The Third Commandment by MILTON C. WILCOX

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Tacoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Mar 16, 1916

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 93, No. 14.

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The Third Commandment

By MILTON C. WILCOX

The Law of God — No. 8

The Third Commandment

MILTON C. WILCOX

BRIEF but mighty in import is the third commandment. It reads in the American Revised Version as follows:—

“Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain; for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” Ex. 20:7.

Not by one name or title alone does the great Creator reveal himself to his children.

1. He is known as God, the supreme object of worship. The Hebrew is Elohim, and the word is also used of angels and judges and false gods. The Elohim of the Bible is “the true God,” “the living God,” the “everlasting King.” Of the terms denoting Deity this occurs in the Bible the most frequently. It also occurs in the singular, Eloah.

2. God is called El, the “strong,” “the mighty one.” From this comes Elyon, “the Most High.”

3. He is called Adonai, “the Supporter,” “Lord,” “Judge.”

4. To Abraham, who was to be assured that what God had promised he was able to perform, the Lord said, “I am God Almighty” (El Shaddai). Gen. 17:1, margin.

5. When Moses bore God’s message to Pharaoh, he was divinely instructed to say that he was sent by “I AM THAT I AM,” the self-existent God, the ever-present One, in all his fulness. It is expressed in the Revelation, the one who is, and was, and is to come.

A varied form of this is the name Jehovah, the great I AM. We have only the Hebrew consonants of the original name, JHVH, the vowels have been borrowed from the word Adonai. The Jewish doctors regarded Jehovah as the most sacred and mysterious name of God, and would not pronounce it. (Some eminent Hebrew scholars use this term Jehovah or Yahoveh, and some Yahveh. This latter form is considered generally a better vocalization of the consonants than Jehovah.) This word occurs seven times singly or in combination in our common version, but the original is generally rendered LORD, printed in small capitals.

We know of no reason why it should not be used recurrently, freely, by God’s children, for so the Scripture would indicate. It is used in God’s Word to man about six thousand times. It is God’s covenant name. It means absolute being, existence underived, independent, unchangeable, eternal. “I am Jehovah, I change not.” Mal. 3:6. He is “the Alpha and the Omega,” “the First and the Last,” “the Beginning and the Ending,” and reverently we may say, “Even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. It is the one endearing name of the Old Testament. We fear and tremble before the Almighty One, but Jehovah invites our love, our confidence. When “Moses the man of God” pleaded with holy courage, “Show me, I pray thee, thy glory,” the answer was, “I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and will proclaim the name of Jehovah before thee.” Ex. 33:18, 19. Then, calling Moses into the mountain with himself, he revealed to his servant all the glory of the divine person man could bear, and proclaimed his covenant name—

Jehovah

“Jehovah, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving-kindness and truth; keeping loving-kindness 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, upon the third and upon the fourth generation.” Ex. 34:6, 7.

“Holy and reverend is his name,”—“Jehovah,” the ever-existing, omnipresent God; Jehovah, the covenant-keeping God, who has repeatedly demonstrated the surety of his promise and the sureness of our refuge; Jehovah, the merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, but abundant in mercy, loving-kindness, and truth. He has mercy for the sinner, “freely by his grace.” If sin abounds, grace superabounds. Rom. 5:20. Let sin be forsaken and confessed, and he will give the sinner his own righteousness. Though there has been repeated sin, if the sinner will return, our gracious God will “multiply to pardon.” Isa. 55:7, margin. “He delighteth in mercy.” “He will subdue our iniquities.” He will cast all our sins into the depth of the sea. Micah 7:18, 19. There is no limit to his love, or mercy, or power. Thank God, he is pleased with “those that hope in his mercy.” Ps. 147:11.

The text refers not to thousands of persons alone, but to thousands of generations. There are millions in darkness; but he is “keeping loving-kindness” for them; and he waits “that he may be gracious.”

He cannot clear the guilty. It would overthrow his government if he did. It would condone sin. It would make the death of the Son of God of none effect. He will not clear the guilty because he cannot. Therefore he “gave his only begotten Son,” therefore that Son “gave himself,” that the guilt might be transferred to our divine Substitute, our Lord Jesus Christ. But let man retain the sin, and he retains the guilt. Our hope of eternal salvation rests in God’s holiness. For this and much more his name stands,—his ever-blessed covenant name, Jehovah, the one and only living God.

Take not his name in vain. In arrant blasphemy it is often thus taken. An instance of this is recorded in Lev. 24:10-16. The holy name must be respected, or many souls would be led away and confirmed in sin. It is shocking today to listen to the ribald profanity, the awful irreverence of God, which one occasionally meets in a promiscuous crowd of men. Oftentimes, because of pernicious education or association, the use of intensive bywords results from sheer force of habit, with no design of irreverence in them. Profanity is useless, senseless, sinful, wicked.

Take not God’s name in vain. The margin of the American Revised Version reads “for vanity (or, falsehood),” instead of “in vain.” How many there are who tell lies for gain, testify falsehoods for temporary advantage! But the result is not temporary. Any act or word that builds permanently into character, anything which affects morals, is not temporary, but eternal. We shall meet it in the judgment unless it is forsaken and repented of.

Needless and frequent repetition of God’s name in prayer, whatever may be the motive, is in bad taste and has a bad influence. Some good men repeat some name or title of the Father or Son in every sentence or oftener. It is unnecessary and irreverent. “Use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do,” is an injunction needed now.

Praying formally in God’s name, with no sense of the meaning of the law or name of God, is taking it in vain. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” “He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.” “If ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” These are awful scriptures if our heart is hard, unrepentant, and resisting. All our praying avails nothing with God unless our heart is in harmony with him. When we rightly appreciate the holy name of the covenant God, we shall not take his name in vain.

Mountain View, Cal.