subject: Thoughts From The Box - "Thou Shall Not!" [print this page] Thoughts From The Box - "Thou Shall Not!"
Have you every really looked at the "Thou Shall Not's?" You may refer to them as the Ten Commandments but as I have studied these "Life Charges" that God so graciously gave Moses for the children of Israel, they were not merely a list of demands. At the very core of these charges, God wanted us to see much, much more. The 10 Commandments are a foundation for building and strengthening our relationships with God, man and even ourselves.
I recently had an enlightening conversation with one of my fellow brothers in Christ about this and we dissected just one of God's Commandments: "Thou Shall Not Take the Lord thy God's Name in Vain." (Exodus 20:7)
The Breakdown
Let's start with defining the word Take. In Hebrew the word take in this verse is translated as to lift, extol, and to carry. We are literally carrying and lifting the "name" of God.
Lord in this verse can be translated to mean Jehovah, which is the Jewish national name for God. In this passage it means self-existent or eternal.
We usually associate a Name as an identifier. But, in the Ancient Hebrews culture a name is much more than just a name it is the "breath" of an individual. To the Hebrews, the breath is more than just the exchange of air in the lungs; it is someone's "character"- the very essence and qualities of an individual that make him or her unique.
God is translated as Elohim. It is singular in this passage, meaning the Most High God.
Lastly, we have in Vain. This word vain literally means "empty" or lacking of substance. This word can also be understood as "false" or a misrepresentation of the truth.
In our opinion, God intended the third "Life Charge" to hold a deeper meaning than referring to someone flippantly saying, "GD!" It has to be more than that. Meditating on the definition above-and studying the relationship we have with God, others and with ourselves-this is what we have come up with: In Our Daily Walk and Experience With Jehovah, We Shall Not Misrepresent (the name of) Elohim While Carrying the Very Essence, Character and Breath of Him Who is Within Us.
So, what does this mean? "God created man in His own image," is in fact saying that God had placed within us a representation of himself. This representation is his character and we are to show this character to others. If however, we represent that character falsely, in other words live our lives contrary to the character of God, then we are violating this command.
When talking to my brother in Christ, we wanted to encourage others to dive into the rest of the nine "Life Charges" given to us by God. By dissecting every word, you will get a deeper meaning and begin building a relationship with Him, a relationship that you have always longed for.
Prayer,
God we repent for using your name in vain in every aspect of our lives. We recognize that we carry Your very spirit within us and that everything we do represents You, God. Continue to cleanse us and wash us with Your Son's blood so that your Kingdom can be established on this earth. We thank you in advance, Father. In Jesus Christ's holy Name we pray. Amen.
Blessings,
Damien K. H. Nash, Founder & CEO
TNG Publishings, LLC
www.tngpublishings.com
Author of...
How to Load Your Truck: One Box at a Time
Big Box, Little Box: How One Littel Box Finds His Way
(Definitions: www.dictionary.com and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance by James Strong 1990.)
