Those who break this commandment “hate God,” and will surely receive their punishment. He “visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the children upon the third and upon the fourth generation.” The bad example set by a man frequently corrupts his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. In that case they will all receive their punishment, and there is no excuse for them, that they were misled by the bad example of their father or their forefathers. A bad example must not be followed, even if it be set by those whom we love dearly.
The good example of a man should always be followed, and his good deeds bear good fruit and are the source of blessing even long after his death. For to those that love God and keep His commandments God “showeth mercy even to the thousandth generation.” [[252]]
Third Commandment
“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.”
We pronounce the name of God when we read the Bible, when we pray, when we take an oath, or when we speak of God’s wisdom, power, and goodness. We take the name of God in vain when we read the Bible without attention, or pray without devotion, or take an oath without necessity or contrary to truth. When we utter the name of God we must bear in mind that it is the name of the most Holy and most Perfect Being that we are pronouncing; that it is a privilege to us to be allowed and to be able to pronounce it.
The more we meditate on the greatness and holiness of God, the more careful should we be “not to utter the name of God in vain.” We should guard ourselves from falling into the bad habit of uttering it thoughtlessly to no purpose whatever. Many people are heard to exclaim every minute, “O God,” or similar phrases. To them the sacredness of the name is entirely lost, and they are no longer reminded by it of the holiness of Him who is designated by that name. Still greater is the thoughtlessness of those who swear by God without any necessity. In swearing by God we call upon God to bear witness that our words are true. But such a testimony is only required when our statement is not believed. If we swear before we know whether we are believed or not, we indicate that, according to our estimate of ourselves, we are not [[253]]trustworthy, and it has often been observed as a fact that those who swear most are least to be believed. The worst of all forms of swearing is to swear falsely, that is, to swear that something is the case without knowing that it is true, or knowing that it is not true. This is a terrible crime, and is called “the profanation of God’s name,” חלול השם.
There is still another kind of חלול השם “profanation of God’s name:” if we Jews who are called by His name, the people of the Lord, or children of the Lord, bring contempt upon God’s people by disgraceful conduct, we profane the name of God. We sanctify it by noble and generous deeds; by leading a pure and blameless life we cause a קדוש השם “sanctification of the name of God.”
The third commandment forbids us—
- (1.) To utter the name of God unnecessarily in our common conversation.
- (2.) To read the Bible carelessly, or to pray without attention and devotion.
- (3.) To swear otherwise than when required by the law to do so, as, e.g., in courts of law.
- (4.) To swear when we are not fully convinced of the truth of our declaration.
The additional sentence, “for he will not hold him guiltless who taketh his name in vain,” is to remind us that it is against God the Omniscient that we sin in breaking this commandment. God knows our innermost thoughts, whether we think of what we utter or not; whether we are convinced of what we declare on oath or not. He will punish us if we break His commandments, although we may be able [[254]]to conceal our sins from men and escape condemnation by a human tribunal.