A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Deuteronomy 6 (Part 1)

Deuteronomy 6:1-3—1 “Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the LORD your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, 2 that you may fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. 3 Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the LORD God of your fathers has promised you—'a land flowing with milk and honey.'” Now that Moses has reviewed the people’s history up to this point, it is time to move forward and see what it will mean for the people. As Moses says in verse 1, this is a prologue to the First Commandment in all the Law. All the 613 commands are but evidence to show that the people are obeying this First Commandment. The Commandment is found in verse 5, which we will reach shortly.

Many people today think that following God is a recipe for a dull and boring life, that it means following a bunch of rules and regulations, and that missing even one such regulation even once means eternal exclusion from the presence of God in the fires of Hell. And this is really backwards thinking. We do not keep commandments in order to love God—we strive to keep His commandments because we love Him. Think of your own relationship with your parents. Do you obey them in order to develop a kind of love for them? No. You love them, and because you love them you try to obey them. If you mess up, and stay out past your curfew one night, do they banish you from the family forever? No. You are chastened, as any good parent would do, because they give you rules so that you will not fall into ruin.

That was the reason God gave these people the commands. He did not do it in order to make their lives more wearisome and dreadful, He gave them commands so He could show them wat it meant to be a child of God. And these commands were not boulders to be strapped onto the people’s backs—they were so the people could know what it means to please Him. 1st John 5:3—For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome (KJV—grievous). And what would be the result of following these commands? “That your days may be prolonged…that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the LORD God of your fathers has promised you.” If one were to follow these commands, they would be in good standing with God, and He would look favorably on that person, and extend their life. Also these commands would keep the person away from those things which shorten their lives.

On the authorship of this passage, The Expositor’s Bible says—

To some readers in our day this repetition, and the renewed postponement of the main subject of the book, have seemed to justify the introduction of a new author here. They are scornfully impatient of the repetition and delay, especially those of them who have themselves a rapid, dashing style; and they declare that the writer of the laws, etc., from chapter 12 onwards cannot have been the writer of these long double introductions. They would not have written so; consequently no one else, however different his circumstances, his objects, and his style may be, can have written so. It is true, they admit, that the style, the grammar, the vocabulary are all exactly those of the purely legal chapters, but that matters not. Their irritation with this delay is decisive; and so they introduce us, entirely on the strength of it, to another Deuteronomist, second or third or fourth-who knows? But all this is too purely subjective to meet with general acceptance, and we may without difficulty decide that the linguistic unity of the book, when chapters 6 to 12 are compared with what we find after 12, is sufficient to settle the question of authorship.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9—4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Verse 4 in Hebrew reads שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael: YHVH Elohenu, YHVH echad). Verses 4-9 are part of a prayer that is still being recited to this day by observant Jews. If you notice, the Tertragrammaton (יְהוָה, YHVH) is used twice here, and these days Jews do not pronounce this, but rather substitute the word אֲדֹנָי (Adonai, “Lord”) or הַשֵּׁם (HaShem, “The Name”). They feel that they have lost the true pronunciation of the word, and rather than offend the Sovereign and mispronounce His name, they use a word which describes Him as Lord of all Creation without mispronouncing His name. At any rate, the passages that make up the Shema are Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Deuteronomy 11:13-21 and Numbers 15:37-41. These passages are combined into one long prayer, and is recited in the morning and in the evening.

Verses 4-5 are recited by Jesus when He is asked which is the greatest commandment in the Law (Matthew 22:37-38; Mark 12:29-32). When asked by one who wanted to know what he had to do to inherit eternal life, and He asked what it said in the Law, the person quoted verse 5 and Jesus said "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live." (Luke 10:28). This passage has always been important to the Jew, for this is the cornerstone of their faith, that God is One. So let’s look at these verses one by one

Deuteronomy 6:4—4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!” The first word, “Hear” is the Hebrew שְׁמַע (Shema, lit., “hear”). Moses was commanding the people to listen to what he was saying, as this would be the foundation of their faith. They were not to just sit idly by while he spoke. They were to actively listen to his words. He was not speaking just to hear himself talk, he was imparting to the people what they needed to know in order to rightly believe in the God who brought them out of Egypt and to trust in Him and Him alone. “Hear”. A word we should remember today when the truth of God is being spoken. We should be hearing what our preacher is saying, and even more than that we should be listening. We can hear all kinds of things, that is the nature of that physical sense. But do we really listen? Do we actively take in what he is saying, and apply it in our lives? Or do we simply show up so we can say we have “done our duty and went to church”? Strong’s defines the word שְׁמַע (Shema) thus:

To hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively to tell, etc.):  attentively, call (gather) together, carefully, certainly, consent, consider, be content, declare, diligently, discern, give ear, (cause to, let, make to) hear (harken, tell),  indeed, listen, make (a) noise, (be) obedient, obey, perceive, [proclaim or make a proclamation], publish, regard, report, shew (forth), (make a) sound, surely, tell, understand, whosoever [heareth], witness.

Does this sound like a passive hearing of what is spoken, or do you get the sense that more is involved? As we will see in Verses 7-9 it involves not only hearing, but also listening, considering, pondering and telling, repeating and publishing publicly. As we are to do with our faith in Christ. We should not let our salt lose its savor, but use it to season the world with our faith (Matthew 5:13; Mark 9:50; Luke 14:34). We are not to hide our light under a basket, but let it shine forth into the world, that they may see the true light, which is Christ (Matthew 5:14). “Hear”–listen, consider, meditate on the Lord and His word, and publish it forth, let the light you have been given shine forth into this world of darkness!

