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What the Bible says about God's Name, Hallowing
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Exodus 20:7

The third commandment deals with God's name, His character, His office, His position as the great sovereign Ruler of the universe: "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" (Exodus 20:7; Deuteronomy 5:11). In biblical terms, personal names have a meaning, for they usually describe some aspect of the person's character. So it is with God's name. The Bible reveals Him under different names, each given with a purpose: to set forth some distinct virtue or characteristic of His nature.

In this commandment, the Hebrew word rendered "guiltless" may also be translated "clean." A person is clean or unclean according to how he uses the name of God, whether in truth or in vanity. A person who continually talks about God but denies Him in his daily life is unclean; he is guilty of breaking the law of God, a sinner. If we use God's name in a way that denies the true meaning and character of God, we break the third commandment. As we can easily see, God is greatly concerned about how we use His name.

Martin G. Collins
The Third Commandment

Exodus 33:19-20

We cannot be sure what Moses had in mind when he asked to see God's glory. He probably wanted to see God's glorious and radiant brilliance and form. God obliged to some degree, but He gave Moses something more than he expected—in fact, something totally unexpected. As He passed by him, He preached a sermon on His name, the third commandment!

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Third Commandment (1997)

Exodus 34:5-8

What man or institution has these qualities? In addition, He is the eternal Creator, Healer, Savior, Judge, and the very pinnacle of wisdom, understanding, and grace.

Yet, mankind is so deluded that, without realizing it, many worship their consciences formed by their own earthly experiences. Their consciences are nothing more than an inner voice, a sort of a moral policeman that has taken up residence within. Can it be trusted? Do we trust ours? This is better than nothing, but conscience is easily perverted and often abnormally developed because it is almost entirely dependent upon upbringing and propaganda from this world's media. Since this is Satan's world, there is little chance that a person's conscience will be entirely aligned with God's standards.

Others superimpose on God their conceptions of a human father, but this, too, is woefully inadequate. What if one has no father as part of his life? What if his father was stupid, foolish, tyrannical, or over-indulgent? What kind of positive impression will that leave? Is God merely a grand old man, a head-patting, gray-headed, somewhat doddering person whose mind wanders back to better times, forgetful of what is occurring on the earth and in our lives?

God's name is "I was, I am, I will be." He has lived for eternity, but He is not old; He is every bit as modern as tomorrow. When God came as a man, He showed He did not have a completely placid temperament, a God who would not say, "Boo!" He did not just let sleeping dogs lie. He was not uninspired and uninspiring; Jesus stirred people up so that they said, "No man ever spoke like this Man!" (John 7:46). He challenged and exposed the hypocrisies of the religion of His day and was moved to deep anger by the shameless exploitation taking place at the Temple. He was of such personality that He walked unscathed through hostile crowds. Jesus was meek, but the term indicates that He had the power to use as He willed, restraining it as an act of mercy, wisdom, and love.

Christianity is not for the soft and sentimental. We have a war on our hands, and our God is a powerful warrior—the Lord of Hosts is His name. He is on our side, but He demands our loyalty.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The First Commandment

Leviticus 18:21

God said these other nations had defiled themselves and the land because they had violated the third commandment, "taking the name of God in vain." We break this commandment, not only in speech, but also by using or bearing His name in an unworthy, profane way in our conduct.

Martin G. Collins
The Third Commandment

Psalm 8:1-4

Other translations use words like "glorious," "majestic," and "to be admired" rather than "excellent" to express the feelings generated by meditating on how God is revealed by the heavens He created! The starry heavens stretched before David showcase the awesome and spectacular majesty of God.

Commenting on verse 1, the Soncino Commentary says that God's majesty is "rehearsed above the heavens." Rehearse can mean "to repeat" or "tell in detail." David tells us that God has invested the heavens with awesome splendor to direct man's mind to ponder the Creator's existence, majesty, and excellence. This thought also implies that He is just as majestic in demonstrating Himself on earth as He is in the heavens. What excellence do we see in earth and heaven? Power, order, beauty, loving providence, wisdom, reason, logic, and vastness of thinking.

