Monday, July 20, 2009
{ 5:25 AM }
apparently our breathing patterns pronounce Your Name as well.
Exodus 20:7
"The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse His name."
Leviticus 19:12
"Do not use my name to swear a falsehood and so profane the name of your God. I am the Lord."
What does it mean to misuse the Name of the Lord?-> Using the Name of the Lord in vain does not only apply to "Oh My ..." or "J... C...!"
-> God's Name isn't even truly "God", "God" is a form of His Name, it is not the root, the source, but a substitute.
God's Name is
unknown.
Remains: the Tetragrammaton of His Name - four consonants.
the pronunciation is lost.
observant Jews don't pronounce the Tetragrammaton, but write it down -> it's too sacred for common activities, even ordinary prayer
was pronounced by the High Priest on Yom Kippur when the Temple was still standing in Jerusalem
post destruction 70AD -> Tetragrammaton no longer pronounced
Jews substitute "Adonai" - "my Lord", "Elohim" - "God, "HaShem" - "The Name", "AdoShem" - Lord's Name.
God is holy and He is The Lord, they feared the misusage of it, for anyone who uttered it unworthily has blasphemed against His Name.
Knowing someone's name gives you a foot up, misusing it shows "ownership" and is completely disrespectful
In the Old Testament, the smallest act of disobedience and carelessness resulted in death.
Leviticus 10:1-3 (New Living Translation)
Leviticus 10
The Sin of Nadab and Abihu
Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu put coals of fire in their incense burners and sprinkled incense over them. In this way, they disobeyed the Lord by burning before him the wrong kind of fire, different than he had commanded. 2 So fire blazed forth from the Lord’s presence and burned them up, and they died there before the Lord.
3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord meant when he said,
‘I will display my holiness
through those who come near me.
I will display my glory
before all the people.’”
And Aaron was silent.
- Aaron's sons were careless in their preparation and sacrifices and were burnt by the fire of the Lord in His sight
- Performing sacrifices - act of obedience, correct respect for God.
- Disrespecting, dishonoring, being careless - profaning His name.
What else does Leviticus define as the profaning and misusing the Name of the Lord? 1. idolatry
Leviticus 20:2-3 (New Living Translation)
2 “Give the people of Israel these instructions, which apply both to native Israelites and to the foreigners living in Israel.
“If any of them offer their children as a sacrifice to Molech, they must be put to death. The people of the community must stone them to death. 3 I myself will turn against them and cut them off from the community, because they have defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name by offering their children to Molech..
2. not worshipping in the correct heart and spirit
Leviticus 22:2 (New Living Translation)
2 “Tell Aaron and his sons to be very careful with the sacred gifts that the Israelites set apart for me, so they do not profane my holy name. I am the Lord.
3. treating Him and His Name as common and ordinary - taking Him for less than what He is.
Leviticus 22:32 (New Living Translation)
32 Do not treat my holy name as common and ordinary, for I will display my holiness among the people of Israel. I am the Lord who makes you holy. 33 It was I who rescued you from the land of Egypt, that I might be your God. I am the Lord.”
When you misuse the name of the Lord, what you feel about God is reflected, your true heart towards God is shown.
Ultimately, misusing the Name of the Lord means that you are disrespecting, dishonoring, and mistreating Him, you are not loving the Lord you God with all your heart, soul, and mind.
I once heard this -> "If God is not the Lord of all, then He is not God at all."
Henceforth,
Isaiah 29:13-14 (New Living Translation)
13 And so the Lord says,
“These people say they are mine.
They honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
And their worship of me
is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.[a]
14 Because of this, I will once again astound these hypocrites
with amazing wonders.
The wisdom of the wise will pass away,
and the intelligence of the intelligent will disappear.”
Footnotes:
Isaiah 29:13 Greek version reads Their worship is a farce, / for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God. Compare Mark 7:7.
Choose.- Continue proclaiming "Lord, Lord" yet acting in a way that is disrespectful and takes Him for granted, not obeying His Commandments -> Who is God to you?
Isaiah 66:1-4 (New Living Translation)
Isaiah 66
1 This is what the Lord says:
“Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
Could you build me a temple as good as that?
Could you build me such a resting place?
2 My hands have made both heaven and earth;
they and everything in them are mine.[a]
I, the Lord, have spoken!
“I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts,
who tremble at my word.
3 But those who choose their own ways—
delighting in their detestable sins—
will not have their offerings accepted.
When such people sacrifice a bull,
it is no more acceptable than a human sacrifice.
When they sacrifice a lamb,
it’s as though they had sacrificed a dog!
When they bring an offering of grain,
they might as well offer the blood of a pig.
When they burn frankincense,
it’s as if they had blessed an idol.
4 I will send them great trouble—
all the things they feared.
For when I called, they did not answer.
When I spoke, they did not listen.
They deliberately sinned before my very eyes
and chose to do what they know I despise.”
- Deny the faith, and face eternal damnation
Romans 1:18-20 (New Living Translation)
God’s Anger at Sin
18 But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.[a] 19 They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
- Repent, believe, and have faith. Search for the Spirit.
Luke 11:9-10 (New Living Translation)
9 “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
John 4:23 (New Living Translation)
23 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way.
(there are many other related passages, these are just a few.)
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His only son, that whosoever believes in Him, will not perish, but have eternal life.
Labels: we were made for one purpose alone