“The LORD our God…” YHVH was their God. Not one of many gods they were to worship, but THE God, the only one to whom they were to devote their lives and their devotion and their worship to. The only One who had done for them and the only One who could do anything for them. What could idols and images do for them? As he said just a few verses prior, Deuteronomy 4:27-28—27 “And the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD will drive you. 28 And there you will serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.” The gods of the pagans—the Canaanites and the Amorites and the Moabites and the Ammonites—these could do nothing, as they were simply images made by the hands of men, and had no sense of sight, smell, hearing, touch or taste. They were simply statues and poles, which could not be animated and which could not animate. But YHVH, He was—and is and always will be—the God who is, the God who has been since eternity past and will always be until eternity future. He formed the Earth, He created the stars and the moons and all the planets—not only in our Solar System, but throughout the Universe—He gave us not only the brains to think, but also the ability to think. He gave us emotions to feel. He alone is God, has always alone been God, and always will be the only God who does. Ba'al cannot see, Chemosh cannot feel, Ashteroth cannot guide into the right ways. Buddha cannot save, Allah cannot deliver, none of the Hindu gods are alive and can do anything. YHVH is our God, the only One to whom we may look for salvation and deliverance.

“…the LORD is one!” Many are the ones who take this verse to mean that only the Father is God, and to deny the deity of Christ (like Jehovah’s Witnesses). Still others use it as the basis of Modalism, and to say that God only appears as the Father in the Old Testament, the Son in the Gospels, and the Holy Spirit today. This was the theory posited by Sabellius (and before him the Monarchians) and promulgated today by the Modalists like TD Jakes. But this is to deny the truth of the Tri-unity of God—that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, all at the same time.

Is this too hard a thing to believe? That Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is also God who appeared in the flesh and dwelt among men? John says as much, in John 1:1, 14—1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. “Well, John 1:1 says the Word was with God. That means the Logos was a separate being from God.” To that I would say See my post concerning John 1:1 here. The idea of the Trinity was not one that (as is supposed by some) was invented by Constantine and the Council of Nicea (for all the great things this Council did and spoke, it is treated by many as the moment when Christianity, and all things pertaining to it, were invented). The Trinity, and the deity of Christ, was something believed by the Early Church (Ante-Nicene) Fathers, even in the 100s and 200s AD. Ignatius, in his “Epistle to the Ephesians” (chapter XIX) wrote the following:

Hence every kind of magic was destroyed, and every bond of wickedness disappeared; ignorance was removed, and the old kingdom abolished, God Himself being manifested in human form for the renewal of eternal life. And now that took a beginning which had been prepared by God. Henceforth all things were in a state of tumult, because He meditated the abolition of death.

In his “Dialog With Trypho” (chapter CXXVIII), Justin Martyr wrote:

And that Christ being Lord, and God the Son of God, and appearing formerly in power as Man, and Angel, and in the glory of fire as at the bush, so also was manifested at the judgment executed on Sodom, has been demonstrated fully by what has been said.

Hippolytus, in “Refutation of All Heresies” (Chapter X):

The Logos alone of this God is from God himself; wherefore also the Logos is God, being the substance of God.

“Well, that’s all well and good. But these are simply men, who were not writing under the inspiration and direction of the Holy Spirit. Besides, they were writing long after the death and resurrection of Jesus. Is there any Scriptural proof?” As a matter of fact, yes, there is. Titus 2:10, 13—10 not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things…13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. 1st Timothy 2:3—For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior. “But the people of Israel did not believe in a Savior besides the Father.” But that does not mean that the Son was not their Savior. 2nd Samuel 22:3—The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; my Savior. Isaiah 45:15—Truly You are God, who hide Yourself, O God of Israel, the Savior! “Okay, so what does that mean? It is God who saves through Jesus Christ.” Read Titus 2:13 again. Jesus is referred to as our Savior and as our God! To say that Jesus is a separate Savior from God is to deny the words spoken by God in Hosea 13:4—“Yet I am the LORD your God Ever since the land of Egypt, and you shall know no God but Me; for there is no savior besides Me.” 2nd Peter 1:11—For so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God is the only Savior, and yes, He does save through Jesus Christ our Lord. That is because Jesus is the Word of God, the Son of God, the Lamb of God—in short, Jesus is God!

This also speaks to something Jesus said, in John 17:11 (ESV)—“Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me (“which” refers to those whom the Father gave Him), that they may be one, even as we are one.” The Mormon, the Jehovah's Witness, the Modalist, the denier of the Trinity will try to say “This just means they were unified in purpose. This is no ‘proof text’ for the Trinity! Are you trying to say that Peter and Thaddeus were one being?” Yes, that is what I am saying. “HUH?” 1st Corinthians 10:16-17—16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 17 For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread. 1st Corinthians 12:12-14—12 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For in fact the body is not one member but many. If we are in Christ, then we are one body, members of one another. Romans 12:4-5—4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Ephesians 4:25—Therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another. So yes, we are one with the other members of Christ—same flesh, same blood, same essence, same everything. We all share in the one body, which we are in Christ. And just as God is One—the Father being the First Person, the Son the Second Person, the Holy Spirit the Third Person, but all these are one—so should we, though being different members of the Body of Christ, be One in Love, in Fellowship, and in Purpose. Charles Spurgeon—

Hence the diversity. If the hand were made exactly like the foot, it would not be a tenth part as useful; and if the eye only had the same faculty as the ear, it would not be able to see, and the whole body would be a loser thereby. Do we begin to compare eyes, and ears, and feet, and hands, and say, “This is the better faculty”? No. They are each one needful. So do not compare yourselves among yourselves, for if you are in the body of Christ, you are each one needful, and the peculiarity which you possess, and the peculiarity which your brother possesses, have their place in the body corporate, and must be precious before God.

Part 2 next week

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen. 

