Ezekiel Reveals More to the 3rd Commandment!

We’ve all heard the commandments and #3 is :

“You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain, for the Lord will not hold blameless anyone who takes His name in vain.” This is just one version of that commandment, each one is slightly different. But most of us think it only means not to use the word God while cursing or anger or in jest.

Upon my research, I realize that none of us are 100% sure on how to pronounce the true name of our Creator. We know that the word God is just a title and many religions use that word to describe their gods or deities. So God is not a name. In fact the word god, is known to be from the word Gad was the name of the pan-Semitic god of fortune. In fact, Gad is in the Book of Isaiah (Isaiah 65:11 – some translations simply call him (the god of) Fortune), as having been worshipped by a number of Hebrews during the babylonian captivity. There is evidence to indicate we shouldn’t be using that word god at all. But we will do baby steps here… some are on milk and some are ready for steak and potatoes.

So I’ve often wondered if someone says the curse word GD, is that breaking the third commandment? God is  not his real name; it’s just a title. Of course it’s a sin because that person used what they deem as a holy name with a curse word and in a non-righteous way. So yes, it is a sin for sure. But is that really what the Father meant by the 3^rd commandment?

But since we are not sure if Yod-Hei-Vav-Hei or Yahweh is right name; nor do we know exactly how he pronounced his real name; this lead me to think… “Is there a deeper meaning to the 3^rd commandment that I’m missing?”

Also, when someone says Jesus Christ in anger or frustration, is that against the 3^rd commandment? Clearly that is wrong at a heart level. But his real name is not Jesus. J is not in Hebrew or Aramaic language. His real name could be a number of things and could be pronounced in a way that is hidden currently from us. It could be Yeshua, YAHshua, Yod-Shin-Vav-Ayin. In fact a better English translation of his name would be Joshua which is closer to “Yehoshua.”

So today, I was reading Ezekiel 43: 7 which states: “ I dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever, and the house of Israel shall no longer defile my set-apart Name, they nor their sovereigns, by their whoring and by the corpses of their sovereigns on their high places. When they placed their threshold by My Threshold, and their doorpost by My doorpost, with a wall between them and Me; They defiled MY set apart Name by the abominations which they have done. So I consumed them in My displeasure!”

How did they defile his set apart name based on the scripture above? Was it by verbally misusing his name? No, it was by claiming to be a chosen one and living and acting in ways that were considered abominations in His eyes. They were partially obeying and following His instructions. It was mixing detestable pagan traditions or ways of life, with worship of the Most High. They did these detestable abominations yet they proclaimed that they were children of the Yah. They refused to obey the instructions and laws of the Torah.

It would similar to you smearing your family name by unrighteous living: drugs, prostitution, out of wedlock children, cursing, drunkenness, satanic worship, stealing, murdering and the list goes on. You proudly associated yourself with the prestige of your family name, yet you defiled the family name by breaking every house rule and instruction that your daddy ever gave you. You embarrassed and humiliated the family name by representing falsely.

So this commandment could have a much deeper meaning when we examine the Ezekiel scripture.

Have we simplified it as dumb sheep do? I am included in that simplification- so yes I’m considering myself to be a dumb sheep. And that is why I ask the Spirit of Truth, the Shepherd to save me from myself! I ask the Spirit to guide me through these scriptures and help me sort through mistranslations and bad interpretations- including my own.

People hear what they want to hear. They often reason so that they can continue doing what they want to do, and what they see as right in their own eyes. Judges 17: 6: 6 In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.  Sound familiar? Aren’t we notorious for doing what we see is right in our own eyes? So many put  self-serving meaning on scriptures. They forget that Jesus was one to intensify the laws, not down play.  He said not only is full on adultery that was bad, but if you lust after someone you’ve already violated the commandment.  Or how about murder? Jesus said that if we hold anger against someone that is deemed same as murder. All we want to remember is things like turn the other cheek and many of us don’t even do that.

