The Ten Commandments Part Two

Commandments Three, Four, and Five.

Last time we talked about Commandments One, and Two. Have no other Gods before God, and do not commit Idolatry. Today we will be discussing Commandments Three, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain" Four, "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.", and number Five, "Honour thy father and thy mother" Which is the first Commandment with Promise.

You can find the Ten Commandments in...

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.

8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

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.

There are three ways that you can take the Lord's name in vain. They are:

To Curse
To Denounce
To Swear By

Do you really mean that if someone curses, God "will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." Yup. But it's just words. Or a figure of speech. What's the big deal. The big deal is, if you are a child of God, and you call out His name, he is going to be there. So whatever you say, actually means something. If you do not mean it, then why say it. In:

Leviticus 24:

10 And the son of an Israelitish woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel: and this son of the Israelitish woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp;

11 And the Israelitish woman's son blasphemed the name of the Lord, and cursed. And they brought him unto Moses: (and his mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan:)

12 And they put him in ward, that the mind of the Lord might be shewed them.

13 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

14 Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him.

15 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin.

16 And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death.

Is God serious? Why? One, to use His name in vain is a sign of disrespect. He is God. Yet, using His name in vain, by cursing, you bring Him to nothing. You denounce His God Head and authority. You turn Him into a figure of speech with your words.

But these are not just words. "God said" it was so. God spoke the World into existence. Jesus calmed the storm, healed the sick, and raised the dead, with words. Jesus told YOU, as a child of God...

Mark 11:

23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

So think about this. You are a Child of God. You have the Spirit of God in you. You are driving in traffic, shopping on "black Friday," or just at work. Someone offends you in some way. You now have a choice. Here are two possible scenarios to think about.

First, you could get mad, and yell something like "God Damn You." Or something like "Jesus H Christ, drop dead already." You get the point. Now that person goes on with their life. Say they are channel surfing or scanning a Magazine, or walking down the street, when the come onto one of those Corner Preachers. They hear or see, "God so loved the world, He gave his only begotten Son." "Jesus Saves" Or something to that effect. They ignore it and move on. They go the rest of their lives never hearing the truth. They die.

Now lets say you say something like "God bless you." Or "Jesus loves you." Now when that person is channel surfing or scanning a Magazine, or walking down the street, when the come onto one of those Corner Preachers. They hear or see, "God so loved the world, He gave his only begotten Son." "Jesus Saves" Or something to that effect. They may actually remember YOU. Instead of just ignoring it, YOU pop into their head. They think to themselves, "Oh yeah, like that person I cut off, or bumped and then cursed out. {Whatever} They were so calm about it. I would want to rip someones head off if they did that to me, yet, they Blessed me? What is this all about anyway?" They learn the Truth, and are now saved. Do you know it? Nope. Will you even meet that person again? Nope. But what you said in that moment in time, made all the difference in the world to that person. 

YOU are a Child of God. YOU have the Spirit of God in you. YOU have the same power and authority as Christ Himself had. YOU have a responsibility to watch what you say and how you say it. There are power in Words. Being a Child of God, you have ever more power. Be careful. God does not take His name being used in vain lightly.

The third way to take His name in vain, is to swear by. In other words, saying something like this. "I swear to God, I will....." Or, "By God, I will...." As a matter of fact, God does not want you searing by anything. In...

Matthew 5:

33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:

34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:

35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.

36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.

37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

So we are talking, and you say "Promise?" If I say "I swear to God." What if I do not fulfill my promise? What if I do not keep my word? What then? What can I possibly do to God? God wants your Yes to be Yes, and your No to be No.

I learned a long time ago, that there is a difference in meaning Yes and No, and not. A person I know, would always make plans with a family member, a little girl. He would promise all sorts of things. Then when the time came, he would say things like "Not right now. Or "Maybe next weekend." Or "Maybe tomorrow." But when that same little girl came to me, I said, "We will do this or that." When the time came, no matter what was going on, or how I felt, we did it.

Many years pasted. I never really thought about it much. But when she was older, she came to me and asked me to do something I was not sure of. I said, "OK, maybe. I really don't know, but I will try to make it happen." She said to me, "You know, I understand. Whenever .... said something, I could never believe him. But whenever you said something, I knew it to be true. You never let me down once." Why? Because my Yes, was already Yes. I needed not say "I promise." "I swear." or anything else. If I said Yes, she had no thought, that it could even be possible, that it would not happen.

That is how God wants us to be to everyone. If you say Yes. MEAN it. If you say No, MEAN it. In time, like the little girl, people will know, "Hey, if Pete said Yes? It's Yes. No worries." You can not do anything to God, Heaven, the Earth, or even yourself. So it's empty and can be dangerous as well, to swear by anything. Just say Yes or No, and mean it. Anything else is evil.

