The Name Of God Series

The Third Commandment Challenges Us To Use The Name Of The Lord Correctly.

Exodus 20:7 New King James Version (Nkjv)

7 “You Shall Not Take The Name Of The LORD Your God In Vain, For The LORD Will Not Hold Him Guiltless Who Takes His Name In Vain.

One Of The First Duties Of Parents After They Find Out They Are Expecting A Baby, Is To Name Their Child. They Read Baby Name Books . They Try Various Combinations And Say Them Out Loud To See How They Sound. They Consider All The Possible Nicknames, And Then They Check To See What The Initials Spell.

What's In A Name? God Says There's A Lot In A Name When It's His Name. In The Third Command He Says, "You Shall Not Misuse The Name Of The Lord Your God."

Why Is God So Sensitive About His Name?

Your Name Represents Three Things: Your Reputation, Your Character,

And Your Authority.

When Somebody Has A Good Reputation We Say "He's Has A Good Name." When He Has A Bad Reputation, "He's Got A Bad Name."

If I Say Billy Graham, How Do You Respond To That Name? What Does His Name Say About His Reputation, His Character And His Authority?

If I say Osama Bin Laden, How do you Respond? What Does His Name Say About His Reputation, His Character And His Authority?

A Name Represents Your Character. What You Are Cannot Be Separated From What Your Name Is Once It's Identified Together.

In The Bible They Would Often Name Children After Certain Character

Qualities Like Honest, Justice ... So That It Would Represent Their Character. Many Times In The Bible When Somebody Changed Their Character, Their Life Was Changed, God Gave Them A New

Name. Abram Became Abraham, Jacob Became Israel, Simon Became Peter.

God Would Change Their Names Because It Represents Your New Character.

By Contrast, One Of The Remarkable Things About God Is That No One Ever Named Him. From Time To Time People Have Come Up With Various False Names For God. But God’s True Name Is Chosen And Revealed By God Himself.

He Revealed It To Moses:

Exodus 3:13-15 New King James Version (NKJV)

13 Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”

14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” 15 Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’

The Name That God Revealed Was His Personal Name Yahweh, YHWH. “I Am Who I Am.”

The Israelites Learned From Their Deliverance That The God Who Revealed His Name To Moses Is A God Who Saves.

The 3rd Commandment Says:

You Shall Not Take The Name Of The Lord Your God In Vain; For The Lord Will Not Hold Him Guiltless Who Takes His Name In Vain." (Exodus 20:7 RSV)

What Does "Vain" Mean? Why Is Using His Name In Vain Sin?

The Word “Vain” In Hebrew (Shav’) Is Precisely The Same Hebrew Word Used In Exodus 20:7 . It Has Two Literal Meanings; One Means Evil, The Other Means To Lie, Falsehood, As A Matter Of Vanity. Both Literal Meanings Are Manifested In How The Third Commandment Is Disregarded.

Using God’s Name In A Careless Or Meaningless Way Is Taking God’s Most Holy Name And Using It As A Curse Word, Swear Word, Or Just Casually.

The Jews Never Dared Break This Commandment And Were So Careful That They Didn’t Even Mention His Name For Fear They Might Mispronounce It. Even Today, I Have Jewish Friends Who Spell God’s Name As “G_D” Because They Know How Sacred God’s Name Is.

The Use Of God's Name In A Degrading Or In Any Disrespectful Manner Expresses An Attitude Of Disdaining The Relationship , We Are Supposed To Have With Him.

The Third Commandment Focuses On Showing Respect. It Addresses The Way We Communicate Our Feelings About God To Others And To Him. It Encompasses Our Attitudes, Speech And Behavior.

Respect Is The Cornerstone Of Good Relationships. The Quality Of Our Relationship With God Depends On The Love And Regard We Have For Him. It Also Depends On The Way We Express Respect For Him In The Presence Of Others.

Father Is One Of God’s Favorite Names. While On Earth, Jesus Called God “Father” Over Two Hundred Times. In His First Recorded Words Jesus Explained, “Didn’t You Know That I Must Be In My Father’s House?” (Luke 2:49).