Yes! There is Good News! Dec 6, 2019

God has a name! Of course, that is quite obvious. But do you know what it is? Perhaps we should take our time in considering our answer, because one of the Ten Commandments deals exclusively with God’s name. Commandment number 3: “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.” I suppose many of us would consider that to be the extent of the commandment but there is more; “… for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who takes His name in vain.” (Exodus 20:7)

If you consider each of the Ten, you will find that this is the only one to which God attaches a warning. So I guess we should take into consideration that God’s name is very important. So what is His name?

Hey! What’s our hurry!! Let’s first muse upon what it means to take something “in vain.” The word “vain” has several nuances of meaning in the Bible; it can mean deceit, malice, falsity or emptiness. And each one of these could be used in conjunction with the Third Commandment. But let us first ask the question, what does it mean to “take” something in vain, especially to take the name of God in a deceitful, false or empty way?

If it is raining out and I “take” my raincoat, what I mean is that I will wear it or put it on. My wife might tell me to “take” an umbrella so as to use it. If I must go to the store I will “take” the car; it is a conveyance that I will use. Have you ever taken the name of God? This goes way beyond just speaking the word for His name. Most times today, when a man and woman get married, the wife “takes” the last name of her husband (this custom is very related to what we are talking about – it is a Biblical consideration for the bride of Christ taking upon herself the name of her husband).

Yes, when we enter into covenant with God and accept the sacrifice of His Son for our sins, we enter into a strong relationship with Jesus. When we do as Peter told the crowd in Acts 2:38, to “repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit,” we actually take upon us a great responsibility to honor and obey Him. And we take upon us the name of God!!! This is a marriage covenant we enter into and we are betrothed to the one who loves us and died for us.

The actual name of God becomes a delicate subject. In Hebrew His name is made up of just 4 letters. The letters are: “Yod, Hey, Vaw, Hey.” In English we would write “YHVH” and the pronunciation is much debated for there are no vowels. Yehovah or Yahwah are perhaps the more common way of saying this name. We see this name in the book of Exodus when God confronts Moses from the burning bush and gives to him his commission. Moses asks what God’s name is and God answers, “My name is, ‘I AM WHO I AM’” or “I AM THAT I AM”. This name, when brought into English is best translated as “The Eternal One” the one who is self-existent.

As always we run out of space just when it is starting to get good.