9/26/17 – Eph 6:2-3, The
Commandment, Pt 7, The 3rd Commandments, Pt. 1
Pastor/Teacher,
Jim Rickard
Grace Fellowship Church
The Doctrine of the Ten Commandments Related to the Church Age,
Part VI
1 John 1:9, “If
we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
The
3rd Commandment:
Ex 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.”
Deut 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.”
The 3rd Commandment must be understood in line with the
two preceding, as of equal breadth and equally fundamental. The 1st
dealt with internal worship, the 2nd external worship, now with the
3rd we have the profession of the mouth in true adoration of God. As
the 2nd Commandment concerned the issue of exercising power over
God, so the 3rd turns its attention to exercising God’s power over
others or selfishly towards self-interest. Therefore, this commandment is not
confined to the use of the name of God in oaths, whether false or trivial, No!
It includes much more.
“You
shall not take,” is the Hebrew negative Particle LO and the
Qal Imperfect of NASA, ָנשָׂא for “take” that means, “to lift, to bear, to carry,” or sometimes “to
forgive.” Here the context is the “use of” your words, beginning with the
swearing of a false oath utilizing God’s name as a guarantee that you are
actually speaking the truth, when in reality you are not. So, it means the
lifting up of the voice in some form or fashion against God as noted in the
next phrase.
The “name,” SHEM, שֵׁם, that you
should not use in such falsehood, is the name of, “the Lord,” YHWH, יְהָוה,
“your God,” ELOHIM, אֱלֹהִים.
The “name” of God stands for so much
more than the mere pronouncing of His title of address. Unlike modern English,
“name” is not restricted to “label.” It refers to one’s reputation or
character. One’s name is a reflection of oneself. So, to use someone’s name is
the equivalent of having their “power of attorney,” cf. John 14:13-14.
As such, we see in Scripture that the “name” of the Lord includes:
1) His nature, being, and very person, Psa
20:1; Luke 24:47; John 1:12; cf. Rev 3:4.
2) His teaching or doctrine, Psa
22:22; John 17:6, 26.
3) His moral and ethical teaching, Micah
4:5.
No doubt, perjury and profane swearing
are included in the breadth of this prohibition, but it reaches far beyond
them. The name of God is the declaration of His being and character. We take
“His name in vain” when we speak of Him unworthily that includes many glib and
formal prayers, any mechanical, route, or self-glorifying worship, etc.
Ezekiel said that when the Israelites
went into captivity, making the Babylonians believe that their gods were
mightier than YHWH, the Israelites had “brought shame on (God’s) holy name,” Ezek
36:19-21. Thus, at the heart of this commandment is the call for the
covenant partner to do nothing that would portray God as anything less than
absolutely holy, to do nothing that would seek to use Him for their own ends,
and to do nothing that would cause the world to see Him as less than He is.
In addition, it is not that the
Israelites could not use the name of YHWH, even to swear an oath, Deut 6:13;
10:20, but they could not use His name if they were lying, swearing
falsely, deviously entering into a contract with someone, or doing anything
that would impugned the name of the Lord. This is found in the context of the
phrase, “in vain.”
In fact, over the years, some have taken
this commandment to mean you could not “swear” in a court of law using the name
of God as your guarantor. But that is not the case. NASA is not the official
word for “swear” in Hebrew. That word is SHABA, and SHABA is what Moses would have
written had he meant “swear,” cf. Gen 21:23-24. Therefore, it does not
mean that this commandment is against oaths. Certain people have come to this
over the ages and say the Bible says, “thou shalt not raise up the name of the
Lord thy God in vain,” and this means if I go into a court, I cannot put my
hand on the Bible and swear. Yet, that is absolutely not what this commandment
says. This is not “swear,” SHABA, it is NASA, which means to lift or raise up
and includes the application of oaths done falsely or with deceit, but it
includes a far greater area than just a formal oath.
In addition, the later Israelite
tradition of never speaking the name YHWH or replacing it with KURIOS in the
Greek translation is not to be applied from this or any other verses. It is
hard to see how refusing ever to use a name is equivalent to honoring it. On
the contrary, we should observe that Deut 10:20, actually mandates the
use of God’s name, YHWH, in taking an oath before any tribunal. Failure to do
so is therefore an act of disobedience toward the God who commanded it.
