Exodus 20 Commandment #3 " You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who take His name in vain."

We are swift to pass over this command, thinking that we do good, since we don't use His Name as a cuss word... but is there more to it than that?  Lord, Great I AM, open our ears to hear and our eyes to see!

First a few definitions using the Hebrew words -
Nacah - Take - lift up, carry, raise, take ( up, away)  - this word has many uses and "take" is just one...
shav - vain - desolating, evil, destructive, ruin, uselessness, lie, lying, vanity
shibah - swear -seven times -to be complete; to declare 7 times, taking an oath
chalal - profane - to wound, dissolve, pollute, (treat as common,  show disrespect or contempt for)

The Lord is very clear about how we speak or use His Name.  Note these instructions:

Leviticus 19:12  " And you shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God; I am the LORD"

Deuteronomy 6:13 " You shall fear only the LORD, your God; and you shall worship Him, and swear by His name."

Deuteronomy10:20-21 " You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by his name. He is your praise and He is your God,who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen."

God wants us to lift up His Name rightly, truthfully, fearfully, and respectfully.   If we take an oath in His Name and then lie - we profane HIS Name.  It reveals our lack of fear and respect for Him.  His Name means nothing, and He means nothing to us if -we take an oath and fail to do what we said we would do in His Name.

Even more than that, there is a warning given in this command that we also pass over - "for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who take His Name in vain."  The LORD takes seriously the vows and promises we make in His Name.

Jesus saw this and gave this warning in Matthew 5:33 -37

  " Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, 'You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord', But I say to you make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for your cannot make one hair white or black. But let your statement be, 'Yes, yes' or 'No, no'; and anything beyond these is of evil."  

He addressed it again in Matthew 23:16-22 

"Woe to you, blind guides, who say,'Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated. You fools and blind men; which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? And ,'Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering upon it, he is obligated.' You blind men, which is more important, the offering or the altar that sanctifies the offering? Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it.  And he who swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells within it.  And he who swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it."

They were making oaths, using other things, thinking that it didn't matter, and bringing judgement upon themselves.  Jesus called them "fools and blind men".   James writes to the church this same warning again: " But above all, my brethren , do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but let your yes be yes, and your no, no; so that you may not fall under judgement."

To make a false oath, using the LORD's Name, or using anything that He has created - is so detestable in God's eyes, that Jesus tells us not to make any oaths at all.  Just be honest and stand by your word. Stop breaking God's command, stop using His Name in vain.

Father in Heaven, Hallowed be Your Name!  May we speak Your Name only with reverent fear and great honor.  Oh Lord our God, stop our mouths from speaking anything that would profane Your holy Name.  Let our lives reflect Your holiness and bring glory to Your Name.  Forgive us for living without thought of how our lives sometimes bring dishonor to You. When we say things and then fail to follow through.. claiming to be Christians, Christ followers, but act in ways that bring dishonor to Your Name and reputation.  Thank You for showing us lovingkindness and grace, forgiving our sins.  Thank You for redeeming us and sanctifying us by Your Holy Spirit so that we can praise You and bring glory to Your Name.  Through Jesus' Name we pray, Amen.