Dt. 14:1-21 The Third Commandment: God's Holy Name

"You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain."

I have suggested that Moses is providing an exposition of the Ten Commandments

in the central part of Deuteronomy.

So far we have seen rather clear connections between the first and second commandments

and the content of chapters 6-13.

But how does this discussion of clean and unclean foods relate to God's Name?

Notice where the passage starts.

The first two verses command the Israelites not to

"cut yourselves or make any baldness on your foreheads for the dead."

These were practices of the pagan nations around them.

They would mutilate their bodies out of their grief for the dead.

Israel was not to imitate them.

Why?

In the Pentateuch we are not told whether God had revealed

the future resurrection of the dead.

But we do see hints like this, that God was preparing them for the idea.

The underlying idea is that "you must not view death as final."

Elsewhere we see that contact with a dead body rendered one unclean (Lev 21-22).

There is something contaminating about death.

It is not holy.

It is cursed.

But you should not think like the nations about death!

Instead, in the context of death, Moses says,

"You are the sons of Yahweh, your God."

The reason why you must not cut yourself or tear your hair out of your forehead,

is because you are the sons of Yahweh.

The language of sonship is regularly used to talk about inheritance and service,

but it is actually rare to find such a direct reference as this in the OT.

This is a striking statement.

You cannot act like the nations regarding death,

because you are sons of Yahweh.

"You are a people holy to Yahweh your God,

and Yahweh has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession,

out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth." (v2)

Your Father is holy.

His Name is holy (note that Yahweh is used three times in two verses).

Therefore do not treat death like a pagan.

Do not deform your body because of death.

You are sons of Yahweh, who bear his name.

In your grief, do not defile his image;

do not defile his name.

No, it's not a clear teaching on resurrection,

but it is preparing Israel for that doctrine.

It's teaching them to think differently about death-and about the body-than their neighbors.

Deuteronomy 14:1-21 reflect on the holiness of the people of God,

as they live as the sons of Yahweh,

who bear his name.

Look back over Deuteronomy, and you will see this all throughout the book:

1. The name of Yahweh is set apart as holy (6:13)

2. The place that Yahweh chooses for his name to dwell is holy (12:5ff)

3. The Levites are holy because they are to minister to and bless the people in the NAME of Yahweh (10:8, 18:5-7)

4. The Israelites are holy because they are set apart from all the nations, and the NAMES of their gods (6:13-14, 12:3, 16:19, 28:10)

5. If the Israelites do not fear the glorious and holy NAME of Yahweh, then Yahweh will destroy them. (28:58-61)

The holiness and power of God's NAME

was a threat to any Israelite who left the protective boundaries of the chosen people.

Think about what happens to Elimelech when he leaves the Land and goes to Moab? (Ruth 1)

He and his sons die in a foreign land.

God is teaching his people about the importance of boundaries.

Boundaries are very important to God.

The principle of separation-of holiness-is described by boundaries.

Do not be like the nations-do not do what they do.

Instead, through these distinctive practices and rituals,

you are to create a different sort of community.

-a holy community.

Holiness was maintained by staying within boundaries.

The Ten Commandments form the most important of those boundaries.

This is the way of life that should characterize my people.

The purity laws develop boundaries in nature:

unclean animals are those which cross perceived boundaries--

fish with no fins or scales,

flying insects with too many legs, etc.

There are three general categories of abominations that Moses discusses:

animals, fish and birds.

Every animal that parts the hoof and chews the cud is clean.

Those that have one or the other, are not.

Some have tried to say that God gave these commands for health reasons.

There is no biblical evidence for this.

That is not the reason that God gives.

God says that Israel shall do this For you are a people holy to the Lord your God.

After all, he permits the sojourner in the land to eat of unclean things (v21),

but not Israel.

This suggests that the reason is not simply one of health.

No, the reason for these commands is because of holiness.

In order to be clean, an animal must fulfill its proper function.

There is something decidedly improper about pigs.

