The Ten Commandments Part 2

The Ten Commandments

Part 2

Introduction: The First Commandment has to do with worshiping no gods but God and the Second with not replacing the LORD your God with images. The Third Commandment reinforces the first two while commanding another aspect of the reality of God. That aspect, how do we approach and respond to God. This commandment reiterates the intimate connection between revering the name of God and the exclusive worship of the LORD. The proper use of His name is important to protect against misusing or abusing God’s name. He has freely provided access to the Himself through prayer and through worship. He wants us to tell others about Him. Lastly, there is a fearful incentive behind the Third Commandment God disciplines anyone who breaks it.

Exodus 20:7 and Deuteronomy 5:11, “You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.” Interestingly, the King James Version reads, “Thou shalt not take the name … in vain,” and the New Jewish Publication Society reads, “You shall not swear falsely by the name.” In sum, it is a sin to misuse the name of God.

Many think that this law simply outlaws the use of God’s Name as or with a swear word. It is that and much more. First, e cover the “thou shalt not[s].” If you say, “May the LORD do such and such to me if I am lying,” you have broken the law. If you promise someone that you will pray for him or her and do not, you have broken this law. Further, we are not to utter his name unnecessarily in common conversation or in flippant oaths, for example, “Oh, my God.” or, “For God sakes.” “Wrongful use of the name” commands against abusing the divine name to make lies more plausible, to support anything that is unreal, to support groundless or insincere statements, to support empty promises, to use God’s name out of vanity, or to speak about God without regard for its awesome holiness. This law absolutely forbids using God’s name to support magical formulas, sorcery, fortune telling or false prophecies.

“The LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.” Matthew 4:7, “Jesus said to him, ‘Again it is written,’ “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”’” God is serious about this. He will punish any person who misuses His name. He does not say how He will punish us; we only know that He is “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and faithfulness.” That would indicate that the Father considers the circumstances, for example, a teenager who does not understand versus an adult familiar with the commandment. Yet, God is also very serious. Deuteronomy 6:13 emphasizes this, “The LORD your God you shall fear, him you shall serve, and by his name alone you shall swear.”

We are to swear by God’s Name only when we are fully convinced of the truth of our declaration, and then only when we are required to do so in a Court of law. Perjury in a court of law or in any communication is an unpardonable offense, which if not repressed, will destroy society. The Essenes, a Jewish Sect in the days of the Second Temple, held that “he who cannot be believed without swearing is already condemned.” “Let your yes be yes and your no, no.”

On the positive side, “the thou shalt” do these: You are to use God’s name to call on Him as often as you wish to lift up your needs, or to praise Him or to thank Him. You are to use God’s name especially during their difficult times such as illness, death or hardship. You are to use His name when you ask Him to walk with you through the day or for travel protection. You are to use God’s name when you ask Him for His loving touch when you feel down or in need to make a difficult decision. You are to use God’s name when you are leading a group in prayer or in your church during corporate prayer. You are addressing God asking Him to forgive you of your sins, address Him by His name. You are to use God’s name when you ask Him to help others with their needs. He is you Father, He wants to hear from you, He will respond. Note: God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit are One. It is appropriate, necessary, to end your prayers “In Jesus Name.”

Now we examine the two variations of the Fourth Commandment that are woven together the requiring that the seventh day of every week be a day of rest devoted to the proper worship of God. Deuteronomy 5:12-15, “Observe the Sabbath day and keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God; you shall not do any work—you, or your son or your daughter, or your male or female slave, or your ox or your donkey, or any of your livestock, or the resident alien in your towns, so that your male and female slave may rest as well as you. Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.” What binds the “seventh day” of every week to “Sabbath to the LORD your God” is the translation of the word “Sabbath,” its literal meaning is “desist from work,” spend time with God and family.