This morning I want to continue with my series on “The Ten”. Today I will begin a two-part series on the Third Commandment. Exodus 20:7 says, “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.”
As we begin to unwrap this commandment today, we are going to take an in-depth look these questions — what is in a name, what is in the name of God?
WHAT IS SO IMPORTANT ABOUT ONE’S NAME?
A newspaper ad read: “Lost–one dog. Brown hair with several bald spots. Right leg broken due to auto accident. Left hip hurt. Right eye missing. Left ear bitten off in a dog fight. Answers to the name “Lucky.”
Did you hear about the unfortunate young man who was born into the “Stink” family? His name was Charlie Stink. Can you imagine what he went though while growing up? The other kids no doubt made his life miserable.
As he grew into adulthood, his friends encouraged him to change his name. Finally he agreed, and went to court to have the process completed. When he arrived back at work the next day, his associates inquired, “Well, we are dying to know. What is your new name?” “Well, for the life of me”, he said, “I can’t see what difference it’s going to make! I changed it to George Stink.”
One of my favorite bad names is Ima Hogg. Mrs. Hogg was the wife of the one-time Governor of the
state of Texas. Ima worked at downplaying her unusual name by signing her first name illegibly and
having her stationery printed with “I. Hogg” or “Miss Hogg”. Although it was rumored that Hogg had a
sister named “Ura Hogg”, that is not true. She had only brothers.
Then from the Today show comes these actual names:
- Dinner Ware
- Mayo Head
- Mustard M. Mustard
- Pickle Parker
- Cook Cook
- Doctor Love
- Judge Savage
I once read of a fellow whose name was Forrest Bush, and his mother’s name was Rose Bush.
Obviously, names can mean little or nothing in today’s culture. I think this is sad. You see, your name has much to say about you.
YOUR NAME IDENTIFIES YOU
If you were to ask someone, “Who is the lady standing over in the corner?” The person will more than likely identify the person by giving you her name. Again, your name identifies you.
- Who is Barak Obama?
- Who is Aaron Rogers?
- Who is Scott Walker?
- Who is Oprah Winfrey?
You immediately know who these individuals are by their names.
YOUR NAME BECOMES AN EXTENSION OF YOUR CHARACTER; YOUR REPUTATION
Do you have a good name or a bad name? When you say that someone has “a bad name,” you’re not criticizing what’s written on his birth certificate. You’re offering a warning that the person can’t be trusted. His or her name is soiled. Their reputation is tainted.
I am going to give you a list of names. Tell me, is the name a good name or a bad name:
- Judas
- Billy Graham
- Jesse James
- Jesus Christ
- Mother Teresa
- Abe Lincoln
- Jezebel
- Jeffry Dalmer
- Hitler
- Benedict Arnold
All I had to do was give you the person’s name. The name said it all. The character or actions of the person – whether good or bad — are forever linked with the name. Proverbs 22:1 offers, “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver and gold.” God wants us to maintain a good name. As the verse says, your example and testimony are valuable.
YOUR NAME BEARS INFLUENCE AND AUTHORITY
When you go to buy a car, the deal is not complete until you put your name on the contract. Your name seals the deal.
Your name is on your Social Security card, drivers license, credit cards, diplomas, and maybe another hundred or so important documents. Your name gives you the authority to write checks, make purchases, even to make end-of-life decisions. Your name carries a great deal of authority.
Have you ever dropped someone’s name? This is what I know. It’s not good to namedrop. George Bush told me that. (Just kidding.) Why do we tend to drop names? The other person’s name (influence and authority) adds credibility to our own words. The other person’s name may strengthen our position on a particular issue. Names carry a certain clout!
YOUR NAME CAN SPEAK OF INTIMACY
How many names do you have? Actually, you may have more names than you realize. I used to pastor a fellow by the name of Larry Jones. He and his wife Donna became some of my wife’s and my best friends. Typically, I called Larry, “Larry”. However, Donna didn’t call her husband Larry, she called him “Jonesy”. It was always Jonesy this or Jonesy that.
Well I got use to hearing him called “Jonesy” so one day I quite innocently called my friend “Jonesy”. That was not very smart on my part. Donna immediately corrected me. She told me that was her name for her husband and she would prefer that I call him Larry. That was her term of endearment. I never called him “Jonesy” after that– until today. Donna, if you watch this on the
Internet, I want you to hear me – Jonesy, Jonesy, Jonesy!!!
Seriously, names can signal intimacy; speak of love. I enjoy calling my wife “Dear” or “Honey.” Occasionally, I may even call her “Sweetheart.” Hear me. I can call her by those names; you can’t.
