Week 8 – Exodus 20:7 (Part I)
Receive and Reflect (20 mins):
Reflect on your time since you last met. What have you learnt (or been reminded) about God?
Pray and thank God that He is of infinite depth and beauty. Ask that He would speak to you.
Read (20 mins):
Read Exodus 20:7
One of the ways in which this commandment is understood is as a prohibition on swearing or using God’s name as a curse word. It does not exclude this, but it is helpful to understand this more expansively.
In this time, and in many other cultures and times, names have carried a lot of significance. They said something about the character of a person and parents chose names that carried their hopes and aspirations for their child. We see that God names and re-names significant people (e.g. Jacob to Isaac, Jesus, Simon to Peter) through the Bible, and that God has given His children (us) new names (Rev 2:17).
Even in our time, where names and their meanings may be less significant, we probably have some names we wouldn’t want to give our children because we had a bad experience with someone of that name. Names may carry a meaning, but the character of the carrier can also infuse that name with something more. Names become part of our identity.
The Jews were so careful with God’s name that they did not ever write it fully, using only the consonants (YHWH), and they certainly never spoke it. It was too holy for their unclean lips to speak. This may seem strange to us, but perhaps it could help us to understand the reverence and awe which rightfully belongs to God.
- Share a time when someone used your name in a way that you didn’t like. (It could be that you were part of an anecdote or story they were telling.) Why didn’t you like it? How would you like your name to be used?
- Read Matt 6:9. To “hallow” is to set something apart as holy or sacred, to show honour and respect. In what ways could we “hallow” God’s name?
- Are there ways in which you dishonour God’s name? Are there ways in which you may use God’s name too freely or informally?
- This is probably not a commandment that you have thought much about before now. How will you consider your use of God’s name in the coming week?
Respond (20 mins):
Spend a few minutes in personal reflection. What is the Holy Spirit impressing on your heart?
Take time to share how the Holy Spirit is challenging you. How can you be accountable to each other? Consider keeping a record for the purposes of prayer and accountability.
Pray for each other.