Title: THE NAME OF THE LORD

Focus: Beware of misusing the name of the Lord. Use it with respect, reverence, and awe.

Function: To encourage the people to take seriously the name of the Lord.

Confession: Lord’s Day 36

Text: Leviticus 24:10-23

 

INTRODUCTION

            Her name is Lady Thatcher, but critics and admirers alike call her “The Iron Lady.” They refer to her with respect. His name is Saddam Hussein, but his victims and their relatives call him “The Butcher of Baghdad.” They despise the man for his brutality and cruelty to his opponents. His name is Bill Clinton, but many refer to him derisively as “Slick Willie” for his habitual lying and getting away with it.

 

What we do with names or how we refer to people betrays what we think of them, and how we feel toward them. Names are important. That’s why we do well to pay special attention to God’s expressed desire in the 3^rd commandment: “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.”

 

There’s something about the name of God that should alert us to danger, to fear. The name of God is like a tiger in the zoo. If you treat that tiger like you would treat your cat at home, you are in for deep trouble. You cannot, and should never try, to domesticate a tiger. So it is also with the name of the Lord.  Never bring the name of the Lord down to your own level of self-respect or to the level of disrespect. Always beware of misusing the name of the Lord. Any sane person will keep her distance when it comes to tigers. So it is also with biblically-informed believers and the name of the Lord. Use his name with reverence and awe.

 

THE PASSAGE

            The book of Leviticus is full of rules and regulations as to how God’s people in the days of Moses are to relate to God and one another. But there are not many stories in Leviticus. Chapter 24, however, gives us a story with insight. The story drives home the point that no one may take God’s name in vain—no one, no native-born Israelite nor any foreign-born resident among Israel. The story tells us in essence that there is a “tiger” in the name of God.

 

Take note of the story’s

• Spotlight: The focus of the story moves from a young man who got involved in a fight and cursed the name of God among the Israelites. Moses must sit as judge and preside over this blasphemer; after all, it was through Moses that God gave his law, including his 3^rd commandment to his people. We note that the spotlight turns to the Lord himself who, again through Moses, speaks to the people, saying “If anyone curses his God, he will be held responsible; anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord must be put to death.”

 

            Then, in verses 17-20, we find a digression or detour away from the story. Now the spotlight of the story shines on other offences that call for appropriate punishment: death penalty for murderers; restoration for people who are accidentally injured, and that includes animals. And then the spotlight of attention goes back to the story. We hear a summary of God’s verdict on the blasphemer: “You are to have the same law for the alien and the native-born.” And we notice that the people execute the sentence by stoning the blasphemer.

Such is the focus of the passage.

 

            Also take note of the story’s

• Unnamed Blasphemer: he is of mixed blood; his father an Egyptian; his mother an Israelite. The son’s name is not given; the mother’s name is Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri the Danite. The son’s father’s name is not given. What’s the significance of all this?

 

            In a subtle way, the writer of Leviticus makes the Egyptian father and his Egyptian heritage or name disappear in history. What this son did was utterly wrong. He blasphemed God with a curse; therefore his name must be blotted from memory, and so must his family name.

            But you object and say, Why does the writer of Leviticus mention the son’s mother’s name then? Why not wipe her family’s name from the history books as well? Ah, good question. It’s because the writer wants to drive home the mother’s relationship to God and his people Israel. By mentioning her name, the inspired author of Leviticus reminds us that the son of this woman—a woman who at one time was married to an Egyptian man, a Gentile—should have known better. By cursing and blaspheming the name of God in a fight, this son is NOT excused because he is from a Gentile or pagan background. He should have known better because his mother and primary caregiver is an Israelite, a member of the tribe of Dan.

           

Apparently, there were Israelites in the camp who did not think this young man should be judged so harshly. After all, he is from a mixed, Egyptian and Israelite stock. His father is presumably dead, or he remained in Egypt at the time of the Exodus. We just don’t know. But it’s clear that the people began to debate the question, ‘should the law of God apply to an alien-born person the same way as a native-born person?’ The answer came straight from God. Yes, “Whether an alien or native-born, when he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death.”

 

            Why this harsh verdict? What insights does the Scripture give us in this matter?

