heaven earth – Praying Pint

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.

35.m. “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?”

Genesis 3:8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Job 34:21-22  “For his eyes are on the ways of a man, and he sees all his steps.  There is no gloom or deep darkness where evildoers may hide themselves.

Psalms 139:1-12 O LORD, you have searched me and known me!  You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.  You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.  Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.  You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.  Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?  If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!  If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,  even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.

Proverbs 15:3   The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.

Job 34:22  There is no gloom or deep darkness where evildoers may hide themselves.

Jeremiah 23:24   Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD.

Romans 2:15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them

Hebrews 4:13   And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Adam and Eve knew that their attempt to cover themselves failed. They didn’t proudly show off their fig-leaf outfits; they knew their own covering was completely inadequate, and they were embarrassed before God. “Where are you?” Obviously God knew where Adam and Eve were. Could the question have been asked to arouse their sense of being lost, or to confess sin, or to show God seeks after man, or to show that that we have accountability before God on the choices we make?

God’s question demanded an answer. They couldn’t refuse to answer God the way a criminal might keep silent when questioned. “In our courts of law, we do not require men to answer questions which would incriminate them, but God does; and, at the last great day, the ungodly will be condemned on their own confession of guilt” (Spurgeon).

Upon this first sin man no longer was looking for God or with expectant hope of seeing and talking with God. They would not seek Him out, but God sought them out.

Observe the steps of the transgression: not steps upward, but downward toward the pit. 1. She saw. A great deal of sin comes in at the eye. Let us not look on that which we are in danger of lusting after, Mt 5:28. 2. She took. It was her own act and deed. Satan may tempt, but he cannot force; may persuade us to cast ourselves down, but he cannot cast us down, Mt 4:6. 3. She did eat. When she looked perhaps she did not intend to take; or when she took, not to eat: but it ended in that. It is wisdom to stop the first motions of sin, and to leave it off before it be meddled with. 4. She gave it also to her husband with her. Those that have done ill, are willing to draw in others to do the same. 5. He did eat. In neglecting the tree of life, of which he was allowed to eat, and eating of the tree of knowledge, which was forbidden, Adam plainly showed a contempt of what God had bestowed on him, and a desire for what God did not see fit to give him. He would have what he pleased, and do what he pleased. His sin was, in one word, disobedience, Ro 5:19; disobedience to a plain, easy, and express command. He had no corrupt nature within, to betray him; but had a freedom of will, in full strength, not weakened or impaired. He turned aside quickly. He drew all his posterity into sin and ruin. Who then can say that Adam’s sin had but little harm in it? When too late, Adam and Eve saw the folly of eating forbidden fruit. They saw the happiness they fell from, and the misery they were fallen into. They saw a loving God provoked, his grace and favour forfeited. See her what dishonour and trouble sin is; it makes mischief wherever it gets in, and destroys all comfort. Sooner or later it will bring shame; either the shame of true repentance, which ends in glory, or that shame and everlasting contempt, to which the wicked shall rise at the great day. See here what is commonly the folly of those that have sinned. They have more care to save their credit before men, than to obtain their pardon from God. The excuses men make to cover and lessen their sins, are vain and frivolous; like the aprons of fig-leaves, they make the matter never the better: yet we are all apt to cover our transgressions as Adam. Before they sinned, they would have welcomed God’s gracious visits with humble joy; but now he was become a terror to them. No marvel that they became a terror to themselves, and full of confusion. This shows the falsehood of the tempter, and the frauds of his temptations. Satan promised they should be safe, but they cannot so much as think themselves so! Adam and Eve were now miserable comforters to each other! (Henry)

The sinful conscience flees God’s presence, at least tries to. Man will try to hide their sin, shame, and guilt by any means possible. They will even try to deny it or justify it. How far has man continued to fall away from God in their justification of sinful acts of disobedience? Nothing is hidden from God no matter how hard a person tries to hide it or deny it.

6.j. The faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.

Revelation 3:14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.

John 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:14     And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Colossians 1:13     He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

Psalms 89:27     And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.

