The Christian Letter, Volume One: Chapter 18
“Do not take My Name, Yahoweh, your Deliverer, and destroy it, for I will not leave unpunished those who remove My Name!” (Exodus 20:7).
Most people believe that breaking this Commandment is done by using the commonly thought of name as a cuss word. Others consider “taking His Name in vain” is when someone professes Him but then refuses to follow Him, or is done by those who repeat His Name over and over in a show of religion, or when His Name is used in a trivial or worthless manner. While these are certainly wrong, there is more to this long forgotten Commandment.
The word “vain” you see in most translations of Exodus 20:7 actually means to make false by replacing, destroying, or removing. Even this very Commandment, in most translations, has His Name removed, and what, dear brothers and sweet sisters, could be more vain than that? We remove His—but keep ours!
There’s a lot in a name, as it identifies who we are. Do you remember when you were a young child, and other children used your name to make fun of you? They rhymed your name with an unpleasant word, purposely mispronounced it, or forgot it altogether. Do you remember? No matter how old we are, we never seem to be able to completely forget those childhood taunts. Have we been taunting Yahoweh? Removing the Name Yahoweh tells Him that we do not respect or love Him enough to even care about His Name. Have we lost the fear / respect that is necessary to love our Creator? His Name matters to Him, and if it matters to Him, then it matters to me. I love Him.
Yahoshuah was a Jewish Hebrew man. He spoke Hebrew. His mother and Yoseph (Joseph) were Hebrew. There is no “J” in Hebrew, and nor was there anywhere until only a few hundred years ago. Is our faith as useless as we deem His Name to be by our treatment of it? Although we know He was never called “Jesus” while He walked here on earth, today people call Him that in an attempt to destroy His Name through replacement. Have we forgotten what Yahoshuah did? He was accused, beaten, whipped, and spat upon. He dragged that cross of pagan sacrifice through the streets, and died to save your soul. We would do well to honor His Name.
How do we honor Him? While the Mishnah confirms that there was no prohibition against speaking His Name in ancient times, in fact, even recommends using His Name in greetings (Berakhot 9:5), it was our captivity in Babylon, and our acceptance of their traditions, that moved us to destroy His Name. The Babylonian Talmud, calling all those who will adhere, asks us to substitute His Name for a title. At many times there have been bans placed on saying His Name, and the Talmud proclaims that to utter His Name is nothing shy of blasphemy. The punishment? The punishment for merely saying His Name? … Death. That is how much Satan and his followers despise the Name of Yahoweh.
Oh, how far from Scripture we have trodden. In Leviticus 24:16 (Hebrews 10:28-31) we see that to destroy or remove Yahoweh’s Name is a capital offense. The world, however, says you are rewarded if you refuse His Name, and punished if you don’t. … But for a long time, I did not know this.
Due to copyright laws, I am not allowed to print the introductions of Bibles here. Some of them claim that His Name conveys no religious or spiritual overtones. They call His proper Name strange, uncommon, and deficient. They tell how they know, or consider it quite likely, that His Name is Yahweh, but they choose to adhere to tradition, and so replace His Name with capital L, capital O, capital R, and capital D. Indeed, some prefaces could not be more vulgar even if they swore.
Please, right now, go and find every Bible you have. Then look in the introduction, and read the section they wrote about His Name. Does it send shivers down your spine to know the people translating the Word of the Almighty … felt the need to remove His Name?
I know I have mentioned it before, but again I implore you, and urge you to do it once more: Find encyclopedias, dictionaries, concordances of all sorts, and search for His Name as hard as you would have Him search for yours.
In these books and introductions, from one version to the next, most follow the tradition of following others, both wolves and sheep. Simply because removing His Name is widely accepted, does not make it truly acceptable. We must consider this. Or do we condemn Yahoweh for placing His Name in Scripture to begin with?
It is certain—without doubt—that His Name is not pronounced “The Lord.” I do not pass the blame, though. It is we who decide what we are going to believe. It is up to us, common men and women, to truly seek deeper than the surface for Truth.
“Not to us, O Yahoweh, not to us, but to Your Name give esteem, for Your kindness, for Your truth.” (Psalms 115:1).
While merchant ministers and mechanics often call Him God and Jesus Christ, that is not what Yahoweh has asked us to do. It is heart wrenching to know that people remove His Name—they replaced Yahoweh, Yahoshuah, Elohim, with false names and titles. What if they changed His Name to: The Man? Would you still bow your head in prayer? What if they changed it to Jesus?
Many claim, “Well, He knows who I’m talking to.” But do we? There is no one greater than Yahoweh! Consider a human judge. It is their decree that people should ascribe them as, “Your Honor,” or “My Lord.” Now consider the Creator of the Universe and His decree that we should address Him as Yahoweh.