A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Leviticus 24-25 (Part 2)

Leviticus 24:10-22—10 Now the son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel; and this Israelite woman's son and a man of Israel fought each other in the camp. 11 And the Israelite woman's son blasphemed the name of the LORD and cursed; and so they brought him to Moses. (His mother's name was Shelomith the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.) 12 Then they put him in custody, that the mind of the LORD might be shown to them. 13 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 14 "Take outside the camp him who has cursed; then let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him. 15 Then you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin. 16 And whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone him, the stranger as well as him who is born in the land. When he blasphemes the name of the LORD, he shall be put to death. 17 Whoever kills any man shall surely be put to death. 18 Whoever kills an animal shall make it good, animal for animal. 19 If a man causes disfigurement of his neighbor, as he has done, so shall it be done to him—20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he has caused disfigurement of a man, so shall it be done to him. 21 And whoever kills an animal shall restore it; but whoever kills a man shall be put to death. 22 You shall have the same law for the stranger and for one from your own country; for I am the LORD your God.'"

God put together the Scriptures as He saw fit. Many times, to the human eye and understanding, He put certain passages together that kinda make us say, “Why did He put this story of a blasphemer right after the commands about the oil and showbread, and the commands about the year of Jubilee?” Well, the short answer to that question is this: Because he wanted to. That’s the only reason I can come up with. “Make the oil for the lampstand from beaten olives. Put the showbread on the table every Sabbath. Don’t blaspheme against Me or you will die. Keep the year of Jubilee.” That makes sense to God—and if it makes sense to Him, who are we to argue?

OK, so what do we know from verse 10? We know that this man’s mother was an Israelite and his father was Egyptian. And since they are here only two years removed from that exodus, he obviously came out with the mixed multitude that left Egypt the night of the first Passover. What do we see him do in verse 11? He blasphemes. Now, there is a reason why I kept the italicized words italicized. In verse 11, we see that the Israelite woman’s son blasphemed the name—what comes next immediately? of the LORD. These words are italicized, meaning what? The translators inserted these words in an attempt to make the text more understandable. However, I do not really think (nor did the translators of the NASB think) that this needed to be done. Allow me to show you why.

When we talk about the name of God, what do we always say this name is? יְהֹוָה (YHVH). And yes, most people Anglicize it and spell/say it “Jehovah.” And we’re not going to go into all that right now; we’ve already discussed that in Exodus 20:7. What I do want us to see is this—there is another title that Jews have for the One True God, and that is  הַשֶּׁמ(HaShem)—this Hebrew word literally translates as “The Name.” And it is by this title that many Jews do not even try to pronounce the name יְהֹוָה (YHVH) or even אֲדֹנָי (Adonay). They will simply refer to God by the title הַשֶּׁמ(HaShem)—The Name. Zola Leavitt Ministries—

 

“Since ancient Hebrew did not use any vowel markings, the actual pronunciation of the sacred Name is simply not known. In ancient Temple times, only the Kohen Gadol (high priest) would utter the Name during Yom Kippur.

The Jewish tradition is to not pronounce the sacred Name at all, but to substitute the word Adonai ("my Lord") in its place. Thus, when reading Torah, you do not attempt to vocalize the Name, but say Adonai instead. When not reading Torah or the Siddur, most observant Jews refer to the sacred Name simply as Hashem or "the Name" (Leviticus 24:16).

In Hebrew the sacred Name is called Shem HaMeforash, "the ineffable Name." Attempts to provide an exposition of the Name have come to be known as Shelosh Esreh Middot, or the Thirteen Attributes of God and are usually based on exegesis of Exodus 34:6-7 (mystical speculation about the Name is found in Kabbalistic literature).”

http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Names_of_G-d/YHVH/yhvh.html

So then, we see that the young man of mixed heritage blasphemed The Name (הַשֶּׁמ(HaShem))—not simply His Name, but THE NAME.

Then in verses 12-21, we see God proscribe the punishment for blaspheming The Name—specifically, that punishment was death. Today, the man would probably get his own show on Bravo, or alongside the women on "The View". But, when a people fears YHVH, blasphemy is not tolerated, and the person is duly punished. But notice something else here: God elevates Himself—and man, who is made in His image—over all the rest of creation. If you kill an animal, you replace that animal. If you disfigure another person, you get likewise disfigured—break a bone, your bone gets broken; put out and eye, your eye gets put out; knock out a tooth, you lose a tooth. BUT! Kill a man—you die. Genesis 9:6—“Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man.” Blaspheme The Name—you die. Exodus 20:7—“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.” And it didn’t matter that this man was half Egyptian. God did not give one set of commands to Israelites and another, separate set to foreigners. Leviticus 24:22—“You shall have the same law for the stranger and for one from your own country; for I am the LORD your God.” Period, paragraph. If ANY person within the camp uttered blasphemy against God, they were to be taken outside the camp, the congregation was to lay their hands on the guilty party, and that person was to be crushed under a pile of rocks to show that God does not tolerate insubordination in those who claim to be His people.

So then, what do the people do top this insubordinate riff-raff? Leviticus 24:23—Then Moses spoke to the children of Israel; and they took outside the camp him who had cursed, and stoned him with stones. So the children of Israel did as the LORD commanded Moses. They did what they needed to do—they put this man out of their misery. They destroyed the man who had flung σκύβαλον (skubolon)—rubbish, to say it politely—at the face of Almighty God. These people were quick to rid themselves of the one who had slandered their God. So why is the church today so slow to take action? Why does the church embrace every hip new trend that comes along, that claims to be “Christian”? Why do the Mark Driscolls and Perry Nobles and Steven Furticks become so popular for using language and methods that are so foul and perverse? Why do “Christians” embrace the heresies of the prosperity preachers, who teach that God is at your every beck and call, and that the cross is nothing more than an ATM that use can call on to give you more material wealth? Or they bring in Eastern Mysticism, and Transcendental Meditation, and they teach that those things that the Bible calls “sin” aren’t really sins, and that the only sin anyone can commit is when they call sin “sin”. And the sad part is, when you examine their teachings, and their doctrines are found to be wanting of any truth, their acolytes claim that the one doing the examining is the one causing division. But in all reality, the one who is bringing in the destructive heresies is the one who is truly causing division.  The one who is teaching against Christ is the one we should be taking outside the church and leaving them to their own devices until one of two things happens: they will either (a) see their pernicious errors and come back in repentance and sorrow, or (b) they will creep more closely to Satan’s side.

