Leviticus 24:16

And whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone him, the stranger as well as him who is born in the land. When he blasphemes the name [of the LORD], he shall be put to death.

Not blaspheming God’s name was a rule for everyone, not just the Jewish people.  The word for blaspheme means, among other things, to curse.  So cursing God’s name or maybe it’s cursing with God’s name, is what is the problem.  I’m guessing it’s the former since prophets sometimes pronounces curses in the name of God (I think).  The punishment was severe, whatever the case.  The only other crimes that held such punishment were crimes that killed a person (and adultery, I think).  That should be a reminder of how sacred God is.

Does the “cursing” of our generation count?   I don’t know.  Technically, they aren’t using God’s true name, nor do many of them even realize what they’re saying.  But, the man who was stoned for cursing God’s name during a fight may not have realized what he was saying (he has half Egyptian).  Today things like OMG and Good lord! and other things like that are commonplace.  Where is the line drawn?  If it’s drawn there then we’d all be dead.

Then, of course, there’s the difficulty of translation – how to apply things from thousands of years ago to today.  That is the question with so many things.

Psalm 59:5

You, LORD God Tzva’ot, the God of Yisra’el, Rouse yourself to punish the nations. Show no mercy to the wicked traitors. Selah.

I thought the name for God here, Tzva’ot, was interesting so I actually did some research!  I found that in the Hebrew it’s written tsaba, which is translated hosts.  But, if you actually read the definition from Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary it means the appointed time+army+warfare.  The Psalmist, David, is crying out to God for rescue from the men Saul sent to kill him.  To me, this name symbolizes the knowledge that God’s salvation comes at the appointed, or perfect time.  David knows this, and uses this name to acknowledge it.  Another way of interpreting the name Tzva’ot is by looking at the Jewish meaning of  Tzva’ot which refers to God’s sovereignty and leadership.  If it all gets woven together, the name seems to be something like The God who at the perfect time will lead the way into battle and show His sovereignty over the situation.  When things are going crazy in my life, which is often, it is helpful to remember that God’s answers come at the perfect time, He is sovereign over everything that is happening, and He leads the fight for me.  Through all of it, He is in control of the situation and it never overwhelms Him the way it does me.  I like that!

The Prince of Peace by Skip Moen

Matthew 12:21

And his name will be the hope of all the world.

This is actually Jesus quoting from Isaiah (42:1-4) regarding a prophecy made about him.  I thought it was fitting because during this time of year (Christmas) the name of Jesus is heard more often (since that’s the real reason we celebrate).  His name is hope.  Hope is good, especially right now when things are so decidedly bad with our economy, wars, government and all the little details that stress us out.  Hope is that flickering flame that is the last thing to get extinguished.  Hope, no matter how tiny, holds on through even the worst of times.  Jesus is there all the time, even when there’s no money in the bank and no jobs to be had; when there’s corruption all around and no one to help you; and when the world has come crashing down and your heart is shattered.  He is hope.  His name brings hope because He is bigger than the storm.  He has the power to calm the storm.  He has conquered all these things and more.  He is the rest of your heart, the quiet place to grieve, the safe harbor to weather the waves, the hand you can hold, and the champion of your cause.  We all need hope to keep moving forward.  Jesus is that hope.  Have you tried Him lately?

Malachi 1:11

But my name is honored by people of other nations from morning till night. All around the world they offer sweet incense and pure offerings in honor of my name. For my name is great among the nations,” says the LORD Almighty.

I find this interesting.  God is angry at Israel because they offer defiled sacrifices and don’t honor and respect Him…  But while Israel, God’s chosen people ignore Him, people of other nations are honoring Him!  I didn’t know, first of all, that there were nations other than Israel that honored God’s name.  Second of all, how ironic is that, that God’s people whom He has rescued over and over, for whom He has performed incredible miracles (parting of the Red Sea anyone?), and for whom He has fought and won huge battles would forget who He is and be outdone in worship by nations that, for the most part just worship made-up idols!