The enemy is so good at teaching us how to twist to serve self instead of obeying our Heavenly Father’s instructions. He is also the master at making things appear as good, even if they are clearly against the word of Yah.

When you claim to be a believer in the Messiah (Anointed one) and you live outside His instructions, you are defiling the Father’s set apart name. He is set apart ( holy) so we are supposed to be set- apart ( holy). Believers are to be called out of the darkness be the light to the lost. ( not part time  but full time) When you condone or bless or make excuses for unrighteous behavior, you are cursing His set-apart name and violating the 3rd commandment.

In Ezekiel 43 10-12….it tells us what to do and what to expect.

He tells Ezekiel to explain to the body of believers- truth. Seek and you will find. As you are given truth, it’s your obligation to share what you found out.  Some will hear and apply. Some frankly will not. But, scripture says some will be convicted and become ashamed of their crookedness. Then, they will repent, turn back to following their Father’s instructions.

Timothy 3:16 says that ¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness…

What scriptures is Paul referring to in Timothy? He is a Pharisee born from a Pharisee, very educated in the Old Testament. Remember, New Testament did not exist at that time. Paul is referring to the Old Testament scriptures being useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training. So stop dismissing the OT or picking what you like and don’t like.

Some call Yah’s instructions the law, but it should really be translated to instructions. All of us hate the word “law” because it has a negative and has a restraining connotation. But His instructions are out of love and protection; like any good Father he knows we need specific detailed instructions. We should value His instructions for his set-apart people.

Can you imagine how messed up the Israelites were living 100’s of years with pagans as slaves? They had to be retrained because the pagan ways were engrained in them. They needed specific details on how to please the Father and get along in their community. To be set apart, they needed set apart instructions; otherwise they would continue with idol worship doing stuff like eating toxic meat which would kill them. They would have all dropped dead in the wilderness from the  diseases of Egypt without the rules on cleanliness and clean/unclean meats.

Frankly, there would be no chosen people without Abba Daddy. He thought of everything, including making resting on a given day a commandment and a requirement. He is the only deity ever that demands His people take a break. He knew that resting would not be something ex-slaves would do naturally.  Sometimes as parents we have to make our kids take a nap. The naps are non- negotiable because our babies will be cranky and worn out if they aren’t rested. Abba Daddy said- “Don’t work. Rest. Don’t do chores. Give yourself a break!” What a loving heavenly Dad. Why on earth do we fight Him so much on taking a true Sabbath, a complete day of rest? People will not debate any of the other commandments more than the Sabbath…that one is the one they will argue to the death over.. Crazy really when you think it about it. Take a day of Rest; after all Sabbath was made for man- for our own good.

He is a Father of precision, order and He has purpose in every instruction, right ruling and detail. He does not change. Do not confuse mercy and second chances with Him being a Fickle Father or one that Changes. He knew  all along that we would slip up- sin;  so He sent His son to be the final lamb to cover our sins: intentional and unintentional. But that does not mean we have the right to take that blood for granted and go on sinning or living in darkness. It also doesn’t mean that we should not pursue holiness or real truth. Backsliding could be lethal. Intentional disregard is not true belief or love.

The other question to ask yourself is how do you know what constitutes a sin?

To sin means to miss the mark. So how do you know you are missing the mark unless you have some sort of a board or guidelines or marker to shoot for?

So where do you go to find out what the Father sees as sin? His instructions in Old Testament and by the Words and actions of His Son. We are creatures that often add to His word or add our own self-satisfying meaning to scripture. Everything he says through scripture is to draw us closer to Him, to be more loving, to protect us, care for us and teach us. When we read the entire bible He speaks to us and teaches us if we are open and submit fully to Him.

We should study the life of YAHshua ( Jesus)….do what he did. Pay close attention to every word and action.  Remember, Yahusha is the living word. John 1: 1 says, “ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Revelations 19: 13 says: He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.