John 3:16     “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Hebrews 1:6    And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”

Proverbs 8:22-30   “The LORD possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old.  Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth.  When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water.  Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth,  before he had made the earth with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world.  When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,  when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep,  when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth,  then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always,

It is a mystery to even begin to partially understand the depth of the Triune God. We read of the “faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation”, Firstborn, The Word was with God and was God, Word becoming flesh dwelling among us, beloved Son, For by Him all things were created, He is the beginning, the Firstborn from the dead, He is the head of the body – the church, let all God’s angels worship Him, I was beside Him, rejoicing before Him always”

It is He who is speaking to the Church, us. It is He who is giving us warning, encouragement, promises, and hope. It is He to whom we either live for with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength or whom we disregard most of our waking moments and give little thought or worship too. We do well to think about who it is that called us and opened our hearts and minds to salvation, redemption, and the need for repentance and forgiveness. Intentionally choose to examine your life before our Lord Jesus Christ and determine if you are walking worthy of the Son of God and the price He paid for your sin.

73. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.

Joshua 8:34 And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law. There was not a word of all that Moses commanded that Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the sojourners who lived among them.

Deuteronomy 31:10-12    And Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the set time in the year of release, at the Feast of Booths,  when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing.  Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law,

Nehemiah 8:2-3     So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month.  And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.

Nehemiah 9:3    And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day; for another quarter of it they made confession and worshiped the LORD their God.

Deuteronomy 30:15-20     “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil.  If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.  But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them,  I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess.  I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live,  loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

There was times past when God’s word was read to an entire nation, a time spent listening to His word and time spent in confession and time spent in worship. It is hard for us to imagine what it would be like to not have God’s written word immediately available and easily accessible. Wh don’t have to wait until there is a special day for His word to be read to us, we can read it at anytime we choose. Is it possible that His word is so readily available that we don’t find the need to spend time in it every day? Is it possible that because it is so accessible that we just tuck it away until we think we need it?

God’s word is not to be seen or used as a remedy quick fix book for when we come to hard times or sickness, or troubles, or trials. God’s word is to be food for every moment of every day. His word is to be so needed that it is consumed like the very air we need and breath. If His word is not active in your life is it possible that it is void from your choice of needing it, relying on it, clinging to it, wanting it??????

Choose to spend time in His word, neglecting it will always lead to your heart, mind and soul drifting away from Him.

40. There is none like you, O LORD

Deuteronomy 3:24 “And I pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying, ‘O Lord God, you have only begun to show your servant your greatness and your mighty hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as yours?

Nehemiah 9:32     “Now, therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love, let not all the hardship seem little to you that has come upon us,

Psalms 106:2     Who can utter the mighty deeds of the LORD, or declare all his praise?

Psalms 145:3     Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.

Psalms 145:6     They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness.

Deuteronomy 11:2    And consider today (since I am not speaking to your children who have not known or seen it), consider the discipline of the LORD your God, his greatness, his mighty hand and his outstretched arm,

Exodus 15:11     “Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?

Jeremiah 32:18-21    You show steadfast love to thousands, but you repay the guilt of fathers to their children after them, O great and mighty God, whose name is the LORD of hosts,  great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of man, rewarding each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds.  You have shown signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and to this day in Israel and among all mankind, and have made a name for yourself, as at this day.  You brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and outstretched arm, and with great terror.

Psalms 71:19    Your righteousness, O God, reaches the high heavens. You who have done great things, O God, who is like you?

Jeremiah 10:6     There is none like you, O LORD; you are great, and your name is great in might.

2 Samuel 7:22    Therefore you are great, O LORD God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

Isaiah 40:25    To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One.

Isaiah 40:18     To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?

If you were asked who is God or what is God how would you reply? Our understanding of Him starts with; Romans 1:19-20 For what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. Psalms 19:1-6 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.

We would answer the question based on our understanding and knowledge of Him, our relationship with Him, and our closeness to Him. Time with Him and time spent seeking Him and time spent desiring Him and time spent worshiping Him, and time spent praying to Him, and time spent relying on Him, and time spent trusting Him and time spent hoping in Him, and time spent clinging to Him, and time spent following Him, and time spent obeying Him, and time spent listening to Him, and time spent in His word all develop, grow and nurture how we would answer these questions.

Think how hard it would be to answer these questions if you neglect or become complacent in your walk with Him. Even if you have a close walk with Him we seem to be limited in an adequate reply. All the words of the world would not scratch the surface of who God is. That is how awesome He is.

