Exodus - Part 25 - Exodus 20:7-11

0:00 Intro
0:49 Joke
2:03 Worship
5:16 Announcements
9:40 Pledge of Allegiance
12:03 Worship Continued
27:38 Rejoice, Watch, Pray
36:06 Message
1:07:46 Closing Worship

The next commandments we’ll explore in our deep dive are commandments 3 and 4. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. So let’s break down what those mean.

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. This one is harder than it sounds. The word “vain” in Hebrew means emptiness, falseness, worthlessness, lying, or deceit. The name of God is not to be used in any of these senses of the word. The name of God is powerful and deserves respect.

It has the power of salvation according to Acts 4:12. It is a refuge according to Proverbs 18:10. His name is everlasting according to Revelation 1:8. His name holds authority according to Philippians 2:10-11. His name is glorified according to Isaiah 42:8. His name is powerful according to Proverbs 30:4.

If we don’t honor the name of God as Christians, how can we expect others to do the same? In our culture today, the name of God is thrown around carelessly as an exclamation of anger or frustration. It is used in a false oath or promise when we say “I swear to God.” It is used in a way that dishonors and trivializes Him. As our relationship and faith in Christ grows, we should find ourselves doing less of this. We need to exercise thoughtfulness in our daily lives.

Moving on to the next commandment. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Sabbath means rest. According to Genesis, God made everything in the world in six day and then rested on the seventh day. God wasn’t tired, but He wanted to establish the idea of taking a break from working. It has spiritual and practical applications.

It was God’s idea to take a break to enjoy the fruits of our labor with the people around us. In essence, God established the weekend. In ancient days, people worked from sunup to sundown. Rest was essential for physical refreshment for both man and animal. Rested people are more productive and healthy. They thrive, they are discerning, and they are more successful.

On a spiritual level, the Sabbath is a time to rest from normal everyday things and focus on God. Today our rest as believers is in Jesus Christ, which means we can rest in His peace and comfort every day. When we come to Him, He gives us rest from our burdens. The Law was given to show people what righteousness looks like, but only Jesus Christ can truly give it to us.