Taking the LORD’s name in vain

 

What Does Exodus 20 Mean by Taking the Lord's Name in Vain?

Exodus 20 is one of the most cited passages in Scripture. The reason being is that in this chapter God delivers the Ten Commandments to Moses and his brother Aaron, who are then tasked with sharing these with the Jews. Moses acted as interpreter, while Aaron was the communicator (Exodus 4:10-14). This all takes place on Mount Sinai, the later location for Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. In this passage of Exodus 20, God communicates each of the Ten Commandments. Each commandment God speaks receives its own verse in the passage. The third commandment within the list is the one says to not take God’s name in vain.

“Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God, because the Lord will not leave anyone unpunished who misuses his name.” (Exodus 20:7)

After Moses and Aaron receive the commandments, they venture back down the mountain to the other Israelites. They find their people to be very frightened by the sounds and smoke they witnessed on the mountain (Exodus 20:18). The Israelites never went up the mountain, per God’s requirement, but did witness what they could from a distance. And after Moses encourages the people to not be afraid, he also tells them to build an altar to the Lord. He mentions specific requirements for this altar and indicates its use will be for burnt and fellowship offerings (Exodus 20:24). By doing as the Lord commands, He promises to bless them.

In the entirety of this passage, God is direct about what He wants and what He does not. However, less clear is understanding how certain rules should be carried out. The reason the Ten Commandments are open to misinterpretation is that some rules lack indication of best practice. For example, people often differ on how to honor mothers and fathers because people exist in different cultures and have been raised differently. Certain cultures pay more emphasis to grandparents, while others to younger adult parents. Some people have been blessed with loving parents, while others had abusive parents.

Similarly, there is confusion about using Lord’s name in vain. Clearly, this is something God does not want. There is even a promise of punishment for people who break this command. Yet, how do we avoid it? For us to better understand the meaning of this verse we have to first understand the definitions of vain and misuse. Vain can indicate a preoccupation with self or mean that something is worthless. The word misuse means to misappropriate something by using it for an unintended purpose.

This is why people misinterpret the commandment. Casually saying, “Oh my God,” suggests a lack of importance in God’s name. Accidentally misquoting God as saying something that actually doesn’t appear in Scripture would be an example of misuse. What this commandment really means is to misappropriate God’s teaching for malpractices. As Dennis Pragerdescribes this commandment, “the worst sin is committing evil in God’s name.” He goes on to say that in the original Hebrew translation, the commandment reads, “do not carry,” as opposed to “do not take.”

Kevin DeYoung shared with Crossway.org, “The word vain (as it’s rendered in the ESV) can mean “empty,” “nothing,” “worthless,” or “to no good purpose.” We are forbidden, therefore, from taking the name of God (or taking up the name or bearing the name, as the phrase could be translated) in a manner that is wicked, worthless, or for wrong purposes.”

What are some of these wrong purposes? Leviticus 19:12 and Hosea 10:4 mention not swearing falsely with God’s name. God’s name should not be used to deceive others. Jeremiah 23:25says not to prophesy lies in God’s name, and Leviticus 18:21 even mentions child sacrifice to Molech as something that would profane the name of the Lord. There are other mentions as well like Leviticus 22:2concerning touching the holy things unlawfully. God’s name is who He is; the Bible is full of exaltation for God’s name and gives glory for all God has done. So doing evil in connection with God’s name and leading others astray with God’s name is a violation against God, who He is, and all that He stands for.

What Else Does the Bible Say about Taking the Lord's Name in Vain and How We Use It?

“Therefore, I tell you, people will be forgiven every sin and blasphemy, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven” (Matthew 12:31).

It is important to note that blaspheming the Holy Spirit is not a one-time sin; it is a persistent rejection of God’s grace through the Holy Spirit, a continual hardening of the heart, denial of Jesus Christ as the Savior. An example would be the association by some that Jesus was connected with Satan – the Pharisees and Scribes accused Jesus of casting out demons by the prince of demons (Matthew 12:22-24 and Mark 3:22).

“Stop fighting, and know that I am God, exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.” (Psalm 46:10)

In many places throughout the Bible, we see a variety of different people exalting God’s name. To exalt is to emphasize importance. Each time someone exalts God’s name, they render Him important for themselves and also for others. The Bible encourages us to call on the Lord, whether in prayer, song, or in conversation. Throughout the Psalms, we receive a number of passages reflecting our various emotions toward God. Sometimes we feel close to Him, and at other times we feel far away.

With the various people in the Bible such as David, Paul, or Jesus, they were tasked with spreading God’s message to others. In order to successfully perform what God sent them to do, they would have to teach, not the message they preferred, but rather the message they were given. If any of the significant Bible figures chose not to preach God’s work, but preach their own and for evil purposes, that would bring ruin upon their listeners and also defame God’s holy name.

Therefore, what we can conclude is that misusing the Lord’s name is not as simplistic as saying statements like, “Oh my God,” even if such statements are inappropriate. The wrong use of the Lord’s name, the one the Bible warns against is using God’s name for evil. Doing that would require much more intent, effort, and indicate that we do not have the right relationship with God.

Simply telling someone what they are doing is wrong is not enough. We should strive to exalt His name and do what the figures in the Bible did before us. If we want others to follow God, we need to share His teachings, not our own.

Well, that's a quote from the Ten Commandments: "Don't take the name of the Lord your God in vain." The idea of vanity (and I think the Hebrew carries this connotation) is "don't empty the name."

So it doesn't just refer to a certain tone of voice or a certain use of the word. It's dealing with God and speaking of God in a way that empties him of his significance.

