The Third Commandment

Good Day to all reading this lesson on the Third Commandment, as I hope each of you are enjoying the blessings of our God. A good friend reminded me of the following: Take a breath in and then exhale, take another and exhale—Something as simple as breathing that each of us take for granted—Let us thank God for every breath of air for we never know when the breath we take is our final breath.

Speaking of things, have you ever noticed when you have nothing to say, the word weather comes up? Folks complain all the time about the weather—too much rain, too little rain, too hot, too cold, no sunshine, too much sunshine.

Let me share a little something I read and kept from D. Susan Rutz @ Capper’s (2004)— Together with God

Relaxing with a large glass of lemonade, a good book and a chair under a shade tree is the best way I know to beat the summer heat. When I go walking, gardening, shopping, or do chores, I do it in the morning before the sun gets high in the sky and the heat builds into a sultry sticky sweat.

There’s another trick I do when I am stuck in the afternoon heat, and there is no other choice: I think about winter. It cools my body down to think cold. I wonder why, in winter, thinking about the heat never warms me up?

Father, Thank You for cold winter days and the beauty of snow. Thank You for the warm days of summer needed to make our flowers grow. Keep us warm in Your Blessings and cool when it counts. Protect those who work outside in the heat. May they find the shade, water and cool relief they need to survive. Amen.

What a wonderful article and wise words to remember when complaining about the weather. Please share this article with others.

The Third Commandment—I was taught by my parents when I was a child that God is the God of Order—God creates for his Glory and He is perfect in all ways.

Exodus 20:7 (FF) You shall not take the Name of your Ever-Living God in vain, for the Lord will not hold guiltless the taking of his Name in vain. When reading this verse, we must always hold God in reverence. Reverence goes hand in hand with the first two commandments which require each of us to serve God and God only.

Reverence + God = Honor and Respect to God and to His Name, unconditionally.

When one thinks about taking God’s name in vain, what is the first thought? Probably swearing would be the first thought that would come to mind, but let’s look at this a bit more thoroughly.

Have you considered the following? Do you pray to God, yet you don’t believe in your prayer? Are you sincere in praying to God? Do you pretend to believe in God, yet you have reservations? Do you deny God’s power of prayer?

Knowingly or unknowingly, we take his name in vain when we take His name in word or by act without sincerity of purpose.

Let’s look at the penalty for taking the name of God in vain—Turn to Leviticus 24-10-16 (FF) Ferrar Fenton – It occurred once that the son of an Israelitish woman who was also the son of a Mitzerite man, among the sons of Israel, quarreled in the camp with the son of an Israelitish woman and an Israelite man; and the son of the Israelitish woman cursed THE NAME, and insulted it. They therefore brought him to Moses. The name of his mother, however, was Shelamith, the daughter of Dibri of the tribe of Dan. So, they put him under guard to enquire about him from the EVER-LIVING. The EVER-LIVING consequently spoke to Moses, commanding; — “Take the blasphemer outside the camp and let all who heard him lay their hands upon his head and let all the Assembly kill him. Then you shall command the children of Israel saying; — Whatever person curses his God shall bear his sin, and the blasphemer of the name of the EVER-LIVING shall die. You shall kill him; all the assembly shall stone him. All of the population who blasphemes the NAME, whether native or foreigner, shall die.

The above verses are crystal clear, and the penalty is death which begs the question, why do we take God or the Lord’s name in vain? Because Satan loves hearing people drag God’s name in the mire and society condones these actions in public, through television and movies, sporting events, restaurants, music and in conversations. Swearing is the norm and the volume of derogatory marks heard and said about God and to God is perhaps greater than the volume of prayers of his people. Everyday accepted language in our lands and direct defiance to God and the third commandment. Jeremiah 23:10 For because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up.

In conclusion, let us revere God’s (HIS) name in all its uses and keep his name as holy. I remember, as a child, that when I said a bad word, then my mouth was washed out with soap. The bad words came to a halt because I knew if I said bad words, then I would get the soap. Is that cruel? No, I am alive today with a well taught lesson. Turn off the TV, radio or let the person using those evil words that it offends you. As one said, we must stand for something or we will fall for anything.

May God Bless you and keep you safe in his arms.

Jeff