Exodus 20:7 “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain (H7723).”
With thanks to Strong’s one can see that taking the name of the Lord in vain is not about profanity, rather deals with being appropriate ambassadors for God:
H7723 - in the sense of desolating; evil (as destructive), literally (ruin) or morally (especially guile); figuratively idolatry (as false, subjectively), uselessness (as deceptive, objectively; also adverbially in vain): - false (-ly), lie, lying, vain, vanity.
Years ago I started to use the expression. “I swear to God” in church. I was immediately corrected and understood that I had made a major oops. This was reinforced by CM and KI; taking the Lord’s name in vain has to do with being a poor representative/ ambassador for God.
With thanks to e-sword, the following are just a few examples of how important integrity was/is to men of faith in the Bible.
Abraham didn't lie about Sarah and she was his half-sister. However, he omitted the fact that she was also his wife to the detriment of Abimelech king of Gerar. Genesis 20:5, "Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this."
The word integrity appears often in Psalms. Jehovah God appears to Solomon and confirms the covenant he'd made with King David.
1 Kings 9:4-5, "And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments: Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel."
Psalm 7:8, "The LORD shall judge the people: judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me." Here King David prays for deliverance from persecutors.
Psalm 25:21, "Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee." Here the prayer is for guidance, forgiveness, mercy and deliverance.
Psalm 26:1, "A Psalm of David. Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide." Here David prays for vindication and deliverance and pledges faithfulness.
The word integrity also appears in Psalm 41:11-12 and Psalm 78:72.
Proverbs is usually very to the point.
Proverbs 19:1, "Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool."
Proverbs 20:7, "The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him."
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