What's In a Name? (Sept. 10, 2023) Exodus 20.7

What is in a name? Names are more than just something to tell John Q. Public apart from John P. Public. They have meanings and power. They tell us something of the character of someone or what they are. Take a few names from the Bible: Abel means “Vapor” and those who heard the name knew he would not be around long in the story. Sarai and Sarah both mean princess but there is a change because God is now calling her a princess. Jacob means one who supplants while Israel (what Jacob’s name is changed to) means one who wrestles with God. Benjamin means “son of the right hand or son of the south.” Other names include Jesus which is Greek for Joshua meaning “God is salvation”, Micah “who is like God”, Jonah “Dove”, Isaiah “Salvation is from God”, Dalton “Valley”, Jacqueline “May God protect.” All names have meanings, and you see that there is a lot in those names. Again, they tell the character of someone and when the name is changed, it is a big deal. Abram becomes Abraham, Sarai becomes Sarah, Jacob becomes Israel, Simon becomes Peter, Saul becomes Paul. The list goes on and on and even today names mean something to people whether they are naming a child after a family member or know the meaning of a name.

But what does it mean to misuse God’s name? And what is in a name for God? As I said a couple of weeks back God has a name, and it is not God. It is YHWH or Yahweh. This name has a meaning as well. Its meaning is “I Am who I Am” or “I Will Be what I Will Be.” Given the fact that the name was holy to Jews, one can see why they became troubled when Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I AM.” He was invoking the name of God to say that he was God. What’s in a name indeed.

Allow me to read another translation of the text for today. This comes from the TANAK, the Jewish translation of what we call the Old Testament: “You shall not swear falsely by the name of the Lord your God; for the Lord will not clear one who swears falsely by His name.”[1]This is somewhat different for us to hear. Many of us know this commandment as taking the God’s name in vain. We have heard it said that we are not to use profanity and swearing because this is taking God’s name in vain. There is something about that. Swearing is something that we want to avoid. It is somewhat vulgar and is used when we are upset or angry. But one commentator stated that when profanity/swearing is used to not berate the one using it, but rather ask some questions about word usage and one of those questions is would you use the same word if you wrote this down? Most would answer that they would not use the words that were used. But profanity/swearing, though a part of what we see here, is not the limit of what is being commanded here.

As I stated, names have meanings and power. Knowing someone’s name gives us power over that person. Remember a certain fairy tale where a little man comes and spins straw into gold for a poor girl. When the girl becomes the queen, the man comes to claim his price he had named for doing this work: the child of the queen. He tells the queen that if she can give him his name, he will relinquish his claim on the child. The queen in desperation combs the land for the names that she knows until a messenger brings her a new name. When she gives the name of Rumpelstiltskin, the man no longer has power over her, but rather she has power over him. Another example of this is in the Inheritance book series by Christopher Paolini. In these books, the protagonist, Eragon, is told that everyone has a name and a true name. When one finds the true name then one has ultimate power over that person. When we know the names of people we have a bit of power over them, especially if we know the meaning of the name.

When God give God’s name to the people, God takes a great risk. God is giving them a chance to know God and to have power over God. With this power the people can misuse God’s name, as one translation puts it, “for mischief.” John Calvin states that the name is misused “if it be put to abominable uses, as those do who make it serve the superstitions of necromancy, frightful curses, unlawful exorcisms, and other wicked incantations.”[2]The name is misused, in other words, if it is used to harm rather than to help or build up.

We misuse the name if we use it for our own purposes. Albert Curry Winn states that when a politician uses the name of God just to win votes (and that never happens, does it?) or when a televangelist uses the name of God to line his or her pockets or to say that God told them that they were to buy a private jet, that is misusing God’s name and breaking the commandment. When we call on God to wipe out a people because they are against us politically (the former USSR or Iraq, or one of a different political party) we misuse the name of God.

