A COMMON LAW FOR A COMMONWEALTH
Thou shalt not take the NAME of the LORD
YHWH thy God in vain;
For the LORD YHWH
Will not hold him Guiltless that Taketh His NAME in Vain.
Exodus 20:7 & Deuteronomy 5:11
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Compiled by JS LOWTHER
Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD YHWH thy God in vain;
for the LORD YHWH will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
Exodus 20:7 & Deuteronomy 5:11
The Subject of the 3rd commandment is a subject that has entailed many different opinions over the years. Some have claimed, that the use of the actual name YHWH is the idea, that is that it is too holy a name for pronunciation, this is the reason for why we find that the jewish tradition was admittedly followed by most translators of the Hebrew scripture; Some have proposed that the not using the Name YHWH is the idea of the commandment, in that by not using God’s actual name and replacing it with a fill in such as “LORD”, “GOD” as the KJV, or speaking the Name as Adoni meaning in Hebrew “My Lord”, YHWH’s name is rendered vain; And some have even thought that the vulgar use of the name such as “god damn it” or”Jesus Christ” to express anger or curse, is the focus of the 3rd commandment. As always the answer does not come from idealism but from the Word of God Him self. While all of the prior mentioned usages of the LORD YHWH’s Name may be applicable as sin, depending on the intent of the user, the Commandment is specific, and the guilt of the Sinner is to be sure. In the Common Law of God this commandment is not hidden from us nor is it too far from our ability to follow it. While there is undoubtedly damage of Identity by vanity or falsehood in taking the memorial Name of YHWH out of the Hebrew text and replacing it with fill in titles, or by the opposite, by over using the Name YHWH in empty and false ways, placing it into situations and texts where it has no place to be.
The
Meaning
of
THE NAME
As prior discussed in the former portions of this compilation, the Name YHWH literally means “HE Who Is” or “I am that I am”, and the word God we had also described as referencing a Judge of a particular law, of course when we speak of The LORD GOD we are speaking of YHWH ALHI, that is He Who Is Judge or God. This application of the Judgment aspect of YHWH literally calls the violator into a perjurious state when he takes Person of the God of the bible vainly. A literal translation of the Hebrew could as well read “Thou shalt not take the name of He Who Is Judge in vain…”, the very discretion of ever action weighed by one who considers YHWH to be LORD , to be God, and to be Judge of all especially the hearts and minds of men is tried by the conscience of all who call upon the Name of the same.
A
People Called
by
HIS NAME
Consider this place of YHWH’s people Israel in this paraphrase of
Deu_28:1-10
And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:..The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways.
And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee.
This is why refer to Israel as being “YHWH’s people, or God’s people”, not because they are intrinsically and naturally holy, but because by the Grace of God the promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as well as to every member of one of the 12 tribes is capable to attain the wisdom offered in the perfect Law and Word of God more so than any other people, and so much that the dominion given through YHWH’s Law makes the nation’s who are round about a feared.
Consider the proclamation of YHWH’s name before Moses and the power which it contains:
This is the NAME of the FATHER:
Exo_34:6-7
And YHWH passed by before him, and proclaimed, YHWH, YHWH God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
This is the name of the Father of our Lord, this is the name Israel is called by, this is the name we as his people are to call upon…Its not just a pronunciation, or a title it’s a power, it’s an authority far above any name in heaven or on earth.
Now consider this message to God’s people
2Ch_7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
The Message to the Israelites both Lost and found as a people called by His Name
Isa_43:7 Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.
The people sought by God who have abandoned HIS NAME
Isa_65:1 I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name.
And if we hearken back to the introduction message attached to this Series, in
Rom_10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved… a quote from Joe_2:32 and recited in Act_2:21 as well.
There is in this understanding of the 3rd Commandment of God’s Common Law an important Reality intended for God’s National people, that is the Reality of Reality:
For those who claim, call on, or wish to be called by the name of YHWH, the LORD, GOD, the Father, or whatever Name you feel accuratly describes the God of Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob / Israel, if you claim that Name to be upon your life and salvation by that name, when you violate the Commandment as the Scripture defines it you are guilty, and the Named of the Commandment will not hold you guiltless, that’s the reality.
A Biblical Realistic Approach
As such, the biblically Realistic application of the 3rd Commandment is then much more functional and applicable to the heart, mind and Soul of those who call upon that Name, and those who are called by the Name, it is to this people that the promise of guilt for Sin against the 3rd Commandment is offered. For one who falsely takes the Name of the LORD in vain feigningly, as the prophet Jer_3:10, IS DISTINCT FROM one who does not recognize the awesome power and glory of that name, to those Guilt may be perhaps less inputted on account of the ignorance clause found in every law of God, as may be seen in Leviticus 4 and Numbers 15, which may be summarized in
Num_15:29-31 Ye shall have one law for him that sinneth through ignorance, both for him that is born among the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them.
