Dr. Rodney Plunket

      In 1992 an article by Dr. Howard J. Bennett appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association.  The article had to do with the names of people in the medical profession in America.  Some of them would be a bit tough for a doctor to live up to.  Seventy-four doctors had the names Brilliant, Able, and Best.  And the following names were found nineteen times each:  Dr. Fix, Dr. Cure, and Dr. Heal.  But there were some scary names as well.  The following were found twenty-two times each:  Dr. Needle, Dr. Probe, & Dr. Lance.  And how would you like to go to a Dr. Drill?  There were twenty doctors with that name.  Maybe the worst names, though, were Dr. Croak and Dr. Klutz.[1]  I had a distant relative by marriage who seriously considered becoming a doctor.  I’m not sure how well he would have done though.  His name would have been Dr. Killom.

Such a review of names is nothing more than amusing in our day.  We ascribe little significance to names.  Many parents choose names for their children because they think those names sound pretty, or strong, or simply go well with their last name.

Such is not the case in the biblical period.  In fact, the Old Testament Israelites believed that words had power, an intrinsic and inherent power, to act and to make things happen.  In fact, a Hebrew term that is brought into English as “word” in most contexts is, in other contexts, brought into English as “thing,” “act,” and “event.”  We have many English words that bear more than one meaning; but we do not, I think, have a word that means both “word” and “thing” or “word” and “act” or “word” and “event.”  Why don’t we?  Because we make a sharp distinction between a word and the thing, act, or event to which that word refers.  The ancient Israelites did not.  They believed that at least some of the power of a thing or a person was actually transmitted by the word referring to that thing or person.  One biblical scholar went so far as to say that in ancient Israel “ . . . words are concentrated essences or fundamental inner characters of their respective real referents.”[2]  His view may be too strong, but hearing such a statement can move us in the right direction.  It can cause us to realize the important difference between our purely symbolic view of words and the more dynamic view of words found in ancient Israel and in the ancient near east as a whole.  Because of that much more dynamic view of words, divine names were seen to be incredibly powerful in ancient Israel’s world.

This morning we continue our study of the Ten Commandments by looking together at the third of those commandments.  It says, “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.”  After hearing about ancient Israel’s more dynamic view of words and names, I hope you hear that command now and know that much more is meant than we often perceive.

With such a view of God’s Name, no faithful Israelite would have ever used it, as many do today, for idle curses, oaths, or outbursts of anger.  No Christian who loves God with his or her heart, soul, mind, and strength will either.  Even with our more symbolic understanding of language, we cannot show disrespect for God by using the word “God” in a trivializing or degrading way.  We revere God, and one of the ways we show that is by the reverent use of any title or name ascribed to God.

We should also note that in the Bible the word “name” is synonymous with “reputation” (e.g., Proverbs 22:1).  So when we read “You shall not misuse” (NIV) or “make wrongful use of” (NRSV) “the name of the Lord your God . . . ,” we should know that we should not do anything that will diminish anyone’s view of God.  We should not do anything that will lessen the world’s perception of God’s glory and majesty.  What Christians do and say reflect upon the way others view our God.  We should behave in such a way that God’s Name is glori­fied and respected.

But there is so much more to this commandment’s intended meaning.  Since God’s Name was seen to be vitally connected to God’s power, we should realize that this commandment also prohibits any attempt to use God’s power in a way that dishonors God.  For example, scholars note that this third commandment prohibits the “misuse of the [Name of God] for magical purposes.”[3]  Since God’s Name was powerful, it was a temptation in the ancient world to use it to perform magic.  Clearly such a use was antithetical to the will of God and is prohibited by this third command of the Ten Commandments.  But the prohibition of any magi­cal use of God’s Name can lead us to realize, to use the words of Walter Brueggemann, that this commandment has to do with any effort “to invoke through utterance the power and purpose of [the Lord] in the service of some purpose that is extraneous to [the Lord’s] own person.”[4] 

To make sure that we realize the relevance of this teaching for Christians, it is extremely important for us to note that this same understanding of the power and importance of divine names is also found in the New Testament.  For example, in Mark 16:17 Jesus refers to miraculous signs that His followers will be able to perform.  Listen to His description of one of those signs.  Jesus says, “by using my name they will cast out demons . . .”  Another striking example is found in Acts (Ax) 19.  That chapter relates some events that took place while Paul was preaching in the city of Ephesus, and those events clearly relate to the power of the Name of Jesus.  Please turn to Ax 19:11-20 and follow along as I read:

God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that when the handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, their diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them.  Then some itinerant Jewish exorcists tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.”  Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this.  But the evil spirit said to them in reply, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”  Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered them all, and so overpowered them that they fled out of the house naked and wounded.  When this became known to all residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, everyone was awestruck; and the name of the Lord Jesus was praised.  Also many of those who became believers confessed and disclosed their practices.  A number of those who practiced magic collected their books and burned them publicly; when the value of these books was calculated, it was found to come to fifty thousand silver coins.  So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.

This story could not be clearer in teaching that the power of the Name of Jesus is a power that the unbeliever should not tamper with.  It does not take a genius to figure out that the same is true of the Name of God, the Father of Jesus Christ.

By the way, even Christians like me who have never cast out demons still connect to the belief in the power of divine names today.  We pray “in Jesus Name” because Jesus is the power that opens the way to God’s throne.  To put it another way, the power of Jesus’ Name is the power that carries our prayers to God.  The Name “Jesus” is kind of like a password that only those who have put their faith in Jesus can use to send their prayers to God.

And what are the words said over a person who is baptized?  When we baptize someone we say, I now baptize you in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”  That means that a person’s life is connected by baptism to the power of the Name.  The way we live can serve to “misuse” the power of that Name.  Our lives can make that Name appear useless, worthless, vain.  The text of third commandment is clear:  “the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name” (Ex 20:7, NRSV).  Let’s walk worthy of that Name.  Let’s live lives that give glory to God’s Name, to the Name of Jesus Christ, and to the Name of God’s Holy Spirit.

I want to provide an opportunity for all who would like to make a third commandment commitment.  I am going to make a promise to God.  I am going to promise before God and before all of you that I will live to the glory of the Name.  I want to give you some quiet time of prayer and meditation to decide if you also would like to make that promise.  Please spend some time deciding if you also will commit to live your life to the glory of the Name.

If you have decided to publicly commit yourself to live to the glory of the Name, please stand now.  The words are simple but the promise is profound.  We will say together, “I will live to the glory of the Name.”  Please say it with me.  I will live to the glory of the Name.  I will live to the glory of the Name.  I will live to the glory of the Name.

One of my very favorite songs is “Turn My Heart.”  The line that moves me to tears expresses the longing for a time when “my name brings honor to the Lamb.”  May my name, may your name bring honor to the Name of Jesus Christ the Lamb and to the Name of His Father and to the Name of the Holy Spirit.

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