The Third Commandment
“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.” (Exodus 20:7 NASB)
One of my favorite moments in the Indiana Jones movies is when Henry Jones Sr. slaps “Junior” aka “Indiana Jones” across the face for breaking the Third Commandment. I laugh out loud when it happens, but Henry actually seems to understand something that is missing in our day. It is important that God’s name be held sacred. We are not to use it in a profane, irreverent, or contemptuous way.
So, there are two parts to this command. Do not use God’s name in a profane, irreverent, or contemptuous way. And this means that we are to reverence and honor God’s name. “Hallowed be Your name” (Matthew 6:9). This command is a protection of God’s name.
- Do not use God’s name in a profane, irreverent, or contemptuous way.
- Reverence and honor God’s name.
Do Not use God’s Name In A Profane, Irreverent, Or Contemptuous Way aka “Blasphemy”
This is an interesting discussion to have, and I didn’t realize that it would be before studying for this lesson. I have mentioned before that I believe that the rest of the Pentateuch fills out our understanding of the commandments. And here is where the surprise came for me. A lot of the case laws within the Pentateuch discussed the making of vows.
Examples:
12 You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.
Leviticus 19:12 ESV
13 “Pay attention to all that I have said to you, and make no mention of the names of other gods, nor let it be heard on your lips.
Exodus 23:13 ESV
13 It is the LORD your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear.
Deuteronomy 6:13 ESV
20 You shall fear the LORD your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear.
Deuteronomy 10:20 ESV
21 “If you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the LORD your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin. 22 But if you refrain from vowing, you will not be guilty of sin. 23 You shall be careful to do what has passed your lips, for you have voluntarily vowed to the LORD your God what you have promised with your mouth.
Deuteronomy 23:21-23 ESV
1 Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the people of Israel, saying, “This is what the LORD has commanded. 2 If a man vows a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. 3 “If a woman vows a vow to the LORD and binds herself by a pledge, while within her father’s house in her youth, 4 and her father hears of her vow and of her pledge by which she has bound herself and says nothing to her, then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand. 5 But if her father opposes her on the day that he hears of it, no vow of hers, no pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand. And the LORD will forgive her, because her father opposed her. 6 “If she marries a husband, while under her vows or any thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she has bound herself, 7 and her husband hears of it and says nothing to her on the day that he hears, then her vows shall stand, and her pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. 8 But if, on the day that her husband comes to hear of it, he opposes her, then he makes void her vow that was on her, and the thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she bound herself. And the LORD will forgive her. 9 (But any vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, anything by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her.) 10 And if she vowed in her husband’s house or bound herself by a pledge with an oath, 11 and her husband heard of it and said nothing to her and did not oppose her, then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she bound herself shall stand. 12 But if her husband makes them null and void on the day that he hears them, then whatever proceeds out of her lips concerning her vows or concerning her pledge of herself shall not stand. Her husband has made them void, and the LORD will forgive her. 13 Any vow and any binding oath to afflict herself, her husband may establish, or her husband may make void. 14 But if her husband says nothing to her from day to day, then he establishes all her vows or all her pledges that are upon her. He has established them, because he said nothing to her on the day that he heard of them. 15 But if he makes them null and void after he has heard of them, then he shall bear her iniquity.” 16 These are the statutes that the LORD commanded Moses about a man and his wife and about a father and his daughter while she is in her youth within her father’s house.
Numbers 30:1-16 ESV
15 And speak to the people of Israel, saying, Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin. 16 Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.
Leviticus 24:15-16 ESV
If you examine these texts then you begin to understand that there is more than one way to break this command. We can run aground in any number of ways.
SWEARING BY GOD’S NAME
Swearing by gods other than the one true God is one way that the Israelites could break this command. To swear by another God while worshipping the One True God was to break this command (Exodus 23:13, Deuteronomy 6:13, Deuteronomy 10:20).
This does seem very odd when we consider it alongside Matthew 5:33-37. But he problem Jesus was addressing was not oaths, but lying and deceiving and using oaths to help in the deception. John MacArthur is helpful here.
