18 June 2005
I apologise for missing last week. I spent last Thursday through Sunday with my family at a family reunion and vacationing. We worshipped together with the King of Glory Fellowship in Dallas with whom our church is in a companion relationship, as their Bishop (now Archbishop), Mark Camp was a co-consecrator in the consecration of Bishop Chuck and myself to the episcopacy.
The third Commandment: You are not to use lightly the name of Adonai your God because YHWH will not leave unpunished someone who uses his name lightly.
I like this particular translation. It really captures what the Hebrew is conveying in a way that many traditional translations do not. This is a commandment, which may be subject to legalism, and has been by the Pharisees since the time of Yeshua (Jesus). Today, in most Jewish documents you will not see the word God printed out but you will see G’d, so as not to write God and subject the words to desecration (say being thrown in the garbage. Similarly you might see L’rd, and other such things, but what is most popular is to us HaShem, which means the name. This kind of thing is nothing new. This is the reason that we are not quite sure what to do with YHWH, which stand for the four Hebrew letters which name G’d. Most modern writers including the translators of the Jerusalem Bible think the rendering is YahVayh, (go gutteral on the h), which is as reasonable a guess as any. We don’t really know because for many years Hebrew was written with no vowels, and because HaShem’s name was so holy that it was never spoken. In fact when vowels finally were added to the Tanakh (Old Testament), the vowels for Elohim (oftern translated as L’rd) were placed over YHWH to remind the reader to say Elohim. Take YHWH with eoi and you get Yehovih, usually anglicised to Jehovah. (I might also add that the only difference between camel and rope is one vowel, which might make one question how a certain Gospel passage is translated, but that is another story)
Enough history and linguistics, well, actually not. What does it mean to use lightly the Name of the Lord our God? Why is it even important? Names to the Hebrew mind were very important. Apparently they were also important to YHWH. Names say something about people, after all YHWH renamed Abraham, Sarah and Jacob. Knowing someone’s name could even give you a power over him. Adam names all the animals in Gan Eden which demonstrates that he has power over them. So how should we view this commandment? All too often, people see this commandment as forbidding such expressions as G’d D_____, and while I will not say that this is not so, I feel there is a much more subtle message being delivered here.
How many of us use the expression good bye? How many of us, when we use it even think about what it means? The original expression come from G’d be with ye, but over the years has been shortened and mispronounced. And lest we think we are worse than all other peoples, the same basic thing has happened with Adios (yo te encomiendo a Dios, I commend you to G’d) in Spanish, and with Adieu, (similar to the Spanish, sorry, I only read French, I cannot speak it). Most people who speak English, French or Spanish do not even know that they are talking about God when they bid someone “good bye,” which is true carelessness of language.
Today we see this in expressions such as “Oh my G’d.” How many people, when they use this expression are even thinking of G’d. It has become just an expression, using G’d’s name lightly. We see the same thing in Spanish, where many people will say “si Dios quiere,” (if G’d desires) which has been used so much, that it no longer has any meaning, for example, “Are you going to Church Sunday?” is answered by, “If it is G’d’s desire.” The facetiousness of such a response is truly sad.
Some Christians fall into the same trap when they use the expression, “G’d bless you.” I have myself made a commitment not to use this expression unless I am prepared to pray for that person at the moment, not necessarily aloud, but in such a way that I truly bring G’d into the situation. In other words, if we are going to say, “G’d” or “J’s’s” or “Chr’st,” then we should be thinking what we are saying and whose name we are invoking.
In the same way we need to be careful when we decide we are Christians (i.e. little Chr’sts). Do we truly live up to that title? According to Barnum, about 70% of the people in the USA refer to themselves as evangelical Christians, but when asked three key questions about their evangelical lifestyle, give answers which indicate that they may not be evangelical Christians. In fact the divorce rate of Evangelical Christians is the same as non-believers. It seems to me that if Evangelical Christians were living up to Biblical norms then divorce would be very rare (I realise that we are imperfect, and occasionally divorce is necessary) among them, as would abortions. When we as Christians live as the world lives, then we are bringing shame on the name of Yeshua.
I would invite you then, this week to pay attention to two things. First of all, your language. Does your language, and do your expressions convey the holiness of God? Secondly, when you allow the title Christian to be applied to you, are you truly representing Christ to the world? I fear many of us will be found wanting in one or both of these areas. The good news is that when we repent and ask God to show us our sins, and we truly desire to change, then God will give us the power to do so.
Come Holy Spirit and fill the hearts of your faithful and transform us with the power of your love.
