RELEVANT SCRIPTURES
Now we will look at the 3rd Commandment. First we will look at the scriptures that state the Third Commandment in its simplest form with key words:
Exodus 20:7 (NRSV) 7 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.
Exodus 20:7 (RSV) 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.
Exodus 20:7 (KJV) Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
We have included the text for the Third Commandment in several versions to aid understanding of what God is saying. Notice how different Bible versions interpret the original Hebrew differently. Pay special attention to words that are highlighted and underlined. Be sure to click on the linked words and read the definitions of those words.
In addition to these scriptures, we include the following scriptures with key words that aid understanding of the meaning of the third commandment:
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Leviticus 18:21 (KJV) 21 And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD. Leviticus 22:2 (KJV) 2 Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they profane not my holy name in those things which they hallow unto me: I am the LORD. Leviticus 22:9 (KJV) They shall therefore keep mine ordinance, lest they bear sin for it, and die therefore, if they profane it: I the LORD do sanctify them. Leviticus 19:12 (KJV) 12 And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD. Ezekiel 20:39 (KJV) 39 As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me: but pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols. Ezekiel 39:7 (KJV) 7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. Numbers 20:7-12 7 and the LORD said to Moses, 8 “Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water; so you shall bring water out of the rock for them; so you shall give drink to the congregation and their cattle.” 9 And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him. 10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?” 11 And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his rod twice; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their cattle. 12 And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to sanctify me in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” Numbers 27:12-14 12 The LORD said to Moses, “Go up into this mountain of Ab’arim, and see the land which I have given to the people of Israel. 13 And when you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was gathered, 14 because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin during the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the waters of Mer’ibah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.) Leviticus 10:1-7 1 Now Nadab and Abi’hu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer, and put fire in it, and laid incense on it, and offered unholy fire before the LORD, such as he had not commanded them. 2 And fire came forth from the presence of the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. 3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD has said, ‘I will show myself holy among those who are near me, and before all the people I will be glorified.'” And Aaron held his peace. 4 And Moses called Mish’a-el and Elza’phan, the sons of Uz’ziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Draw near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp.” 5 So they drew near, and carried them in their coats out of the camp, as Moses had said. 6 And Moses said to Aaron and to Elea’zar and Ith’amar, his sons, “Do not let the hair of your heads hang loose, and do not rend your clothes, lest you die, and lest wrath come upon all the congregation; but your brethren, the whole house of Israel, may bewail the burning which the LORD has kindled. 7 And do not go out from the door of the tent of meeting, lest you die; for the anointing oil of the LORD is upon you.” And they did according to the word of Moses. Deuteronomy 32:45-52 (KJV) 45 And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel:46 And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do , all the words of this law.47 For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life: and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go overJordan to possess it. 48 And the LORD spake unto Moses that selfsame day, saying , 49 Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession:50 And die in the mount whither thou goest up , and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people:51 Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh *, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel.52 Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel. |
Notice that these scriptures use the terms “profane” and “pollute” with respect to how people use God’s name. For further understanding, click here for more relevant scriptures. The essential meaning of these scriptures is that people who identify themselves as Jew or Christian are Old/First Covenant religionists who, being very busy observing a bunch of religious laws, misrepresent God’s character to the world which sees God as a God to be feared — not as a God to be loved.
In other words, people who violate the Third Commandment take on God’s name by calling themselves Jew or Christian but do not take on his character. People who are watching Jews and Christians conduct their religious activities, while otherwise conducting their private lives in ways that are inconsistent with what people expect from someone who follows a Holy God, are wrongly led to believe that all that God wants from his followers is that they obey religious rules/laws. There is no sense of what God’s character really is. There is no sense of understanding that what God wants is that people listen to his voice or about his holiness.