“This should not be taken as a universal condemnation of oaths in all circumstances. God Himself confirmed a promise with an oath (Hebrews 6:13-18; cf. Acts 2:30). Christ Himself spoke under oath (Matthew 26:63-64). And the law prescribed oaths in certain circumstances (e.g. Numbers 5:19, 21; 30:2,3). What Christ is forbidding here is the flippant, profane, or careless use of oaths in everyday speech. In that culture, such oaths were often employed for deceptive purposes. To make the person being victimized believe the truth was being told, the Jews would swear by “heaven,” “earth”, “Jerusalem”, or their own “heads” (Vv. 34-36), not by God, hoping to avoid divine judgment for their lie. But it all was in God’s creation, so it drew Him in and produced guilt before Him, exactly as if the oath were made in His name. Jesus suggested that all our speech should be as if we were under an oath to tell the truth (V. 37).
John MacArthur Study Bible, NASB, 2006, Pp. 1369-1370
So the lesson that Jesus is really giving in this text is to be honest. We are to let our “yes” be “yes” and our “no” be “no”.
PERJURY
This also means that we are not to swear by God’s name and then lie.
12 You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.
Leviticus 19:12 ESV
As Thomas Watson stated,
Perjury is calling God to witness to a lie.
Thomas Watson, taken from “The Ten Commandments”
So, we can ask ourselves a few questions here. This really does seem to clear up a lot of confusion that surrounds swearing under oath.
Is it okay to take an oath with your hand on the Bible in court? I believe so. When we consider what Jesus was actually discussing it becomes obvious that the practice is one that is not outlawed by His words in Matthew 5. Furthermore, swearing by God’s name was something that was to be done in the Pentateuch.
What is not okay was to swear by the name of another God or to swear by God’s name or put our hand on the Bible and lie. This is no good.
PERFORM THE VOWS YOU MAKE TO GOD
I have heard people say things like, “If God would only give me……., I would…..” And then they never end up doing what they vowed to perform.
I have also heard vows that were given that were abandoned months or years later.
21 “If you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the LORD your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin. 22 But if you refrain from vowing, you will not be guilty of sin. 23 You shall be careful to do what has passed your lips, for you have voluntarily vowed to the LORD your God what you have promised with your mouth.
Deuteronomy 23:21-23 ESV
1 Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the people of Israel, saying, “This is what the LORD has commanded. 2 If a man vows a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. 3 “If a woman vows a vow to the LORD and binds herself by a pledge, while within her father’s house in her youth, 4 and her father hears of her vow and of her pledge by which she has bound herself and says nothing to her, then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand. 5 But if her father opposes her on the day that he hears of it, no vow of hers, no pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand. And the LORD will forgive her, because her father opposed her. 6 “If she marries a husband, while under her vows or any thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she has bound herself, 7 and her husband hears of it and says nothing to her on the day that he hears, then her vows shall stand, and her pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. 8 But if, on the day that her husband comes to hear of it, he opposes her, then he makes void her vow that was on her, and the thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she bound herself. And the LORD will forgive her. 9 (But any vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, anything by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her.) 10 And if she vowed in her husband’s house or bound herself by a pledge with an oath, 11 and her husband heard of it and said nothing to her and did not oppose her, then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she bound herself shall stand. 12 But if her husband makes them null and void on the day that he hears them, then whatever proceeds out of her lips concerning her vows or concerning her pledge of herself shall not stand. Her husband has made them void, and the LORD will forgive her. 13 Any vow and any binding oath to afflict herself, her husband may establish, or her husband may make void. 14 But if her husband says nothing to her from day to day, then he establishes all her vows or all her pledges that are upon her. He has established them, because he said nothing to her on the day that he heard of them. 15 But if he makes them null and void after he has heard of them, then he shall bear her iniquity.” 16 These are the statutes that the LORD commanded Moses about a man and his wife and about a father and his daughter while she is in her youth within her father’s house.
Numbers 30:1-16 ESV
If we say that we are going to do something for the Lord then we should fulfill that vow. If you made a rash vow then we need to repent and ask God to forgive us for that. This is a promise made to the Lord that was falsified. That’s a big deal. It’s not something to just sweep under the rug, but people treat it as if it is. It’s even a joke you’ve probably seen in a sitcom.
“We take God’s name in vain when we falsify our promise. An example of this would be if we say that if God spares our life we will do a certain thing, but we never intend to do it.”
Thomas Watson, “The Ten Commandments”
The application to this is simple. Are there any things that you have vowed to God that you should not have? Or are there things that you need to be doing right now or changes you need to make to fulfill vows you’ve made to God?
DO NOT CURSE THE NAME OF THE LORD
I think this is more in line with what we typically think of when we discuss taking the Lord’s name in vain. And it is what happened in Indiana Jones that I mentioned in the introduction. It is speaking of God’s name in any way that is profane, irreverent, or contemptuous.
