In this third installment of our Ten Commandments Series, we dive deep into the sacred charge given in Exodus 20:7 — “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain”. What does it truly mean to take God’s Name in vain? Is it merely about profanity, or is there a deeper, more sobering reality at hand?
Join us as we uncover the ancient Hebrew understanding of this command, expose modern-day misuses, and explore how bearing the Name of Yahweh is not only a responsibility but a covenantal calling. This is about more than just profanity — it’s about walking in integrity, reverence, and holiness.
We will examine what “in vain” really means in the original text, explore the weight of bearing Yahweh’s name as His people, look at common misconceptions and traditions, and learn about scriptural warnings and promises tied to His Name.
Whether you’re a lifelong believer or just beginning your walk, this teaching will challenge you, stir your spirit, and draw you into deeper awe of the One whose Name is above all names. So join us as we learn the God Honest Truth about taking Yahweh’s name in vain.
#TenCommandments #ThirdCommandment #Yahweh #GodHonestTruth #TorahTeaching #BiblicalTruth #NameOfYahweh #CommandmentsSeries
Transcript
Yahweh’s name is not a trifle, not something that we should play around with or take lightly. In fact, name means more than just the utterance or what we call someone. Name means authority, character, reputation, stuff like that. So when the third commandment tells us to bear Yahweh’s name correctly and not to bear it in vain, it means more than just profanity or saying GD. All about that and more coming up in this episode about the third commandment.
So this episode is going to be the third in our 10 Commandments series. This is gonna be about the third commandment of not taking God or Yahweh’s name in vain. What does that actually mean? We’re gonna get into that and what it also means in addition to not just the whole profanity aspect. So stay tuned for that.
Make sure to have your notes ready. And if you would like additional notes, you can go to our website at godhonesttruth.com. Click on the post for this particular episode. There you’ll be able to see the on demand video. You’ll be able to see the slides that you see here on your screen if you’re watching on video right now.
You’ll also be able to have the notes that we took for this particular episode, which contains a lot more information than we’re gonna be presenting here. And you’ll also be able to have the transcript once that becomes available if that is such a benefit to you. So go check that out on godhonesttruth.com. And, of course, like always, we have made it convenient and easy for you. If you go down below in the description, we have provided a convenient link.
Just click on that, and it’ll take you directly to that article post on our website. And that link should be down there whether you’re watching through a video platform or listening to an audio podcasting platform. It should be down there in the description all the same. Now this is the third of the 10 Commandments. Here is a listing from the scriptures 2,009 translation.
And, of course, if you’re like me and you were raised on the King James, here is the standard, traditional, probably what you know by heart, King James rendering of the 10 Commandments. And number three, thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. That’s one particular commandment itself has a lot that goes into it. Let’s read the scriptures 2,009 translation. From Exodus chapter 20 verse seven.
You do not bring the name of Yahweh your Elohim to naught, for Yahweh does not leave the one unpunished who brings his name to naught. Now there’s various translations that we put down here for your benefit. Some of those do very well in my opinion, judge for yourself, but it’s not just about taking the name in vain. Now, just as a pet peeve and side note, if you are part of the Messianic faith, you know exactly what I’m talking about here. But for those of you who are not, come from a more of a traditional mainstream churchianity kind of background, the word g o d, God, is not the name of the almighty.
God is actually a name, but it’s not the name of the almighty. The name of the almighty is Yahweh. So using profanity such as g d is not taking the name in vain. Okay. A lot of people think that is, but it’s not because his name is not God.
It’s Yahweh. It’s a little bit of a pet peeve educational moment for you there. But getting even more nerdy, look at that word right there where it says, you do not bring. This is Strong’s h three seven five, and that’s the Hebrew word, nasah. Nasah.
And that literally means basically like it’s rendered in most translations. It means to lift, bear up, carry, or take. Here’s your outline of biblical usage, and there was a ton of information in the dictionaries and the lexicons for this particular word, the Strong’s entry. So we really cut it down. If you’d like the full entry, go check out the notes we took, and you’ll be able to see the massive amount of information that is there for this particular word.
But here is your Strong’s definition and your Brown Driver Briggs entry pretty much saying the same thing, to carry, to lift, to bear. Keep that in mind. That’s one I really like here that really goes along with what I think the third commandment is really getting to at the heart of it. And here is your just saying it says Hebrew Lexicon. Pretty much the same thing.
Lift, take up, carry, bear, offer, aid. Here’s your Jastrell’s Dictionary of the Targums and your Klein dictionary. And like I said, of course, the notes are gonna have the full entries, and you’ll also be able to have these draw slides at your convenience there on our website at godhonesttruth.com. Now, this third commandment is not just about taking Yahweh’s name in vain, but not just about profanity. It’s about more than that, more than just speech.
