Abusing God’s Name 亵渎神的名

[Dexu Xia]

You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. Exodus 20:7

Today's Scripture   Exodus 20:1-17

Today's Insights  The first five books of the Bible, the Torah, have many laws—613 according to Jewish reckoning—so it’s easy to miss their relational framework. The Ten Commandments begin: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery” (Exodus 20:2). Their obedience to God’s commandments expressed loyalty to their rescuer.

There’s another purpose for obedience to these covenantal laws: “Observe them carefully, for . . . what other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him?” (Deuteronomy 4:6-7). Israel’s obedience would reveal God’s character and presence to watching nations. To fail at this would bring dishonor to His holy name. Today, we can ask God to help us be wise in how we use His name as well.

Today's Devotional  The vintage photograph from World War II, taken outside a town’s Nazi headquarters, carries a warning for all of us. In the photo, a comfortably dressed woman is crossing the street. A man in a suit walks down the sidewalk, while another has stopped to read a bulletin board on the corner of the building. All seem oblivious to the large banner hanging above the headquarters’ front door, half as long as the building. It reads, “By resisting the Jew, I fight for the work of the Lord.”

This kind of treachery is what God had in mind when He commanded, “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name” (Exodus 20:7). This command covers misusing His name when we curse or when we carelessly shout God’s name when we stub a toe or smash a finger. It also includes perversion—using God’s name as cover for evil.

We shouldn’t assume we’re doing God’s work simply because others say we are. We must prayerfully check our work with what God reveals in the Bible. How can we know we’re serving Him? Psalm 119:9 says, “By living according to your word.” The God who commands us to “always give [ourselves] fully to the work of the Lord” has told us what that work is in His holy book (1 Corinthians 15:58). Let’s listen to Him.

Reflect & Pray

What work have you done in the name of God? How do you know it was what He wanted?

 Dear Father, please help me be wise, loving, and careful with what I do in Your name and help me guard Your name at all times. 

By Mike Wittmer

不可妄称耶和华你神的名，因为妄称耶和华名的，耶和华必不以他为无罪。（出埃及记 20:7）

今日经文：出埃及记 20:1-17

今日洞见：圣经的前五卷是律法书（妥拉），其中包含许多律法，按犹太人的计算共有613条，因此很容易忽略它们之间的关系框架。十诫以“我是耶和华你的神，曾将你从埃及为奴之家领出来”（出埃及记20:2）开头。他们以顺服神的诫命来表达对救赎者的忠诚。遵守这些盟约律法还有另一个目的：“你们要谨守遵行，因为……有哪个国家像耶和华我们的神那样，在我们祷告的时候，有他们的神明与他们同在呢？”（申命记 4:6-7）。以色列的顺服将向列国彰显神的品格和同在。若不顺服，祂的圣名将蒙羞。今天，我们也可以祈求神帮助我们明智地使用祂的名。

今日灵修：一张二战时期拍摄于纳粹总部外的老照片对我们所有人都是一个警示。照片中，一位衣着舒适的女士正在过马路，一位身着西装的男士沿着人行道行走，另一位则停下来阅读大楼拐角处的公告板。他们似乎都忽略了总部大门上方悬挂的那条几乎与大楼一样长的横幅，上面写着：“我抵挡犹太人，是为了耶和华的事业。” 

上帝在祂颁布的命令中，正是针对这种背信弃义的行为：“不可妄称耶和华你神的名；因为妄称耶和华名的，耶和华必不以他为无罪。”（出埃及记 20:7）这条诫命涵盖了滥用祂的名，例如咒骂，或者当我们踢到脚趾或手指受伤时，不小心喊出神的名。它还包括歪曲神名：用神的名掩盖罪恶。我们不应仅仅因为别人说我们在做神的工就自以为是。我们必须祷告，对照圣经中神的启示来检验我们的工作。我们如何知道自己是在服侍祂呢？诗篇119篇9节说：“照你的话而行。”那位命令我们“常常竭力多做主工”的神，已经在祂的圣经中告诉我们这个工作是什么（哥林多前书15章58节）。让我们聆听祂的教导。

反思与祷告 你奉神的名做过什么事？你如何知道这是祂的旨意？ 亲爱的天父，求你帮助我智慧、仁爱、谨慎地奉你的名行事，并帮助我时刻守护你的名。

作者：迈克·维特默