The Second Commandment

by Fred Vilbig

“Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord they God in vain.”

When God appeared to Moses on Mount Horeb, Moses asked for His Name. When “they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what do I tell them?” Ex. 14. At that time, God reveals His name to Moses, and apparently in the ancient world, that was significant.

The Jews held the proper name of God in high regard. The Second Commandment says not to use God’s name in vain, but the Jews seem to have taken that Commandment even further. When Jesus would use “I am” in a sentence, the Jews would accuse Him of blasphemy. John 8:56-59.

I don’t think the Jews would have used “I am” in any casual sentence. It would probably have been blasphemous to say, “I am cold,” or “I am thirsty.” If you use a translating app to translate “I am thirsty” into Hebrew, it comes up with something like “ani tsa me.” That clearly is not the “Ya” we think of in “Yahweh.”

In order to avoid using God’s proper name, the Jews came up with ways to refer to God without using it: El Shaddai; Elohim; and Adonai are just a few examples.

In contemporary American society, we banter the word “God” around like we would “cat” or “dog.” One of the common phrases you see in emails and texts is “OMG.” People don’t think anything of it. When something (almost anything) happens, you’ll hear people say, “Oh my God!” This can be used as an expression of joy, of surprise, or of disgust.

We also regularly hear God’s name in hellish curses. They can either be directed at a person or just as an indirect expression. If you think about that, what a horrible thing it is to ask God to send someone to hell. Hell is a horrible place, and it is eternal. How hateful that is.

If we’re going to follow the Second Commandment, we should avoid any casual, flippant use of God’s name, or even a reference to Him. God forbid that we would ask Him to send someone to hell.

I was once driving with a priest friend, and someone cut us off. Instead of cussing at the guy or insulting him (which was a bad habit of mine), I simply said, “Well. Blessed be God!” The priest looked at me for a moment and then said, “What’s wrong with you?”

One night at dinner, one of my daughters said, “Oh mis gatos!” Not being fluent in Spanish, I needed a translation. She said that it’s Spanish for “Oh, my cats!” She said that instead of saying “OMG”, she would say “Oh mis gatos!” I use that every once in a while, and it can really change a conversation. Of course, people think I’m nuts, but who am I to argue.

If you want to stand out in a crowd, don’t use God’s name in vain. Who knows? That might be the beginning of an interesting conversation.