So YAHshua is the Word, so to obey Him, to follow Him means to Follow YHWH’s written word and instructions…But Jesus reminds us that compassion and love are vital when obeying. So for example, if someone is sick on the Sabbath, we doctor them, help them, pray for them…We do not say, “Well I can’t help the sick;  it’s the Sabbath and healing is considered work.”  Healing is doing God’s work on the Sabbath; he wants us to lead with love.

But we must remember that we are still called to be in complete obedience Sabbath instructions. Does that make sense?  Jesus did not teach anyone to disobey the laws nor did he nullify any. He just showed us the true meaning. But again we must not twist his words to mean that we should only metaphorically “rest in Him” or to mean that we should not follow the Father’s instructions on the Sabbath- a real day of complete rest from work. It’s important to keep it Holy and Set apart- after all it’s the Fourth commandment above even murder. It’s a very important one, so important that the Israelites went into captivity for not keeping it.

What did Yahusha read, teach from? He like Paul read and taught from the first 5 books of the bible ( Torah), the Prophets mostly. But he read, taught and corrected from the entire Tanakh: Old Testament. So we cannot dismiss the WORD or say; “Ah-that’s in Old Testament …doesn’t apply . “ The original scriptures are the WORD! If you think I’m beating a dead horse about the importance of OT….the reason is because we have been indoctrinated by lies that it doesn’t matter that only NT matters. That is Satan’s biggest lie that has stuck!

Remember what Yahusha ( Jesus) says:

17Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. 18For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

19So then, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do likewise will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Let’s dissect. Have Heaven and Earth Passed away? No! So that means that not one dot or word disappears from the written law. You might say, ” Well I don’t care if I’m least or greatest;  I just want to get in.”

That may be true, but we should have a heart of obedience rooted in love for Father, Son and Spirit.  Now obviously, the temple was destroyed, so many of the laws could not be applied. But we should do our best to obey what is applicable.

When I was reading Revelations a connection was made to me about the part when Jesus said that not one word will disappear from the law until heaven and earth passes away. The scripture below in Revelations confirms that the written instructions, are still applicable because one day we will have a new heaven and new earth.

Remember, Jesus said that we are to obey the instructions and should never teach others to disobey it. But if we obey the law and teach others to do so, we will be called greatest in the kingdom. I have often daydreamed about washing Jesus’s feet and wiping his feet dry with my hair, like Mary.  If I can just sweep the floors so I can hear Him speak; I would love that. My desire is to be great enough that I can bask in His love and wisdom- sit at his feet.

Revelations: 21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ² And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

So you see all will be accomplished when there is a NEW Heaven and a New Earth….so we are still to mirror Jesus, by trying to fulfill (which means obey ) the law-instructions just as He did.

So do not be fooled by the Father of Lies who wants us to dismiss a lot! John 8: 44 tells us the great deceiver is a liar… and not to make him the father you follow.  Satan could not destroy Father’s plans or destroy the truth, but he has changed the original meaning with translations errors.  He deceives the flock by misinterpretation and he uses people’s weaknesses or sinful nature to talk people out of the truth. ( harden hearts, close ears, blind eyes)

Satan has brilliantly divided each sector of believers into sub categories, each denomination or what some say “cult” has some truth but a lot of lies. Divided the enemy conquers. If we are caught up in religious debates, if we close our ears or judge other religious groups, if we label each other as cults; then we will not all come together to get the real truth. Shouldn’t our desire be to get to the real truth;  the original doctrine, intentions  of the disciples.

It’s time to dig in, test everything you think you know…get untaught, unlearned and let the Spirit teach you. We need to have heated discussions with fellow believers so that we can get to the real TRUTH and sort through the lies we have inherited from the wrong father.  You must be ready though- to learn the real truth. When you ask for truth, you may not like what you find out at first, you may have to change what’s okay and not okay.  But He is faithful to those who truly have a heart for His doctrine.