Shalom and blessings in the Name of Yeshua
+Mar Michael Abportus
mjthan@quik.com
The third Commandment: You are not to use lightly the name of Adonai your God because YHWH will not leave unpunished someone who uses his name lightly.
I like this particular translation. It really captures what the Hebrew is conveying in a way that many traditional translations do not. This is a commandment, which may be subject to legalism, and has been by the Pharisees since the time of Yeshua (Jesus). Today, in most Jewish documents you will not see the word God printed out but you will see G’d, so as not to write God and subject the words to desecration (say being thrown in the garbage. Similarly you might see L’rd, and other such things, but what is most popular is to us HaShem, which means the name. This kind of thing is nothing new. This is the reason that we are not quite sure what to do with YHWH, which stand for the four Hebrew letters which name G’d. Most modern writers including the translators of the Jerusalem Bible think the rendering is YahVayh, (go gutteral on the h), which is as reasonable a guess as any. We don’t really know because for many years Hebrew was written with no vowels, and because HaShem’s name was so holy that it was never spoken. In fact when vowels finally were added to the Tanakh (Old Testament), the vowels for Elohim (oftern translated as L’rd) were placed over YHWH to remind the reader to say Elohim. Take YHWH with eoi and you get Yehovih, usually anglicised to Jehovah. (I might also add that the only difference between camel and rope is one vowel, which might make one question how a certain Gospel passage is translated, but that is another story)
Enough history and linguistics, well, actually not. What does it mean to use lightly the Name of the Lord our God? Why is it even important? Names to the Hebrew mind were very important. Apparently they were also important to YHWH. Names say something about people, after all YHWH renamed Abraham, Sarah and Jacob. Knowing someone’s name could even give you a power over him. Adam names all the animals in Gan Eden which demonstrates that he has power over them. So how should we view this commandment? All too often, people see this commandment as forbidding such expressions as G’d D_____, and while I will not say that this is not so, I feel there is a much more subtle message being delivered here.
How many of us use the expression good bye? How many of us, when we use it even think about what it means? The original expression come from G’d be with ye, but over the years has been shortened and mispronounced. And lest we think we are worse than all other peoples, the same basic thing has happened with Adios (yo te encomiendo a Dios, I commend you to G’d) in Spanish, and with Adieu, (similar to the Spanish, sorry, I only read French, I cannot speak it). Most people who speak English, French or Spanish do not even know that they are talking about God when they bid someone “good bye,” which is true carelessness of language.
Today we see this in expressions such as “Oh my G’d.” How many people, when they use this expression are even thinking of G’d. It has become just an expression, using G’d’s name lightly. We see the same thing in Spanish, where many people will say “si Dios quiere,” (if G’d desires) which has been used so much, that it no longer has any meaning, for example, “Are you going to Church Sunday?” is answered by, “If it is G’d’s desire.” The facetiousness of such a response is truly sad.
Some Christians fall into the same trap when they use the expression, “G’d bless you.” I have myself made a commitment not to use this expression unless I am prepared to pray for that person at the moment, not necessarily aloud, but in such a way that I truly bring G’d into the situation. In other words, if we are going to say, “G’d” or “J’s’s” or “Chr’st,” then we should be thinking what we are saying and whose name we are invoking.
In the same way we need to be careful when we decide we are Christians (i.e. little Chr’sts). Do we truly live up to that title? According to Barnum, about 70% of the people in the USA refer to themselves as evangelical Christians, but when asked three key questions about their evangelical lifestyle, give answers which indicate that they may not be evangelical Christians. In fact the divorce rate of Evangelical Christians is the same as non-believers. It seems to me that if Evangelical Christians were living up to Biblical norms then divorce would be very rare (I realise that we are imperfect, and occasionally divorce is necessary) among them, as would abortions. When we as Christians live as the world lives, then we are bringing shame on the name of Yeshua.
I would invite you then, this week to pay attention to two things. First of all, your language. Does your language, and do your expressions convey the holiness of God? Secondly, when you allow the title Christian to be applied to you, are you truly representing Christ to the world? I fear many of us will be found wanting in one or both of these areas. The good news is that when we repent and ask God to show us our sins, and we truly desire to change, then God will give us the power to do so.
Come Holy Spirit and fill the hearts of your faithful and transform us with the power of your love.
Shalom and blessings in the Name of Yeshua
+Mar Michael Abportus
mjthan@quik.com
posted by The Synod of Saint Timothy at 22:51
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home