The name of . . . God should be honored and protected. The Israelites were
not to use His name for any idle, frivolous, or insincere purpose (such as
speaking His name when taking an oath with no intention of keeping it). People
should not use His name for selfish or evil purposes, thereby seeking to usurp
His authority.[2]
2. Blaspheme:
Psalm 139:20, They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries
misuse your name. [3]
To misuse God’s name
means literally, ”to lift it up to or attach it to emptiness.“ This command
forbids using God’s name in profanity but it includes more. The third
commandment is a directive against using God’s name in a manipulative way (His
name is not to be used in magic or to curse someone). Today a Christian who uses God’s name
flippantly or falsely attributes a wrong act to God has broken this
commandment.[4]
People that say there is no
God or tell lies about who God is are also committing blaspheme. Oliver Stone‘s movie “The Last Temptation of
Christ,” was blaspheme because it lied about Christ and who he was. People who do this will be judged by God.
God’s name is special because
it carries his personal identity. Using
it frivolously or in a curse is so common today that we may fail to realize how
serious it is. The way we use God’s name
conveys how we really feel about him. We
should respect his name and use it appropriately speaking it in praise or
worship rather than in curse or jest. We
should not take lightly the abuse or dishonor of his name.
3. Pres. Wilson’s Father
Woodrow Wilson liked to speak of his godly ministerial father, Dr. Joseph R. Wilson, for many years a distinguished Presbyterian minister in the South. Among the anecdotes he related of him was this: “He was once in a company of men where they were having a heated discussion. In the midst of it one let out a profane expletive. Then, seeing Dr. Wilson there, he offered him an apology, saying, “Sir, I had forgotten that you were present. Please pardon me.” Dr. Wilson’s reply was, “It is not to me that you owe your apology but to God.””[5]
4. Praise:
Deuteronomy 5:11, You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who
misuses his name. [6]
We are familiar with the sin
to be avoided in this commandment, that we should not misuse the name of the
Lord by saying it in a empty or worthless way.
But there is also a good work that is commanded: to use God’s name to praise him and ascribe
to him glory. This is the opposite of
misusing him name. While you might be
able to keep yourself form swearing, how have you done at finding time to
praise God and honor his name?
5. Epigram On Profanity
A Farmer drove his team of mules into town and was very late returning home.
“What took you so long?” asked his wife.
“Well,” the farmer explained,
“on the way I had to pick up the preacher, and from there on, these mules of
ours didn’t understand one word I said.”[7]
6. Oaths:
Numbers 30:1-2, Moses said to the heads of the tribes of Israel: “This
is what the Lord commands: 2 When a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to obligate
himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.
[8]
As was pointed out in regard
to the Nazi rite custom (6:1-12), an individual
could make a vow to the Lord to do something or perhaps to abstain from
something for a designated period of time (see comments on Lev. 27). The purpose of Numbers 30
was not to specify what kinds of vows might be made or how they were to be
undertaken or abrogated but only to teach how important it was that they be
kept. If an individual made a vow (a
promise to do something) or a pledge (a promise not to do something), he
must keep it without equivocation.
7. Children:
Numbers 30:3-5, When a young woman still living in her father’s house
makes a vow to the Lord or
obligates herself by a pledge 4 and
her father hears about her vow or pledge but says nothing to her, then all her
vows and every pledge by which she obligated herself will stand. 5 But if her father forbids her when
he hears about it, none of her vows or the pledges by which she obligated
herself will stand; the Lord will
release her because her father has forbidden her. [9]
Under Israelite law, parents
could overrule their children’s vows.
This helped young people avoid the consequences of making foolish
promises or costly commitments. From
this law comes an important principle for both parents and children. Young people still living at home should seek
their parents’ help when they make decisions.
A parent’s experience could save a child form a serious mistake. Parents’ however should exercise their
authority with caution and grace. They
should let children learn from their mistakes while protecting them from
disaster.
8. What Does Jesus Say? Matthew 5:33-37, Again,
you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your
oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ 34 But I tell
you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the
earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the
Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one
hair white or black. 37 Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything
beyond this comes from the evil one.[10]
The matter of making oaths
was next addressed by the Lord. The Pharisees were notorious for their oaths,
which were made on the least provocation. Yet they made allowances for mental
reservations within their oaths. If they wanted to be relieved of oaths they
had made by heaven . . . by the earth . . . by Jerusalem, or by one’s
own head, they could argue that since God Himself had not been involved
their oaths were not binding. But Jesus
said oaths should not even be necessary: Do not swear at all. The fact
that oaths were used at all emphasized the wickedness of man’s heart.
