Bearing God's Name
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Our theme this year is “Unashamed.”
Our God:
Is the creator
The giver of all good things
The one who died for us
The one who gave us a new life right here and now
Has promised to give us eternal life in the end
We’re not supposed to be quiet about that.
This morning, instead of discussing the reasons of why we’re ashamed to admit these truths, I want to paint an ideal picture of someone who is unashamed of the Lord.
We’re going to look at how God describes someone who wears the family name well.
Taking Yahweh’s Name
Taking Yahweh’s Name
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.
What does it mean to take a name in vain?
It’s Not Saying Yahweh
It’s Not Saying Yahweh
We all know what it means! Don’t say God except for when you really mean it. We all grew up hearing that taking the Lord’s name in vain meant to use it carelessly or as a curse.
No “Lord Above” or “Oh my God!”
Don’t think you can get away with OMG either
My cousin was reprimanded for saying Jeez - it sounds to close to Jesus
Don’t think you can hide behind gosh because we know what you really mean
Even in proper contexts where we should be calling on God it just doesn’t feel right saying those phrases
But there are other ways this verse has been understood:
The traditional Jewish understanding is found in NABRE
7 You shall not invoke the name of the Lord, your God, in vain. For the Lord will not leave unpunished anyone who invokes his name in vain.
Don’t invoke his name. Don’t use God as a guarantor of your oaths and then go breaking those oaths. God is truth so don’t use him in a lie.
Leading up to the times of Jesus it became popular to not pronounce the name at all unless in the temple. The traditions of the Jewish elders that Jesus always critiqued eventually got written down, and says:
The Mishnah Tamid
In the sanctuary they would pronounce the [divine] name as it is written, and in the provinces, by an epithet.
They were so afraid of saying his name in vain, even of mispronouncing it, that they stopped saying it at all. Instead they read the Hebrew adonai (lord) aloud, which is why we see LORD in all of our bibles instead of Yahweh.
Bearing the Name of Yahweh
Bearing the Name of Yahweh
I think we can quickly do away with the idea that God doesn’t want us to ever pronounce his name:
He gave it to us
It’s spoken by many in the scripture
It’s in the Psalms that we’re to pray to God
The issue in Exodus 20:7…
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.
… includes speaking God’s name but has much more in mind.
The verb translated here as ‘take’ is נָשָׂא which does not mean “to misuse” or “to pronounce.” It means to carry or bear something. We see the idea of carrying a name later on in Exodus 28.
Example of the Priest
Example of the Priest
In Exodus 28 God is giving instruction on what the priests of Israel were to wear.
Rather than the drab black robe and white collar, Israel’s priests were decked out in blue linen, gold, and precious stones. Two of these stones that they wore had the tribes of Israel engraved on them:
11 As a jeweler engraves signets, so shall you engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel. You shall enclose them in settings of gold filigree. 12 And you shall set the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel. And Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord on his two shoulders for remembrance.
When Aaron goes into God’s presence he bears the names of Israel to Yahweh - reminding him of his covenant with them. When Aaron worshipped and brought sacrifice to God he did so as a representative of the rest of the people.
Not only did Aaron carry the names of Israel on the two stones, he also carried the name of God on his head:
36 “You shall make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet, ‘Holy to the Lord.’ 37 And you shall fasten it on the turban by a cord of blue. It shall be on the front of the turban.
When he stands before Yahweh he represents the people of Israel. But when he ministers to those people he does so as a representative of God.
We should understand the third command in a similar way. When we bear God’s name we are bearing it as his representative.
All of God’s People Bear His Name
All of God’s People Bear His Name
So when we read that we shouldn’t take the name Yahweh in vain, it’s not just saying it. We take it like a bride takes the name of her husband’s family.
I had a friend in high school who’s dad walked out on the family. So instead of bearing the name of his father he eventually decided to take his mother’s maiden name. He didn’t belong to that man - they had nothing to do with each other. But he did have that relationship with his mother and belonged to that side of the family.
Israel took the name of God on themselves when they became his. The entire nation of Israel is stamped with God’s name.
Throughout the book of Deuteronomy we keep seeing this phrase:
6 For you are a holy people belonging to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be his own possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.
We put our names or initials on our things.
Put your name on a cup at a potluck
Toy Story 2: Woody is proud of having Andy on his boot - he knows who he belongs to
That’s what God did with Israel. It was an ancient custom to brand slaves with the name of the owner, much like cattle are branded by their ranchers. Slaves who belonged to the pagan temples were marked with the signs and symbols of their god.
God takes all of Israel, says “You’re holy, set apart for me.” And then stamps his name on them.
You are mine
You have my name
Wear it well
You’ve Been Branded
You’ve Been Branded
That’s not an experience unique to Israel. All of God’s people have been stamped with a sign of his ownership.
In Ephesians 1:13, because we are in Christ…
13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
Other translations will say we’ve been:
Marked
Stamped
Identified
In Revelation we have all of those who are against Christ with the mark of the beast on their forehead - 666. But immediately after that:
1 Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.
You have taken on the name of God, a mark that says you belong to him, and you’re carrying it around.