Yet for those who are called, those who have knowledge we are told:
30 But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
31 Because he hath despised the word of the LORD, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him.
Unveiling the Glory
of the
Spiritual Law:
…VAIN…
The only verses in the Pentateuch Law where the Hebrew word שׁוא / SUA H7723 translated in Exo_20:7 ‘vain’ is found is in the following verses beside here:
Exo_23:1; Deu_5:11; Deu_5:20;
In Exo_23:1 Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. , again the word SUA from Exodus 20:7’s 3rd Commandment is found translated ‘False’,while the context is that of the 9th Commandment.
A Direct correlation of the intent of the Law is seen in the same word SUA found in the 9th commandment of Deu_5:20, Deuteronomy, which is the repeated synopsis or the Deutero-Law of Exodus, Deutero-Nomy in Greek literally meaning Second Law; notice the same word, SUA, used as to give us a more precise meaning and direction of the word and The Commandment:
Deu_5:20 Neither shalt thou bear false H7723 (SUA) witness against thy neighbour. ,
the word ‘false’ used is not the same Hebrew word in the 9th commandment of the Exodus text, the word used for ‘false’ witness is שׁקר / SiQuR, which is used to generally convey the the simple idea of untruth and also translated ‘false’ or ‘falsely’ by it’s Hebrew root SiQ a number of times in the Law, also dealing with false matters Exo_23:7 , testifying falsely Deu_19:18.
A good example of the context of both the 3rd and 9th commandment may be seen in
Lev_19:11 Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie(SiQuR-H8266) one to another.
Lev_19:12 And ye shall not swear by my name falsely,(SiQuR- H8267), neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.
Lev 19:13 Thou shalt not defraud (O-SiQH6231) thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.
Lev 19:14 Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.
Lev 19:15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.
Lev 19:16 Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD.
Lev 19:17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.
Lev 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD
Solomon summarized the statutes above thus:
Pro_30:5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
Pro 30:6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
Pro 30:7 Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die:
Pro 30:8 Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:
Pro 30:9 Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and ‘take the name of my God’ in vain. (Lit. manipulate the Name of God)
By a diligent look at the Hebrew, an over lap of the 3rd and 9th Commandment may be seen easily as the words: שׁוא / SUA H7723 and שׁקר / SiQuR H8267 from the 3rd and 9th Commandments of Deuteronomy 5 and Exodus 20, particularly in the use of it’s root words.
Let us reflect upon applied knowledge
COMMON LAW FOR A COMMONWEALTH
Throughout the Bible it is easily seen how the the focus of the 3rd Commandment is using the
aspect of the LORD YHWH’s name falsely, vainly or empty; provably, the 3rd Commandment
is intrinsically linked to the 9th Commandment by not only language but by context.
As dealings of National Citizens one with the other, as well as in the case of Testimony or Witness to a matter between men of the same Nation, that is those bound by the same Common Law derived from the same God or Religion, and thus ultimantly the same Faith, it is of paramount importance that the Citizens of this Common Nation have the same corner stone of Law, the same bed Rock foundation. In the case of the Christian Israelite’s only Focus: Our Citizenship is that of the Commonwealth of Israel Eph_2:12 as defined by the Law of God alone as it was relayed by the figure and voice of God to Moses from Heaven Exo_20:22 and as thus our conversant citizenship is ultimately derived from Heaven Php_3:20 from Which YHWH God rules and shall Judge the quick and the dead Act_10:42, 2Ti_4:1 as King Rev_17:14, Rev_19:16. Israel is then bound one to another by the Common Law of YHWH, the king of heaven who has chosen Israel into His Commonwealth and Citizenship, it is then that as Brother’s both by the Genetic Nation we all ethnically belong to as well as the Genetic National God of our Common Fathers: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (whom God named Israel), the God whose Memorial Name is YHWH, that is He Who Is the LORD of all. It is by this Bond that the third Commandment both empowers Israel and limit’s Israel in dealings one with the other. The evocation of the Name of He Who Is God, has at it’s center point the establishment and maintenance of a Nation. The Name of the God of Israel it self, and in truth, the agreement of all Authority residing in the one entity of National Faith, National Trust or National Belief is more important than how to pronounce the Name it self, of what Name by sound or sight is the accurate one, rather it is the Knowledge and Faith of the power of the Common God of Israel, by whom the establishment of all Common Law of the Commonwealth of Israel rest, resting upon the Rock who is perfect for all his ways are Judgment, a God of Truth with out iniquity, Just and Right is HE!