We have been warned by Peter that Paul writes in such a way that many, even in that day were deceived. Many have fallen away from the right path because of Paul’s writings because they do not understand the context, environment or the way of which he wrote, catering to the audiences or philosophy in the different cities. Many are led astray by Paul’s writings because they hear what they want to hear which validates their own sin or personal choices. So be careful when people justify not obeying this or that using Paul’s writings. ( When in doubt compare what you think he’s saying to Jesus’s thoughts or the original apostles writings like Matthew, John or Peter…for example).

The Father knew ahead of time that many would die for lack of knowledge. He knew that we would be led astray. So he used Peter to warn the flock and he used Hosea and others to warn us. (remember every time a Prophet said something that didn’t “tickle the ears” – they tried to kill him or ignored him). It’s time for us to wake up and seek the truth.

Hosea Warns Us About Ignorance! Hosea 4: 6 says: “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.”

Peter Warns About Misinterpreting Paul’s writings: 2 Peter 3: 16” He ( Paul) writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.”

The question is:  Are you willing to find out, study, pray like crazy to find out what your Daddy in Heaven wants? And are you willing to lay down your life as you know it for the Kingdom to follow Him?

Yeshua tells us the gate to destruction is wide and the gate to the Kingdom of Heaven is narrow. Are you willing to take the persecution if necessary? To come out of the world? To take up your cross and follow Him at all costs?

When I read that Jesus told a man not to bury his dad to let the dead bury themselves…I thought that seemed harsh at first. But what I know now is that if you truly follow Yeshua, you will have sacrifices and persecution even with fellow believers who do not understand their Jewish Messiah. Remember, some of the hardest people on Jesus during his ministry was his family and people from his home town. So expect very personal persecution.

I’ve recently heard, “If I followed the Sabbath the way you do; my husband would leave me.”  Jesus said that following him could divide families and to expect that. He said that following Him will mean that we will have loss and will have to deny ourselves. Don’t give up. Just keep reading the bible and applying what you learn. Be the light to others. Don’t forget to pray for those who don’t understand. I’ve seen amazing transformations from prayer.

Yeshua was persecuted, and he told us to expect persecution. There are 2.1 billion Christians. Most do not understand persecution at any level. But true persecution does exist. My heart and prayers go out to those in foreign countries that are beheaded for their Messiah. There are people today that hide their bibles and lose their life for their faith daily. Believers are still being crucified today for their beliefs. It’s very real.

Only in more recent years, did I truly understand what it means to be persecuted. I have cried many tears. I asked for real truth and it was revealed.  I had no idea the persecution that I would endure from just trying to follow the bible and imitate Jesus.

It hasn’t been long ago that my 6 year old daughter was called a Jew by an adult because she chooses not to eat pork anymore. Is being a Jew an insult?

My Messiah…the love of my life is a Jew. Can you believe a grown adult would use the word Jew to insult a sweet baby girl who is imitating Jesus? I can assure you Jesus never put pork in His mouth. I mean, Never! I can assure you that when he comes to reign on earth for a 1000 years in His Kingdom we will not eat pork.  Remember, the Father does not change!

You will not be surprised to learn that the grown man who bullied my daughter claims to believe in Jesus. Perhaps, he thinks his Messiah is a gentile.

When I endure, I am retraining my mind to take the persecution as a badge of honor. I am slowly dying to myself, not caring what the world thinks even if I receive a verbal beating.

I’m reminded in Matthew 5: 12 to “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

So the question is are you willing to give up something?  It could be something as simple as family or friend’s approval? It’s not easy especially if you want people to love and accept you. But whose love do you really need? Whose approval do you really need?

Would you be willing to deny yourself of pleasure or fun if you thought your heavenly Father didn’t approve? I’ve heard people say that they could never give up bacon. Your creator took the time to detail what meats make people sick. Why would we not give up meats he deems as toxic?  YHWH says that he is preventing us from having the diseases of Egypt, with his instructions on clean/ unclean meats.