·        Blasphemy is to speak of God in an irreverent, impious manner. A person who blasphemes shows contempt; she has an attitude toward God. He provokes God. Blasphemy of the name of God rouses the tiger of wrath and indignation. Other words for blasphemy are: profanity; irreverence; sacrilege; impiety, cursing, swearing. The opposite of blasphemy are words such as: prayer, praying, veneration, reverence, adoration, blessing, benediction and thanksgiving. Blasphemy, then, drags the name and fame of God through the mud, so to speak, while the opposite of blasphemy leads to an elevation, an exaltation of God’s holy name. So beware of misusing the name of the Lord. There’s something special about the name of God! For example,

(Thielemann)

·        We must use the name of God with fear and reverence, for it is the name of the almighty and holy God. Isaiah, the prophet, says for example that “The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread….” (Isaiah 8:13) Use God’s name with reverence and awe.

Also, remember:

·        God’s name stands for the PERSON of God: the Lord, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. God’s name also stands for the BEING of God: He is the Eternal One, the Almighty; and the name of God stands for his REPUTATION or his WORKS throughout history.

 

Would we minimize the beautiful, brilliant, yet imperfect, paintings and thus the reputations of Rembrandt and Van Gogh? How much more then should we beware of misusing the name of God who created, who upholds, and who renews the heavens and the earth! Remember: it’s possible to speak admiringly or derisively of Rembrandt and Van Gogh. Nothing will happen to us either way. But there is a “tiger” in the name of God. Curse him—and our curse will boomerang on our own head. Speak ill of God—and we will have to deal with God’s ill-will toward all who misuse or blaspheme his name. Those who bless the Lord, receive his favor; those who curse him, nothing but death.

 

LORD’S DAY 36

            The Heidelberg Catechism reflects upon God’s will in the 3^rd commandment by holding it before us like a coin. On the one side, the negative side, it is God’s will “That we neither blaspheme nor misuse the name of God by cursing, perjury, or unnecessary oaths, nor share in such horrible sins by being silent bystanders.”

            On the other side, the positive side, doing God’s will as expressed in the 3^rd commandment means that we “use the holy name of God only with reverence and awe, so that we may properly confess him, pray to him, and praise him in everything we do and say.”

 

            I like the depth of insight expressed by the Catechism. It calls us to explore God’s will in this commandment from all kinds of different angles, using the entire scope of God’s revealed Word. We aren’t talking just about some cusswords that may be offensive to God. We go deeper; we are dealing with God’s being, his person, his reputation. We are dealing with attitudes, our attitude or heart toward God. We aren’t only talking about using God’s name, but also about silencing, deadpanning or minimizing God’s name. For example:

 

·        When Christians in politics leave their Christian piety at home and pretend that God does not have a role in the governing of our nations, those Christian politicians are misusing the name of God.

 

·        When Christians sing psalms on Sundays, insist on sermons in worship, and profess with vigor that Jesus is Lord, but refuse to speak the name of Jesus in education, in law, in business, and in every other sphere of life, these Christians are living a lie; we are misusing the name of the Lord. Respect for God’s being, God’s person, and God’s reputation or works does not stop when we go home from church.

 

Reverence and awe and holy fear must make up the Christian’s attitude toward the Lord our God. Neither defiance, mockery, and silence, nor blasphemy, silliness, and derisive laughter are acceptable references or approaches to our holy God. Beware of misusing the name of the Lord!

 

 How do we grow or cultivate such an attitude of reverence and awe? Let me give you some pointers:

 

1.      Believe that God exists and hears you and knows your heart and mind. Before we speak, he knows our thought; Even though we do not see him, God is here. You cannot fear God if you do not believe he exist. Act upon that belief.

 

2.      Know and study and ponder God’s Word. It is in his Word, the Bible, that God reveals himself; he tells us of his love; he points us to his Son, the Lord Jesus. And he calls us each day to live for him and fear him with a holy, joyful, fear that helps us to live before him aright.

 

3.      Know your place: Once we see the picture that God is infinite, almighty, everlasting, creator and redeemer of all, we will also begin to see our place before him: on our knees. We depend on him so much.

 

4.      Pray the Lord’s Prayer with careful thought: “Our Father in heaven. Hallowed be your name.” It is the first thing that a child of God must learn to do—hallow God’s name. Listen to this prayer and live it out each day: “Our Father in heaven. Help us to really know you, to bless, worship, and praise you for all your works and for all that shines forth from them: your almighty power, wisdom, kindness, justice, mercy, and truth. Help us to direct all our living—what we think, say, and do—so that your name will never be blasphemed because of us but always honored and praised.”

(L.D. 71)

            Pray this prayer often. Show your earnestness of faith by living and practicing it. And soon, people will notice that we have an attitude when it comes to the name of the Lord—an attitude of respect, reverence, and holy awe.

            Glory be to God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and always shall be. World without end! Amen