Therefore you shall keep My commandments and perform them: I am the Lord. You shall not profane My holy name, but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel. I am the Lord who sanctifies you, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord. (Leviticus 22:31-33)

Do Not Profane God’s Name

The Ten Commandments forbade taking the name of the Lord God in vain and included severe consequences for those who did. Swearing by God’s name was an abomination. There was an incident where an Israelite woman’s son blasphemed the name of God, and they took him out and stoned him to death. Using God’s name in vain will bring destruction to all those who trifle with the holy name of God. Aaron and his sons were also warned against profaning the name of the Lord, but it was more than using the name of God in vain. As priests, they served the Lord in the holy things when they made sacrifices for the people. They were forbidden to profane the name of the Lord by serving in an unclean manner before the Lord. If a priest were ceremonially unclean when he approached the sacred offerings that the people of Israel consecrated to the Lord, he would be cut off from the presence of the Lord. His actions would profane the name of the Lord.

Profaning the name of the Lord goes beyond the verbal swearing of His name. Priests of the Lord could not present themselves before the holy things with uncleanness. They would be cut off from the presence of the Lord. The priests were given a long list of regulations regarding what made them unclean and how they must cleanse themselves before coming to serve the Lord. What was sanctified by God could not be profaned by the disregard of those who served the Lord. The holiness of the Lord required His people to honor Him in their speech and conduct.

The Law of Moses has long passed away, and its laws are no longer binding. Reading the Law is a body of truth written for the children of Israel, but the principles and applications of the law remain the same. Profaning the name of the Lord was a sin before the Law, and it is a sin after the Law. Holy people living unholy lives profane the name of the Lord. God has always demanded His people to set themselves apart from the world in their conduct. Since the fall of man in the garden, evil has overshadowed the world with its power. As lights set on a hill, the righteous must let their lights shine brightly in a dark world. A Christian who lives as those of the world profane the name of God’s Son.

Living in an unholy world is a difficult challenge. The child of God must remain in the world but be separate from the world. The Christian can’t live without the world’s influence, but it must be the constant work of a diligent heart to remain above the world’s trappings. Too many Christians look like the world, talk like the world, dress (or lack thereof) the world, and think like the world. Coming before a Holy God with unholy lives profanes the nature of the righteousness of God. Jesus died to set men free from the bondage of sin to glorify the Father. Shedding the cloak of sin is a daily battle to fight against the wiles of the devil. Keeping the commandments of the Lord and doing the will of the Father honors the name of God. Refusing to keep His commandments profane His name. God must be hallowed in the life of the child of God. Do not bring shame on God’s holy name. He will display His holiness in the world through the sacred lives of His people.