It’s about what we do, how we say, how we live our lives. And, like I said, it’s not just about avoiding profanity. It’s how we bear ourselves. It’s how we represent Yahweh. And as we got into in a previous episode, especially when it comes to the whole baptismal formula of in the name of the father, son, and holy spirit, We went over the fact that in Biblical times, in Biblical mindset, the Hebraic mindset, not the Hellenistic mindset, but the Hebraic mindset, name really conveys more, much, much more than just the utterance of sounds that come out of your mouth as regards a particular person.
Name, in the Hebraic mindset, means authority, reputation, things like that. We went over some examples about going in the name of the king, speaking of the name of David as a Old Testament or Tanakh example. So name means a lot more than just what someone calls themselves. It is the authority. It’s the reputation.
And this really starts broadening the scope and our understanding of the third commandment when we think of name as more than just an utterance. It’s the third commandment represents and addresses more than just speech, more than just profanity. It’s about how we bear and represent the name of Yahweh as his followers in the world in the world today through our words, our actions, our lifestyle, the choices that we make, the things we do, what we say. It encompasses all of that. It’s all about bearing his name, bearing his reputation, bearing his authority.
The Hebrew word here, like I said, of take, when it says, do not take the name of the Lord in vain, it means to lift up or to carry. But like I said, I personally like the whole translation of bear. Do not bear the name of the Lord in vain or do not bear it to nothingness. It implies bearing his name as his people. And if you are saved, you are born again, you are one of his people.
You are no longer a Gentile. You are one of his people. You are an Israelite. You are a Christian, a Messianic, whatever you wanna call it. It’s all the same thing, but you are one of Yahweh’s people, one of his children.
And, therefore, we should represent him accordingly and accurately. That is bearing his name, bearing his reputation with we should put out to the world a good reputation because Yahweh is good. This refers not only to speech, but also, like I said, to the lifestyle and the representation that we put out there for the world. We look at second Timothy chapter two verse 19. However, the solid foundation of Elohim stands firm, having this seal, Yahweh knows those who are his, and let everyone who names the name of Messiah turn away from unrighteousness.
So when we become one of his people, when we become one of his children, we are to turn away from unrighteousness because Yahweh is the pinnacle, the example, the definition of righteous. He is the bar that we should reach for, that we should model our own lives after. So when we become one of his people, we should turn away from unrighteousness towards his example of righteousness. Now the next word that we’d like to go a little bit deeper into on this third commandment where it says, thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. We also looked at the scriptures 2,009 translation, which says, do not bring his name to naught.
Now this whole word for vain or naught is the Hebrew word shaw, and that is Strong’s h seven seven two three, Hebrew word shah. Shaw. And the unambiguous uses, Strong’s definition, and Brown Driver Briggs pretty much all has the same thing. They’re all in agreement here, meaning emptiness, vanity, falsehood, nothingness, worthlessness. And personally, I like this whole idea of worthlessness.
Thou shall not bear the name of Yahweh to worthlessness and bring it to worthlessness. Bring his reputation. Bring his authority down to nothingness, down to worthlessness. And I think that’s what it’s really getting to. And, hey, feel free to disagree.
And if you do, let us know down in the comments and why. Actually, you know, we could have a little back and forth conversation here or you can email us either way, but that’s just kinda how we’re seeing it here. But, anyways, getting back to the nerdy part, Shaw meaning emptiness, vanity, falsehood, worthlessness, things like that. Once again, there’s your outline of biblical usage, Strong’s definition, and Brown Driver Briggs entry. Here’s your Jacenius’ Hebrew Lexicon entry, your Jastrow’s Dictionary of the Targums entry, and your Klein dictionary entry.
And also this week, we were able to find a copy of the Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament or the Halot, which is highly sought after. So it’s awesome to be able to find this, but here is your hay law entry for Shaw, meaning pretty much the same thing, worthlessness, deception, triviality, things like that, vanity, etcetera, etcetera, agreeing with pretty much what we’ve already saw. Anyways, this word, Shaw, means to bring to not, to bring to nothingness, to bring to worthlessness, things like that. Like I said, personally, I like the whole worthlessness idea. It really conveys what we really see that third commandment to being.
Bashar meaning falsehood, emptiness, nothingness, emptiness, or vanity, and includes speaking his name in a frivolous or deceptive or dishonest way, but it goes much more than that too. Like we said earlier, it’s more than just speech. It’s about the way we live our lives. So this bringing it to nothingness also comes from how we live our lives, the choices we make, the words we speak, the way we treat other people. Unfortunately, the saying is true that Christianity is a religion that eats its own.