David intended this psalm to direct our thinking toward God's greatness and puny man's insignificance. However, that awesome, majestic, glorious God is glorifying Himself in man! He has chosen what the world considers weak and foolish—us—to appreciate and respect His glory, His name.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Third Commandment (1997)

Psalm 8:1-4

Modern translations replace "excellent" with terms like "glorious," "great," or "majestic." The glory of God is revealed in His creation. One of His names, of course, is Creator. The psalmist sees the starry heavens stretched above him as an awesome and spectacular showcase of the majestic power of God.

The Soncino Commentary translates the second phrase of the first verse as, "Whose majesty is rehearsed above the heavens." The author comments, "The psalmist is saying that day after day man has the awesome splendor of God's power displayed before him." Thus, God has invested the heavens with glorious splendor to direct the mind of man to the Creator's majesty. This idea accepts that He is greater than even His creation demonstrates.

What excellence or glory do we see in the earth and sky? Do we consciously realize that a creator, any creator, is greater than what he creates, and do we then apply that inference to God? Do we see in it our holy Creator's power, order, beauty, loving providence, wisdom, reason, logic, and vastness of thought? Some measure of this will occur if we make the effort to seek Him.

God intends this psalm to direct our thinking toward His greatness and puny man's insignificance. Yet, that majestic, awesome God is glorifying Himself in man by creating in him the desire to be like Him! He has chosen what is weak and foolish—even by the world's standards—to appreciate and respect His glory, His name. Rightly understood, this is a truly humbling meditation.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Third Commandment

Psalm 18:1-3

David begins by declaring, "Fervently do I love you!" and then delivers a torrent of God's names, eight of them! He knew God's attributes as expressed by His names, trusted what they taught him, and conducted his life accordingly. By faith, he trusted God to intervene in the affairs of men. Paraphrased, the eight names are "strength," "foundation," "place of safety," "fountain," "deliverer," "my strong God," "defender," and "horn of my salvation."

Consider what David did in light of a modern circumstance: When the car needs repair, we take it to the person who has the title ("auto mechanic") or name (reputation). We do not take it to the dentist. In like manner, we are to seek God in our need in areas in which He has revealed Himself to us as skilled and willing to help. However, where does that leave one who has not sought God and does not know what He can and will do or what He requires?

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Third Commandment

Psalm 23:1-5

Psalm 23:1 says, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want," another instance of Yahweh. This name for God is frequently combined with other words to form more specific descriptions of Him. Psalm 23 is in reality a brief expounding of eight names of God in the first five verses. It brings to light:

YHWH-Roi—God our shepherd—Psalm 80:1.

YHWH-Jireh—God our provider—Genesis 22:14.

YHWH-Shalom—God our peace—Judges 6:24.

YHWH-Nissi—God is my banner—Exodus 17:15.

YHWH-Ropheka—God our healer—Exodus 15:26.

YHWH-Zidkenu—God our righteousness—Jeremiah 23:6.

YHWH-Shammah—God is present—Ezekiel 48:35.

YHWH-Mekaddishkem—God who sanctifies—Exodus 31:13.

Each of these names provides us with building blocks of knowledge to strengthen and encourage us in the use of faith.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Third Commandment

Proverbs 22:1

All members of God's church have inherited a Family name far more valuable than any surname. We have an awesome responsibility to uphold and honor the nobility and dignity of the name of God. The reputation we create for our church, our businesses, or our institutions is the legacy we pass on to our brothers and sisters and our children.

David F. Maas
What's in a Name Anyway?

Isaiah 43:10-12

Here, the third commandment comes into play. The third commandment involves the quality of our personal witness; we are commanded not to blaspheme, profane, trample upon the name of our God by means of our words, actions, and attitudes. We represent Him, bearing His name as His children. We have a sacred responsibility to uphold the quality of His name—the highest name of any name in all of the Creation.

