SUGGESTIONS?

to His newly nation of Israel: The Constitution of a Godly Nation God Spoke All These Words to His newly nation of Israel: The Constitution of a Godly Nation

1-4: The commandments about God and our relationship with Him. 5-10: The Commandments about us and our relationship with one another.

I. You shall have no other gods before me. II. You shall not worship false gods. III. You shall never take my name in vain. IV. You shall keep the Sabbath day holy. V. Honor your father and your mother. VI. You shall not murder. VII. You shall not commit adultery. VIII. You shall not steal. IX. You shall not lie. X. You shall never want what belongs to someone else.

THE THIRD COMMANDMENT

III. You shall never take God’s name in vain. Modern Version: Treat God’s name with honor, respect, and fear .

WHY? Because His Name is holy. Leviticus 20:3 3 I myself will set my face against him and will cut him off from his people; for by sacrificing his children to Molek, he has defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name.

III. You shall never take God’s name in vain. “In vain“= "for falsehood“ or “in a false (wrong) way”. God’s name can NEVER be associated with falsity or anything untruthful.

How did God introduce Himself to Moses? Moses: What is your name? God: “I am who I am.” God made a Law about how it should be used: the 3rd Commandment.

WHAT DOES THIS COMMANDMENT REVEAL: 1. We have a great responsibility: to carry and to honor the name of the Lord. To honor God’s name means to lift His name up and to tribute to Him all the glory that He deserves.

WHAT DOES THIS COMMANDMENT REVEAL: 2. A name represents the reputation of the person named. So a name should be treated with the same respect as the person's reputation.

What do you think when you hear these names? Abraham Lincoln Roosevelt Hitler Saddan Hussein Nebuchadnezzar Jezebel Paul, the apostle Jesus

THE NAME OF GOD IN JUDAISM God's Names (in all of their forms)- treated with respect and reverence in Judaism. In Jewish thought: commandment refers to oath-taking, and it prohibits swearing by God's Name falsely or frivolously.

DO NOT SWEAR AT ALL. Matthew 5:34-37 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath 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 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

3. It reveals IF we fear the Lord Judaism: No prohibition to write God’s Name. It prohibits erasing or vandalizing a Name of God. They avoid writing any Name of God: risk that he written Name might be vandalized, obliterated or destroyed . They simply didn’t write it.

The commandment not to erase or vandalize the name of God 3 Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and burn their Asherah poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names from those places (Deuteronomy 12:3)

RABBIS’ INTERPRETATION The people are commanded to destroy all things related to the idolatrous religions of that region, including the names of the local deities (gods). Immediately afterwards, we are commanded not to do the same to our God. From this, the rabbis inferred that we are commanded not to destroy any holy thing, and not to erase or a Name of God.

We are commanded not to do the same to our God. 4 You must not worship the LORD your God in their way. 5 But you are to seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. (12:4,5) The rabbis inferred that we are commanded not to destroy any holy thing, and not to erase a Name of God.

4. TO EXALT HIS NAME IS A COMMANDMENT To exalt and to honor His name is part of the life of those who walk with God. It is a responsibility of the Bride to honor her Groom

5. It tells us to leave God out of it when it’s not God’s doing. How many wars have been fought in God’s name?  How much prejudice and how much hatred has been spread in God’s name?  How many wrong marriages, wrong decisions, wrong prophecies have been given in God’s name? Whenever we use God’s name to support our own actions, whenever we use God’s name to support that which is ungodly, we use God’s name in vain. GOD TOLD ME….

THIS COMMANDMENT COMES WITH A WARNING 7 “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. God will judge that action.

How do we misuse His Name? When we use expressions that downgrade God’s name and His reputation. When we use it without the fear of the Lord. When we use it in vain (falsely) to express things God didn’t say. When we use to swear to Him. When we do not respect or vandalize His name. When we do not give Him the glory that should be given to His name. When we curse, especially curse using God’s name. 

When we speak evil of God in a circumstance He is bringing us through we use His name in vain. How often do you grumble and complain against God? Do you find His ways hard? Is the path that He is leading you down weary to your feet? When adverse circumstances come by you should praise Him as Job did, "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job 1:21b)

Psalm 139:20 They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name.

Think about how many times in the past week you broke the third commandment?

Take Jesus’ example Every time He invoked God's name He used it with reverence and dignity. Never once did he break the third commandment. So let our eyes be open to see what the third commandment requires of us, and pray that the Lord would help us to keep His name holy every day, and never use it in vain again.

CONFESS THE MISUSE OF GOD’S NAME 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

ASK GOD TO PURIFY AND SANCTIFY YOUR MOUTH. Like happened to Isaiah.

Isaiah 6:5-7 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”  6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”