42.y. “Wilderness” – 7.f. Sinai – “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain”

 

Exodus 20:7  “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.

Leviticus 24:11-16    and the Israelite woman’s son blasphemed the Name, and cursed. Then they brought him to Moses. His mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.  And they put him in custody, till the will of the LORD should be clear to them.  Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,  “Bring out of the camp the one who cursed, and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him.  And speak to the people of Israel, saying, Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin.  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.

 James 5:12    But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

There are at least three ways this command is commonly disobeyed.

· Profanity: Using the name of God in blasphemy and cursing.

· Frivolity: Using the name of God in a superficial, stupid way.

· Hypocrisy: Claiming the name of God but acting in a way that disgraces Him

Jesus communicated the idea of this command in the disciples’ prayer when He taught us to have a regard for the holiness of God’s name (Hallowed be Your name, Matthew 6:9). (Guzik)

 You shall not use the name of God, either in oaths or in common discourse, lightly, rashly, irreverently, or unnecessarily, or without weighty or sufficient cause. (Poole)

Thou shall not take the name of the Lord God in vain,…. Make use of the name Lord or God, or any other name and epithet of the divine Being, in a light and trifling way, without any show of reverence of him, and affection to him; whereas the name of God ought never to be mentioned but in a grave and serious manner, and with an awe of the greatness of his majesty upon the mind. For the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name is vain; will not look upon him as an innocent person, and treat him as such; will not acquit and discharge him as just and righteous; but on the contrary will consider him as a guilty person, a profaner of his name, and a transgressor of his law, and will condemn and punish him, if not in this world, yet in the world to come. (Gill)

The word prohibits all employment of the name of God for vain and unworthy objects, and includes not only false swearing, which is condemned in Leviticus 19:12 as a profanation of the name of Jehovah, but trivial swearing in the ordinary intercourse of life, and every use of the name of God in the service of untruth and lying, for imprecation, witchcraft, or conjuring; whereas the true employment of the name of God is confined to “invocation, prayer, praise, and thanksgiving,” which proceeds from a pure, believing heart. (Brown)

It is important for each of us to have a proper reverence for God. There are so many ways to get this wrong in our lives. Proper reverence will seek and desire to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all we think, say, and do. When our lives are consumed with worldly stuff and the busyness of life we will become neglectful and complacent in the Word of God and Things of God will become less and less important. What do we suppose will influence our lives, one hour on a Sunday listening to a sermon, or careful and desire-full daily reading of His Word with the intentional choice to be led in both thought, speech, and acts that honor and glorify Him? How much time a day do we not even give a thought to or about God? How many times is God’s name profaned by minimizing it with “omg” in response to something on social media? How many times is God’s name used in jokes about heaven and hell? How many times is His name used cursing? Far too many! The shallowness of commitment to the Word of God and the Things of God will leave a person void of reverence for God. In this shallow commitment, there is no concern for Honor and Glory to God. “this people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. They worship me in vain” (Mark 7:6-7)

The ease with which people are neglecting God’s Word and the Things of God is surely a sign of the times and the return of Jesus Christ. 

32.p. “But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.”

 

Matthew 12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this means, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” He went on from there and entered their synagogue. And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse him. He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

Matthew just quoted Jesus offering us an easy yoke and a light burden. Now he shows us the kind of heavy burdens and hard yokes the religious leaders put upon the people. When the disciples began to pluck the heads of grain, in the eyes of the religious leaders they were guilty of: reaping, threshing, preparing food. At this time, many rabbis filled Judaism with elaborate rituals related to the Sabbath and observance of other laws. Ancient rabbis taught that on the Sabbath a man could not carry something in his right hand or in his left hand, across his chest or on his shoulder; but he could carry something with the back of his hand, with his foot, elbow, or in the ear, on the hair, in the hem of his shirt, or in his shoe or sandal. On the Sabbath one was forbidden to tie a knot – except a woman could tie a knot in her girdle. So if a bucket of water had to be raised from a well, one could not tie a rope to the bucket, but a woman could tie her girdle to the bucket and then to the rope.

Remember it had been over 400 years since a prophet of God had been among them. It is important to note that left to our own wisdom, man will attempt to do things that seem right in their own eyes to make themselves worthy or acceptable before God. The religious leaders set heavy burdens and rules on the people. When you make the rules it is easy to point out all of the actions that break them. Calling out Jesus’s disciples for picking heads of grain to eat indicates they were out there watching and hoping to catch them breaking a law of God. They were searching for some way to accuse Jesus and stop all of the people from following after Him. 

Jesus departs from the field and went straight to the synagogue and exposed their hypocrisy. Where is the mercy in not healing a person because of the day of the week? Jesus had compassion, power, and wisdom. The pharisees had hardness of their hearts, rejection, and retaliation.  A man was healed of a useless hand and it was restored. What Law was broken? If the Pharisees did not fully despise Jesus they certainly became single minded in their plot against Him. 