Furthermore, swearing “by heaven,” “by the earth,” or “by Jerusalem” is binding,
since they are God’s throne . . . footstool, and city, respectively.
Even the color of the hair on their heads was determined by God. The Lord was
saying one’s life should be sufficient to back up one’s words. A yes always
ought to mean yes, and a no should mean no.[11]
9. Trustworthy:
James 5:12, Above all, my brothers, do not swear—not by heaven or by
earth or by anything else. Let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, or you
will be condemned.[12]
Above all, my brothers, concluded James, do not swear or take an empty
oath. For those who truly demonstrate the persistence and patience prescribed
for believers, there is no need to invoke an oath, whether by heaven or by
earth, that their word is certain. (“Swear” does not refer to profanity but
to taking an oath.) The testimony should be such that when one says yes, it
means yes, and when he says no, that is just what he means. The
soon return of the Lord, the Judge who stands at the door, is motivation enough
for this kind of honesty and trustworthiness, lest one be condemned.[13]
10. Truth’s Own Airs
When a man knows he is telling you the truth
everything about him corroborates his sincerity. Any accomplished
cross-examining lawyer knows within a little while whether a witness is genuine
or a deceiver. Truth has her own air and manner, her own tone and emphasis.
Yonder is a blundering, ignorant, country
fellow in the witness box; the counsel tries to bamboozle and confuse him, if
possible, but all the while he feels that he is an honest witness, and he says
to himself, “I should like to shake this fellow’s evidence, for it will greatly
damage my side of the question.”
—Spurgeon[14]
11. Reputation:
Leviticus 19:12, Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name
of your God. I am the Lord. [15]
The regulations promote honesty, so that God’s reputation will not be tarnished[16]
A person that swears by God,
does so for show. All that person does
is hurt the name of the Lord and distance that person further from
Salvation.
As Christians we must not use
profanity, use the Lord’s name in a profane way or swear by God. Our actions and our words do a lot to tell
people who we are and who we believe God is.
Our reputation to the world is also God’s reputation to the world.
12. Extra Dime In The Bus
A young man employed by our Sunday school
board told the following searching story. He was invited at the last minute to
preach at a church in Nashville. On sudden impulse he used as his text, “Thou
shalt not steal.” The next morning he stepped on the bus and handed the driver
a dollar bill. The driver handed him back his change. He stood in the rear of the
bus and counted the change. There was a dime too much. His first thought was, “The
bus company will never miss this dime.”
Then quickly came the realization that he
could not keep money that did not belong to him. He made his way to the front
and said to the driver, “You gave me too much change.” Imagine his surprise
when the driver replied, “Yes, a dime too much. I gave it to you purposely. You
see, I heard your sermon yesterday, and I watched in my mirror as you counted
your change. Had you kept the dime I would never again have had any confidence
in preaching.” What a tragedy if he had done the wrong thing! Remember our
influence, our shadow-selves, may fall where we can never be.
13. People Didn’t Know Him
A pious church member, who thought himself to
be a great Christian, says Warren W. Wiersbe, visited the Junior Department of
the Sunday school. The Superintendent asked him to say a few words to the boys
and girls. He stood pompously before them, and asked, “Why do you think people
call me a Christian?”
There was an embarrassing silence, then a
small voice from the back of the room said, “Because they don’t know you.”
[2] Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary.
1983-c1985. The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures.
Victor Books: Wheaton, IL
[4] Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary.
1983-c1985. The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures.
Victor Books: Wheaton, IL
[5] Tan, P. L. 1996, c1979. Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations : [a treasury of illustrations, anecdotes,
facts and quotations for pastors, teachers and Christian workers]. Bible
Communications: Garland TX
[7] Tan, P. L. 1996, c1979. Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations : [a treasury of illustrations, anecdotes,
facts and quotations for pastors, teachers and Christian workers]. Bible
Communications: Garland TX
[11] Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary.
1983-c1985. The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures.
Victor Books: Wheaton, IL
[13] Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary.
1983-c1985. The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures.
Victor Books: Wheaton, IL
[14] Tan, P. L. 1996, c1979. Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations : [a treasury of illustrations, anecdotes,
facts and quotations for pastors, teachers and Christian workers]. Bible
Communications: Garland TX
[16] Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary.
1983-c1985. The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures.
Victor Books: Wheaton, IL
[17] Tan, P. L. 1996, c1979. Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations : [a treasury of illustrations, anecdotes,
facts and quotations for pastors, teachers and Christian workers]. Bible
Communications: Garland TX
[18] Tan, P. L. 1996, c1979. Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations : [a treasury of illustrations, anecdotes,
facts and quotations for pastors, teachers and Christian workers]. Bible
Communications: Garland TX
