Written by The Hebrew people revered the name of God and feared breaking the third commandment of taking God’s name in vain so seriously that they worked out a system which prevented them from ever saying His name.
“You shall not take the name of the Lord [YHWH] your God in vain, for the Lord [YHWH] will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain. Exodus 20:7
God’s name came to be known among the Hebrew people as the ineffable name. They used euphemisms like “the Name” for God’s name instead of speaking it directly. When they saw the name Yahweh written they would read the word Adonai in its place. This was known and became natural to every literate Hebrew.
While I believe that we may take God’s name in vain through our speech, I also recognize that there are other ways in which His name may be taken in vain that do not involve speech.
I believe that the greatest way we take His name in vain is when we profess to know Him, but live a lifestyle which is at odds with His word and does not honor or acknowledge Him.
As the Son of God Jesus has command of the entire universe and even the wind and sea obey him.
23 When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep. 25 And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” 26 He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. 27 The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” Matthew 8:23–27 (NASB)
As the Son of God Jesus has command of the unclean spirits and the demons of hell obey Him.
21 They went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and began to teach. 22 They were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23 Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, 24 saying, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” 25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” 26 Throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him. 27 They were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” Mark 1:21–27 (NASB)
Why is it that so many of us who claim to know Jesus as our Savior and Lord do not obey Him? The absolute necessity of obedience to Christ is clearly taught and expected of each of us.
“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” John 3:36 (NASB)
Blind obedience in the face of terrible persecution was the practice of the earliest Christians.
But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. Acts 5:29 (NASB)
Something has happened in our practice of Christianity! Somewhere along the way we have lost sight of how truly powerful and awesome and awe inspiring our Lord truly is. Somehow we have began to think that obedience to His commandments and the Holy Spirit’s leadership is optional. It is not! Obedience is necessary! Yes we will all fail and yes perfection for us is impossible. These facts should break our hearts, however, and NOT be used to give us an excuse to quit struggling with our own sin and seeking to become more obedient!
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