They part the hoof, but do not chew the cud.

Likewise, fish are supposed to have fins and scales.

If you see something swimming in the water that does not have fins and scales,

then it is not proper-it is not clean.

And carrion birds are unclean-they feed on dead things-which is improper for birds.

Birds are supposed to eat fruits and insects.

And winged insects are certainly unclean.

Birds are the only creatures that are supposed to fly;

flying insects are an aberration!

Now, God is not saying that unclean animals are bad.

He is not saying that they are mistakes.

He is not saying that they are not fulfilling his purposes.

Rather, they are unclean because they are mixed up.

God is teaching Israel about holiness.

He is teaching them about the difference between that which is holy and proper,

and that which is unholy and improper.

So he takes these animals which he created,

and uses their oddities to teach Israel about holiness.

Remember, Israel bears the name of his Father.

As a holy people, Israel must be separate from the nations.

This is emphasized with respect to animals that die naturally.

Israel may not eat them.

This is not for health reasons-because sojourners are allowed to eat them,

and God is always as concerned for the sojourner as for Israel.

No, the animal that dies naturally is off limits

because God has commanded a different practice for his holy people.

Remember that last week we saw that Israel could eat meat in their towns,

so long as they slaughtered the animal in a certain way.

Eating meat was always to remind Israel of the sacrifice.

There was to be a non-sacrificial ritual even for ordinary meat.

The animal is dying so that you might live and rejoice.

The last sentence is perhaps one of the strangest in the book:

Moses forbids boiling a kid in its mother's milk:

an act of killing should not be mixed with a life-giving act/substance.

boundaries would be crossed

The mother-goat's milk is life-giving.

To cook a young goat in its mother's milk would be a horrid image,

mixing life and death in the same pot.

The people of God cannot mix life and death!

You cannot blend clean and unclean!

If the unclean comes in contact with the clean,

then the whole thing is ruined!

Israel was to exhibit this corporate holiness through their communal life as the people of God.

Keeping God's name holy has as much to do with the way you live your life,

as it does the way you talk.

Some people are too literal in their focus on the 3d Commandment.

They hear the command not to take the Lord's name in vain,

and so they focus on keeping their speech free from an empty usage of God's name.

This does not please God.

The holiness of God's name is profaned every time we partake of that which is unclean.

This was always a problem for the Jews when they were in exile.

How could they maintain their ceremonial holiness in the midst of a pagan culture?

Recall the problems that Daniel and his friends had

when commanded to eat of the Babylonian delicacies!

But while obeying the ceremonial laws was required of Israel,

many of them understood the point of these laws.

They understood that there was a moral and a spiritual point to these laws.

Their separation from the practices of the nations was to be an entire way of life,

not just a few cultural oddities.

This is why Isaiah calls out to those returning from exile in chapter 52:

"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news,

who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,

who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns." (Speaking of the return)

"Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem,

for the Lord has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem.

The LORD has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations,

and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God."

And then comes the call:

"Depart, depart, go out from there; touch no unclean thing;

go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves, you who bear the vessels of the LORD.

For you shall not go out in haste, and you shall not go in flight,

for the LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard."

In the midst of rejoicing and celebration for the deliverance that God has wrought,

the restoration from exile that God has promised,

there is a call to separation,

to Holiness.

Especially those who carry the holy vessels must maintain their ceremonial purity.

Why, in the midst of celebration,

is this warning given?

Why this emphasis on avoiding the unclean?

Because the holiness of Israel is central for their calling to be the light to the nations.

This is where we must be willing to read the prophets in their own context.

If we insist on applying the suffering servant songs solely to Jesus,

then we will make nonsense of Isaiah.

Look at the passage.

What is the very next line?

v13-15

Isaiah has just been talking to Israel about their restoration from exile in Babylon.

He is saying that they must maintain their ceremonial holiness,

and not fear the nations, because God is doing something huge,

and they need not fear that his purposes will fail.

