Before I Die

The usual meaning of “taking God’s name in vain” is in the context of blasphemy. This is what we’ve been taught, and what we also teach our children. Of course, using God’s name in a curse is highly disrespectful. If we don’t use our mother’s name as a cuss word, because we respect her, why should we do that to God?

But what does the Bible mean about “take the name of the God in vain”?

This command appears twice in the Torah:

Exodus 20:7  “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.”

Deuteronomy 5:11  “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.”

In both instances, the command is listed together with what is known as the “Ten Commandments” and therefore we cannot derive its meaning contextually. We can be pretty certain that the Jews in Moses’ time understood this well, and transmitted this to their children who passed this on as well to their own.

But it seems we finally can make some sense of it when King Solomon uses the phrase in Proverbs 30:7-9, saying, “Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die: Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.” (Proverbs 30:7-9)

Let’s break this down.

Agur starts with his prayer, “Two things have I required of thee”. The Hebrew word שָׁאַל | shaw-ale’ would be better translated as “request” rather than “require” which sounds demanding. He continues, “deny me them not before I die.” This seems to mean as saying, “let me experience these two things at least before I die”. This indicates that this condition is not a common or everyday situation for Agur, so he asks God to perform this in his life even at the close of his life. Let’s look at what these two conditions are.

“Remove far from me vanity and lies…” – This is not the first thing Agur is asking for, but he is saying that vanity and falsehood are the effects of the two things he is about to enumerate. Hold on, we’re getting there.

“…give me neither poverty nor riches;…” – This is his first request. Agur is asking God for just a fair amount of economic relief so he could neither call himself wealthy nor poor. On an aside, if every Christian had this mentality, no Christian would be impoverished just as what happened to the early Church in Acts 2.

“…feed me with food convenient for me.” – The Hebrew חֹק | khoke, in my opinion, should be translated as “prescribed”. The food prescribed by God is the best food for our bodies, not the junk our tongue and appetites hanker after. So, Agur is praying, “As I grow older, please provide me with healthy food, not the unhealthy food of the rich, nor the un-nutritious food of the destitute.”

Then Agur describes the outcome of these two extremes.

“Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD?…” – The Hebrew כָּחַשׁ | kaw-khash’ translated as “deny” can also mean “disown/disappoint”. This can happen to a rich man who has forgotten what it feels like to be hungry. He cannot empathize with the poor. He believes that he got rich because he worked hard to become what he is. So he thinks the poor are poor because they simply are lazy. By thinking like this, he disowns his Creator Who has made all people in His image and likeness, and disappoints people who ask for help from him.

“…or lest I be poor, and steal,…” – Poverty is often the excuse of criminals, and when it is proven they are really in need, often get away with kinder punishments. But stealing is something God disapproves of without any qualification. This is because the poor thief is saying to God, “You can’t or won’t help me. You’re not answering me. I’ll fix this myself!” It’s his middle finger to God.

Let’s look at that part again.

“…and take the name of my God in vain.” – Although the words “in vain” are not in the original, but seem to be have been added by the translators correctly to make good or better sense of the statement. Looking at this passage, we will get an illustration of taking the name of God in vain. The phrase does not mean using God’s name as a cuss word, as is commonly understood.

Taken in the context of the pericope (Proverbs 30:7-9), it seems to indicate that Agur (Solomon, if Agur is to mean “collector” – see Joseph Benson’s comments on the chapter) is saying something happens when a man is driven to extremes in life (poverty or wealth). There is a tendency for that man to forget God and take matters into his own hands.

Agur is practically saying, “When one is always fully sated, he tends to forget God. When one is always hungry, he tends to ignore God and do what he thinks he needs to do to survive.”

Therefore, taking the name of God in vain can be briefly equated to playing God, which is of course, futile and sinful. This is also equal to misrepresenting God with our sinful, public actions.

Where Do You Stand?

Friend, the more important issue is not whether you are rich or poor, or in between, but the answer to the question, “If you died tonight, where do you think you will end up?” If you are unsure of your eternal destiny, now is the time to make your life right with God. You see, all human beings (me included) are sinners! If you would honestly assess yourself right now, you probably have lied to someone. Or taken something that did not belong to you. You might have looked at someone with lust in your heart. Or hated someone and wishing him/her evil. Or, used God’s name as a cuss-word. If so, that makes you a lying thief, an adulterer, a murderer, and a blasphemer! I think you know where such kinds of people end up already.

But God sent Jesus to earth on a rescue mission! That’s what it says in John 3:16. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

All who turn to God in humble repentance, coming back to The Creator and ask for forgiveness, believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who gave His life on the cross as payment for sin, Who rose again the third day, ascended to heaven and is coming back to take all His believers with Him to heaven, you can receive forgiveness for your sins and be restored into a relationship with God!

All you need to do is repent, ask Him to forgive you, and entrust your present and future to Jesus Christ. If you are sincere, the Bible says you are SAVED and made as new again! “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES ON HIM WILL NOT BE PUT TO SHAME.” (Romans 10:9-11)

You can stop being ashamed of what you’ve made out of your life. Guilt does not have to haunt you until your dying day. Accept the offer from Jesus and the receipt His Gift of eternal life today. Hurry! This offer is good only until the Rapture!

If you’ve made a decision to believe in Jesus, let me know! I wish to help you grow in your new faith in the God of the Bible Whose promises never fail.

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Until then, God bless you!