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.s (Ex. 20:7).

In this post, we will examine what it means to take the name of the Lord in vain. Many are confused about what this commandment does and does not refer to. Like all of God’s law, we’ll come to see that it is primarily a matter of attitude, elevating God to the place in our lives that He rightfully deserves.

The Name of the Lord

First, we need to look at and understand what is meant by “the name of the Lord your God.” The word for “name” is the Hebrew shem. It denotes primarily “name,” though it is also translated with such words as renown, fame, and famous. In Scripture, the idea of “name” includes much more than the actual name (John, Mike, Sue, Ellen). It also includes everything about the person; it identifies the person and his or her qualities. So it is with God.

The name of the Lord is identified in Scripture. Though He identifies Himself in many ways, He gave His covenant Name to Moses in Exodus 3, when He identifies Himself as “I am who I am.” Thus, it’s common to see the name YHWH written (rendered either Yahweh or Jehovah). The idea is that God is the self-existent eternal one, the creator and Lord of all that is, was, and will be. He is outside of space and time, dwelling in eternity.

The Lord also described Himself to Moses:

The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation” (Ex. 34:6-7).

Now we know the Lord’s name and His nature (at least a starting point, as finite as we are, we won’t ever know it all). He is first gracious and merciful. He shows steadfast love. He is holy and just. To us those are contradictory, but to a perfect God they flow together in perfect harmony.

Taking His Name in Vain

What does it mean, then, to take the name of the Lord in vain? The word for ‘vain” is the Hebrew word shav’, which is normally translated vain or vanity, but is also translated as false or lying. It also has the sense of emptiness or worthlessness. To use the name of the Lord in vain, then, seems to mean that it is used in a useless, empty, or worthless manner (i.e., flippantly or casually).

We take Lord’s name in vain when we use it for purposes contrary to what He desires in Scripture. We are to call out to Him for help, worship Him, and make our requests known to Him. Other than those purposes, we risk violating this commandment. This certainly would include using His name as an expletive or space-filler.

Why is this such an important issue? Because it deals with the sacredness and holiness of God. When we use His name for casual purposes, we are diminishing that holiness and glory. Perhaps we haven’t fully understood it in the first place. When we do that, we are essentially giving God’s glory to something or someone else, and He has declared, “My glory I will not give to another” (Is. 48:11).

How are we to avoid this commandment? Not by overly scrutinizing everything we say, but rather by placing our focus on where it belongs—the glory of the Lord. We need to ask Him to give us an image of His glory, so that we can fix it in our minds and hearts. Then we will be able to judge what we say, whether it be in vain or not.

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