You were baptized in the name of the father
You call yourself a Christian after Christ
And we’re told to wear it responsibly
16 but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be put to shame, but is to glorify God in this name.
We have taken on the name of God and we’re to bring him honor through our behavior - by our representation of him.
Bearing It Well
Bearing It Well
But have you taken it for any purpose? God wants to give us his name - he wants us to be his children in his image. But he wants us to wear that family name with respect.
When we drive we’re largely anonymous. It’s the reason typically calm people get road rage - they don’t see people they see cars. Allen used to have his Allstate business wrapped around his car. And he’ll tell you that he’s never driven more carefully and politely in his life. He wasn’t anonymous anymore! If he cuts somebody off there’s his name and number right there! The way he drove could have a direct impact on his business.
The stamp of God’s name not only meant you belonged to God but that we represent him. When we take on God’s name we’re showing people “This is the kind of God I worship.” For better or for worse we are representing who God is to the world through our own behavior.
Practical Atheism
Practical Atheism
God cares about his name as his reputation, earned through his mighty acts and deeds. When he pronounces his name to Moses in Exodus 34, he doesn’t simply say “Hey Moses, my name is Yahweh.” He says:
Exodus 34:5–7 (CSB, Modified)
5 Yahweh came down in a cloud, stood with him there, and proclaimed his name, “Yahweh” 6 Yahweh passed in front of him and proclaimed: Yahweh—Yahweh is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love and truth, 7 maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But he will not leave the guilty unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation.
God’s names is compassion, grace, patience, truth, justice. Those are the things that define God and elevate him above any other god to be worshipped.
I am so disappointed that so many people I disagree with on so much bear the name ‘Christian’
Westboro Baptist
Progressive Christians
Other churches of Christ that give us a bad name
But in what ways have I profaned God’s name?
Do people see an angry and wrathful God because I can’t control my temper?
Do people see a hateful God because of the way I treat sinners?
Do people see a God who doesn’t care because of how I treat my own sin?
We carry God’s name, we are made in his image - what kind of picture are we giving?
We take his name on ourselves in vain when we see all the glory of God and don’t let it do a thing to us.
His grace doesn’t transform us
His truth doesn’t convict us
His justice doesn’t scare us
“Yeah, Yahweh’s my God I guess but I don’t really keep up with him.”
You’ve seen these people I’m talking about.
It’s the people who fill out the census forms: Religion - Christian, but haven’t cracked open a bible in decades.
They call themselves Christians, they wear the cross necklaces, they hang the bible passages on the walls, they post or tweet “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me #blessed.”
But they act just like everybody else does. Or as Paul says:
16 They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.
They’ve come up with a nice term for this: Practical Atheist
Intellectually they affirm that there is a God
But practically, they live life as if there wasn’t one
They’ll call themselves a Christian alright, but they wear the name in vain.
Is that what we’ve become?
We come to church
We sing the songs
We say amen to the prayers
And then Monday comes along and we fit right in with everybody else. Really, how different is your life from people outside the church, aside from the fact you show up to church?
Are we full of love and good works, or do we hustle through the day so we can plop down in front of the TV?
Do we have a thirst for God’s word or do we tolerate it only on the weekends?
Do we struggle with sin and overcome it, or do we just assume that God will take care of it so no biggie?
Life was radically different for Israel after being rescued by God. It should be radically different for us after baptism.
9 The Lord will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. 10 And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you.
If the only reason people know you’re a Christian is because you had to mention it to them - you might be wearing God’s name in vain.
Hiding the Name
Hiding the Name
Or maybe people don’t know know you’re a Christian because you hide his name. We’re ashamed of who we belong to and so we try to hide it
It’s hard telling your science or philosophy teacher that you believe in miracles and the resurrection. So as they go on mocking our God we just sit in the back and wonder how much of a heretic our assignments need to sound like to pass the class.
It’s tiring hearing people say that we’re on the wrong side of history with moral issues. They’re progressive, moving forward, and it feels like we’re being left behind in the stone age. Maybe God’s an old man who needs to keep up with the times.
It’s dangerous. When our lives stand out as different, people take that as a condemnation. When Lot lived in Sodom the men told him “Back off and let us do what we want! You’re an outsider who’s come in and acted like a judge. We’ll deal with you.
So we pull that hat over the name branded on our forehead. Take the wedding band off so to speak. Nah, I don’t know those people or that God.
Application
Application
I’m going to remember who I belong to.
5 This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s,’ another will call on the name of Jacob, and another will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’ and name himself by the name of Israel.”
I have no idea where this video comes from, but I think it’s a skit. Some guy is in a store and reaches out to take something but then sees a message written on his hand “Don’t steal anything!”
What would it be like if we actually had his name written on our hands? And every time we reached out to grab hold of some sin we were reminded of who we belong to.
I’m going to wear my name with pride.
Just like a newly engaged woman likes to show of her ring (somebody picked me!) we should be excited to show people that God picked us.
Conclusion
Conclusion
All of us are the public display of our God. Those who are unashamed of our Lord will bear his name with a great sense of pride and responsibility.