Paul told the Corinthians they needed to do that very thing. A man was having relations with his stepmother, and instead of removing that one from their midst, they were actually encouraging it. 1st Corinthians 5:1-2—1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father's wife! 2 And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. Look at what Paul is telling them. He’s saying “Get that sinful person out from among you!” Then what are they to do once they remove them? 1^st Corinthians 5:4-5—4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5 deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Then once he is put out of the church, and handed over to Satan that he may see the fullness of his sins, we are not to have any fellowship with such a one. 1st Corinthians 5:11—But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person. Steven Lawson—

“The church in Corinth is not to associate; they are not to fellowship with the so-called brother who has been put out of the church. There are to be ramifications for his continued choices of sin. He is to be cut off from all privileges of fellowship among the believers. He is to be painted into a corner where he is there, by himself with the devil.”

[note--I wrote this before all that came about with him came to light. His actions do not change the truth of his words. And actually, they seem to be rather prophetic, seeing as he is now being shunned by many]

Now you may be asking, “But that’s for sexual sins. This man in Leviticus was killed for blasphemy.” But I say there is no difference. Is not the one who claims to be saved, by default, taking to himself the name of the Lord Christ? Is he not claiming to be Christian and, therefore, under the headship of Jesus? So then, if this one who has taken the name of Christ continues in his sin, refuses to turn away from that sin, and is one that John describes as being among those who went out from us, but were not of us (1st John 2:19). These have, in fact, “taken the name of the LORD in vain.” These are the ones that the church today does not want to offend. They don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. They don’t want to look like the “bad guys.” So they will rather offend God than offend man. They are friends of the world rather than friends of God (James 4:4-6). Matthew Henry—“He who will act upon this principle, to keep the smiles of the world, and to have its continual friendship, cannot but show himself, in spirit, and in his actions too, an enemy to God.”

So now that brings us to Leviticus chapter 25. This chapter has four major themes: (1) the seventh-year Sabbath for the land, (2) the Year of Jubilee, (3) Redemption of people and property, and (4) the treatment of the poor among them. We are not going to go through this chapter so much verse-by-verse, but rather we will treat the various themes, since they are interwoven with each other.

The first theme we’re going to look at is the seventh-year Sabbath for the land. Leviticus 25:1-7, 18-22—1 And the LORD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, “2 Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a Sabbath to the LORD. 3 Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather its fruit; 4 but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the LORD. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard. 5 What grows of its own accord of your harvest you shall not reap, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine, for it is a year of rest for the land. 6 And the Sabbath produce of the land shall be food for you: for you, your male and female servants, your hired man, and the stranger who dwells with you, 7 for your livestock and the beasts that are in your land—all its produce shall be for food…18 So you shall observe My statutes and keep My judgments, and perform them; and you will dwell in the land in safety. 19 Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill, and dwell there in safety. 20 And if you say, "What shall we eat in the seventh year, since we shall not sow nor gather in our produce?" 21 Then I will command My blessing on you in the sixth year, and it will bring forth produce enough for three years. 22 And you shall sow in the eighth year, and eat old produce until the ninth year; until its produce comes in, you shall eat of the old harvest.”

Now, this was a command that was not for the time when it was spoken. Notice what God says in verse 2. “When you come into the land which I give you…” This was for when they would take the land of Canaan. In Exodus, God equates this seventh-year Sabbath for the land with the seventh-day Sabbath for the people, their servants and their livestock. Exodus 23:10-12—“10 Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce, 11 but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave, the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your olive grove. 12 Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed.” The people were to rest on the seventh day of the week. Their servants were to rest on the seventh day of the week. Their livestock were to rest on the seventh day of the week. But what about the land? Doesn't the land need to rest also? So the people were to store up produce from the sixth year—which God promised would be enough for three years—eat that through not only the seventh but also the eighth year (they were to sow seed in the eighth year), and then eat the harvest of the ninth year. What was God trying to teach the people? The same thing He tried to teach them with the manna in Exodus 16—trust in Him to supply their food. That’s all they had to do with the manna. Just trust that God would provide it, one day after another (and twice on Friday)—and God would give them all they needed.

BUT. As I asked the question before, so I ask it now. Doesn't the land need to rest also? Yes it does. Unfortunately, there would come a time during Israel’s history when would not allow their land to rest and lay fallow. And God would punish them for this insubordination. Turn to 2nd Chronicles 36:11-14—11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. 12 He did evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the LORD. 13 And he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear an oath by God; but he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD God of Israel. 14 Moreover all the leaders of the priests and the people transgressed more and more, according to all the abominations of the nations, and defiled the house of the LORD which He had consecrated in Jerusalem. Zedekiah was an evil king, four generations removed from Josiah. After Josiah came Jehoahaz, then Jehoakim, Jehoachin, Zedekiah. And it was under Zedekiah that Judah’s captivity under the yoke of the Babylonians was completed. It began under Jehoakim; it was finished under Zedekiah. Now before we get too far into the Babylonian captivity, let me point out something. In Leviticus 24, we talked about blaspheming, and taking the name of YHVH in vain. Now look what Zedekiah did in verse 13. And he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear an oath by God; but he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD God of Israel. There are some who would say, “Well, but he made that oath under duress. Besides, Nebuchadnezzar was an evil man; certainly God wouldn’t punish him for making an oath under such extreme circumstances.” But He did. God did hold him accountable, and for this Judah was taken away captive to Babylon.

