Deuteronomy 5:11 - Do Not Take the Name in Vain
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Introduction
Introduction
“What’s in a name?”
That’s the question Juliet asks in William Shakespere’s Romeo and Juliet as she complains that her love for Romeo is only forbidden because of his last name, Montague—the last name of the family who is enemy to Juliet’s family.
Juliet’s point is that, it’s not the name that is important but the man. Romeo would still be as attractive to her were he not named ‘Romeo.’ But, alas, he is who he is—Romeo Montague—and despite what Juliet says, Romeo’s name means something.
At the very least, it means that Romeo and Juleit cannot be together.
Likewise, no matter what we may think or how carelessly we may use it, the name of LORD—YHWH—means something.
At the very least, it means that He is who He is and we ought to revere Him.
This is the name of the God who rescued His people from slavery in Egypt.
This is the name of the God who was bringing His people into the Promised Land.
This is the name—His name—that God was putting on this people—His people.
Therefore, they shall not take the name of the LORD their God in vain.
[READING - Deuteronomy 5:6-21]
6 ‘I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 7 ‘You shall have no other gods before Me. 8 ‘You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 9 ‘You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 10 but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. 11 ‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain. 12 ‘Observe the sabbath day to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13 ‘Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your ox or your donkey or any of your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you, so that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15 ‘You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to observe the sabbath day. 16 ‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well with you on the land which the Lord your God gives you. 17 ‘You shall not murder. 18 ‘You shall not commit adultery. 19 ‘You shall not steal. 20 ‘You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 21 ‘You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, and you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field or his male servant or his female servant, his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.’
[PRAYER]
[CONTEXT] As Israel was about to enter and take posession of the Promised Land, God renewed His covenant with them. In that covenant renewal, we find the Ten Commandments restated.
We’ve been looking at each commandement, and tonight we come to this third commandment, “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain...” (Deut. 5:11).
[CIT] Because YHWH is who He is, His people must live worthy of His name.
[PROP] We must live worthy of His name.
[TS] Let’s notice the prohibited sin (and the positive command)—and the punishment for diobedience.
Major Ideas
Major Ideas
The Prohibited Sin (and the Positive Command): ‘You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain...’
The Prohibited Sin (and the Positive Command): ‘You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain...’
[EXP] If we are going to understand what is prohibited in this command, we must understand the word take.
Some translations use the word misuse (CSB, NIV) or make wrongful use of (NRSV) instead of take, but the Hebrew word behind take means to bring, to carry, to ift up, raise high, or exalt.
YHWH had set His name on His people. No other people bore His name. These were YHWH’s people.
They were not to take, to carry, to bear His name in vain—i.e., as if His name didn’t mean anything.
Thus they weren’t to swear falsely by His name. The LORD says in Leviticus 19:12...
12 ‘You shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God; I am the Lord.
But bearing or taking the Lord’s name also meant only fearing and only worshipping YHWH. Deuteronomy 6:13 says…
13 “You shall fear only the Lord your God; and you shall worship Him and swear by His name.
Deuteronomy 10:20 says…
20 “You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name.
[ILLUS] You might recall in Joshua 9 the guile of the Gibeonites.
God’s people had taken the Promised Land are would soon divide it up between the tribes but before they did, they were visited by some crafty Gibeonites.
Gibeon was just northwest of Jerusalem but the Gibeonites knew that Joshua and Israel were not making treaties with any of the peoples in the Promised Land.
So the Gibeonites dressed in tattered clothing and packed old bread and made it seem as if they had come from very far way to make a treaty with Joshua and Israel.
The LORD wasn’t consulted.
The treaty was made.
And when the truth about the Gibeonites came out, the people grumbleed.
But what did the leaders say?
Listen to Joshua 9:19...
19 But all the leaders said to the whole congregation, “We have sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, and now we cannot touch them.
Because they had sworn by the name of the Lord, they would not bear His name in vain by breaking the treaty with the Gibeonites.
To do so would’ve been to say that a treaty in the name of YHWH was in vain—that it was meaningless.
Rather than do that---and despite the Gibeonite deception—they lived up to the treaty that was made in His name.