The church is not a great nation or a military power. It is not a cultural institution organized to change this world. We exist solely to glorify God through our witness for Him. The primary witness is the way we live our lives. Each believer is a witness before the world of the worth of his relationship with the great God of heaven. In making this witness through personal conduct and preaching, we carry out God's purpose.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Fourth Commandment (Part 1)

Matthew 6:9

To hallow God's name means to make it holy or set it apart for holy use, respecting it greatly. We hallow His name by obeying Him in all our conduct. Conversely, prayer without obedience is a form of blasphemy (Matthew 7:21, Mark 7:6-7), as is praise offered to God in the attitude of rebellion against His way. It is vain or vanity—useless and contemptible.

Martin G. Collins
The Third Commandment

Matthew 6:9

Jesus' Model Prayer begins with a salutation to the Father in heaven. It continues—as many ancient greetings to deities or royalty do—with a desire for His blessedness and reign to increase. In the ancient Middle East, petitioners of kings and emperors used exultant language to praise and honor their lords. For instance, when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego addressed Nebuchadnezzar after he called them before him for refusing to bow before his golden image, they said: “O king, live forever!” (Daniel 3:9; see also Daniel 2:4; 5:10; 6:6, 21; I Kings 1:31; etc.). “Long live the king!” (I Samuel 10:24) conveys a similar sentiment.

A related blessing or wish of well-being also appears in letters and royal decrees. Darius' declaration lauding the God of Israel after pulling Daniel from the lion's den expresses his wish, “Peace be multiplied to you,” to everyone in his empire (Daniel 6:25; see Ezra 4:17; 5:7; 7:12; etc.). Biblical writers, especially the apostle Paul, use this form in their epistles, praying for God's blessing on the recipients: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 1:7; I Corinthians 1:3; II Corinthians 1:2; Galatians 1:3; etc.).

However, as a salutation, our Savior's words in His instructive prayer, “Hallowed be Your name,” stand alone in its request. It faintly echoes David's address to God in Psalm 8:1, “O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth” (see also verse 9), but Jesus' formula adds the elements of holiness and the desire for an increase in the true worship of God. Its memorable and concise phrasing demands further examination.

“Hallow” or “hallowed” appears 31 times in Scripture and only twice in the New Testament, both in versions of this prayer (Matthew 6:9; Luke 11:2). The Greek word underlying it, used 28 times, is hagiazo, which means “to separate, consecrate; cleanse, purify, sanctify; regard or reverence as holy” (Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words). Many modern translations of Matthew 6:9 drop the traditional literal translation of Matthew 6:9 to explain the verse in simpler terms: “. . . may your name be treated as holy” (Lexham English Bible); “. . . your name be honored as holy” (Christian Standard Bible); “. . . may your name be kept holy” (New Living Translation).

In the Old Testament, hallowing or sanctifying a thing appears most often in contexts dealing with God Himself or the Sabbath. In reality, only God can make something truly holy, as when He created and hallowed the Sabbath by resting on the seventh day (Genesis 2:1-3). The best sinful humans can do is to regard or treat a sanctified thing as holy, and so God commands in the fourth commandment, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). Jeremiah 17:24 illustrates that people can hallow the Sabbath—treat it as holy time—by doing no work on it. In other words, humans hallow something God has sanctified by obeying His instructions regarding it.

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
The Model Prayer (Part Three): Hallowed Be Your Name

Matthew 6:9

In our culture, one's name means little, most often merely as a way of identifying and distinguishing people. We can glimpse how significant it was to people in biblical times when we realize that we link reputation or prestige to a person's name. We use phrases like “he ruined the family name” or “his name is mud” to express that someone is of low repute or character.

An individual's name meant far more than that in ancient times. Then, a person and his or her name were bound together, the name representing the person's essence. In the Old Testament, certain persons' names defined them. For example, Jacob means “heel-catcher,” characterizing his underhanded, deceptive nature, but God renames him Israel, “one who prevails with God,” after his conversion. Christ Himself is named Jesus, “Savior.” God's names likewise identify His character traits: He is Eternal, Creator, Almighty, our Banner, our Healer, our Sanctifier, our Peace, our Righteousness, our Shepherd, our Master, etc.