Note: By rendering His Name as “Yahoweh” and not YHWH I sought only to make His Name readable for those who would have otherwise just done as tradition has taught them, thereby reading YHWH as lord. I prefer “The Scriptures,” which simply has His Name, and the Name of His Son, written out in Hebrew. For this is truly the only correct way to spell His Name. As a young girl betrothed to her love, I enjoy writing His Name and saying His Name. I cannot imagine a pure love that does not. Yet, by testing people, I have found that in order for them to say His Name, an English rendition is beneficial to a degree. Again, I would have preferred to write His Name out in Hebrew only and I hope dearly, and ask you meekly, to forgive me if I have offended in any way for this rendering.
Any time that the Name was written upon a scroll that was damaged or had one error on it, the Scribes would place the parchment in a special room. They did this to obey the Commandment—to never destroy His Name. The rooms had no doors, only a small slot to slide the parchment through. Others sealed up these scrolls in jars and left them in caves, but they would neither keep an error, nor destroy His Name. We are now blessed because they cherished the Almighty enough to love His Word. I am thankful for the Jews of old and today, who cherish His Mitzvah. May Yahoweh be praised for you all!
Ah, but not everyone would agree. “For no one can utter the name of the ineffable deity; and if any one dare to say that there is a name, he raves with a hopeless madness.” -Justin Matyr, 150 A.D.
Did Yahoweh Himself rave with hopeless madness when He said, “This is My Name forever, and this is My remembrance to all generations.” (Exodus 3:15b). Was the psalmist raving with hopeless madness when saying, “I pay my vows to Yahoweh in the presence of all His people,” (Psalms 116:18). Was the Messiah? Was Paul? Am I—are you?
In Luke 19:38 the crowds were crying out Psalms 118:26, calling out the Name Yahoweh, but the Pharisees told Yahoshuah to rebuke them. The Messiah, however, did not adhere to their tradition. He said The Name, and had others do the same.
Why were the disciples called to stand before the Sanhedrin? The Name! Why was Stephen stoned in Acts 7? When he said the Name, they screamed and put their hands over their ears, and killed him. No-namers insist it is of no importance, and so remove the Name from praise, immersions, and even prayer. They forfeit Jeremiah 16:19-21.
The Name of Yahoshuah contains the Name of the Father, so even His Name was part of the problem for them. The name Yeshua means salvation, and was a rather common name at the time; however, Yahoshuah means Yah is our Saviour, and thus had the Name being clearly heard by all. Paul, a former no-namer, explains how he fought against those who were found in the synagogues that proclaimed Yahoshuah. He would even try to trick them into saying the Name so he could kill them. Later in life, after Yahoweh said, “For I shall show him how much he has to suffer for My Name.” Paul claims he was stoned on several occasions over pronouncing the Name.We know of at least one leader who thought such a custom (from Babylon) was craziness, and mocked the crowd for it in Acts 18:14-15. The followers of this Babylonian tradition would not have cared if Paul was calling Him the Lord … but when He uttered the Name, “Yahoweh,” it was considered blasphemy.
How many Christians really know why Paul was imprisoned? When you read passages like Acts 9:15-16, Acts 26:9-11, or, all of Acts for that matter, it is not hard to see, not only the importance of His Name, but the furious and blind hatred of the men who hate the Name and all He stands for. Put yourself in the life setting of the men of Acts (for in truth you are). The apostles spoke the Name and turned the world upside down. They were hated for it. A few believers today are no longer satisfied with men’s traditions inherited from Babble—they are beginning to follow. They are turning the world upside down by clinging to His Name. … They are hated for it.
The no-namers use traditional terms in place of the Name, as they honestly believe avoiding His Name honors Him. Most despise those who call on His Name, and a few are even violently against it. But what does Yahoweh say of such men? “Therefore thus said Yahoweh concerning the men of Anathoth who are seeking your life, saying, ‘Do not prophesy in the Name of Yahoweh, lest you die by our hand’—therefore thus said Yahoweh of hosts, ‘See, I am punishing them, the young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by scarcity of food. And there shall be no remnant of them, for I bring evil on the men of Anathoth—the year of their punishment.’” (Jeremiah 11:21-23). And to the others who keep it, He proclaims, “and you have been bearing up and have endurance, and have laboured for My Name’s sake and have not become weary.” (Revelation 2:3). Love Yahoweh! Sing His Name! Be strong my dear brothers! Never grow weary my sweet sisters!
“Give ear, O heavens, and let me speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. Let my instruction fall as rain, my speech drop down as dew, as fine rain on the tender plants, and as showers on the grass. For I proclaim the Name of Yahoweh, ascribe greatness to our Elohim.” (Deuteronomy 32:1-3).
Be Blessed and be a Blessing
Shalom
-Valentine Thalken Billingsley
If this blessed you, please share it.
Additional Scripture References:
Acts 4:7-10, Acts 5:26-33, 40-41, Acts 15:14-17, 26, Acts 21:13, Romans 9:17, James 5:10, 1 Peter 4:14, Revelations 3:8, Revelations 15:4
