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Commandments 3 & 4: Honoring God's Name and the Sabbath
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Imagine you've received an official invitation to a royal audience with King Charles on Tuesday, August 18th at 2 p.m. What would you do to prepare?
Most of us would immediately check our calendars and rearrange our schedules. We'd look up the dress code—conservative formal attire is expected. We'd probably do some shopping. And we'd research royal etiquette: how to address the king, what behaviors are appropriate, how to bow or curtsy properly.
Why do we go to such lengths? Because we recognize that meeting a king is a significant occasion that demands respect and preparation.
Today we're exploring how the third and fourth commandments help us prepare to enter God's royal presence. These commandments give us the protocols—the behaviors God expects of those who live continually in His presence.
Let's start with the third commandment, found in Exodus 20:7:
You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. For the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
Older translations phrase this as "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain." The amplified version clarifies: "that is lightly or frivolously in false affirmations or profanely."
The names of God carry tremendous significance. When God revealed Himself to Moses at the burning bush, He gave His name as Yahweh—the great "I AM." This wasn't casual information. It was a revelation of God's eternal, self-existent nature. God doesn't depend on anyone else to exist; He simply is.
God also revealed Himself as Elohim, the strong Creator, the Judge, and the source of all power. These names reveal different aspects of God's character and His relationship with His people.
Just as we would never call King Charles by a casual nickname like "Chucky, my old buddy," God's people must learn to use God's name respectfully. His name carries His authority and power. When Moses communicated God's name to the Hebrew people, he was establishing that this was the eternal, powerful Creator who was delivering them and accompanying them into His promise.
First: Lightly or frivolously. This includes using God's holy name as filler words in everyday speech—saying "Oh my God" in surprise over minor events. It includes making jokes or casual remarks that mock sacred things, or the way we talk about church and worship in ways that don't honor God.
Second: In false affirmations. This could mean swearing by God to prove a lie is true, or breaking a solemn promise made under religious oath—like marriage vows made before God. It can also mean using God's authority to support selfish or wrong acts, manipulating others by claiming "God told me I should have this of yours."
Third: Profanely. This goes beyond just using God's name as a swear word. It includes using God's name to curse or wish harm on others, speaking angry or hateful words against God, or using His name in rude or dirty jokes. The core issue is that the name is not honored.
Some people swing to the opposite extreme: they become so concerned about misusing God's name that they avoid using it altogether. This happened in Jewish history between the sixth and third centuries—they decided Yahweh was so sacred that they wouldn't say it at all.
But here's the tragedy: God gave His commands so we can have deeper relationship with Him, not to avoid relationship with Him. God doesn't want outward compliance for compliance's sake. He wants our wholehearted, whole-being expression of love in our relationship with Him.
Jesus condensed all the commandments—including the Big 10—into the great commandment recorded in Mark 12. When asked what was most important, He responded:
Here, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.
We still need these ten words guiding our lives as part of loving God and loving people well.
God's name is a gift to us. Jesus' name is the name above all names, as we're told in Philippians 2. It's vital to our relationship with God. Jesus' name is the name we call on to be saved. It's in Jesus' name that we pray. It's the name we call on for help and safety.
Let's use the name of Jesus and grow in our relationship with Him. This respectful, honoring use of His name doesn't just bless us—it should also be a blessing to those we're in relationship with here on earth. Our speech must match our decisions and our actions. As we explored last month through the book of James, our speech is empty if our actions and lifestyle don't align with our confession of faith in Jesus.
How can we honor God with the way we speak of Him? Take a moment to reflect: Is there something you've been saying that doesn't respect God?
The third commandment is an invitation for all of us to start living by honoring the name we carry as Christians.
While the third commandment directs us how to speak to and of God, the fourth commandment guides us to regularly make room in our calendars to honor God with our time. Let's read it from Exodus 20:8-11:
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them. But he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
This commandment has the most words and the most explanation of all the Big 10. It's clearly a big deal.
The Hebrew word Shabbat literally means to stop, to cease, or to rest from labor. Consider who received this command: newly liberated slaves who had probably never had a day off in their entire lives. Now they were in relationship with this incredible personal God, and God was saying, "You don't have to work all the time. Come and rest with me." It was a revolutionary invitation to a new rhythm of life.
But the Sabbath wasn't just a day off. Notice the language: "a Sabbath to the Lord your God." It's not just a day off from work; it's a day with God.
And the Sabbath wasn't just for individuals. It included families, workers, neighbors, even foreigners, and even the animals and livestock. No one was to be working on the Sabbath—human or animal. This was a rhythm for the entire community.
The Sabbath is rooted in creation itself. When God finished creating the world, He stopped working on the seventh day. Genesis tells us He saw that everything was very good. As theologian Christopher Watkins observed: "God's rest at creation makes it clear that work is not all there is for God. And we know from Exodus 20 that he doesn't want it to be all there is for us either. There is more for us than work."
In Isaiah 58, God calls the Sabbath "my holy day" and directs His people to honor Him by not going their own ways. When God's people honor Him on this day, He refreshes their soul and makes them ride on the heights of the earth. There's a blessing, an empowering that comes from resting with God.
For the Hebrew people, the Sabbath was observed from sunset Friday to nightfall Saturday—a 24-hour period involving lighting candles, sharing festive meals with family, attending synagogue, and abstaining from work and commerce.
After Jesus' resurrection, Christian worship continued the Sabbath practice, but Christians chose Sunday instead of Saturday because it was the day Jesus was resurrected. It became known as "the Lord's day."