Thus, the request in Matthew 6:9—and God's command in the third commandment (Exodus 20:7)—means more than just how we use or pronounce God's names. It implies that we revere what God's names stand for. He desires that we regard His names and thus Him and His character reverently, taking the pursuit of Him and His way of life seriously as a matter of profound aspiration.

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
The Model Prayer (Part Three): Hallowed Be Your Name

Matthew 6:9

“Hallow” (hagiazo) has the basic meaning of “to separate.” It pictures one thing separated from another or many things into groups. For instance, when growers reap their crops—say, apples—they divide the produce into various categories according to size and quality. Workers segregate the usable but less attractive apples for crushing into applesauce while packaging the high-quality fruit for sale at grocery stores.

A similar idea is present in hallowing or sanctifying something: The best is put in its own category and treated with greater care. In the case of God, people are to put Him in His own exalted category, in which He has no rivals. As He says of Himself in Isaiah 46:9, “For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me.”

The apostle Paul declares in Ephesians 3:14-15 that “the whole family in heaven and earth is named” from the Father, meaning that He is the ultimate Ruler over all things. Further, “God has highly exalted [Jesus Christ] and given Him the name which is above every name” (Philippians 2:9). These facts should establish that His excellent name is truly the highest in all the universe, and He is due all praise and honor and obedience for His sovereign position over all things in heaven and earth.

The proper response of His people, then, is to come to a true understanding of God and learn to follow His teachings, as He prophesies Israel will do once He gives them His Spirit in the age to come. The elect are currently experiencing this process in this age, absorbing His teaching and through many trials figuring out how to practice His ways, continually keeping Him in the center of their lives. They hallow His name in their praise of Him and in their obedience to Him in every word and deed.

In the end, “Hallowed be Your name” expresses the supplicant's desire to please the Father in every facet of life and witness His glory to the world.

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
The Model Prayer (Part Three): Hallowed Be Your Name

Luke 11:2

We all have or had physical fathers to honor, but as Christians, we sometimes fail to honor our far greater Father in heaven to the degree He justly deserves. Our spiritual Father is more important by far than our physical fathers because He is the One who not only provides for us and gives us so many blessings, but He is also the One who has called us out of this world and given us the opportunity to fulfill our incredible, eternal potential as His sons and daughters.

Jesus says that we are to hallow the name of our Father in heaven. The word is hagiazo in Greek, and it means "to make holy," "to sanctify," or "to set apart." Another definition, however, perhaps applies better to our subject here: "to show a difference from the common." We all have our common human fathers. They are all men—some better, some worse, but still every one of them human—yet we have only one truly holy Father. He comprises an entirely different category from our ordinary human fathers.

Despite being made in God's image, our physical fathers are nonetheless created beings, full of flaws and deficiencies. As a father myself, I count myself among those full of flaws and deficiencies. Yet, we have a heavenly Father who is vastly different and uncommon—a great Father who is so much more and better than any man, any father, no matter how great he may be.

Even so, we should not focus exclusively on God as a father. Instead, we need to consider the wider concept that we have a God different from the common because this relates to how we generally view God in our everyday lives—in our everyday relationship with Him—because He is not just a father.

Of course, that is how He is introduced to us by Jesus Christ, one of whose purposes in coming as a man was to reveal the Father (John 1:18). However, just as a human dad engages in more than parenting, "Father" is just one of God's hats, so to speak. One's dad is a father, certainly, but he may also be a carpenter, a plumber, a salesman, a butcher, a baker, or a candlestick maker. He may also be a hunter or a fisherman, and he may be a ballplayer, a golfer, a tennis player, a card player, or a sailor. He might like to tinker with cars, or he could be a skeet shooter. He may be a poet, a playwright, a stamp collector, a gardener, a model railroader, or a skilled carpenter. He may fly planes for a living and skydive occasionally. Throughout a long life, he may do a few or many of these things.