There are other misuses of God’s name. It may be used flippantly. Or it may be used so frequently that it loses the reverence and power that is in the name. Have you ever heard someone pray using the name of Jesus or God over and over to the point it become something of a joke? That is misusing God’s name.

Or what about being ashamed of the name of God? Have you ever been ashamed that you are a Christian and kept quiet about that? That is a misuse of God’s name.

Another misuse of God’s name is in how we treat people. Paul writes in Romans “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” [3]Winn points out that it is difficult to make converts among the Native Americans because of “Christians” taking land, introducing diseases, alcoholism, making them walk the Trail of Tears, and breaking treaties all in the name of God. Or what about the Jews? In the name of God, they have been oppressed by “Christians” for centuries all leading up to the Holocaust. There is the misuse of God’s name in the treatment of LGBTQ and trans persons. Calling on God to destroy them because of who they are is a gross misuse. And of course, there is and has been the misuse of God’s name in the treatment of people of color. God’s name was used in the upholding of segregation, lynching and the propping up of white supremacy. We are still wrestling with this misuse of the name. The misuse of God’s name in these instances is that we bring shame to the name of God.

But what is the purpose of the third commandment? We are told how to not use it, yes, but how are we to use the commandment? Calvin, again, states it in this way: “God wills that we hallow the majesty of his name. Therefore, it means in brief that we are not to profane his name by treating it contemptuously and irreverently. To this prohibition duly corresponds the commandment that we should be zealous and careful to honor his name with godly reverence. Therefore we ought to be so disposed in mind and speech that we neither think nor say anything concerning God and his mysteries, without reverence and much soberness; that in estimating his works we conceive nothing but what is honorable to him.”[4]

And what about oaths? We are told to not swear falsely. Doesn’t Jesus tell us to let our yes be yes and our no be no? That we should not make an oath on anything in heaven above or on earth below. Therefore, we should not take any oaths whether to the state or in private. Now sometimes there are oaths that are frivolous and misuse God’s name. My mom would tell us with a laugh of an uncle who when driving by their house would shout that he would stop the next time he came by, “I swear to God” he would say. That is an oath that is not serious and though funny, misuses God’s name. But the reformers had no problem with oaths that were taken to the state as long as they were taken seriously and were treated as if they were an oath given to God. The Heidelberg Catechism says this: “Q. But may we swear an oath in God’s name if we do it reverently? A. Yes, when the government demands it, or when necessity requires it, in order to maintain and promote truth and trustworthiness for God’s glory and our neighbor’s good. Such oaths are grounded in God’s Word and were rightly used by the people of God in the Old and New Testaments.” Calvin stated that oaths were necessary and that those who were civil servants or military would have no problem taking an oath much like the catechism states.

Could you believe that there would be so much in one single verse? A promise that comes from this is that when we take the name of God seriously, there will be no frivolous talk and use of God’s name among God’s covenant people. The power of God’s name will not be used to cause mischief. God’s name will not be used to bring shame because the Gentiles, as Paul says, will see our good works. The name of God will not be misused.

The Jews do not speak the name Yahweh for fear of misusing the name. They use the term Lord or Adonai. This way they know that they are not misusing the name. Some Christians, and I know a few, will even write God as G-d so that they will not misuse the name. It is a hard commandment to follow. None of us want to misuse the name, but we do. Even when we think we are not misusing the name (think of the prayer example I cited) we can. But there is something good about this commandment. When taken seriously, we will use the name of God sparingly and with great reverence. We will show honor to the one who brings freedom and grace. And we will know the name above all names in Jesus Christ and the joy that we have in speaking that name. Amen.

[1] Jewish Publication Society. Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1985. Print. [2] Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion & 2. Ed. John T. McNeill. Trans. Ford Lewis Battles. Vol. 1. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011. Print. The Library of Christian Classics. [3] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989. Print. [4] Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion & 2. Ed. John T. McNeill. Trans. Ford Lewis Battles. Vol. 1. II, viii, 22. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011. Print. The Library of Christian Classics.