The Name

A lady was travelling with her husband and mother-in-law to Vancouver Island. She tells this story: We were stuck waiting for the ferry in a small car, no air on a hot day. With the windows down, we could easily hear the loudspeakers announce a further two hour delay. We settled in for a long wait. In an old car next to us were several young men. As the wait grew longer, their music became louder and louder along with their voices.

All except the driver kept getting out of the vehicle to fetch alcoholic beverages from the trunk. Their language became full of four letter words. I felt my temperature rising and it had nothing to do with the hot day. My husband, sitting behind the wheel, warned me to keep calm and ignore them.

But when these four drunken men started to take the Lord’s name in vain, I could stand it no longer. For me, such language is like fingernails on a chalkboard! So suddenly that even I was surprised, I flung open my door and in a loud shaking voice said, “You are obnoxious and drunk! Your language is foul and seeping into our air space. And, furthermore, you are profaning God's name and He happens to be a friend of mine. Now why don't you all get back into your car and sober up!”

I got back into the car and was amazed to hear a round of applause from people in cars nearby! The five men remained quiet until the ferry arrived. Just as it docked, the designated driver tapped on the roof of the car. I turned to look at him. He apologised for the men’s language and for offending me by taking the Lord’s name in vain. Then, on the ferry, wouldn’t you know it, I met the four men while waiting in line at a concession. Each one in turn apologised for hurting my feelings!

At the moment when she confronted those young drunk men, she was obeying the third commandment, as we’ve seen it explained in the Heidelberg Catechism. She did not stand idly by, but dared to confront some belligerent, drunk young men when they took the Lord’s name in vain.

What’s In God’s Name?

From the Third Commandment, as well as from our passage in Leviticus, we must understand that misusing God’s name is a serious matter. In fact, God says he will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. The penalty for blaspheming God’s name was death.

Now why is that? Why death? Isn’t that a bit extreme for just a turn of phrase, a slip of the tongue? What is it about God’s name that elicits such reverence?

Well it is impossible to separate God’s holiness, his power, his authority, his person from his name. To speak God’s name is to speak about the creator of the universe! It is to call upon the most holy, most amazing, most incredible being.

And that is why, when the son of an Israelite and Egyptian, blasphemed the name of God, he was stoned to death by the community. Blaspheming the name is the same as blaspheming God. God is so holy, so amazing, that even his name is to be honoured.

That is why Jesus, when he taught his disciples to pray instructed them to say, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” The name of God isn’t merely any old name. God’s name is more than just a title, it describes who God is.

When Moses was called by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses asked, “Who shall I say is sending me?” And God replied, “Tell them I Am who I Am sends you.”

And when God gave them the Law, he commanded them against misusing his name. Indeed, over time, the Israelites were so worried about misusing the name of the Lord that they refused to speak it ever, even when reading the Bible.

God’s revealed name appears in the text as YHWH, or Yahweh. But when reading the scriptures, instead of saying Yahweh, they would say Elohim or Adonai, God or Lord. And this practise, this fear of misusing the Lord’s name carries on to this day. In our English Bibles, the divine name is not printed. Where it would appear, we have the word Lord in capital letters instead.

Five Misuses

Now, speaking isn’t the only way to take God’s name in vain. Matthew Henry, in his commentary, identifies five ways in which God’s name is taken in vain.

1. Hypocrisy-when a person professes God’s name, that is, when a person becomes a Christian, and takes on the name of Christ, Christian, but fails to live up to that profession, they are taking God’s name in vain. A hypocrite is someone who claims to be a Christian but who never lives like one at all. They just keep on sinning, and because of that, their lives make a mockery of God. We all know people like this. They’re pious on Sundays, but for the rest of the week, they live unholy lives.

A Christian will, in all honesty, never live up to their profession of faith, no matter how hard they try, it is impossible to do so in this life, though great strides can be made nevertheless. However, the difference between a true Christian and a hypocrite is that a true Christian will repent after sinning, and will become even more determined to live in honour of God’s name. And even though a true Christian will sin, they will have the humility to seek forgiveness from those whom they’ve offended, in church, in business, in school, wherever.

2. Covenant-Breaking-happens when we make vows to God and then break them. If we make a vow with God but then fail to follow through on our promise, we take God’s name in vain. It is folly to do so, and God takes no pleasure in fools. Nor will God be mocked. So be careful in the vows you make. Be determined to keep them.

3. Rash swearing-involves using God’s name or attributes of God in form of an oath without any just occasion for it. It is simply using God’s name as a by word, thoughtlessly. But God’s name is not something that should be used in a frivolous way, for it is full of power and honour.

4. False Swearing-happens when people tell lies under oath. If crime novels are any indication of reality, this happens quite frequently. People lie under oath in court, and this too takes God’s name in vain.

5. Light and careless use of God’s name-this is by far the most common way God’s name is taken in vain.

Careless Use of His Name

While all five are important, let’s look at this point a bit closer.

People take God’s name in vain all the time. It is all over television. Even Christians do it. They say, “Oh my God” without even thinking about it. But it is a serious thing! In the Old Testament, the community would have had to stone such a person to death!

But have you ever tried to make yourself aware of it? Think about it. How often do you even think about using God’s name in vain, without even realising it?

Jesus teaches us to let our yes be yes and our no be no. This is hard to do!

Or sometimes we try to skirt around it by substituting other words and phrases, like holy cow, or holy Hannah. God is holy, and well, we’re called to be holy as God is holy. But we shouldn’t make exclamations with words that suggest anything else is holier than God is. With great difficulty, we can keep our yeses yes, and our no’s no.

James describes the tongue in this way:

“When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds (or powerful engines), they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

With the tongue, we praise our Lord and Father, and with it, we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water” (James 3.3-12)

According to the Heidelberg Catechism, misusing the Lord’s name, taking the Lord’s name is something that God abhors. It is something that we abhor also. Therefore, we must make every effort to avoid taking God’s name in vain. Because of our love for God, we ought to do our very level best to honour him in everything! Not that we become so fearful of God, that we never talk to him at all,

but rather seek to glorify him, and demonstrate his goodness in being good, careful in our activities as Christians, being honest and full of integrity in our living.

And let us speak up when people misuse God’s name.

No Longer Silent

The catechism points out that being a silent bystander is tantamount to misusing God’s name yourself.

This is hard. It’s easier to stay silent. But Jesus said, “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven” (Mt. 10:32-33). Jesus Christ sent His Holy Spirit at Pentecost to empower us and make us bold. To empower us to honour God in all that we do and say, to control our actions and our words.

The Spirit came also to make us bold. So that we will take a stand for Christ, that we will interrupt when people, non-Christians and Christians alike, take the Lord’s name in vain, whether through hypocrisy, covenant breaking, rash swearing, false swearing and especially light and careless use of God’s name.

So be bold, be strong, for the Lord your God is with you. Like the woman waiting for the ferry, we can stand up for our faith. Later, after she got her food, she and her husband prayed for those young men, that they would come to know Christ as more than just a curse and a swear word, that they would come to know him as their Lord and Saviour. Let us do likewise. Amen.