You probably had that experience yourself. If you grew up in like me and went to a mainstream Christian church and then you found out the truth about certain traditions and things like that and what the scriptures actually teach, if you’re like me, you ended up getting the left foot of fellowship, as we call it, on more than one occasion. But that is, in my opinion, that whole division, that whole nastiness, that whole hatred that was experienced in those situations was a violation of the third commandment. It was bearing the reputation of Yahweh and bringing it to worthlessness because of that kind of attitude. So take it for what you will.
Agree, disagree. Either way, you’re still brothers and sisters in messiah to us. But looking here about bringing the, I’m sorry, the whole word of naught or worthlessness or nothingness, We look at Psalms chapter 24 verses three through four. Who does go up into the mountain of Yahweh, and who does stand in his set apart place? He who has innocent hands and a clean heart, who did not bring his life to naught and did not swear deceivingly.
So as one of his people, be honest, be righteous, do not be a deceiver, Do not make bad choices. Do not misrepresent your heavenly father. Do not bear his name. Do not carry his name or his reputation in a negative way because we want to lift up, we want to praise and honor the name, the authority, the reputation of Yahweh. And this applies to all who claim his name, who all who claim to be a part of his people, all who claim to be a son or a daughter of Yahweh.
And if you identify as his follower, you bear his name. Like, we’re saying name is much more than just the utterance or the what do we call it, the, audible sounds that someone goes by, the utterance of their names. Much more than that. It’s the reputation. It’s the authority.
It is the character. Numbers chapter six verses 23 to 27. This is something that you probably know because we say this and we pray it. It’s about every single livestream. Here, numbers chapter six verses 23 to 27.
Speak to Aaron and his sons saying, this is how you bless the children of Israel. Say to them, Yahweh bless you and guard you. Yahweh make his face shine upon you and show favor to you. Yahweh lift up his face upon you and give you peace. Thus, they shall put my name on the children of Israel, and I myself shall bless them.
So this whole thing that we do every single service, every single livestream of the Aaronic Benediction is the way that we are told in scripture to put the name of Yahweh upon his people. So there you go. If you identify as one of his people, if you are one of his people, you bear you carry his name. Misrepresenting him, misrepresenting him through the bearing of his name, through hypocrisy, through continued sin, through false prophecy, through deceit, through unrighteousness, through lawlessness, this brings his name to nothingness. It brings his name, his reputation, his authority, his character to worthlessness in the eyes of the world.
And this is why we are not to bear his name in vain. We’re not to bear his name to nothingness. And those who use his name but live in rebellion, willful rebellion. Or teach falsehood. They violate this third commandment because they’re misrepresenting the name, the authority, the character, the reputation of Yahweh.
It condemns this third commandment condemns false oaths and blasphemy because false oaths and blasphemy, that gets into some of the profanity, I guess you could say, but it’s more directly to the heart of the third commandment in that it brings his name to nothingness. Using Yahweh’s name to swear falsely, lie, manipulate, or justify evil is a grievous sin because it violates that third commandment. Leviticus chapter 19 verse 12. And do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your Elohim. I am Yahweh.
Jeremiah chapter 23 verses 25 to 28. I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesied falsehood in my name, the prophets of falsehood and prophets of the deceit of their own heart who try to make my people forget my name by their dreams, which everyone relates to his neighbor. So do not prophesy falsely by the name because you are violating the third commandment. You’re bringing the name to worthlessness. Do not do so deceitfully in the name of Yahweh, and do not try to get people to forget the name.
Here, and in more than just this one particular instance, it really places a lot of importance on the name of Yahweh. Now, like I said, name in Hebraic thought conveys more than just the utterance and what someone goes by. It means character, reputation, authority, things like that. But I also do believe that the name of Yahweh is important to know and to tell the at least the faithful anyways. There’s some wisdom out there and, you know, not putting your pearls before swine, so to speak.
But with the faithful, I do believe it’s rather important to continue his name so that our children and those who come after us will know his name and know which god that’s out there and being reported is the actual and true and only existing god. It’s not Allah. It’s not Krishna or Vishnu or whatever those things are. No. The only one true living God is Yahweh.
That’s it. There is no other God beside him. That’s one of the reasons I think it is important. Now, we didn’t have time to put in the information about when the Jews did away with pronouncing the name, but there is some information in the notes. So go check that out on God’s honest truth when you get time if that’s something that interests you.
