father -
with a smile that all can share,
If a clean name and a good
name you are giving him to wear."
Exodus 20:7 - "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain."
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