To give us a clearer idea of what lies behind the idea of “the name of the Lord” in the bible, fast forward to the dedication of the temple. In 1 Kings 8 King Solomon dedicates the temple with a prayer. He prays: As for the foreigner … will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm—when they come and pray toward this temple. ‘The name’ is completely linked to the actions and intentions and reputation of the owner of the name. The point was that anyone should be able to look to the temple and learn of the character of God and respond in loyalty.

The verb before “the name” is actually two words and it literally means ‘to lift up (or carry)’ - ‘in vain’. In Exodus 28 the robes of the high priest are described. On his chest he was to wear 12 precious stones each with the name of a tribe engraved on it. It says he was to lift up or carry (same verb) these stones as he went before Yahweh. As the priest went into the holy place of the temple he would carry the names of the tribes. He would represent all the 12 tribes to God.

To bear the name of someone in vain is to be a bad representative of that person. It means to misrepresent someone, to give a misleading idea of the character of the person or organisation we are claiming to represent. God was saying to his people that others should be able to tell just by looking at us who we belong to. To carry the name in vain is to claim we are in a covenant relationship with him but for that claim to make no difference to how we live.

At Sinai, Yahweh claimed a nation as his very own and released them to live out their calling. Our calling is to bear Yahweh’s name among the nations, to represent him well. At Sinai, he warns the people not to bear his name in vain. Keeping this command, then, involves much more than not saying gosh or OMG. Keeping the command not to bear Yahweh’s name in vain changes everything about how we live."