Now this third commandment also warns and gives judgment or a misuse of the third commandment or if you break the third commandment. It’s one of the 10. There’s more than that. We went over some of the curses last week for the second commandment, but this is one of the 10 that comes with a direct warning of punishment. The verse explicitly states, let’s read this again, Yahweh does not leave the one unpunished who brings his name to naught.
And that comes from Exodus chapter 20 verse seven and, of course, the second iteration in Deuteronomy chapter five verse 11. We also look at Ezekiel chapter 39 verse seven. And I shall make my set apart name known in the midst of my people, Yisrael, and not let my Set Apart Name be profaned anymore. And the nations shall know that I am Yahweh, the Set Apart or Holy One in Yisrael. This is another aspect of the third commandment, is making his name holy.
If we misuse it, if we bear it, or bring it to nothingness, we bring it to worthlessness, it’s not holy anymore. By honoring his name, by honoring his character, his reputation, his authority, we are making it holy. We’re making it set apart. We’re making it sacred. That is another aspect of this third commandment.
Now, like I said earlier, the whole concept of name in Hebraic thought conveys more than just the utterance of what you refer to someone as. It means character, authority, reputation, things like that. And here are some examples I gave for you tonight. And like I said, there’s a whole lot more information on the notes and also in the dross that we did back during the Godhead series, and that dross was entitled in the name of the father, son, and holy spirit. But here’s some examples.
First one coming from John 17 verse six. This is Yeshua speaking, and he says, I have revealed your name to the men whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have guarded your word. John chapter 14 verse nine. Yeshua said to him, have I been with you so long, and you have not known me, Philip?
He who has seen me has seen the father. And how do you say show us the father? John chapter five verse 43. I have come to you in my father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, him you would receive.
So Yeshua tells Timothy I’m sorry, Thomas. Is that right? Doubting Thomas. In John fourteen nine, if you have seen me, you’ve seen the father. How can you say show us the father?
Now this word used here in Greek for seen can also be translated, and I think more accurately so, as discern. So what Yeshua is saying is if you have discerned me, you have discerned the father. The character or the reputation that Yeshua put out, that he exemplified in his life represented the most accurately the character and the reputation of Yahweh. Make more sense now? That’s what I’m thinking he’s really showing here, and that’s what he’s really doing.
He’s really upholding that third commandment. Yeshua is truly and accurately bearing the name of Yahweh. And it even says multiple places, but here in the example we’ve got is John five forty three is that he comes in the father’s name. He comes in the authority and the reputation and the character of his father Yahweh. So this all goes together, and Yeshua actually has some more to say about it.
We’ll say go here in just a moment. But it wasn’t just a concept for the Tanakh or the Old Testament. It goes on into the Brit Chadashah and is something that our Messiah, Yeshua, taught. And, in fact, when we go and we look at the Master’s Prayer or, like, the mainstream churches call it, the Lord’s prayer. It says here, and this is what Yeshua is teaching us.
He says in Matthew chapter six verses nine through 12, this then is the way you should pray. Our father who is in the heavens, let your name be set apart. Let your authority, your character, your reputation be set apart or holy. Let your character be holy. Let your reputation, your authority be holy.
Let your name be holy. So this goes throughout the entire scriptures. It wasn’t just something that was done back in the Old Testament and now it’s all done away with. We don’t have to worry about that. No.
This is one continuous thread because there’s one continuous eternal God with one continuous Torah and set of instructions because he created everything. He knows everything works. It’s all good for us. It’s for our benefit. Let’s listen to it.
Let’s obey it. And in this context, let’s obey and adhere to the third commandment to bear his name correctly, accurately, and righteously because Yahweh is righteous, and we should bear his authority to the rest of the world, his character to the rest of the world like we’re supposed to. So in summary, the third commandment is, like you probably already know, you do not bring the name of Yahweh your Elohim to naught, for Yahweh does not leave the one unpunished who brings his name to naught. So review complete for the third commandment. But anyways, this word here for bring or to take is Strong’s h five three seven five, nasah, and it means to bring, lift up, take, carry, or bear, which is the one I personally think is most accurate in this verse.
But the word for bring to naught or take in vain, things like that, is Strong’s H seven seven two three, the Hebrew word shaw, and it means vain, vanity, emptiness, nothingness, or worthlessness, which is, once again, my reference for translation in this particular verse. The third commandment is about more than just profanity. It’s about our words, our actions, our lifestyle, our choices, and bearing his name as his people and bearing it accurately. Bearing his character, his reputation, his authority accurately as his people as we go out into the world and represent him as one of his people so that we can bring more people unto him, bring more people into the fold, so that there’s more people worshiping and serving Yahweh. And that’s just the God honest truth.
