May 22, 2016
To invoke a god’s name was to say something about that god’s character (Deut. 18:20). In Egypt, using a god’s name for an oath was binding but because no other real gods existed, had no consequences if broken. Israel could take oaths in the LORD’s name (Heb. YHWH, Ex. 3:14) but never falsely, making His Name worthless in authority (Lev. 19:12; Deut. 6:13; 32:4). Israel was never to use God’s name as profanity (‘to treat with irreverence or as common’).
As slaves in Egypt, Israel worked sun-up to sun-down, seven days a week to provide for Egypt and themselves. Now that they were free, God required them to trust Him by working six days and resting (Heb. shab-bawth, ‘intermission/rest’) on the seventh (Saturday; Ex. 16:29). This weekly reminder mirrored God’s work and rest during the Creation Week (Gen. 2:1-3). There is no cultural or astronomical reason for a ‘7-day’ segment of time but nearly all cultures had this timeframe as a remnant of creation’s history.