“Do not swear by my name falsely,
which would be profaning the name of your God;
I am YHVH.”
-Leviticus 19:12
Verse 12 repeats the 3rd Word of God which is to not swear falsely using God’s personal name, which is YHVH.
In Bible times, making an oath automatically involved invoking the name or names of one god or another.
In fact, so ingrained was this custom in ancient times, that if one didn’t invoke the name of deity, it was not considered a legitimate oath.
Our God, YAHWEH, is in Leviticus 19:12 making it clear that we are not to invoke His Holy Name in a superficial manner or in swearing an oath that would be impossible to carry out.
In fact, Yeshua recommended it was best to not even swear an oath at all.
He told us it was best to just make our yes, yes, and no, no….and leave it at that.
Why would we he do that?
The reason is simply because life and circumstances can suddenly take unpredictable turns that could block us from a fulfilling an oath we swore in the past.
And then through no fault or intention of our own, we would be forced to break the oath we made in the Lord’s Holy Name.
Keep in mind that God does not and will not turn a blind eye to the oaths we made in His HOLY Name, even if some circumstance arises that prevents us from keeping the oath we made.
The Lord will not look upon our careless oaths with a grandfatherly wink and nod.
“It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it.”
-Ecclesiastes 5:5
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“You have heard that our fathers were told,
‘Do not break your oath,’and
‘Keep your vows to Adonai.’
But I tell you not to swear at all
— not ‘by heaven,’
because it is God’s throne;
not ‘by the earth,’
because it is his footstool;
and not ‘by Yerushalayim,’
because it is the city of the Great King.
And don’t swear by your head,
because you can’t make a single hair white or black.
Just let your ‘Yes’ be a simple ‘Yes,’
and your ‘No’ a simple ‘No’;
anything more than this has its origin in evil.”
-Matthew 5:33-37
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