And lest you ask why God allowed Babylon to take Judah captive, let me point out this fact: God did not simply allow Judah to be overrun by the Chaldeans—He empowered the Chaldeans to overtake her. 2nd Chronicles 36:15-17—15 And the LORD God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. 16 But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy. 17 Therefore He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, on the aged or the weak; He gave them all into his hand. Read the first part of verse 17 again. He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans. Who brought the king of the Chaldeans against Judah? God did! God fought against the people of Judah! And He used the Chaldeans, a most vile and despicable people, to inflict punishment upon them! But that is the lesson for us—if you fight against God, God will fight against you. Do you really want to fight God? How on earth do you think you would ever win that battle? And yet here, God, Judah’s only refuge turned His back on her. He would not fight for her. He fought—actively fought—against His own people. Can you think of any fate more sad than to be abandoned by God? To know that He is handing you over to be subjected to such a yoke as Babylon would put upon the neck of Judah?

And yet it was not simply the sin of a broken oath that brought about Judah’s calamity. The other main motivating factor that led to God’s judgment on the house of Judah was this: they had not allowed their land to lay fallow and enjoy her Sabbaths. 2nd Chronicles 36:18-21—18 And all the articles from the house of God, great and small, the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and of his leaders, all these he took to Babylon. 19 Then they burned the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious possessions. 20 And those who escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon, where they became servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, 21 to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years. When the writer speaks of the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah he is speaking of the prophecy found in Jeremiah 25:9-12 (Jeremiah prophesied during that period of time recorded in the parallel passages of 2nd Kings 22-25 and 2nd Chronicles 34-36). Now, commentators and scholars have debated whether the “seventy years” in 2nd Chronicles 36:21 means (a) that the land had missed seventy sabbaths over a period of 490 years, and the 70 year captivity was meant to repay one year for each seventh-year Sabbath which they neglected (70 X 7 years), or (b) they had neglected ten seventh-year Sabbaths, and God was granting the land 70 years to make up for the 70 lost Sabbaths. Whichever the case may be, God Himself punished the people for breaking the Sabbath He had declared the land should be allowed. And He did so by using a people like the Babylonians.

Now, while we’re talking about God cursing the people for their neglect in not allowing their land to lay fallow, let’s look at Leviticus 26. The 26^th chapter of Leviticus outlines the blessings and cursings God would bring about for the people’s obedience or disobedience, respectively. We are not going to go through the whole chapter right now, but we do need to see how the Babylonian captivity was in fact a result of their neglect of the seventh-year Sabbath. God tells the people that if they rebel against Him, He will send warnings and pestilence and robbers to steal their harvest. And then He tells them that if they still don’t obey, and if they still don’t allow their land to lay fallow, He paints them about as vivid a picture of the aforementioned Babylonian captivity as He possibly could without simply mentioning the Babylonians by name. In Leviticus 25:18 He promises “So you shall observe My statutes and keep My judgments, and perform them; and you will dwell in the land in safety.” But listen to what He promises in Leviticus 26, and see if this sounds familiar. Leviticus 26:27-35—“‘27 And after all this, if you do not obey Me, but walk contrary to Me, 28 then I also will walk contrary to you in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. 29 You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your daughters. 30 I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and cast your carcasses on the lifeless forms of your idols; and My soul shall abhor you. 31 I will lay your cities waste and bring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I will not smell the fragrance of your sweet aromas. 32 I will bring the land to desolation, and your enemies who dwell in it shall be astonished at it. 33 I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you; your land shall be desolate and your cities waste. 34 Then the land shall enjoy its Sabbaths as long as it lies desolate and you are in your enemies' land; then the land shall rest and enjoy its Sabbaths. 35 As long as it lies desolate it shall rest—for the time it did not rest on your Sabbaths when you dwelt in it.’” (we will read more about this when we get there) He tells them exactly what is going to happen if they ignore the Sabbath for the land—and then when they do neglect it, he causes to pass exactly what He promised. This is a God who tells the truth, and when He promises something will happen—whether good or bad—mark His words, it will happen!!

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.

A Survey of the Old Testament Law------- Taking the name of God in vain (PART 3)

How we end our prayers? “In the name of Jesus.” But how many times do we really grasp what it means to finish a prayer with that little phrase? Because to say that is a whole lot more serious than we think it is. If a person says that they are praying “in the name of Jesus”—in the name of the Lord Jesus, who is fully God—is to say that they are praying in the name of YHVH—the LORD. And there are many who are praying things that are clearly contradictory to the ways of the LORD YHVH, but they will claim that they are praying in the name of the LORD YHVH. Now, let me make a distinction here. If you are praying for your Aunt Hildegarde, that God would heal her cancer, and you ask this “in the name of Jesus”—even though it may not be God’s will to cure her cancer, but if you are praying out of love for your Aunt Hildegarde, then that is not necessarily taking the name of the Lord in vain. However, if a person feels like they don’t own enough stuff, and they are ripping out verses from the Bible and claiming that God “owes them” a big-screen TV and a house in Sequoia Hills , and they are making these demands “in the name of Jesus”—then it’s a whole ‘nother matter altogether. And there are folks who do this. Listen to this gem from Kenneth Copeland:

"As a believer, you have a right to make commands in the name of Jesus. Each time you stand on the Word, you are commanding God to a certain extent, because it is His Word" (Kenneth Copeland, Our Covenant with God, p. 32).