Deut 10:20, “You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve Him
and cling to Him, and you shall swear (SHABA) by His name.”
Therefore, this commandment does not
exclude legitimate oaths, for they appear frequently, e.g., Deut 6:13; Psa
63:11; Isa 45:23; Jer 4:2; 12:16; Rom 1:9; 9:1; 1 Cor 15:31; Phil 1:8; Rev
10:5-6.
“In
Vain,” is the Preposition LE that means here, “with or in,” and the Noun
SHAW, שָׁוְא, (shav), that means, “worthlessness, falsehood, vanity, emptiness,
evil, ruin, uselessness, deception, without result, fraud, deceit, etc.” The
primary meaning of the word is deceit, lie, or falsehood. Literally, this
sentence reads, “You shall not lift up
(use) the name of the Lord your God in a
deceitful manner.”
We will note this word again in the 9th Commandment
found in Deut 5:20, “You shall
not bear false witness against your neighbor,” in regard to lying in
a court of law, which is forbidden.
In the 3rd Commandment, it refers to claiming God as
your witness that what you say is true, when in fact it is not. The prohibition
involves using the name of God to cover a lie, such as, “May God strike me
dead,” or “God is my witness.” It also covers the attachment of God’s name to
some project or action that someone would like to see undertaken or adopted by
claiming that “It is God’s will.”
The same construction, LE SHAW we have in Ex 20:7, is also seen in Jer 18:15, regarding idols and false god worship.
Jer 18:15, NASB, “For
My people have forgotten Me, they burn incense to worthless gods and
they have stumbled from their ways, from the ancient paths, to walk in bypaths,
not on a highway.”
This passage should read,
“For My people have forgotten Me, in vain they burn incense, (to false gods), and they have stumbled from their ways, from the ancient paths, to
walk in bypaths, not on a highway.”
Worshipping idols is declared worthless and a waste of time in
Jeremiah. As we previously noted, idols have no power or strength to do
anything. But when people fall away from worshipping and serving the One and
only God, they forget about Him and fall into reversionism following false
pagan god worship.
Seeing the similar use of SHAW, “vain,” in our verse and Jeremiah, we could say that “taking the
name of the Lord in vain,” also has a connotation of false pagan god worship,
either to the exclusion of the worship and service of the true God of Israel or
in conjunction with Him.
In addition, when the Israelite would come to offer his sacrifice
to God, if he did not truly believe its meaning and significance in his heart,
He was doing it in vain, because it had no true meaning to him.
The same goes for you and I of the Church Age, we can confess our
sins and pray all we want, but if we do not understand or believe in what we
are doing, it is just a waste of time, cf. 1
John 5:14-15. Likewise, if you try to worship or serve God without the
filling of the Holy Spirit, it is dissipation, Eph 5:18. Or if you go to church and perform all the rituals,
thinking the ritual performance, (your good works), is what will save you, you
are wasting your time.
If
you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I am here to tell
you that Jesus loves you. He loves you so much that He gave His life for you.
God the Father also loves you. He loves you so much that He gave His only Son
for you by sending Him to the Cross. At the Cross Jesus died in your place.
Taking upon Himself all of your sins and all of my sins. He was judged for our
sins and paid the price for our sins. Therefore, our sins will never be held
against us.
Right
where you are, you now have the opportunity to make the greatest decision in
your life. To accept the free gift of salvation and eternal life by truly
believing that Jesus Christ died for your sins and was raised on the third day
as the proof of the promise of eternal life. So right now, you can pause and
reflect on what Christ has done for you and say to the Father:
"Yes Father, I believe that Your Son, Jesus
Christ, died on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins."
If you have done that, I welcome you to the eternal
Family of God!
Grace
Fellowship Church
Pastor/Teacher: James H. Rickard
23 Messenger Street, Unit 3
Plainville, MA 02762
Pastor/Teacher: James H. Rickard
23 Messenger Street, Unit 3
Plainville, MA 02762
Copyright
© 2001 - 2017.
Property of: James H Rickard Bible Ministries
All Rights Reserved.
Property of: James H Rickard Bible Ministries
All Rights Reserved.
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