So to recap. Do not curse, denounce, or swear by, God or His name. Honor Him, and respect Him. He is God. and again, He will not hold those blameless that do.

"Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it."

Now this one is one of those that have been completely forgotten. It has also been twisted, changed, and some can not even understand what it means, from the lack of teaching. First, Saturday, is now, and has always been, the Sabbath. That is what Saturday means. The Sabbath Day. Sunday is now, and always has been, the first day of the week. So if you want to go by the letter of the Law, you should be keeping Saturday as the Sabbath.

However, God is not always concerned with the Letter of the Law. Especially when it comes to the Sabbath. If Sunday is the day you have to keep as a Sabbath Day, God will honor that. After all....

Mark 2:

27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath:

So? Why? Why did God create the Sabbath day for you? "But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." It is a day of rest. It is a day to spend time with God. It is a day to enjoy family. It is YOUR day. 

How do you "Keep it Holy?" There are four ways you can "Keep it Holy."

1 - Pray, spend time with God.

You should of course Pray to God always. But when you have more than that five minutes before you go to work, school, or whatever it is you are doing, you should spend more time with Him. We have learned that God is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. The Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. He is the Creator of all that is, was, and ever will be. He is now, also, your Daddy.

You want to know who God is? Spend time with Him. Talk to Him. Tell Him what is happening in your life. Share with Him your hopes and dreams. Let Him know what your concerns are. Ask Him why this or that is. Ask Him to teach you His way. His plan for you. Just talk to Him.

2 - Read the Bible.

One way you can get to know who God is, is read His Word. Spend extra time in the Word. Don't just scan over it, but actually digest it. Get to fully understand what it means. Talk with God while you are doing it. Ask Him how this could be, or the reason for that. Allow the conversation to be a two way conversation. You would be surprise. God can and WILL communicate with you.

3- Go to Church.

You can learn a lot about God, by spending time with your Brothers and Sisters in Christ. You can also feed your Spirit. It can, and will, make you stronger. Not only can God communicate with you in your Prayer Closet, by use of His Word, but He can communicate with you through others. You would be surprised what you learn, when you are actually helping others. Even if it doesn't seem like it at the time.

The ideal concept of the Sabbath, is to do nearly nothing. That is why the early Church picked Sunday to gather. You rest on Saturday, the Sabbath, the last day of the week. You start your week on the first day, gathering together to worship God. But again, if you only have one day, and it is Sunday, God will not worry about you going to Church on your Sabbath. Even if it is more than 3637 feet.

What's that? What is 3637 feet? That is a Sabbath Day's journey. Some religions have decided that if you go more than that, then you are considered working on the Sabbath, and in turn, you are in violation of the Law.

In..... 

Deuteronomy 4:

2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.

Nowhere in the Word, does GOD say, you can not walk more than 3637 feet on the Sabbath. Nowhere in the Word, does GOD say, Thou shalt eat, or not eat,  this or that on the Sabbath. Nowhere in the Word does GOD say, that you must wash your hands before you eat, nor, does it tell you you can change this or that, according to your concept. 

As a matter of fact. Jesus did quite a bit on the Sabbath Days.

Matthew 12:

12 At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat.

2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.

3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;

4 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?

5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?

6 But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.

7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.

8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

You see, it was man that made the Law, you should not pick crops, considered work, on the Sabbath Day. They also created the Law of eating with unwashed hands. Jesus told them that HE is Lord over the Sabbath, and what He does, or those who has His Spirit in them do, is not a violation. But the Sabbath is for man. Continuing...

9 And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:

10 And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.

11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?

12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.

13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.

14 Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.

Again, Jesus told them the truth. All that were there knew, that they would indeed rescue the Sheep on the Sabbath. But THEIR Traditions still say it is against the Law, so they were still angry and sought to kill Jesus for violating their Traditions. Their Religion. Then in....

Mark 7:

6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.

9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

We'll continue this one in just a few minutes. But what Jesus is saying to them is that they should be following what God says, more so than what they have decided is their Traditions. It is far more important to do good on the Sabbath, or any day, than it is to blindly follow man-made Traditions.

In...

Luke 6:

6 And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered.

7 And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him.

8 But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth.

9 Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?

10 And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other.

Then in...

Luke 13:

10 And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.

11 And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.

12 And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.

13 And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.

14 And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.

OK, first, it seems funny to me that the Ruler of the Synagogue was not even amazed that the Woman was healed. But was angry that Jesus healed her on the Sabbath. He was so blind with indignation that Jesus violated his Religion and did what HE {The Ruler} did not authorize.