This includes both throw-away words—like "God!" or "Jesus!"—as well as speaking about him in trifling and flippant ways. Not just swear ways but cheap ways, low and insignificant ways that just treat him like a commodity. And when you hear them you sense that there is no weight to that sentence, no corresponding emotion to that statement. It seems to have just been gutted.

God, Christ, the cross, the things he is, and the things he did are great, and they're weighty. And there's a certain corresponding demeanor of worship that should be there.

So I think taking the Lord's name in vain is more than "O my God!" or "Jesus Christ!" It is that plus more.

The positive way to look at it is to revere God, love God, delight in God, know God, fill up God with all that he is. And then, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth will speak.

I think it is far better to take the commandments and not focus so much on the negative—that is "don't lie, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't kill"—but rather focus on where those come from, and put the emphasis there. And here, "don't take his name in vain" would mean that you take his name in vain because he is empty to you. Your mind doesn't feel the weight and fullness of his glory.

So that's the key: vain is empty. Don't empty God of his weight and his glory. Fill it up rather than emptying it.

© Desiring God 2009. See original post here.  This is an edited transcript of the audio. By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org

Additional Commentary on Exodus 20:7

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. The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan restrain this to swearing by the name of the Lord; and so the Jewish writers generally interpret it either of swearing lightly, rashly, or falsely; and to this it may very well be extended, though not limited; and so forbids, as all profane oaths; imprecations, and curses by the name of God, which the mouths of wicked men are full of, so swearing by it in matters trivial, and of no importance; for swearing even by the name of the Lord ought not to be used but in matters of moment and consequence, for the confirmation of a thing, and putting an end to strife, and where a matter cannot be determined and decided without an appeal to God. And great care should be taken that a man swears to that which is true, and not false; for false swearing, or perjury, is a very grievous sin, and as it is strictly forbidden, it is severely punished by the Lord" 

The third commandment does, of course, address speech and oaths. And casually invoking God’s name for emphasis indeed trivializes what the Bible reveals to be holy. But there’s more than one way to misuse the name of God, more than one way to take his name in vain, and some of those ways are far more dangerous than just “swearing.”

“To speak the Lord’s name, unless instructed to do so, is to wrap yourself in the divine mantle, to summon God in support of your own purposes,” Leon Kass writes in his commentary on Exodus. “In the guise of beseeching the Lord in His majesty and grace, one behaves as if one were His lord and master. One behaves, in other words, like Pharaoh.”

To usurp the authority of God as a means to an end—even a good one—is, the Bible tells us, a pagan act. Much of the Old Testament is a rebuke to the “prophets” who speak where God has not spoken, especially to prop up the power of some political or religious institution. God also condemns as “vain” those who would come before him to worship while their “hands are full of blood” from acting unjustly toward vulnerable women and children (Isa. 1:12–17, ESV).

Sexual abuse, in any context and by any institution, is a grave atrocity. It’s worse when this horror is committed—or covered up—by leveraging personal or institutional trust. But using the very name of Jesus to carry out such wickedness against those he loves and values is a special evil. When sexual abuse happens within a church, violence is added to violence—sexual, physical, emotional, and spiritual. Predators know this power is great, which is why they weaponize even the most beautiful concepts—grace or forgiveness or Matthew 18 or the life of David.

It’s also why institutions seeking to protect themselves will take on the name of Jesus to say that victims, survivors, or whistleblowers are compromising “the mission” or creating “disunity in the body” when they point out horrors.

But God will not long abide the misuse of his name for those who worship their own twisted appetites. When abominations are in the temple, hidden as they may be, the glory of God departs (Ezek. 8–10). And when Jesus sees what God called a “house of prayer for all peoples” turned into a den of robbers, he knows how to clear it out—so that the children can sing in safety once again (Isa. 56:7; Matt. 21:12–16, ESV).

When we see what has been done in the guise of the Jesus we love, in the name of the gospel we cherish, we must pray for him to bring justice and to end the vain use of the sweetest name we know. We must pray for him to clean our institutions built around that name, even if it means some don’t survive the truth.

When I was growing up, I was told to use God’s name in church, prayer, or other spiritual contexts, but to say “God” in an irreligious way—after stubbing a toe or losing a game—was to break the commandment: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain” (Exod 20:7). While I still refrain from saying “God” outside of religious discourse, this verse doesn’t mean what I was told growing up. When the Bible proscribes taking the Lord’s name in vain, it does not refer to saying “God” as an exclamation or expletive; instead, it prohibits invoking the divine name in an oath, and then failing to fulfill that oath. 

In ancient Israel, an oath was a solemn statement that began חי־יהוה (chai Adonai)—“as the Lord lives”—and meant: “If I don’t fulfill the following oath, may the Lord who lives strike me dead!” For example, after Jonathan convinced Saul not to kill David, “Saul swore, ‘As the Lord lives (חי־יהוה; chai Adonai), he shall not be put to death’” (1 Sam 19:6). Saul’s oath means that if David dies at Saul’s hand, then Saul also deserves to die.

The Hebrew word commonly translated “take” in Exod 20:7 is נשא (nasa), meaning to “bear” or “lift up.” Invoking God’s “name” (שׁם; shem) means bearing it, just like Aaron was to “bear” (נשא; nasa) the names (שׁמות; shemot) of the Israelites” on his breastplate (Exod 28:29). As a bearer of God’s name, the oath-taker must accomplish the sworn oath, or else…. Yeshua protected his followers from taking God’s name in vain when he said to “not swear at all” (Matt 5:34) – that way, you’ll never swear an oath that you might not fulfill, so you can rest assured that you’ll never break the commandment!