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Ground Rules
To begin this discussion, I will insist upon
several ground rules for you to indulge me in:
First, I ask that you entertain the idea that
the Creator of the universe not only exists, but is the Supreme
Being; when I speak of "God", that is to whom I am referring;
Second, I ask that you entertain the idea that the entire Bible
- both volumes of Jewish Scriptures, the Tanakh (aka, Old Testament)
and the Brit HaHadashah (aka, new testament) were written by inspiration
of God; Third, when I am speaking of God, I ask that you understand
that I am speaking of the God of Israel; by Israel, I mean the
people that are the decedents of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob.
I would like to start out this message by declaring
the 3rd Commandment and giving a short 'drash' on it:):
The common translation for this passage is
expressed in the English Standard Version:
You shall not take the name of
the LORD thy God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless
who takes His name in vain. (Exodus 20:7 English Standard Version).
The Hebrew word  (Shav)
is translated as "vain" by many translations. In the dictionary,
is
defined as "nothingness, vanity, inanity; falsehood, lying, vainness,
sin, wickedness, calamity." Another form of the word,  is
defined as, "a roaring, crashing, tumult, storm, tempest, destruction,
desolation, ruin."
I can see how the word may
be translated as "vain", but it is my opinion that most English
speaking people understand this commandment, and, in context,
the English word "vain" to mean "to curse, or to blaspheme". I
think that understanding betrays the true meaning of the command.Thus,
I think the following paraphrase better captures this passage's
meaning:
"You shall not treat the name of
the LORD your God as if He does not exist, as if He is nothing;
for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that expresses the essence
of his being, that acts out his life, as if God does not exist."
To me, that better expresses the meaning of
the Hebrew.
I believe that same thought is understood when
we recite the words of the Shema every Sabbath:
"HEAR, O ISRAEL: THE LORD OUR GOD,
THE LORD IS ONE.And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all
thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." (Deuteronomy
6:4-5)
To further illustrate the point I would like
to make, in the New Testament book of Mark, Yeshua is asked about
the most important commandment:
And one of the scribes came, and
having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered
them well, asked Him, "Which is the first commandment of all?"
And Yeshua answered him, "The first
of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God
is one LORD.
'And thou shall love the LORD your
God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind,
and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment.
"And the second, like it, is this:
'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other
commandment greater than these.
"And the scribe said to Him, 'Well
said, Rabbi. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God,
and there is no other but He.
"And to love Him with all the heart,
with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the
strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than
all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
"And when Yeshua saw that he answered
wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."
And after that no one dared ask Him any question.
(Mark 12:28-34)
If we consider the command about treating the
name of the LORD as if He does not exist, then conversely, when
we recite the Shema and declare that we essentially Love the
LORD our God with all of our being, we are saying
that He is everything to us. In essence we are declaring
that He encompasses all of our thought processes, our entire sense
of being, every aspect of our lives, and that every decision we
make is done as if we were in His divine presence, seeking His
approval!
If we understand the 3rd commandment in that
sense, we should consider how we are to behave when we are "in
the world". For example, if we join our co-workers in vulgar speech,
if we let our fantasies run wild and we lust after a member of
the opposite sex, if we treat our loved ones with disrespect,
and all other such things, then we must consider that we are doing
so as if we were in the presence of Almighty God, AND,
to His face, treating Him as if He is nothing, as if He does not
exist.
"Do not be deceived, 'Bad company
ruins good morals.' Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for
some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame."
(1 Corinthians 15:33-34)
Since we are commanded to love the LORD our
God with the entire essence of our being, we must learn to control
our thoughts and our thought processes as if they also are in
the very presence, and under the careful scrutiny of Almighty
God!
As I have been dwelling on giving this message,
the thought occurred to me about standing in the Presence of God
at the final judgment. The idea came into my mind, "Will God
judge me for my best behavior or for my worst behavior?"