Ancient Egyptian mummies from the Middle Kingdom to the Greco-Roman period have been scientifically studied identify the diseases of Egypt are a range of diseases like: heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, parasites, cancer, and brain lesions just to name a few… We know that oysters can make people really sick, including infections of flesh eating diseases. That pregnant women shouldn’t eat shell fish. We know modern day things like swine flu which have come over from foreign swine. Yet we keep on hurting ourselves by disregarding biblical instructions.

The Father does not give us guidelines without love at the root of it. You may have had a strict earthly Dad that had ridiculous, meaningless, just to be restrictive rules, just to control—but that is not the nature of our Heavenly Father. So don’t say the God of OT is different than the God of NT for one. And don’t classify him as a strict Dad that had rules for way back when.

We all have a hard time giving up things we enjoy. So Halloween used to be a blast for me, costumes and candy. Who wouldn’t love dressing up for a day? But we have to ask ourselves would YHWH or Jesus want to participate in a satanic and pagan rooted holiday? Would they approve a night of costumes of witches, warlocks,  blood,  zombies or even transgender dressing for a good laugh?  When you know better, you do better. Halloween is one of two major holidays listed in Anton Lavey satanic bible. For me that means absolutely no affiliation anymore. Period- not even light, fun parties with friends.  We are called to be children of light. It may not be satanic but fun for you. But what does it mean to the Father?  Weigh it against scripture not feelings.

Ephesians 5: 8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, 9for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth. 10Test and prove what pleases the Lord.11Have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that is illuminated becomes a light itself. 14So it is said:

“Wake up, O sleeper,

rise up from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you.”

Yeshua gave up his life for you. If scripture says it’s bad for you, you wouldn’t stop?

Think about John the Baptist. His Dad was told that John should never drink a drop.  He lived a life of a Nazarene. Yahweh said don’t do drink or eat certain foods like grapes and HE DID NOT!

I try to obey not for salvation. Let me repeat. I do not believe I’m earning my way into heaven. So for those in churches who are considered gracers…I  want you to know that obedience is the way I show Yeshua l love Him and the Father. Obedience and loving others is BELIEF…IS Faith.  I show appreciation by following Him in obedience. James, Jesus’s brother tells us in James 2:14-26 that Faith without works is dead. We do not earn our way to heaven. But I do not believe that we should ever take grace for granted by continuing to sit in our sin. That’s a dangerous choice.

So rethink the 3^rd commandment. Just because you aren’t saying that terrible bad word GD doesn’t mean you aren’t disobeying this commandment. Study the scriptures, pray and examine your life. Are you representing the King in all areas? Work? Parties? Friends? Health/Nutrition? Family? On the Street? Don’t represent the body of believers badly.

Do you represent daily what you claim? You shouldn’t get totally drunk on Saturday night,  curse like a sailor at a party then get up the next day to teach a bible class. If claim the cross, you represent…how are you representing? And do not do good just to be seen by men. He knows your heart and intentions. The Pharisees and Sadducees were hypocrites- and our faith is to surpass that. Jesus made that very clear. We must do more than just say we are believers…we must be believers.

If we profess with our lips, then we shouldn’t be doing things like getting sloppy drunk, sleeping outside our marriage, lying,  stealing, wanting-coveting, gossiping or even being negative complainers for that matter. Remember how the Father despised all the ungrateful complaining in the dessert for 40 years.  Backsliding has consequences. Over and over in scripture in old and in new ….it is written: Repent and Change! The last thing I want is Jesus to say, “Get away from me, I never knew you who practiced lawlessness!”  ( Read Matthew 7:23)

We should all be self-examining, repenting and refining daily. We are all a work in progress. Thank you Father for your precious Son and his blood that covers us while we refine. I pray that the Holy Spirit will come on each of you with great force, empowering you to obey, love and find real truth.

It’s time to figure out what it truly means to take up your cross….and follow. Seek and you will find.

Mark 8:34-35 (NIV) Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.”