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
It
is a most precious sound and defiling it brings great punishment. We are
talking about God’s Name - YHWH / יְהֹוָה - Yeshua / ישׁוּעַ. This wonderful name is the key to life,
salvation, and eternity itself. Yet to misuse and abuse it will bring
incalculable loss.
As
we continue our series on God’s ‘Top Ten,’ the Ten Commandments, we now focus
on the third commandment. It solemnly warns us not to take the name of the LORD
in vain and if we do, we will not be
guiltless. First, let’s understand the importance of God’s Name, followed by
what it means to use it ‘in vain’ in Part 02
Majesty of the Name
First,
God actually does have a name, and it is יְהֹוָה or YHWH. The patriarchs, mightily beloved
of God, knew God by His titles but not His Name. Only when Moses came to the
scene that he, a friend of God was revealed the divine appellation. In Exodus
6:3, the LORD said to Moses: And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac,
and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name (YHWH) was I
not known to them.
The
divine name is the tetragrammaton, but notice that it is made of all
consonants. This makes it unpronounceable. Yes, there are vowels to the name.
Moses knew them and some other key people.
But the rabbis have passed on this information. Somehow, the ancient
Hebrews wanted it this way. They were so afraid of accidentally saying God’s
Name in vain that they preferred not to say it at all. Even until now, some
Jewish people write the word G-d, making it unpronounceable too, so that the
third commandment will not be violated.
Fortunately,
the New Testament is more elaborate about God’s Name. Jesus taught us in the
Lord’s Prayer to start off with ‘Our Father in heaven’ and then add ‘hallowed
(holy) is your Name’ (Matthew 6:9; Luke 11:2). We learn in Acts
4:12 that there is no other Name, under heaven, given among men, whereby we
must be saved. Though we can’t pronounce YHWH, we can pronounce YESHUA / JESUS,
the name above every name.
Yeshua/Jesus
uses the phrase ‘in my Name’ 17 times in the gospels: Matthew 18:5,
20; 24:5; Mark 9:37, 39, 41; 13:6; 16:17; Luke 9:48; 21:8 (2x) John 14:13,14,
26; 15:16; 16:23,24,26. Of interest is that we are saved and baptised ‘in
the Name’ of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. This is
the first time the trinitarian formula is used. Note that, ‘Name’ is singular,
denoting that there is One God. Though the Old Testament is replete with
references of the possibility of plurality of persons in the Godhead (Genesis
1:26; Psalm 110:1; Psalm 45:6-7), only in the New Testament does it limit the
personalities of the Godhead to three.
We
learn that by faith in the Name of Jesus brings wholeness, healing, and
salvation to those who receive it (Acts 3:6, 16). God gave Jesus Christ a Name
which is above every name, so that at the Name of Jesus knees shall bow
and tongues confess. Is it only
Christian knees that will bow and confess? No, it is ‘every knee’ and ‘every
tongue’ (Philippians 2:9-11).
In
short, God’s Name / Jesus’ Name is the key that unlocks eternal salvation,
forgiveness of sins, baptism and fulness of the Holy Spirit, power over sin,
sickness, the world, danger, devil,
death and hell. It is wonderful, powerful and priceless; for this reason we
must never misuse or abuse it.
TO
BE CONTINUED
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