For the same reason, God is not a one-dimensional figure either. He is not just a wonderful Father, but He is also a Designer, Creator, Life-giver, Law-giver, Provider, and Supreme Judge. He is sovereign over all there is. He gives, reveals, works out prophecy, answers prayers, and heals sickness. He works in world events, in church events, and in individual lives, calling, forgiving, granting repentance, justifying, sanctifying, and ultimately glorifying. One may have never thought of Him in this way, but He is undoubtedly the universe's supreme geologist, biologist, botanist, chemist, physicist, mathematician, linguist, historian, writer, and author—among multitudes of other areas of expertise.

When we look at God as though He has only one job or is interested in only one narrow aspect of life, we lose sight of how wonderful He is, how expansive His mind is, how talented He is, and how intelligent, creative, and powerful He is. We have a truly exalted and almighty God who will not be pigeonholed into one little niche that we have labeled and defined as "God." He is so much more! His mind is so majestic and His power so wonderful that our little minds cannot grasp their magnitude, but we must do our best to understand as much of His greatness as we can so that we can truly know Him, what He is, and what He does.

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
The Unique Greatness of Our God (Part One)

John 17:6

Notice that Jesus never mentions how to pronounce the Father's name. Salvation is not based on its pronunciation! Far more important is doing the will of God, an absolute necessity in truly fearing His name. The Father's name guards us from evil by the Word of God, which is truth.

Martin G. Collins
The Third Commandment

Romans 2:17-24

By our conduct, we hallow or profane God's name. We keep or break the third commandment the same way. This commandment sets the standard for our witness and tests its quality. God's name is the standard. If we take the name of God and use it in any way that denies its true meaning and God's character, we are either breaking this commandment or are on the way to doing so.

People can judge and accuse, saying, "This is God's church, and they do such things? If this is the true church, why doesn't God do something about it?" He is patient and longsuffering, and He will do something about it. He will save His people for His name's sake, but it will hurt.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Third Commandment

2 Corinthians 11:2

Jealousy has a well-deserved bad reputation because it is essentially self-centered. However, it has a positive aspect when the affection and passion that it contains are directed at upholding the well-deserved reputation of the one who is loved.

The third commandment bears directly on this subject. It is a command that is easily and carelessly broken unless we are continually conscious of our responsibility to bring honor upon the name of God, which we will do if we love Him. We will be jealous to uphold the reputation of His name.

John W. Ritenbaugh
How to Know We Love Christ

1 John 3:1-3

People spend their lives chasing after a name that will bring them a measure of honor or notoriety. They want to be associated with a "name" university, a "name" team, a "name" company; wear clothing with a certain "name" label; drive a "name" automobile; or marry into a certain family "name." Yet, the greatest name that anyone could possibly bear has come to us unbidden. Thus, John is exhorting his readers to remember their privileges in bearing that awesome name. Chrysostom, a fourth-century Catholic archbishop, counseled parents to give children scriptural names, urging them to tell the children stories about the person who bore that name so that, as they matured, they would have something to live up to.

Is there a paradox in what John writes? We know that in order to see God, we need to be like Him. Carnally, we think that to be like Him, we need to see Him. God says that seeing Him is not necessary, as He has chosen to conduct His purposes for man through faith in His Word. He has revealed what He is by His names and by the life of Jesus Christ. By faith, we can emulate Him through His Spirit. If we saw Him in the flesh, our curiosity would likely be satisfied, or we would be so overwhelmed by His perfection that we would give up. That is how human nature works. God's way of faith is better.

Malachi 3:16 provides wise counsel befitting the times in which we live: "Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who meditate on His name." The people described here are pictured as meditating for the purpose of praising, imitating, and passing on their thoughts to each other. They looked for God's good hand in every area of their lives.

David exclaims in Psalm 34:1-3: "I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; the humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together."

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Third Commandment


 




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