Know this. When a person gives you permission to call them by their first name, that person is at the same time saying that the relationship has moved to a less formal, more personal level. Names denote levels of intimacy.
GOD ALSO HAS A NAME
In fact, there are well over 300 names for God in the Bible. Some of His names are well-known; some are lesser known. Nonetheless, just as our names say something about us, so it is that each of the names of God gives us a peek into what God is as well as who God is.
I want to direct your attention to the book of Exodus – the second book of the Old Testament. As the book opens, the Children of Israel have been slaves in Egypt for nearly 400 years. It was at this time that the Lord spoke to Moses and told him that he (Moses) would be the fellow who would lead the Israelites out of Egypt and on into the Promised Land. I want to now pick up the dialogue in Exodus 3:13-15, “Moses said to God, ‘Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?’
God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
“God also said to Moses, ‘Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers–the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob–has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.’”
In short, Moses asked the Lord:
- “What is Your name?
- What does Your name mean?
- What kind of a God are You?”
Moses knew that those would be the very questions that the Hebrews would ask concerning God.
During their years in Egypt, the Israelites had turned away from the God of Israel and had turned to the false gods of Egypt. In fact, according to Joshua 24:14 they would continue to worship the gods of Egypt for some time after they entered the promised land. Notice Joshua 24:14, “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness.
Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.”
After so long a time in captivity, the Jews had long since given up any hope that any god would show any interest in them. They had lost faith. They had lost all hope.
Therefore Moses knew that these captives would want to know:
- What god are you talking about?
- What god has the power to save and deliver us?
- What god even cares about us? What is his name?
And the Lord did not disappoint Moses. He answered by saying, “Say to the Israelites, ‘I AM has sent me to you’” Say, “The LORD, the God of your fathers–the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob–has sent me to you.”
Here the Lord hands Moses His business card – so to speak. He declares that His name is Jehovah. This was the very name that God had used with Adam way back in the beginning. This was the name that the Israelites would recognize from the stories of their forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
The name had history with them. Then too, the name had a meaning. Jehovah means “I AM”—”I AM who I AM.” In other words, God was saying that He is…
- the God who exists (who alone exists and who can never cease to exist)
- the Eternal One
- the Perfect One
- the Absolute One
- the Uncaused One
When God said that He was the “I AM”, this was His way of saying that He is God in the…
- past tense; He was
- present tense; He is
- future tense; He will be
This is borne out in Revelation 4:8 where angels proclaim to and of God, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” Again, God is the eternal “I AM”, He is Jehovah. The name Jehovah is sometimes combined with other words in the Old Testament. I have an illustration here that is drawn from Psalm 23. I found the illustration in the Bible Exposition Commentary. In the illustration you can see how the various phrases in the Psalm relates to one of the various names of God:
“The Lord is my shepherd”…
- “I shall not want”—Jehovah-jireh, “the Lord will provide”
- “still waters”- Jehovah-Shalom, “the Lord our peace”
- “He restores my soul”—Jehovah-Rophe, “the Lord who heals”7
- “paths of righteousness”—Jehovah-Tsidkenu, “the Lord our righteousness”
- “you are with me”—Jehovah-Shammah, “the Lord is there”
- “presence of my enemies”— Jehovah-Nissi, “the Lord our banner”
- “You anoint my head”—Jehovah-M’Kaddesh, “the Lord who sanctifies”
This name is so great, we are to:
- PRAISE HIS NAME: Psalm 9:2, “I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.”
- WE REJOICE IN HIS NAME: Psalm 89:16, “They rejoice in your name all day long they exult in your righteousness.”
- GIVE GLORY TO HIS NAME: Psalm 29:2, “Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name….”
- RECOGNIZE THAT HIS NAME IS EXCELLENT: Psalm 148:13 (King James Version), “Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent….”
- TRUST IN HIS NAME: Psalm 33:21, “In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.”
- WE ARE TO HOPE IN HIS NAME: Psalm 52:9, “I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good.”
- WE ARE TO LOVE HIS NAME: Psalm 69:36, “… those who love his name will dwell there.”
- FEAR HIS NAME: Psalm 86:11, “Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.”
- PRAY OR CALL UPON HIS NAME: Psalm 99:6, “They called on the LORD and he answered them.” John 14:13-14, “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”
- GATHER IN HIS NAME: Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”
- BE WILLING TO SUFFER FOR HIS NAME: Acts 5:41, “The apostles left … rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.”
- BAPTIZE IN HIS NAME: Matthew 28:19, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit….”
- WE ARE HEALED IN HIS NAME: James 5:14-15, “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in 8 the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up.”
