Sing before the service: Psalm 145:1-5
Our help is in the Name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Beloved, grace and peace be to you from God our Father, and the Lord
Jesus Christ, through the mighty working of God the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Psalm of praise 68:2
Prayer
Psalm 34:2
Scripture reading: Job 36
Scripture
text:
Job 36:26; Catechism Lord’s Day 36
How great is God – beyond our understanding! The number of
his years is past finding out. (Job 36:26 NIV)
In the passage we’ve read mention is made of God who controls
the wicked and the wretched as well as peoples and nature. Do you
realise exactly how powerful the Lord is to be able to do this?
- It is so important to realise this, because we – the
believers – have a life-pattern that shows that one moment we
truly confess who God the Lord is, and the next moment we sin as if He
doesn’t exist.
God’s omnipotence and his Essence are often linked to his
Name.
- Consider, for example, Psalm 111:9 that says that the Name of the Lord
is holy and awesome.
- In fact, the psalmist means that the Lord is holy and must be feared.
- After all it is impossible to think about the Lord without thinking
about his Name; similarly, it is impossible to think about the Name of
the Lord without thinking about his Essence.
So often we mention the Name of the Lord.
- Sometimes when we speak of Him.
- Or when we speak to God, for example when we pray.
- But so often it’s done when a person swears – no
matter what inflection of the Name of the Lord is used to camouflage
the swearword.
The fact is just that the person using the Name of the Lord seldom
realises that the Lord is present when he calls his Name.
- Elihu realised it when he called the Lord great and beyond
understanding.
- This is actually a confession that the Essence of the Lord is beyond
our understanding.
In contrast with this: A swearer using the Name of the Lord when
he’s angry or simply using it as an expletive or patch-word
or to emphasise a statement.
All these are covered by the third commandment.
It is because the Essence of the Lord is so great and powerful
– completely beyond our understanding – that we are
instructed to reverently respect the Name of the Lord and only use it
in worship.
The content of the Lord’s Name remains the same:
- When the Lord’s Name is used reverently and in worship the
Name is the same as
- when it is taken in vain.
- But, the one is right while the latter is a grievous sin!
The Lord is so serious about this that He adds the threat that He would
punish the one who abuses his Name.
- This means that the Lord will punish you if you do not keep this
commandment.
- He is committed to doing it.
The Lord does not command this because of conceit.
- He gives this commandment because his Name and his Essence are
identical.
- He gives this commandment because it contains the course of the history
of heaven and earth.
Whoever abuses this almighty Name will come up against the holiness and
omnipotence of this Name.
- The result will be that the blasphemer will be destroyed. This is the
logical consequence because nobody can measure his strength with God.
- Hence it is obvious that such a person must be punished, because abuse
of the Lord’s Name also means contempt for God.
God’s holiness requires that we must worship and glorify Him
in all we do.
- He wants us to honour Him.
- He also wants us to honour Him in a specific way.
- It means
that there are certain times and places where He does not want his Name
to be used –under no circumstances.
- Hence it
is impossible to use the Name of God wrongfully and then try to deny
that it was done disrespectfully.
Consider the example we find in Leviticus 24:10. We read about the son
of an Israelite woman who was involved in a quarrel. He lost and
because he had lost he blasphemed the Name of God.
- He was immediately put in custody and Moses asked the Lord to declare
his will regarding this boy.
- The Bible describes it as follows:
Then the Lord said to Moses: “Take the blasphemer outside the
camp. All those who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and
the entire assembly is to stone him. Say to the Israelites:
‘If anyone curses his God, he will be held responsible;
(Leviticus 24:13-15 NIV)
These are the words of the Lord. Kill the child. Nowadays we would be
up in arms immediately as we do not being dictated, or even being
threatened. But then we should remember this.
- God is the Creator and Controller of absolutely everything.
- He is the One with the ultimate power.
- He can demand whatever He wishes.
- His
instructions must be obeyed.
- Those who
want to answer back will be faced with a Power who will not accept it.
- He said
the boy had to be killed, and the boy was stoned to death.
- The Lord’s demands never change and if you willfully
blaspheme the Name of the Lord, the Lord will also execute the sentence
when your time on earth has run out.
We should of course understand that the death sentence instituted by
the Lord also has a symbolic meaning, because it points to eternal
death – to hell.
It’s because this is such a serious matter that the Lord
forbids all people to blaspheme his Name and that He announces the
punishment we read about in Leviticus 24:15-16:
Say to the Israelites: ‘If anyone curses his God, he will be
held responsible; anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord must be
put to death. The entire assembly must stone him. Whether an alien or
native-born, when he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death.
(Leviticus 24:15-16 NIV)
When we look at other passages in the Bible that deals with the Name of
the Lord, we find the following:
- David associates the Name of the Lord with salvation (Psalm 54).
- Psalm 8 sings about the majesty of the Name of the Lord in all the
earth.
- In Exodus 5:23 we also find the link between the Name of God and his
instructions.
- There are many more examples indicating that there is a link between
everything – literally all things – and God and his
Name.
We should be very careful not to blaspheme the Name of the Lord.
Beloved brothers and sisters, guard against blaspheming the Name of the
Lord, or abusing the Name of the Lord.
Also, do not swear falsely, because it is also a form of blasphemy.
Positive: Let’s approach the matter from another point of
view. The Lord forbids us to blaspheme his Name.
- On the one hand we must preserve the honour of God.
- But on the other hand we should continually ponder about God and
realise how great and holy He is.
Let’s read together Catechism Lord’s Day 36.
99. Q. What is required in the third commandment?
A. We are not to blaspheme or to abuse the Name of God by cursing,[1]
perjury,[2] or unnecessary oaths,[3] nor to share in such horrible sins
by being silent bystanders.[4] In short, we must use the holy Name of
God only with fear and reverence,[5] so that we may rightly confess
Him,[6] call upon Him,[7] and praise Him in all our words and works.[8]
[1] Lev. 24:10-17. [2] Lev. 19:12 [3] Matt. 5:37; James 5:12. [4] Lev.
5:1; Prov. 29:24. [5] Ps. 99:1-5;
Is. 45:23; Jer. 4:2. [6] Matt. 10:32, 33; Rom. 10:9, 10. [7] Ps. 50:14,
15; I Tim. 2:8. [8] Rom. 2:24;
Col. 3:17; I Tim. 6:1.
100. Q. Is the blaspheming of God's Name by swearing and cursing such a
grievous sin that God is angry also with those who do not prevent and
forbid it as much as they can?
A. Certainly,[1] for no sin is greater or provokes God's wrath more
than the blaspheming of His Name. That is why He commanded it to be
punished with death.[2]
[1] Lev. 5:1. [2] Lev. 24:16.
Amen.
Closing prayer
Closing hymn: Psalm 33:11
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the
fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Amen.
Dr MJ du Plessis
Reformed Church Bellville
Date: 3 September 2006
(evening)