God is guiding us out of the land of slavery into a place of freedom and love. This is what the 10 Commandments are for: They lead us to the freedom of praising God.
Third Word
“You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.” (Ex. 20:7)
Some say…
Some say this command is primarily about swearing, cursing, or making oaths in God’s name. We are told not to use God’s name in vain by not using it to guarantee promises or by calling down curses. Others see this command linked to practicing of divination or magic, using the divine name for activities of witchcraft.
All in all the focus is on our words, what we are saying, and how God’s name should not be misused among all our other words.
But what if…
But what if the third word isn’t mainly about the words we speak but the lives we live?
What if the third word—and remember we are trying to see these words as offering freedom and life—what if this word is all about praising God, using our words to bless God, and through our praise all the world would know and would be blessed by God?
This would be an entirely new orientation to live by.
Word of Life: Praising
God had given his name to Israel, and through the deliverance of Israel God’s name was to be known throughout the whole world (Ex. 9:16).
This name is the one proclaimed to Moses in the cleft of the mountain as the glory of God passed by: “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness” (Exodus 34:4-6). This is the name Jonah refused to proclaim in Nineveh because Jonah would rather have Nineveh destroyed than have them hear about the God who is “gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity” (Jonah 4:2). And the Psalmist celebrates that when all the nations learn about God through the life of Israel then all the earth will sing for joy at the glory of God’s name (Ps. 66).
Israel has been given God’s name. And their purpose was to make that name known in all the world by how they lived with God and with each other.
So this word of freedom and life, the commandment that God is giving to Israel, is to live in such a way that God’s good name is praised among all people—SO THAT all people might know the freedom and life of God.
Are our lives in vain?
Taking God’s name in vain, or misusing it, is asking us to consider whether we are lying about who God is to the world through our lives.
Are we living in such a way that in all things God’s name is known and praised? Or are we misusing God’s name amid our own idolatries and ideologies?
Are we learning to love God and love others in a way that makes God’s name known?