- WE ARE SAVED THROUGH HIS NAME: Acts 2:21, “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Acts 4:12, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
- WE HAVE LIFE THROUGH HIS NAME: John 20:31, “But these [things] are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
Let me sum this up by sharing Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Praise the Lord!
In Old Testament times, the common people treated the name of the Lord with such high regard that they simply quit using it out of fear that they might misuse it somehow. They would always substitute the words “The Lord” for the Name of God. Then too, when the ancient scribes would have to write out the name of God, they would wash, put on new clothes, use a new quill, write the name, and then throw the quill away. Again, when they had to read the word aloud, rather than pronounce the
Name of God, they substituted the word “the LORD.”
Frankly, they went too far. On the other hand, today’s culture has now gone way too far in the other direction. The name of God is nothing more than a swearword or a byword with many people. Both extremes are wrong. The third commandment does not by any means forbid or condemn the utterance or use of God’s name. On the contrary, as I just pointed out a moment ago, we are commanded to use His name in prayer, in praise, in worship, and even in such things as baptism.
One of my sets of commentaries is called Mattoon’s Treasures. The following illustration on the names of Jesus is adapted from that commentary: The Lord Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. He is all things to all men, supplying every need we have if we will let Him.
- To the Architect—He is the Chief Cornerstone
- To the Artist—He is the who is Altogether Lovely.
- To the Astronomer—He is the Bright and Morning Star and the sun of Righteousness.
- To the Baker—He is the Bread of Life.
- To the Builder—He is the Sure Foundation.
- To the Carpenter—He is the Door.
- To the Defendant—He is the Righteous Judge.
- To the Doctor—He is the Great Physician.
- To the Electrician—He is the Light of the World.
- To the Farmer—He is the Sower and Lord of the Harvest.
- To the Fireman—He is the Water of Life.
- To the Fisherman—He is the Calmer of the Seas and the One who fills our nets to the full.
- To the Florist—He is the Lily of the Valley and the Rose of Sharon.
- To the Geologist—He is the Rock of Ages.
- To the Historian—He is the Ancient of Days.
- To the Judge—He is the Faithful and True Witness.
- To the Lawyer—He is the Advocate and Mediator.
- To the Legislator: He is King of kings and Lord of lords.
- To the Merchant—He is the Pearl of Great Price.
- To the Nations—He is Peace
- To the Pharmacist—He is the Balm of Gilead.
- To the Philosopher—He is the Wisdom of God as well as the Truth.
- To the Printer—He is the Logos; the Word.
- To the Publisher—He is the Author.
- To the Rancher: He is the Owner of cattle on a thousand hills.
- To the Reporter—He is Good Tidings of Great Joy.
- To the Scientist—He is the Creator of all things.
- To the Shepherd—He is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.
- To the Sailor—He is the Anchor of the Soul.
- To the Soldier—He is the Sword and Shield.10
- To the Traveler—He is the Narrow Way.
- To the Zoologist—He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah
A number of years ago, Audrey Mieir this hymn:
His Name is Wonderful,
His Name is Wonderful,
His Name is Wonderful,
Jesus my Lord.
He is the mighty King,
Master of everything,
His Name is Wonderful,
Jesus my Lord.
He’s the Great Shepherd,
The Rock of all Ages,
Almighty God is He,
Bow down before Him,
Love and adore Him,
His Name is Wonderful,
Jesus my Lord.
I WANT TO CONCLUDE WITH ONE FINAL THOUGHT. I am very sensitive about my middle name. I hate it. In fact, I dare say only a small handful of people in this room even know what it is. Why? I never use it. I avoid it like the plague. Years ago, a church asked my permission to use my name as a fund-raiser for missions. People paid $1 each to guess my middle name. In the end, over $400 came in for the cause. And would you believe, no one guessed it. (I did go ahead and ahead and tell them.)
And yet, just to be honest, my middle name is not a bad name. I was named after my grandfather. My middle name was his first name. Interestingly, his parents named him after a famous preacher. There are some very illustrious people that share the name with me. Let me repeat, the name is a good name.
The reason I came to hate the name, though, had nothing to do with any of that. When I was growing up other kids took that good name, that honorable name, and they misused it. They changed the letters around and made a cruel name out of it. The name hurt. The name stuck. I was already poor. With that name, I was made to look stupid. The name became my identity. No doubt, some of you suffered through that same kind of nonsense. Kids can be cruel. Now if you and I get offended when people make light of our names, why should we expect God to feel any differently when people:
- make light of His precious name?
- When people drag it though the mud?
- When people make it a curse word?
- When people simply abuse it?
He says don’t do it. He says, don’t take that great Name and use it in vain.