And then he talks about the servant who brings the blessings of God to the nations.

Of course this is about Israel!

The whole point of Israel's holiness-separateness-from the nations

was not for their own personal benefit;

it was so that they would be a holy nation, a kingdom of priests,

mediating the blessings of God to the nations!

Isaiah is saying that Israel's faithful suffering will work to the deliverance of the nations.

And yet, after Israel returns from the Exile,

it doesn't happen.

The nations remain in darkness.

Israel dwindles to a third-rate vassal of several successive empires.

And nobody really understands what Isaiah was saying until Jesus came.

Jesus understood that all of God's promises to Israel were really about himself.

Because in Jesus, the history of Israel is focused upon one man.

In Jesus, the return from exile has come.

This is why Isaiah 52-and the whole of Isaiah 52-is used so much in the New Testament.

We are used to the suffering servant portion at the end,

but consider the earlier portions:

compare 52:1 with Revelation 21:27 ("But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.")

compare 52:5 with Romans 2:24 ("as it is written, "the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you")

compare 52:7 with Romans 10:15, ("How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!")

compare 52:8 with 1 John 3:2, 1 Cor 13:12 and Rev. 22:4 (all of which talk about seeing God)

These passages all talk about our salvation as return from exile.

We have heard the proclamation;

Jesus, the true Israel, the Last Adam,

has been seated at the right hand of God;

Therefore we have already received the firstfruits of the blessings of the return

in the promised Holy Spirit, and in Him,

we have the guarantee that we will indeed arrive in the New Jerusalem.

Indeed, some passages suggest that we should view our lives

as the journey from Babylon to the New Jerusalem.

As Isaiah had called Israel to "depart, depart, go out from there; touch no unclean thing..."

So Paul in 2 Cor 6:17 addresses the concerns in Corinth regarding pagan sacrifices,

by emphasizing the fact that we are the temple of the living God.

The signs of the return from exile were the restoration of the temple,

and the restoration of the throne of David.

Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Father-which restores the throne of David,

and now Paul says, quoting Leviticus, Isaiah, and several other places:

(Read 6:16-7:1)

Holiness still requires separation from the ungodly.

Of course, we do not have these dietary regulations.

Jesus hinted at their removal in Mark 7:14-23 (read)

Jesus is saying that the Mosaic regulations were designed to teach you something else.

The dietary laws were not given because of any inherently bad qualities in the animals.

They were given to teach you about true defilement-which comes from the heart.

Mark and Matthew both follow this teaching with the story of the Syro-Phoenician woman (v24-30).

This Gentile woman is the firstfruits of the teaching on cleanliness.

The barrier between Jew and Gentile is being broken down.

The new standard of holiness (which was the point of the old standard),

is beginning to draw new boundaries for the people of God.

Jesus has removed the specific dietary laws of the OT,

but that does not mean that everything is clean.

No, as Paul says, "Since we have these promises, beloved,

let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit,

bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God."

So what does the Third Commandment mean for us?

What does it mean to regard the Name of the Lord as Holy?

I would suggest that we must view ourselves in the position of the Israelites

coming out of Babylon and heading for the restored Jerusalem.

Our Babylon is American culture

-the socio-economic power that sets itself up as the rival claimant for our affections.

Revelation 18:4 warns 1^st century Christians about the Roman world,

as also 21^st century Christians about the American world:

"Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues;

for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.

Pay her back as she herself has paid back others, and repay her double for her deeds;

mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed.

As she glorified herself and lived in luxury, so give her a like measure of torment and mourning."

You are elect exiles, as Peter calls you, sojourning in this modern Babylon.

Remember what you are elect for!

God has called you out of Babylon to come and dwell in the New Jerusalem.

You can no longer set your affections on the things that this culture prizes.

You must seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

You must set your hearts and minds on things above,

where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

To regard the Name of the LORD as holy means that your conduct reflects his holiness.

Your Father is holy-therefore as his holy children, be holy in all your conduct.