A person can always find reason to reject Jesus fully or in part. The end is the same, trusting and reliance in self-worth before God. No one will be right with God on their own and their own ideas of worthiness. It is only in and through Jesus Christ and humbly surrendering, repenting, believing, following, trusting, and relying on Him, that our sin is wiped away and we become sons of the living God. Jesus takes away the heavy burden people place on themselves to be worthy of eternal life. Try as hard as they want there is no peace or rest in their soul. They are forever searching and never finding because they search through works and not through surrender of self, and belief, trust, faith, and reliance in Jesus Christ.

Examine your mind and the actions you do.  Are they for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ or for somehow to balance the good and bad ledger book of your life before God. 

114. Your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray.

1 Samuel 25:36   And Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk. So she told him nothing at all until the morning light. In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. And about ten days later the Lord struck Nabal, and he died.

When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be the Lord who has avenged the insult I received at the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his servant from wrongdoing. The Lord has returned the evil of Nabal on his own head.”

2 Samuel 3:28-29    Afterward, when David heard of it, he said, “I and my kingdom are forever guiltless before the LORD for the blood of Abner the son of Ner.  May it fall upon the head of Joab and upon all his father’s house, and may the house of Joab never be without one who has a discharge or who is leprous or who holds a spindle or who falls by the sword or who lacks bread!”

1 Kings 2:44    The king also said to Shimei, “You know in your own heart all the harm that you did to David my father. So the LORD will bring back your harm on your own head.

Psalms 7:16   His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends.

Psalms 37:12-13   but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming.

Isaiah 47:10 You felt secure in your wickedness; you said, “No one sees me”; your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, and you said in your heart, “I am, and there is no one besides me.”  But evil shall come upon you, which you will not know how to charm away; disaster shall fall upon you, for which you will not be able to atone; and ruin shall come upon you suddenly, of which you know nothing.

Psalms 52:7    “See the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches and sought refuge in his own destruction!”

Ecclesiastes 8:8    No man has power to retain the spirit, or power over the day of death.

W. Alderman – When a person puts his confidence in that which he has, including money, he is doomed to failure./riches trust in their riches only. Unless the word of God speaks into their life there is no hope for them.n is now.  The day of commitment is now.  The day of forgiveness is now.  The day of bringing to live for Jesus is now.  Anything that causes us to take our eyes off of Jesus will get us out of focus spiritually. The love of money can certainly do this. When they trust their money and their job for their provisions they are out of focus spiritually and no longer know where they were going.  The trusting in riches lays a snare that will trap you suddenly and it will hinder your faith. a snare that will trap you suddenly and it will hinder your faith.  The love of money traps many a good person. It happens so suddenly.  There are many lusts that will consume the person who follows after riches. Money has a way of causing displaced trust. Instead of trusting God for the needed provisions, those who trust in wealth/riches trust in their riches only.

Unless the word of God speaks into their life there is no hope for them.  They become self-centered and consciously or unconsciously make decisions that affect and harm others.  Their money/wealth has gone to their head and heart and they trust in this alone.     Psalms 52:7    “See the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches and sought refuge in his own destruction!”    They did not obey God.  They did not honor God. They do not have reverence for God. In protecting their riches they make decisions that cause harm to others. They are boastful, arrogant, prideful, seekers of pleasure, and give no thought to the day of judgment or their day of death. In their foolish wisdom and knowledge, they have cast God aside.  How many people have died thinking they have time to make things right with God?  How many have died and not given any thought to the judgment they will face?

The day of salvation is now. The day of forgiveness is now. The day of commitment is now.   The day of beginning to live for Jesus is now.

Open Ear Warnings

then he opens the ears of men and terrifies them with warnings,”

Psalms 40:6  In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.

Psalms 51:16   For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.

1 Samuel 15:22    And Samuel said, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.

Isaiah 1:11   “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.

Jeremiah 7:21  Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat the flesh.  For in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices.  But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’

Hosea 6:6    For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Matthew 9:13   Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Matthew 12:7   And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.

Hebrews 10:5  Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me;  in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.  Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”  When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law),  then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second.  And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.  And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.  But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,

John 7:15  The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?”  So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.  If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.

Isaiah 50:4  The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught.  The Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not backward.

Proverbs 15:23    To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is!

God opens the ear of man and terrifies them with warnings!  He does this so that we freely choose to listen, follow, and obey Him.  How many times are we trying to make ourself right before God but in the end it is only right in our own eyes.  God wants willful obedience from us, not our attempts to cover up or atone for the things we are doing in disregard of Him.  Why is it so hard to deny self and live for Him?  We choose to open His word and read it.  We choose to stay close to Him.  We choose to listen to His leading.  We choose to follow His path and purpose for our life.  We choose to serve Him.  We choose to obey Him.  We choose to honor and glorify Him.  What choice are you making today?