Title: Glory worthy of God's name
Glory worthy of God's name
Exodus 20:7, Psalm 29:2
“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for I the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes my name in vain” (Exodus 20:7).
For an individual, a name has a very important meaning. A name refers to existence. Although it is different these days, at least in the Bible times, his name was a means of revealing his calling and life, that is, his existence. A name is not simply a matter of how he is called, but rather what he is. That is why God often reveals His name where He has shown His work. Even when God reveals the name “Yahweh” in Exodus 3:13, the name simply has no motive to tell the meaning of the name. Although the Korean Bible translates “I am who I am” to contain the meaning of existence, the name rather emphasizes the work aspect of God. God gave that name at the moment when he promised to bring Israel out of Egypt and lead them to the land of Canaan. The name you have revealed is what God promises to do according to the covenant.
God has a name. Of course, it is quite different from the character of ordinary religions. This is because, unlike other religions, manipulative religions, which give names and assign roles to the gods, God's name in the Bible is always revealed by God.
In the text, God tells us not to take God's name in vain. Of course, this does not simply mean never to swear by God's name, much less not to use God's name. Because of this, the Israelites did not use God's name in vain. They did not call on God's name for over 1000 years, and only wrote Tetragrammaton (