Solemn Promises – The Kingdom Curriculum VII (2)

Solemn Promises

“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain…” Exodus 20:7; Deuteronomy 5:11

“You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.” Leviticus 19:12

The truth, and only the truth.

Our text indicates that to “swear falsely” by God’s Name is to profane His Name–to make it common, everyday, meaningless. I doubt any serious believer would ever do this as a matter of course. We know that God’s Name is exalted, holy, glorious, true, and lovely. And, in the main, most Christians are careful about not profaning the Name of the Lord in vulgar or meaningless ways.

But we make God’s Name a thing of offense and even scorn when we fail to live up to the things we have sworn in His Name. Just take marriage vows, for example: “to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, for better or for worse, so help me, God.” A marriage vow is a solemn public promise, made to God and in His Name, to perform certain obligations out of love for another person. It doesn’t come with an escape clause, or fine print exceptions. When we do not hold up our end of the marriage vows, for whatever reason, we show that we have sworn falsely, and we take the Lord’s Name in vain.

How do we do that? By failing to express and demonstrate love to our spouses on a daily and continual basis. By acting in a flirtatious manner with members of the opposite sex. By taking our spouses for granted or failing to appreciate all they do in showing their love for us.

Those who take the Name of the Lord upon themselves must be very diligent in carrying out the vows they take in God’s Name. Such faithfulness begins in prayer, where we receive from the Lord insights, ideas, and plans for showing our love for our spouses. But it comes to expression in the day-in, day-out realities of putting flesh on our solemn promises.

Get your copy of The Law of God today, and begin making meditation in God’s Law part of your daily discipline. Go to www.MyParuchia.com, point your browser to “Publications,” then click on the drop-down option, “Waxed Tablet Publications.”

—

In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001,2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.