What Does It Mean to Use God’s Name in Vain?
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
In
light of all this, we can now focus on the third commandment and how to avoid
sinning against the most important Name in the universe. When it says ‘do
not take the Name of the Lord your God in vain,’ the word ‘vain’ comes from
the Hebrew word shav’ שָׁוְא, meaning: vain,
false, empty, lying, worthless, useless (in conduct).[1]
Let’s
look at three ways a person can be guilty in using God’s Name in vain.
Frivolity:
This
means to carelessly and superficially use God’s Name. One person described it
as using God’s Name without thinking about, focusing, or worshipping Him.
Perhaps, when people say, ‘O God’ while focusing on people, not the Almighty,
that could also apply to this principle. However, it is God who ultimately
judges by the heart and not necessarily from the outward actions.
Hypocrisy: To be a
hypocrite is to put on an appearance on the outside that has no connection with
the heart condition on the inside. It implies deception and pretence in trying
to impress people or, as the Bible puts it, ‘to be seen of men.’ The
hypocrites’ vain use of God’s Name stems from invoking Him, as if to impress,
but living a life that contradicts such profession. For example, trying to
convey a pious, ‘holier than thou’ appearance while lacking integrity or being
riddled with worldly vices. Or, as Isaiah prophesied to a people whose
lip-service and heart-attitude were at two different ends of the earth. Isaiah
29:13: Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me
with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their
heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
Blasphemy:
This
means to grievously insult the Almighty. Yes, God can more than handle the insults
but the impenitent blasphemer will not be able to handle the punishment that is
coming in return.
Psalm
74:10: O
God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name
for ever? (Answer:
No!).
James
2:7: Do
not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?
Revelation
13:6:
And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and
his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
Of
course, the abuse and misuse of ‘Jesus’ Name,’ as if it were a swear-word,
would fall into this category; even though, as often the case, the person does
this in ignorance. By the way, be willing to confront someone on their profane
talk - if you are in a position to do so.
Next
time, we will seek how to rightly use God’s Name, for the benefit of all.
TO
BE CONTINUED
[1] "H7723 - shav' - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon
(KJV)." Blue Letter Bible. Accessed 2 Feb, 2020. https://www.blueletterbible.org//lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H7723&t=KJV
Comments
Post a Comment