Some examples of this are:
- Using the name of God, or any person of the Trinity, attached to a curse word.
- Using God’s name or the name of any person of the Trinity in idle talk or in an irreverent way. An example of this would be calling Jesus your “homeboy”.
As I think about all the ways that I can go wrong in this area, Watson’s words ring all the truer.
The tongue is full of deadly poison (James 3:8). There is no part of the body that breaks forth more in God’s dishonor than the tongue. We have this commandment, therefore, as a bridle for the tongue, to bind it to good behavior.”
Thomas Watson, “The Ten Commandments”
TAKING THE NAME OF A CHRISTIAN THEN LIVING A LIFE THAT DISHONORS GOD’S NAME
A person who names the name of Christ an then lives a life that is filled with sin is dishonoring God’s name by the life they live. We see this idea in Ezekiel 36:22-27, especially the first few verses of that text.
“To hear a wicked person who delights in sin talk about God and Christianity is very offensive to God. It is taking His name in vain. When the Word of God is in a drunkard’s mouth, it is like a pearl hung upon swine! Under the law, the lips of the leper were to be covered (Leviticus 13:45). The lips of a profane, drunken professor of Christianity ought to be covered too for he is unfit to speak God’s Word because he takes God’s name in vain.”
Thomas Watson, “The Ten Commandments”
We take God’s name in vain when we profess God’s name, but do not live answerably to it. They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him (Titus 1:16).
Thomas Watson, “The Ten Commandments”
DO NOT APPLY TO GOD’S WORD SOMETHING GOD DID NOT SAY OR MEAN
The simple idea here is that we should not attribute to God anything that He did not say in His Word. If He did not say it do not say that He said it. This is one aspect of breaking this command that I did not even consider before reading Watson’s Book, “The Ten Commandments”. So, I will quote from him a few more times in this section.
How do we come to a position where we attribute our own ideas as being something that God said. Well, I think it happens through a high view of our own self and a low view of God. And I also think this happens when people have a low view of God’s Word. When God’s Word is not treated as God’s Word but instead is treated as a word from people about God this sort of thing happens.
So here I will give you a few quotes from Watson discussing this very thing.
“We take God’s name in vain when we profane and abuse His Word in any way. The Word of God is profaned, in general, when profane people meddle with it.”
Thomas Watson, “The Ten Commandments”
“The Word, which was written for the defeat of sin is used by some people to try to defend sin.”
Thomas Watson, “The Ten Commandments”
“Those people are heretics who put their own explanation upon Scripture and try to make it say that which the Holy Spirit never meant…”
Thomas Watson, “The Ten Commandments”
“When people strain their minds to twist the Word to whatever sense pleases them, they profane God’s Word and often in doing so also take God’s name in vain.”
Thomas Watson, “The Ten Commandments”
Reverence and Honor God’s Name
The command seeks to cause us to honor God’s name by commanding us not to dishonor it. So, this means the positive behavior that this command seeks to induce is that of reverence and honor to God’s name. And this seems to be the sentiment that Jesus taught in the Lord’s Prayer when we are to pray, “Hallowed be Your Name”.
Our thoughts of God should be of deep admiration and honor. This is difficult in our day. There is very little reverence given to anyone or anything it seems, but it should not be so for us. We should be people who honor God’s name. We should be people who desire for God’s name to be “hallowed”. This command should move us to honor the name of God, and this includes all three persons of the Trinity. We should be filled with honor and reverence at the name of God.
The Penalty
The last part of this command is chilling, “for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain”.
There is a steep penalty for taking the name of the LORD in vain. God has promised to avenge this sin.
Now, as we have been accustomed to do, I am going to end by looking at the three uses of the Law and seeing how we can apply what we just discussed through that lens.
Mirror: We see the pimples on our face as we gaze into the mirror of God’s Law. We see things we should repent of and seek forgiveness in. This drives us to Christ as we consider past vows broken and other times we’ve used God’s name in vain.
Civil: Though it’s hard to see how our society would pass a law against profaning the One True God’s name, I do believe that we should be people who honor God’s name in the public square. I also think that a society that blasphemes as much as this one does is in for trouble at some point down the line. There is also a tremendous plague in our country of people claiming that God said things that He didn’t say. This country is storing up wrath for itself.
Guide: We can see that it pleases God to use His name in a reverent and honoring way.
R. Dwain Minor