That bites!  Really.  Think about our culture today.  We get so caught up in our lives that we offer God the leftovers and what little time (if any) that we have at the end of it all.  Yet, there are nations out there where believers are willing to die for their God and where they honor His name loudly and boldly.  And they probably haven’t seen or heard half as much about the Lord as we have!  It makes me take a look at my life and wonder if I’m being “outdone” (no, it’s not a competition) by people who hardly know anything about God but are much more in awe of Him than I am…  I want to honor His name and offer pure sacrifices.  I want His name to be great in my life.  How?

Remember.  Remember the song He’s given me to sing, the God sightings in my life, and the touch of His hand on my life.   And worship.  Worship Him for the amazing things He’s done.  The author of the book In A Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day says that “worship is the way out” and I think that’s true in more ways than one.  Worship God and I can find my way out of complacency and fear and pity-parties and more…

Yeah God!

I kept reading and a couple of entries later (one of which was about The Song of Solomon and the importance of naming – awesome entry), Skip asked what we were doing to break chains (generational chains of continual sin), referring to Abram and Sarai’s sin (Hagar) and its parallels to Adam and Havvah (Eve and the fruit).  So many questions made me wonder if there’s not something to think about there.  My family has a lot of generational chains that I hope will be broken in my family or in my children’s.  But, the questions really is, what am I doing?  Are my actions bringing order and peace to my family?  Are my actions working to break the generational sins and the do-it-my-way attitude that I tend to have?  Those are good questions for me to think about.  They’re really good for anyone to think about (especially if you have some generational chains that need breaking and some chaos that tends to sneak into your life, and who doesn’t?).

Thanks Skip!

Now the Lord has sworn this oath by his own name, the Pride of Israel:…

In Hebrew the name is “The Pride of Jacob.”  Remember, Jacob’s name was changed to Israel after wrestling with God.  I read a post recently that said, “So much of Genesis is about Jacob’s struggle to make God his God.”  This is an interesting point.  Why would one of God’s names  be The Pride of Jacob if it took Jacob so long to even make God his own God?  I suddenly realize how little I know of Jacob.  I think that maybe I will go back and study him a little so that I can better understand this name of God.  Perhaps this name has something to do with the fact that it took Jacob quite some time to take pride in God and accept his name change.  Similarly, it took God a long time to finally punish the nation of Israel.  God had patience with both Jacob and his namesake nation.  It’s an interesting name.

Jeremiah 15: 16

Your words are what sustain me.  They bring me great joy and are my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O Lord God Almighty.

All through the book of Jeremiah, God is telling Jeremiah about the punishment that Israel will incur because they have turned so totally away from God.  Jeremiah usually responds either by asking God for protection and mercy or by reminding God how he is totally dependent on Him.  There are times when he is confused by he is suffering along with the people, and times when he is frustrated because everyone hates him (since his message of destruction is so unpopular – can’t imagine why).  In this part of the chapter he goes on to ask why his wound (?) is so incurable and why God’s help seems so uncertain.  God says to return to Him and be restored (was Jeremiah influenced by the corruption around him? Or did he not want to tell Israel the words of God? I don’t know).

Anyhow, I liked this verse. Jeremiah’s word of God was literally the spoken word of God.  Our word of God is the written word of God.  We get it second hand, but Jeremiah had it straight from His mouth.  How powerful that must have been!  I know that when I’m hurting or upset, and I read my Bible, I’m hoping to read something that will encourage or uplift me or remind me of God’s love and faithfulness and promises.  If just reading that brings hope, I can only imagine what it must be like to hear that straight out of the mouth of God!  Talk about affirmation!

Jeremiah talks about bearing God’s name.  I’m not entirely sure what he means by that.  To bear something means to carry it or to survive it (as in, I can hardly bear to hear that said).  He carried the words of God to the people Israel, so it’s pretty likely that that’s what he meant.  As Christ-followers, we bear the name (or carry the name) of Jesus, too.  As we try to live the way He wants us to, we are “Jesus with skin on” to the people around us.  And that should bring us joy and delight.  Not because it gets us stuff, but because we are so blessed and fortunate to be loved and chosen by such an amazing God.  His words sustain in time of trouble, and we find joy because we bear His name.