Throughout centuries, as Christianity shaped English culture, the Sabbath was a large part of our rhythm. At times it was practiced in a mandatory way—it was actually illegal not to go to church on Sunday. There were strict bans on trading, working, sports, and public amusements. In 19th and 20th century England, it was even culturally taboo to hang your laundry outside on the Sabbath!
A wonderful example from British culture is Eric Liddell, whose story was made famous through the film Chariots of Fire. This Scottish athlete and minister refused to run his race in the 1924 Olympics because it was scheduled for Sunday. He faced enormous pressure, even from the future King Edward VII, but he stayed firm in his conviction. A solution was found—he competed in an alternative event instead.
On the day of his final, a support team member gave him a slip of paper that read: "He that honors me, I will honor. Wishing you the best of success always." The verse being quoted was 1 Samuel 2:30. Eric went on to win the gold medal. Those who honor God will be honored.
Now, what do we do in our post-Christian culture here in the UK? It's not mandatory to go to church anymore. It's now a choice for us as believers. Will we honor the Lord in the Sabbath? Will we make room in our schedule one day a week to stop working and to meet with God?
We have a choice every week. Yet many of us have the provision of weekends or days off, but our culture has so many distractions that encourage us not to rest with God during that time. I believe we need to be on guard and actively rediscover the rhythm of the Sabbath.
The first temptation is to keep working 24/7 out of self-reliance. We think, "If I don't work this seventh day, everything will fall apart." But God is saying, "If you organize things and give me that time, trust me. It won't fall apart." We've been created to need rest. When we don't get regular rest, our bodies don't function as well as they should.
If you have to work on Sunday—especially if you do shift work—then use one of your days off as your Sabbath. It doesn't have to be Sunday.
The second temptation is to pursue rest without God. Some people think, "I'll get some rest. What am I going to do today?" But the Sabbath is an invitation to rest with God. It's an opportunity to spend quality time with the Lord. As you go on holiday this summer, holiday with Jesus. Don't take a holiday from Jesus. It adds a sweetness to that time of rest.
The third temptation is to be too rigid in how we keep the Sabbath. Jesus regularly faced criticism from the Pharisees for breaking their added Sabbath rules. We shouldn't be the Sabbath police for each other. It's a matter between you and God—how you keep the Sabbath.
What we know about Jesus is that He honored the Sabbath. He attended public worship in the synagogue on the Sabbath. He did God's work on the Sabbath—He healed people and fed people. He preached. He called Himself the Lord of the Sabbath.
The Lord of the Sabbath is now inviting all of us to meet with Him and receive His rest. He gives this invitation in Matthew 11:28-30:
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Take my rhythm of life. Be in step with me. Learn from me.
The Sabbath is an invitation to regularly pause and spend time with our King of Kings, Jesus. In the Sabbath, we stop what we're working on to spend time with God, with our loved ones, with our community. As a result, we will be rested and refreshed.
Let's reflect back on the opening illustration. If you received an invitation to meet King Charles and refused it—just decided you couldn't be bothered to show up—you wouldn't be thrown into the Tower of London as a traitor. That's not the consequence.
But you would miss out on something. You would miss out on a special opportunity to interact with the king. Your refusal would be rude and dishonoring to him.
When we ignore the Sabbath invitation, we're the ones who miss out. We miss out on a special encounter with God. And honestly, it dishonors God when we say, "You know what? I'm busy on Sunday. I'm going to do this, and this, and this. I'm not going to have time with you. Sorry, Lord. I'll catch up with you next time." That's dishonoring to God.
God has been so good to us. He's been so compassionate, so merciful, so kind. Let us make sure we prioritize coming to Him and having that rhythm, that rest with Him.
The two commandments we've looked at today are really an invitation to get ready for royalty, to spend time with our great God, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
Honoring God's name and the Sabbath is a call for us to move from the veneer of religion and our own self-determined life to wholehearted, whole-life worship centered in God's distinguishing presence where we find rest.
A life that honors God is a life that is honored by God. It's a win-win.
So today I implore you to respond to the invitation offered by these two words: spend time in God's presence.
Let's take time to reflect, just as you would respond to an earthly king's invitation. How is your calendar looking? Maybe close your eyes and reflect. Is it packed out? Do you need to shuffle some things around to make room for Jesus' invitation to regularly rest with Him? You don't have to tell me. This is between you and the Lord.
Or maybe reflect on how you speak about the King and how you speak to Him. None of us naturally know how to speak and behave in front of an earthly king. We need to learn. And we all need to learn how to speak to the King of Kings, to our God.
We are blessed because Jesus has sent the best teacher—the Holy Spirit—to teach us how to speak to Him and how to speak well of Him. In humble partnership with Him, He will help us change our lips and our tongues so we can speak in a way that honors Him.
Maybe something you need to reflect on is: Are there things I need to learn here? Are there things I need to say sorry to Him for?
We could try as hard as we can to get this all right, to dress appropriately for the King, but we probably wouldn't quite get there on our own. Our best effort to look and be good are like dirty rags in comparison to God.
Today, as I've been talking, you might be more aware of your speech, of all your busyness, of how it doesn't honor Him. But the good news is that Jesus wants to forgive us. He wants to forgive us where we've fallen short in these areas or any other sin in our lives. He wants to cleanse us of the stain of sin.
And then He replaces our dirty rags with a robe of righteousness. It's a free gift from Him. That means we can be dressed ready to meet with the King.
We all need that. We all need to keep short accounts with the Lord on that.
