The Third Commandment: What does it mean?
Many take the third commandment to mean that we should not use the
Heavenly Father's name alongside a swear word or profanity. I could see where it certainly
might mean this. Others say that taking His name on our lips while living a life
of sin is another way of taking His name in vain. I agree with this also.
However, I have found that the third commandment means much more than
this. Replacing the Heavenly Father's name with a title of our own choosing such
as "the LORD", "GOD", "Adonai", or "Ha
Shem" is another way of taking His name in vain. Let's look at the third
commandment as written in the King James Bible:
Deuteronomy 5:11 "Thou shalt not take the
name of the LORD thy God in vain:
for the LORD will not hold [him] guiltless that taketh his name in vain."
If we examine this verse in the Hebrew text that the King James Bible was translated
from, we would not find "The
LORD" or any word that carries such a meaning. What is actually there
is the Heavenly Father's true name, "Yahweh". I believe it is
important to consider whether or not this tradition is something the Heavenly
Father would desire us to follow.
Let's take a moment and look at the Webster's dictionary definition of the
word "vain":
vain 1. Having no real substance, value, or
importance; empty; void; worthless; unsatisfying. ``Thy vain excuse.'' ... 2.
Destitute of forge or efficacy; effecting no purpose; fruitless; ineffectual;
as, vain toil; a vain attempt. ...
Considering the meaning of the word 'vain', what greater way to bring Yahweh's name to emptiness, worthlessness,
and having no real substance, value or purpose than to remove His name
altogether from scripture and substitute it with a title of our own
choosing?
Those who have chosen to practice this are doing just that. This practice
is so widespread and so complete that few people even know the Heavenly Father has
a personal name. Yahweh chose to place His name in scripture nearly 7,000 times.
And each one of those 7,000 times it is replaced with a title (such as "The
LORD") in 99% of all translations. In fact, in most translations the third
commandment (as written) is a transgression of itself! Why? Because the third
commandment forbids bringing His name to nothing, yet most translations do just
that.
To further demonstrate this point, let's look at the Hebrew word that is
translated "vain" in this verse.
Deuteronomy 5:11 (av) Thou shalt not take the
name of Yahweh thy Elohim in vain <7723>:
for Yahweh will not hold [him] guiltless that taketh his name in vain <7723>.
The number after the word "vain" in this passage refers to Strong's word #7723
in the Hebrew Lexicon. This same Hebrew word (#7723 'Shav') can also be found in
another commandment just a few verses later. But in this instance, it is
translated differently:
Deuteronomy 5:20 (av) Neither shalt thou bear
false <7723>
witness against thy neighbour.
Here we have the same Hebrew word <7723>
translated "false." Might this shed light on the third commandment as
well? We know that to say that the name of the Heavenly Father is "The
LORD" is actually a false statement. Most translations are full of false
statements. For instance, the King James Version reads:
Isaiah 42:8 - I am the LORD: that
is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to
graven images.
The above is not a true statement. His name is not "the LORD". His
name is Yahweh. "The LORD" is not a translation of the original, it is
a substitution of the original. The translators did not translate, they
substituted the true name of the Heavenly Father for something else so that
they could follow their tradition. It
should instead read:
Isaiah 42:8 (RNKJV)
I am Yahweh: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another,
neither my praise to graven images.
So if we want to keep the ten commandments, we should never replace
Yahweh's name with a false name or title of our own choosing. Doing so would be breaking the third commandment.
This is not the only way to break the third commandment, but we can see that it
is certainly one way of doing so.
Yahweh considered it important enough to include in the Ten Commandments
and He considered it important enough to include a warning that we would not be
held "guiltless" if we choose to break
it. Therefore, in spite of what others may think, let's keep His commandments by restoring
what Yahweh placed there originally. Let's set aside vain tradition and walk in
the original truth of Yahweh... just as He inspired it.
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