He is saying that you have the right to command God in the name of Jesus. Which brings us to today’s text. Exodus 20:7—“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.” If someone is declaring that they are making a demand on God “in the name of the Lord” then they are standing on thin ice, because God considers His name to be held in the highest esteem and reverence possible. Look at the last part of this verse: “The LORD (YHVH) will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.” This is what Keil and Delitzsch had to say about Exodus 20:7—

“[This commandment] prohibits all uses of the name of God for vain and unworthy objects, and includes not only false swearing, which is condemned in Leviticus 19:12 as [profaning] the name of YHVH, but trivial swearing in the ordinary [conversations] of life, and every use of the name of God in the service of untruth and lying, for [cursing others], witchcraft, or [séances]; whereas the true [use] of the name of God is confined to ‘invocation, prayer, praise, and thanksgiving,’ which proceeds from a pure, believing heart. The natural heart is very liable to transgress this command, and therefore it is solemnly enforced by the threat, ‘for YHVH will not hold him guiltless’.”

If I'm trying to convince someone that I'm telling the truth, I may finally come to the point where I say “I swear to God I'm telling the truth!” If I do that, I had better be telling the truth. And that’s what is spelled out in the Law. Exodus 22:10-11—“If a man delivers to his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep, and it dies, is hurt, or driven away, no one seeing it, then an oath of the LORD shall be between them both, that he has not put his hand into his neighbor's goods.” In other words, if I ask Yitzhak to watch my goats while I go out of town, then I come back and my goats are gone and Yitzhak tells me that someone stole them, and nobody saw it, then we would take an oath in the name of YHVH, and Yitzhak would swear by the name of God that he didn’t do anything mischievous to my goats. But Yitzhak had better be telling the truth, or he will have taken the name of YHVH in vain, and as God says in Leviticus 19:12—“You shall not swear by My name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.” If Yitzhak has sworn that oath to God—by doing that, he has called God as a witness. So, basically, what I do, being the offended party, is to say, “OK, you’ve said it. You’ve taken an oath to God; you are in His hands now.” And what that means is, if he did indeed pilfer my goats, then the responsibility for punishment has been taken out my hands, and placed it into God’s hands. And if Yitzhak lied, then he will receive punishment directly from God. Romans 12:19—Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. So if we take an oath in the name of the LORD, and we are taking that oath in vain, then God is the one who will take vengeance on us. Not a very pleasant proposition.


But listen to the goodness and faithfulness of our God, when He swears an oath and makes a promise. Hebrews 6:13-16—When God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, "Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you." And so, after [Abraham] had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. Like we just saw, if you swear by the name of God—it’s out of my hands, you are now in God’s hands. But we don’t have to worry about whether or not God is telling the truth because it goes on to say, Hebrews 6:17-18--Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath—there is nothing greater than God, so He swore by Himself—that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. God IS truth. As we talked about last week—not only is He true, He is truth. When He promises to do something, He will swear an oath by HIMSELF to do it. And because He CANNOT lie, if He makes a promise, He will do it.


Men, on the other hand, aren't always so honest. And many times, men will not hold the name of God in such high regard. And not only will they swear an oath in the name of God—an oath they never meant to keep—they will simply toss around the name of God and use it in some of the most despicable ways possible. The first example of this is in Leviticus 24, so let’s turn there. Leviticus 24:10-12—Now the son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel; and this Israelite woman's son and a man of Israel fought each other in the camp. And the Israelite woman's son blasphemed the name of the LORD and cursed; and so they brought him to Moses. (His mother's name was Shelomith the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.) Then they put him in custody, that the mind of the LORD might be shown to them. In much the same way that it didn’t take the children of Israel very long to construct an idol and say “this is YHVH, who brought us out of Egypt,” it didn’t take long before we have an example of someone using the name of YHVH as a cuss word. And as God promised, He will not hold that person guiltless who takes His name in vain. We see that as we look down in Leviticus 24:13-16—And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Take outside the camp him who has cursed; then let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him. Then you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin. And whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone him, the stranger as well as him who is born in the land. When he blasphemes the name of the LORD, he shall be put to death…You shall have the same law for the stranger and for one from your own country; for I am the LORD your God.'…Then Moses spoke to the children of Israel; and they took outside the camp him who had cursed, and stoned him with stones. So the children of Israel did as the LORD commanded Moses. Before we go any further, remember last week, what were the Jews going to do when Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I AM?” They took up stones to stone Him. What were they going to do when He said “I and My Father are one?” They took up stones to stone Him. They took outside the camp him who had cursed, and stoned him with stones. Seems a little harsh, doesn’t it? Well, to us it seems harsh. But we’re not talking about just anybody’s name here. We are talking about the name of God Himself. And God guards His name above everything else. And while we may think this was going a bit overboard, God does not think it too great a punishment. And when you get right down to it, whose opinion matters more? Blaspheming His name carries with it a much harsher punishment—either in this life or the depths of Hell—than nearly any other sin. Because His name is not like any other name.


Is it hard to find a movie these days—or even a TV show for that matter—is it hard to find one that uses God’s name as a profanity? “Get out of my G.D. house” Or they’ll use the name of Jesus Christ as a profanity? Now, the culture we live in may not think there’s anything wrong with that. But does our culture determine what is and is not acceptable to God? God does not say “Culture will determine whether you can use My name as a curse word.” He says “I will not hold him guiltless.” Another way to say it is “I will hold that person personally accountable to Me for how they use My name.” Now, not only is this degree of punishment fit for those who blaspheme the name of the Father, it is also true of those who blaspheme the name of Christ—because He was the manifestation of God’s name. John 17:4—“I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world.” He has been given the name that is above every name. Philippians 2:9-11—Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. And also, He bears that name upon His thigh and upon His robe. Revelation 19:13, 16—He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God…And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. And if we honor the name of Christ, we will enter into eternal life. John 20:31—These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. Acts 4:12—“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” So the name of God is not something that is to be trifled with. Now, we see a couple other places where punishment is dealt out to one who claims to be speaking in the name of the Lord.