Until Christian Israel can TAKE the Name of their National God into their heart and mind and soul, by Faith to Establish Him in their Heart, Mind and Soul, the knowledge of how to Take His Name in Vain is overwhelmingly present in every aspect of our Heathen life. By the very fact that we as a people refuse to hearken unto the Word of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, we as a nation take the Name of our Genetic National God vainly by every non-lawful action we deal one with another, and worse when we deal with Him, that is in terms of our Covenant relationship. The very Spirit of the letter of the commandment is established upon Faith in the power of the God of Israel and his ABILITY to Judge the living and the dead, that is Judgment in this life and in that which is to come; The knowledge which comes by faith, that you can not hide your false or vain dealings with your neighbor or with your God, it will be revieled in this life or in that which is to come, YHWH God is Judge and He will Judge US. We will not be guiltless who take His Name in vain.
The Judgment and Condemnation, the death which comes by the Sin against this Spiritual Law we call the 3rd Commandment reaches into the depths of eternity, by the Fact of the meaning of the Name of the Eternal mighty one who spoke it.
Case and point: How we Take the Name of YHWH is our choice by every dealing with God first, and with our neighbor second. How real we consciously Take the Guilt God promises to hold against us by our false Taking of his Name, by our dealings, as those who claim to have Called upon his name for salvation and those who claim to have His Name upon us is a question of how much faith, trust, or belief one really has in the God they call upon.
Consider also an interesting and important aspect of the idolatry connected to the violation of the 3rd Commandment, as able to be seen in the Greek LXX:
Mat-ai-os is the word used in both the 3rd and 9th Commandment of the LXX in both Deut and Exo. G3152 –μάταιος/ mataios- From the base of G3155; empty, profitless, or vain, vanity.
The same word is also seen in Lev 17:7, where a similar word to the above mentioned Hebrew word SiQuR is found in the Hebrew text which is SOIR-iM translated devils, which by understanding the meaning of devil holistically a ‘a lie’ we may conclude to the same point:
Lev_17:7 And they shall not sacrifice still their sacrifices to the vain gods G3152 in which they fornicate after them; it will be an eternal law to you unto your generations.
In the way the word vain is used hear in conjunction with the vain devils of false hood referenced, a tie which has intrinsically been established in the explanation of how a lack of Faith in YHWH’s Name and his ability to Judge the quick and the dead is at the heart of the 3rd commandment, so this Greek parallel to the word vain of the Commandment is establishing the same concept. The Context of the scripture is referencing the Israelite Citizen who would sacrifice out side of the Altar of YHWH as presided by the Aaronic Priest, by doing so would usurp the order of Law given by YHWH and would result in vanity, falsehood and the worship and service of devils, which is the same. An example of this may be seen in Jeroboam’s high places as well as in the Idols of Micah and the Danites of the book of Judges, it can of course be seen in the violation of king Saul in offering sacrifice with out Samuel an Aaronite Priest, even though Saul’s sacrifice was to YHWH God of Israel.
The Connection is Rightly established to see the unity between the 2nd Commandment with the 3rd, and how one may take YHWH’s Name in vain by the disobedience to YHWH’s Order and rule of Law, as the violation specified in Lev 17 is that offered Sacrifice of peace offerings was not to be done by any other than by the Priest’s of Aaron, to the end that Vanity did not occur. By coming full circle when such vanity has usurped the Name of YHWH placed upon the priest hood and the alter, and new variations of YHWH or God start to rule the hearts of men, National Israel will no longer have Faith in the God of the 3rd Commandment, another law system will take root, a system devoted to vanity and falsehood lead by the letter and not the Spirit, and eventually the perversion of His Judgments becomes normal in society and we no longer deal rightly with our fellow Citizens as Brothers.
So I say to you, My Fellow Citizens, my Brother’s the Children of my people, in reflecting and considering, in applying and attaining to this commandment in our lives as honest men and women, a people above reproach who truly has the name of our God in our mouth and upon foreheads and in our hands, as people who are called by the name of Christ, as the Heptibah people inclined to do YHWH’s Will, let our prayer be:
Psa_119:34-40
Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.
Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.
Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.
Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear.
Turn away my reproach which I fear: for thy judgments are good.
Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness.
AMEN
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