[APP] That is what this this third commandment is really all about—living in a manner worthy of the one whose name we bear.
As followers of Jesus—YHWH in the flesh—we too bear His name. We have called on His name for salvation and we have found salvation only in His name.
We are saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus.
Jesus is the Christ and we are called Christians.
Therefore, we also are not to take up His name in vain, but live in a manner worthy of it.
Living worthy of His name is a key to unity. In John 17:11 Jesus prayed…
11 “I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.
If we are going to be together as the body of Christ, we have to be committed to living worty of His name.
Living worthy of His name is a key to holiness. Second Timohty 2:19 says...
19 Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness.”
If we call ourselves followers of Jesus; if we call ourselves Christians, but do not abstain from wickedness, we take His name in vain.
Living worthy of His name is a key to missions. In Acts 9:15 Jesus says about the Apostle Paul…
15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;
If we are going to make disciples of all nations then we must bear His name in a worthy manner.
Living worthy of His name is a key to perserverance. In Revelation 2:13 Jesus says to us…
13 ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
Living worthy of His name will keep us enduring to the end even in the face of persecution.
Living worthy of His name is a ket to reward. In Revelation 3:12 Jesus tells us…
12 ‘He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.
Living worthy of His name now means being rewarded with names in eternity—the name of God, the name of the heavenly city of God, the new name of Jesus.
[ILLUS] In some Christian circles, the cool thing to do is to get YHWH or Yeshua tatooed on your skin.
Some guys I went to college with did that. Many years ago, Cheryl and I had a waitress with Jesus’ name in Greek—Iesous—tatooed on her forearm.
I’ll let you come to your own convictions about tattos, but I will say that to have His name on your skin is not the same as having His name in your heart.
Those who bear His name in a worthy manner, have His in their heart.
[TS] Now, let’s look at the punishment...
The Punishment for Disobedience: “…for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who take His name in vain.”
The Punishment for Disobedience: “…for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who take His name in vain.”
[EXP] The end of this third commandment basically says that taking the LORD’s name in vain will not be excused. It will be punished.
One English translation says, “…the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.”
Another says, “…the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses His name.”
We’ve seen that misusing His name can involve more than just misuing it in speech, but however we misuse it—we can be certain of this—it will be punished.
[ILLUS] Jesus gives us glimples into this punishment in Matthew 7:21-23...
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
Here are some people on the day of judgment who come to Jesus with a name—‘Lord, Lord’ they call Him—but they have not lived worthy of His name.
Here are some people who claim to have done some things in His name—things like casting out demons and performing miracles—but even if true, they still haven’t lived worthy of the name.
Jesus calls them practitioners of lawlessness.
And then He demands that they depart from His presence.
To be sent out of His presence on the day of judgment is to be sent into hell.
This will be the punishment for taking the Lord’s name in vain; for not walking worthy of His name by doing the will of the Father (Mt. 7:21); for not obeying the words of Jesus (Mt. 7:24-27).
[APP] But there is good news for us who trust in Jesus—the punishment guaranteed in Deuteronomy 5:11—the punishment that should’ve been ours because we haven’t walked perfectly worthy of His name—that punishment has fallen on Jesus.
On the cross, Jesus died the death that we should’ve died for breaking this third commandment.
And His resurrection proves that we have been covered by the righteousness of Him who never broke this third commandment or any other commandment!
And—if we trust Him—He has given us His Spirit so that we are now empowered to increasingly walk in a manner worthy of His name.
The punishment is guaranteed.
The price had been paid by Jesus.
The power is in the Holy Spirit.
[TS] …
Conclusion
Conclusion
I know that we are used to thinking of this third commandment solely in terms of speech. We think that so long as we are not using His name in a cussword and so long as we are not using it careless ways, then we are obeying this commandment.
But remember, you are an ambassador of Christ, and as an ambassador, you represent Christ in all of life. In how you speek, yes, but also in how you act at home, at work, in the grocery store, and in the community in general.
We people see you, they see one bearing the name of Jesus.
Are you representing Him well?
Are you living worthy of the His name?