Turn to Deuteronomy 18:20-22—“The prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.' You may say in your heart, 'How will we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?' When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.” And what will happen to that prophet? He will die. If a prophet was going around claiming to be prophesying “in the name of the LORD” and what he was prophesying did not come to pass, he was taken outside of the camp and stoned to death. Again, let’s shine spotlight upon TBN. So many of them call themselves “prophets.” And they go around saying things like “God spoke to me and said…” If God did not speak to that person—and just for the record, He didn’t—and yet they are standing there saying that “God told me…” then they are claiming to speak in the name of God, and what would have happened to that person under the Law of Moses? Their body would still be rotting under a pile of rubble in the Middle Eastern desert.


Let me put it to you this way: if I'm going around saying that I'm speaking on behalf of Grace Community Church, and I'm saying that we believe some sort of goofy, off-the-wall doctrine, what am I doing to the name of GCC? I'm bringing shame and reproach on the name of GCC. Now, take that principle and apply it to the name of God Himself. Suppose some lunatic were to stand before a crowd in the Orlando Civic Center on December 31st, 1989 and say that “God told me that Fidel Castro will die sometime in the 1990’s” and that a major earthquake would devastate the east coast of the USA, and that God would destroy the homosexual community with fire somewhere around 1993-1994—and yet Fidel Castro is still alive to this day, there was no earthquake and homosexuality is still running rampant—then what kind of reputation does that give of God? At best it says that God just kinda guesses at things. But at worst, it says that God is a liar. (BTW, those were actual "prophecies" delivered by Benny Hinn on December 31, 1989, at the Orlando Civic Center) Now, we may hear someone try and wiggle out of this by saying, “Well, yeah, but that was just in the Old Testament”—think again. What did Jesus say? Matthew 5:17-18—“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” We don’t stone false prophets these days—we leave them in the hands of God. And we let Him deal with them as He will. And He will.


And we see that, as we finish up with a New Testament example of someone claiming the name of Christ in vain. Turn to Acts 19. The name of Jesus is not some kind of magic incantation that a person can simply spit out of their mouth and make demons disappear. Demons are spiritual beings and they cannot be overwhelmed by physical acts. As Paul says in Ephesians 6:12—We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. But in Acts 19, we see a fellow who has heard of this Jesus guy, and has taken it upon himself to try and fight a demon-possessed man using the name of Jesus—a name he had no right to use. Acts 19:13-14—Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches." Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" These guys had no idea who Jesus was, but they had heard Paul preaching about some guy named Jesus and thought they could simply toss out His name, and the spirits would leave.


Only those who are known by Christ can call upon the name of Christ. And the thing about demons is, they know Jesus. Mark 1:23-26—Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, saying, "Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us?" But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!" And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him. They know Jesus. And they can spot a phony. And only Christ—and His apostles—had that kind of power over demons. Not even angels did this. Jude 1:9—Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" So, what happened to these sons of Sceva? Acts 19:15-16—Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. We also see from this what Jesus meant when He said in Mark 3:24-26—“If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.” You had the demon possessed man on the one side; you had the Jewish exorcists—who were deceived by Satan—on the other. This kingdom is divided against itself, Satan has risen up against himself, and God gets the glory. Acts 19:17—This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.


This is really an important event in the Bible. It shows us just how dangerous it is to throw around the name of our God, and the consequences that come from doing so. Now, next week, we’re going to get a glimpse of the other side of the coin—that is, the blessings that come from using the name of God properly, and keeping a vow even if it does us harm.


Jesus is Lord. Amen.

A Survey of the Old Testament Law------- "You shall not take My name in vain"

We’ve looked at the first two Commandments in the Law of God. In the first commandment, we are forbidden from worshipping any other God but God. Exodus 20:2-3--“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.” Then in the second commandment we are forbidden from making anything that we would call a “representation” of God, since God is perfect and holy and sinless, and anything we make would be imperfect and would be made out of material that has been cursed by sin. Exodus 20:4-5--“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.” And in this third commandment, God makes it clear that His name is a very sacred and very holy name, and that we should treat that name with all the honor and reverence it deserves. Not only should we be careful to not go around using it like it’s just another word, we should be careful in saying something like “I swear to God…” Exodus 20:7—“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.” We’re going to talk about the name itself—what that name is, what it means, and how it is used in Scripture. Next week, we’re going to talk about what it means to “take the name of the LORD in vain.” We tend to think that means using phrases that start with “GD” or “JC”. That’s part of it, but there is more to it than that, and we’ll discuss that next time. But this morning we are going to talk about the name of the LORD.


In most Bibles, when you're reading the OT, you may see the word “LORD” in all capital letters. When you see that, that is how the translators render the Hebrew word “YHVH”. Sometimes you will see the word “GOD” in all capital letters, and this means the same thing. “YHVH” is the name that God uses to refer to Himself. It comes from a Hebrew word that means “I will be.” YHVH literally means “I AM.” The name is made up of the Hebrew characters י-ה-ו-ה (Yod-Hey-Vav-Hey). In English, these come out to roughly the letters Y-H-V-H. Before we go any further, just a very quick lesson in Hebrew—and by “quick” I mean “microscopic.” The Hebrew language has one vowel, א (Aleph). The other 21 characters are consonants. The way they make vowels is by taking a consonant and putting either one, two, or three little dots, under or inside the letter, in a certain pattern, and these are called “vowel points.” And that is what creates the vowel sound.


