{reminder: there are no readings on Sundays. The schedule is here}
The First commandment (Dt. 5) is pretty explicit about what counts as an idol, but the second commandment is really undefined, by comparison:
“You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God.”
Usually the word is “blaspheme:” What constitutes wrongful use? What constitutes right use of the Name?
Some wrongful uses, perhaps: making oaths in the Name, Speaking falsely of Yahweh - attributing to Him characteristics that are not properly His (theologians ,tremble!), Failing to attribute to Him glory due Him.
As I think about it, I am not sure the quasi-expletive “oh, god” falls into this category: simply put it confuses a class of beings (deities) with a proper name (Yahweh.) Saying “oh, god” is the same as “oh, deity and not the same as “oh Yahweh;” it does not specify the deity in question.
Am I splitting hairs? Maybe. But, (and this is a full-bodied but) we have often fallen into the trap of understanding all generic god-talk as talk about the God of the Bible. Some examples, off the top of my head:
1. Mistake: when our founding fathers spoke of “god,” they meant “the God of Bible.” Not necessarily true, and definitely not true in the cases of Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin.
2. The gods that show up in literature: Beowulf comes to mind. Yes, it was edited by a monk, but even still Beowulf is not a Christian text.
3. Philosophers have talked of God for a long time, and have special language for god: lots of “omni”s. This language has become the norm in theology, even, and we have become used to referring to god’s “attributes” in this philosophical language. The Bible is clear, however: not by our logic, but through Jesus Christ do we come to know God.
4. Also, see this (warning: academic language ahead!)
Also, I noticed while reading Deuteronomy that it is much more focused on the plight of the poor than are the other books of the Pentateuch: for example, the provisions for leaving the remnant of the produce of the field for the poor is expanded greatly in Deuteronomy (ch. 24:14ff).
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