Immediately, my thoughts carried me to a common scene of driving
on the freeway -- how most everyone in this area drives as if
there is no tomorrow - but when they come upon a law enforcement
officer, every one slows down and behaves as if that is the way
they normally drive, showing courtesy and respect to others! Again,
the thought comes to mind, "Will God judge us for
our best behavior or for our worst behavior?." The
more I consider it, I believe we will all be judged by our worst
behavior.
A couple of weeks ago, Bob Brass spoke to
us about the battle for the mind. I encourage you to go to our
website, www.sarshalom.us, to the "teachings" link, and listen
to Bob's message from September 16, 2005. He said that we were
in a battle whether we recognized it or not.
Perhaps, 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 captures some
of that sense:
"For though we walk in the flesh,
we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare
are not carnal but mighty through God for pulling down strongholds,
casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself
against the knowledge of God, bringing every
thought into captivity to the obedience of the Messiah,
and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience
is fulfilled."
There are several other passages that express
this thought, showing that by our actions we can cause the name
of God to be blasphemed.
Speaking to King David when he had sinned with
Bathsheba and had her husband killed, Nathan the prophet made
this statement:
"Howbeit, because by this deed
thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme,..."
2 Samuel 12:14a
Ezekiel 36:22 expresses this same concept:
"Therefore say to the house of
Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house
of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy
name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came."
The Apostle Paul gives us the sense of this
in Romans 2:17-24:
Indeed, you are called a Jew, and
rest on the Torah, and make your boast in God,
and know His will, and approve
the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the Torah,
and are confident that you yourself
are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,
an instructor of the foolish, a
teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the
Torah.
You, therefore, who teach another,
do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not
steal, do you steal?
You who say a man should not commit
adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you
rob temples?
You who make your boast in the
Torah, do you dishonor God through breaking the Torah?
For "The
name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you, "
as it is written."
I look at all these things as expressing that
God is very concerned with how we control our thought processes.
It is my understanding that the thought processes manifest themselves
in the way we treat others.
In conclusion, I will re-declare the 3rd commandment
with my paraphrase, followed by several select verses from the
book of Philippians, and ending with the doxology from the end
of Romans:)
"You shall not treat the name of
the LORD your God as if He does not exist, as if He is nothing;
for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that expresses the essence
of his being, that acts out his life, as if God does not exist."
Philippians 3:1-3
Finally, my brethren, rejoice in
the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious,
but for you it is safe.
Beware of dogs, beware of evil
workers, beware of the mutilation!
For we are the circumcision, who
worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Messiah Yeshua, and have
no confidence in the flesh,
Philippians 3:13-21
Brethren, I do not count myself
to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things
which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are
ahead,
I press toward the goal for the
prize of the upward call of God in Messiah Yeshua.
Therefore let us, as many as are
mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise,
God will reveal even this to you.
Nevertheless, to the degree we
have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be
of the same mind.
Brethren, join in following my
example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.
For many walk, of whom I have told
you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies
of the cross of the Messiah:
whose end is destruction, whose
god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame - who set
their mind on earthly things
.For our citizenship is in heaven,
from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Yeshua
ha Mashiach,
Who will transform our lowly body
that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the
working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.
Philippians 4:1
Therefore, my beloved and longed
for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved.
Philippians 4:4-9
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again
I will say, rejoice!
Let your gentleness be known to
all men. The Lord is at hand.
Be anxious for nothing, but in
everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let
your requests be made known to God;
And the peace of God, which surpasses
all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Messiah
Yeshua.
Finally, brethren, whatever things
are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just,
whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever
things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there
is anything praiseworthy -- meditate on these things.
The things which you have learned
and received and heard and seen in me - these do, and the God
of peace will be with you.
Romans 16:25-27
Now to Him who is able to establish
you according to my good news and the preaching of Yeshua ha Mashiach,
according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret
since the world began
but now has been made manifest,
and by the Scriptures of the prophets has been made known to all
nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God,
for obedience to the faith -
to God, alone wise, be glory through
Yeshua ha Mashiach forever.
Amen
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