7936049287?profile=original"Do not misuse the name of the LORD your God, because the LORD will punish anyone who misuses His name" (Exodus 20:7, HCSB).



It's a familiar verse. Right away, most Americans, even those who are unchurched, can quickly and correctly identify it as one of the Ten Commandments that God gave Moses on Mount Sinai. The oft-quoted and -memorized King James Version is even more familiar to most people I talk to: "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, KJV). The ESV translates it similarly to the KJV, as does the NASB.


The application is familiar, as well. Every good Christian knows not to say, "Oh my god!" This is careless misuse of God's name--using it almost as a swear word, and God surely values the reverence we must show His name in our speech. In fact, one boy was stoned because he actually cursed "the Name" (Leviticus 24:11). Check out the account in Leviticus 24:10-23. God condemned the boy with His own voice in verses 15 and 16: "And tell the Israelites: If anyone curses his God, he will bear the consequences of his sin. Whoever blasphemes the name of Yahweh is to be put to death; the whole community must stone him. If he blasphemes the Name, he is to be put to death, whether the foreign resident or the native" (HCSB).


Still, as I consider the commandment about the Name in Exodus 20, I'm convinced that we've missed the meaning there. Yes, Leviticus 24 clearly shows that God takes great offense at the careless misuse of His name. However, I think that Exodus 20:7 is about something altogether different--and more serious.


First, the name specifically referred to here that is not to be vainly taken is not the name "Elohim"--the name commonly translated "God" in the Old Testament. It is "the LORD," which is, in the Hebrew, "Yahweh" (or "Jehovah")--God's special covenant name which He often uses to specially identify Himself with His people. So, the name focused on here isn't Elohim, and we can mark "Oh my god" off of the list of phrases forbidden in this commandment.1


Second--do we ever really stop and think what it really means to "take" a name? The HCSB translators interpreted it according to the commonly understood idea of misusing the Name. However, consider some of the possible ideas contained in the word nasa, here translated "take" by many other formal translations:


to lift, bear up, carry, take
to lift, lift up
to bear, carry, support, sustain, endure2


So, it seems to me that the idea here is definitely not limited to carelessly speaking the name of Yahweh, but, really, it's the idea of actually carrying His name.


When I hear the name "Michael Jordan," instantly my mind goes to images of one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Jordan's prodigious abilities as a professional athlete made for a reputation that is umbilically connected to his name. Imagine you share Michael Jordan's last name. Actually, imagine you are Mike's long-lost brother (or sister). Think of conversations you may have with people you meet.


"Hey, you're a Jordan? You're not related to Michael Jordan, are you?"
"Actually, yes--he's my brother."
"No way! So, you play basketball?"


Now, of course, you would have to admit that no, you are actually terrible at basketball, but you are currently pursuing a promising career in baseball. But you carry the famous name of the amazing, gravity-defying, greatest basketball player to ever soar across the court. When people see you, they will automatically think of the name you carry and the reputation tied to that name.


As God's people, Christians carry His name--meaning, we carry His reputation. If I tell people that I am a follower of Yahweh, or of Jesus, or of God, people will see what I do as a reflection of the character of the God I claim to follow. What I do affects His reputation. And God takes His reputation very seriously. The glory of God is a continuous theme all throughout Scripture and history. The Israelites even had a whole legal system to remind them of and to demonstrate to other nations their God's holiness (Leviticus 22:31-33). Solomon knew this; at the dedication of the spectacular temple he had just built for God, he prayed,



Even for the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel
but has come from a distant land
because of Your name
for they will hear of Your great name,
mighty hand, and outstretched arm,
and will come and pray toward this temple—
may You hear in heaven, Your dwelling place,
and do according to all the foreigner asks You for.
Then all the people on earth will know Your name,
to fear You as Your people Israel do
and know that this temple I have built
is called by Your name. (1 Kings 8:41-43, HCSB, emphasis mine)




God acts on the basis of His reputation--on the basis of His name. This is a concept that I might elaborate on more fully in a later post one day (for a great illustration of this truth, check out one of my favorite passages in the Bible: Ezekiel 36). However, the goal of this post is to identify what it means to "take" the name of Yahweh--to carry the Name.


So, is taking Yahweh's name in vain a careless word?


or


is it a careless life--under the title, "Christian?"




1I do not condone or promote this phrase or other similar careless, blasphemous uses of any name of God; I merely intend to point out the intention of the discussed commandment.
2Brown, Driver, Briggs and Gesenius. "Hebrew Lexicon entry for 'nasa'". The KJV Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon.

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Prince Malachi is the founder of The Oracle Network and the Streetwear brand Y.A.H. Apparel

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