You see, even today, there are many in Organized Religions that feel that they are the Highest Power. The final authority. That THEY are the is all and end all of all things. Here is Jesus telling them, NO. They are not, God IS.

15 The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?

16 And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?

17 And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.

No, I did not forget number 4. Remember, I said there are 4 ways to keep the Sabbath Holy. Number 4 is the simplest, and yet, for many, the hardest one to keep. Ready? Are you sure?

Number 4 - REST!!!

Yup. REST. We have turned life, into a 24/7 life. Work, School, even Play. We need this NOW. We got to get that NOW. If you want to work for some companies, you have to work 24/7. Overnights, Holidays, Weekends. You do not have a choice in some cases.

You know what happens if you go full bore 24/7? You run out of gas. You wear out you body. You can end up killing yourself. We end up training ourselves to go on 4 hours of sleep, overcome tiredness with Caffeine and other, uh, assistance, and we go til we can't go anymore.

We must learn to REST. just STOP! Just relax. There is NOTHING worth killing yourself over. You need time to spend learning the things that are really important, and your body needs time to recharge. Learn how to REST.

So to recap a bit here. The Sabbath is made for YOU. It is a day of rest. Pray, spend time with God. Read the Word, spend time with God. Go to Church, spend time with God and others that you can learn from and grow from. The Last? Actually REST.

"Honour thy father and thy mother:"

This is the first Commandment with promise.

"that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee."

Here is God's plan for the Family. Children grow, leave their Mother and Father, join together and become one.

Genesis 2:

24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

And so the cycle goes. But it is important to realize that Children are a gift from God.

Psalm 127:

1 Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.

3 Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.

5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

Also in...

Psalm 128:

1 Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways.

2 For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.

3 Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.

4 Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord.

5 The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.

6 Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children, and peace upon Israel.

This is why it is so outrageous, whenever you hear of a Parent abusing their own Children. A Child is the most precious gift one can have. You need to teach them all things. How you teach them, is how they will go. If you lead by example, they will follow. They will do more like you DO, than that of what you say.

Then they will grow, and they will find another. They will become one with them. In turn, in your later years, when you need help, it has always been God's plan, that your Children will be there for YOU. Man created Nursing Homes. Man created ways to avoid this obligation. God's plan is Family are the most import thing here on earth, next to doing His Will.

Some read this, and they even may teach it to their Children. See, God says you Honor me and Obey me. Men also read this and say to their Wives, see, God says you submit to me and do whatever I say. That's not true. None of it. In...

Colossians 3:

18 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.

19 Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.

20 Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.

21 Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.

So lets look at this. Also in..

Ephesians 6:

6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

2 Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise;

3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Husbands and Wives are what? Yup. One flesh. We are to love and respect each other. Is Man the head of the house? Yup. No doubt about it. But that means that MAN is responsible for all in the House. He is responsible for his Wife, and his Children. Wives? Equal to the husband? Yup. They are. They are to raise the Children and care for the house. I know, I know, some of you may not like that. But that is because you misunderstand the meaning.

The Wife is the Mother of your greatest gift. Obviously I'm talking to the Men here. The Children. She is to be loved and Honored. She should not have to go out there in the world and deal with the things YOU, as the husband should be doing. You should be out there, toiling and sweating, working hard, to supply for your family.

This is also the reason God did not invent day care. It was never his intent to send your Child off to strangers to raise. But I understand, again, we live in a 24/7 society, and money is needed to simply survive. If the Man is unable to earn enough, then the Woman is forced to help out in that area. But that was NEVER God's intent.

Then, God commands the Child to honor their Father and Mother. To Obey them because, believe it or not, for the most part, they know better than you. First, they gave you life. That alone, like with God Himself, should be worthy of your honor. Second, they care for your every need. Perhaps not your every want, but your every need. Now that you have grown, it's your turn to care for them.

But then God commands the Parent, to honor their Children. Treat them with love and kindness. Teach them the ways they should go, according to the Will and Word of God. Then, when they grow, they will not have deep seated anger or hatred towards you. Back to..

Mark 7:

6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.

9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

10 For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:

11 But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free.

12 And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother;

13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

So what does that mean? Nursing Homes, money, private care. Etc. Instead of meeting our obligations according to God, we created loop holes. Jesus said, that is not good enough. We need to meet our obligations.

Just like all the rest of the Commandments given to us by God, these are not to make our lives more difficult, but to make our lives easier and to keep us from the snares of the devil. Honor your Father and Mother, for God says, that is the right thing to do. But make no mistake about it, Parents, you are to honor your kids, and Husbands and Wives, each other. The Family is the most important thing to God. It should be to us as well.

Until next time, be blessed. Jesus IS Lord!