Now, what they did for the name of God was, they took the י-ה-ו-ה (Yod-Hey-Vav-Hey) and they used the vowel points from the word “Adonai” which is the generic term for “lord.” And what you wind up with is a word that sounds like this: “YaHoVaH.” I want to share with you a little something I read recently about this subject. Zola Leavitt is a Hebrew scholar, and a professing Christian Jew. I don’t know all of his theology, but I can tell you this much—he knows a whole lot more about the Hebrew language than I do. I'll let him explain a little (emphases mine):

“The Third Commandment (Exodus 20:7) states, "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." On account of this, the Masoretes [Jewish scribes of the 700’s-1100’s] ensured that the Name of the LORD would not be taken in vain by substituting the vowel marks for Adonai and putting them under the letters …and this has led to the obviously incorrect pronunciation of the Name as "Jehovah" (in older English, "J" had a "y" sound)…Yahweh is most likely also an incorrect transliteration, since there is no "w" sound in Hebrew. Since ancient Hebrew did not use any vowel markings, the actual pronunciation of the sacred Name is simply not known. In ancient Temple times, only the Kohen Gadol (high priest) would utter the Name during Yom Kippur [Day of Atonement; the one day when he would go into the Most Holy Place]. The Jewish tradition is to not pronounce the sacred Name at all, but to substitute the word Adonai ("my Lord") in its place. Thus, when reading Torah, you do not attempt to vocalize the Name, but say Adonai instead. When not reading Torah, most observant Jews refer to the sacred Name simply as Hashem or "the Name" (Lev. 24:16). In Hebrew the sacred Name is called Shem HaMeforash, "the unspeakable Name." (Zola Leavitt Ministries)

Here's a little video, I'm sure many of us have seen this at some point in our lives. It's from the movie "The Ten Commandments", the famous scene from Exodus 3, the first time that God reveals Himself—and His name—to Moses, at the burning bush.



Exodus 3:14-15—God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: “The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’” Now, it was not as though the people did not know the name of God. In fact, this was not the first time God had revealed His name. We see that as far back as Genesis, people were calling on His name. Genesis 4:26—And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of YHVH [the LORD]. God spoke this name to Abraham in Genesis 15:7—Then He said to him, “I am YHVH [the LORD], who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.” So when Moses asks God, “When…they say to me, 'What is His name?' what shall I say to them?” It’s not that the people would not have any idea what name God used to identify Himself. He was, after all, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. They had known His name for hundreds of years. So the question became a matter of the meaning of the name God used to refer to Himself. Keil and Delitzsch explain it like this:

“God therefore told him His name, or, to speak more correctly, He explained the name, יהוה, by which He had made Himself known to Abraham…in this way, אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה, “I am that I am,” and designated Himself by this name as the absolute God of the fathers, acting with unrestrained liberty and self-dependence.”

John Gill said it like this:

“This signifies the real being of God, his self-existence, and that he is the Being of beings; as also it denotes his eternity and immutability, and his constancy and faithfulness in fulfilling his promises, for it includes all time, past, present, and to come; and the sense is, not only I am what I am at present, but I am what I have been, and I am what I shall be, and shall be what I am.”

God does not depend on anyone for anything, and He is self-existent. That is, His existence is dependent upon nothing and no one. Skeptics and atheists like to ask the age-old question, “Who created God?” No one! He IS. He is eternal, He is uncreated, He IS. Period. Revelation 4:6-8—And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back…The four living creatures, each having six wings…do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” The fact that His name is “I AM” speaks to His eternality—that is, from eternity past to eternity future, all time is the same to Him. To us, yesterday was yesterday and tomorrow is tomorrow. But to God, every day is today. He is an eternal being, and from eternity past to eternity future, He will always be the same. And since mankind was created in the image of God, man is an eternal being as well. We did not exist from eternity past, but we will exist in eternity future. And yes, it is all one “eternity” but since we humans are stuck in time and are bound by time, we see things as past, present and future, whereas God sees it all as being in the present. And even though our bodies may stop functioning and “fall asleep”, our spirit will exist forever in one of two places.


This is the point Jesus makes in Matthew 23:23-32—The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying: "Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother. Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh. Last of all the woman died also. Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her." Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven. But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob' ? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." The point that Jesus is making here is this: God does not stop being the God of His people simply because their bodies fall asleep. When God spoke to Moses at the burning bush, He did not say, “I WAS the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” He said, “I AM the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”


Psalm 90:2—Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. Notice the Psalmist does not say “You were God and You will be God.” From eternity past to eternity future—He IS God. Present tense. Eternity past, eternity future—it’s all the same to God. In Hebrews 1:10, the writer shares with us these words that God spoke concerning His Son, Jesus Christ, and quotes Psalm 102:25-27— Keep in mind, this is God the Father talking about God the Son—“Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You will endure; yes, they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak You will change them, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will have no end.” So we see God the Father saying that the Son laid the foundation of the earth, the heavens are the works of the Son’s hands, and that the Son is the same forever and His years will have no end.


Keep in mind that Jesus Christ is God. That He has existed since eternity past with the Father. The apostle John opens his account of the gospel by referring to Jesus as The Word. And in John 1:1, when John says In the beginning was the Word, “was” is in a tense which one fellow says “conveys no idea of origin for God or for the Logos, simply continuous existence.” And the Word was with God—not just “with” the Father, as though He were simply in the same general vicinity—but with the Father, “not merely as being near or beside, but as a living union and communion; implying the active notion of [harmonious relationship].” And this relationship between the Father and the Son, again, goes all the way back to eternity past. They have shared this love, they will forever share this love, it has never changed and it will never change. And the last part of John 1:1—And the Word was God. And that is, in fact, the proper way to translate that last part. (See my post on this matter here). And being God, we can see why the writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 13:8—Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.


Finally, the Holy Spirit is also eternal, and shared the same love and communion with the Father and the Son. Hebrews 9:13-14—For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer…sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? Acts 5:3-4—Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?...You have not lied to men but to God." And we can also see how all three members of the Trinity were involved in creation. Psalm 33:6—By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. And then we could go all the way back to Genesis 1:1-2—In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth… and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. So now, if we put all of this together—that God the Father is eternal, that God the Son is eternal, that God the Holy Spirit is eternal, and that these are always the same and have never changed and never will change—now we see why God calls Himself YHVH, “I AM.”


Jesus is Lord.
Amen.