Observation: God tells the people of Israel that God will soon restore their fortunes, return them home from exile in Babylon, and give them prosperity. But God wants them to understand: it's not because they deserve it. Instead, it's to defend God's name and reputation among the nations. In other words, God's people have given God a bad name and in order to restore it, God has to take decisive action.
Application: I've been following a group of Lutherans online who are studying Luther's Large Catechism together. One of the more compelling subjects has been its explanation of the Second Commandment: "You shall not take the name of your Lord God in vain." Usually people take this commandment to only mean "no swearing or cursing." But it's a whole lot more than that.
In fact, Christians can do a lot more damage to God's name by our public actions or inactions than by any PG-13 language we might use. I keep clinging to the truth that God is good even when God's people aren't. That's the whole story of our faith. But unfortunately, the whole world doesn't know and believe that story. The story they know and believe doesn't come from what Christians say but what we do and how we treat people. If we are mean-spirited, prejudiced, greedy and selfish, what's to keep our neighbors from assuming our God is exactly the same way? If we pray "hallowed be thy name," and give God a bad reputation with our conduct, we may as well keep that prayer to ourselves.
Pray: God, I pray that your name would be kept holy in my life, in my church, in my community. Sweep my flaws and foibles out of the way, so people can meet you. Amen.
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