Reading
- Deut. 18:9-14
- Ex. 22:18
- Lev. 20:27
- Deut. 13:1-5; 18:15-22; 5:11
- Ex. 22:28a
- Lev. 24:10-16, 23
- Ex. 22:29b-30; 34:19-20; 22:29a
- Deut. 15:19-23; 18:1-8; 14:22-29; 26:1-15
- Lev. 19:23-25
- Deut. 5:12-15
- Ex. 31:16-17
- Lev. 19:30; 23:1-3
- Ex. 35:3; 34:21; 31:12-15
- Num. 15:32-36
Devotional
GOD told Moses:
‘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.’
(Deut. 5:11 NKJV)
There are at least two ways that we can take the LORD’s name in vain. The first is with our speech. Here’s an example of this way of misusing GOD’s name:
Now the son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel; and this Israelite woman’s son and a man of Israel fought each other in the camp. And the Israelite woman’s son blasphemed the name of the LORD and cursed; and so they brought him to Moses. (His mother’s name was Shelomith the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.) Then they put him in custody, that the mind of the LORD might be shown to them.
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Take outside the camp him who has cursed; then let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him.
“Then you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin. And whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone him, the stranger as well as him who is born in the land. When he blasphemes the name of the LORD, he shall be put to death.
(Lev. 24:10-16 NKJV)
The second way we can take the LORD’s name in vain is by how we live. The Israelites had sworn allegiance to GOD and were in a covenant relationship with Him. They promised to obey GOD’s commands and He promised to be their GOD and to bless them for their obedience. Therefore the Israelites were GOD’s chosen people. They had taken His name. To live an unholy life would blaspheme GOD’s name and therefore would be taking His name in vain—for it would have done no good to them to be called GOD’s people if they disobeyed their GOD.
Either way, GOD is very, very serious about protecting His holy name, and we need to approach it with the same respect.