These lyrics of a song by Natalie Grant explain how we limit God by how we think of Him:

I tried to fit you in the walls inside my mind. I try to keep you safely in between the lines, I try to put you in the box that I’ve designed. I try to pull you down so we are eye to eye.

When did I forget that you’ve always been the king of the world? I try to take life back right out of the hands of the king of the world. How could I make you so small? When you’re the one who holds it all. When did I forget that you’ve always been the king of the world?

Just a whisper of your voice can tame the seas. So who am I to try to take the lead. Still, I run ahead and think I’m strong enough. When you’re the one who made me from the dust.

Oh, you set it all in motion. Every single moment. You brought it all to me. And you’re holding on to me.

None Like Him

“To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?”

Exodus 15:11 “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?

Deuteronomy 3:24     ‘O Lord GOD, you have only begun to show your servant your greatness and your mighty hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as yours?

1 Samuel 2:2     “There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.

2 Samuel 7:22     Therefore you are great, O LORD God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

1 Kings 8:23     and said, “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart;

Psalms 35:10    All my bones shall say, “O LORD, who is like you, delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him, the poor and needy from him who robs him?”

Psalms 86:8     There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours.

Jeremiah 10:16    Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob, for he is the one who formed all things, and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; the LORD of hosts is his name.

Jeremiah 10:6    There is none like you, O LORD; you are great, and your name is great in might.

Isaiah 40:25     To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One.

Psalms 89:6-8     For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD? Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD,  a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all who are around him?  O LORD God of hosts, who is mighty as you are, O LORD, with your faithfulness all around you?

Isaiah 57:15     For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.

We try to imagine what God is like so we can comprehend Him. Yet there is none like Him. He inhabits eternity and dwells in a high and holy place. Scripture does not stop there, it also says that God also dwells with those having a contrite and lowly spirit. There is none other like Him. None mighty as He is. None loving as He. None who reached out to His creation with a redemptive plan of salvation like Him. None who promised eternal life like Him. None who can forgive sin like Him. None who has steadfast love like Him. None who strengthens our spirit like Him. None who knows our thoughts like Him. None who can give us peace like Him. None who can lift up the weak and make the strong fall like Him. None who can move nations like Him. None who can soften a heart like Him. No there is none like Him and we do well to live, act, speak and think in all our ways, to humbly serve, honor, glorify, follow, and obey Him.

They forgot Me

Deuteronomy 31:20 For when I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to give to their fathers, and they have eaten and are full and grown fat, they will turn to other gods and serve them, and despise me and break my covenant. And when many evils and troubles have come upon them, this song shall confront them as a witness (for it will live unforgotten in the mouths of their offspring). For I know what they are inclined to do even today, before I have brought them into the land that I swore to give.” So Moses wrote this song the same day and taught it to the people of Israel. And the LORD commissioned Joshua the son of Nun and said, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the people of Israel into the land that I swore to give them. I will be with you.” When Moses had finished writing the words of this law in a book to the very end, Moses commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, “Take this Book of the Law and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against you. For I know how rebellious and stubborn you are. Behold, even today while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the LORD. How much more after my death! Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears and call heaven and earth to witness against them. For I know that after my death you will surely act corruptly and turn aside from the way that I have commanded you. And in the days to come evil will befall you, because you will do what is evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger through the work of your hands.”

Hosea 13:6 but when they had grazed, they became full, they were filled, and their heart was lifted up; therefore they forgot me.

Our life this side of eternity has many trials, temptations, troubles, blessings, joyous moments, and precious peace.

Hope, faith, and trust in God during times of trials, temptations, and troubles yields blessings, joyous moments, and precious peace. No one wants trials, temptations, or troubles in their life. It is in these times that we grow in our understanding and knowledge of the awesome love and power of God. Yet it is deep within our sinful nature to forget God, the need for God, how worthy He is of honor, glory, and praise, and soon become complacent, neglectful, and deaf to hear His whispers of guiding, purpose, love, joy, rest, peace, courage, grace, and mercy, when “they became full, they were filled, and their heart was lifted up; therefore they forgot me” . Humble service to Him leaves our thoughts. Seeing His creation and praising His awesome power and might is gone.

God gave us instruction on how to fight this sinful nature of complacency and neglect. “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates,“