Abstract

The Commandment “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name” Exodus 20:7, is the third of the Ten Commandments, which has its best interpretation from Leviticus 19:12- “Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the Lord. This text by implication prohibits the misuse of God’s name or mentioning the name of God in vain because the Lord will not allow any person who misuses His name in vain to go freely especially in swearing or taking oath in His name. It is emphasized that the name of God reveals His infinite power, authority, holiness, perfection and sovereignty. The name of God reigns supreme above all names, it is both transcendent and immanent. Using the Lord’s name in an oath directly appeals to him for involvement in the oath. As a result, any attempt to swear in God’s name and fails to keep the oath or fulfilling its obligation or commitment makes Him a liar which defiles His name. Oaths are made to be kept but this is not always possible with man. Because of the risk of breaking an oath taken in the name of God (for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name), there were a number of admonitions against oath taking or false swearing in the holy name of God. It is emphasized that the mentioning of God’s must be with utmost reverence and seriousness. The outline of this assignment begins an introduction which provides contextual background to the text (Exodus 20:7). Three biblical commentaries for this text were selected including Ellicott, Benson and Matthew Henry. Other sub-topics covered in this assignment include the meaning of oath, the name of God, oath of allegiance, implications of this text to the Ghanaian political, legal and social institutions.