Taking the Lord's name...

"Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, for she said, 'God has appointed for me another child instead of Abel, because Cain killed him.' To Seth also a son was born, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to invoke the name of the LORD."

(Genesis 4:25-26)

Once you get past the two creation stories in the book of Genesis, the "be fruitful and multiply" business starts in earnest. The lineage & legacy of Adam and Eve are listed. Unfortunately, their sons have a run-in (actually, Cain does all of the run-in-ing, and kills his brother Abel). Then Cain's descendants are listed for 6 more generations. And at the end of chapter 4, the narrator tells us that Adam & Eve had one more child: Seth. Then Seth's son, Enosh, is listed. And the chapter closes with a curious sentence: "At that time people began to invoke the name of the Lord."

Interesting, isn't it? The 2nd Creation story talks about a very close and intimate relationship between God, Adam & Eve. They spent time together in the Garden. They talked together. God even provided a way for them to survive after they disobeyed God's commands about the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. This is, indeed, the stuff that good relationships are made of.

So it's curious that the narrator mentions "invoking the name of the Lord" now. That tells me it wasn't an intimate name-sharing among close friends. Adam & Eve didn't give God a fun nickname that they'd use whenever they were hanging out together (you know, like a sign of endearment). No, now at least 2 generations after Adam & Eve, people start "invoking" God's name. To me, that sounds like something you'd "use" to manipulate.

Maybe I'm being overly critical here. Maybe it was a term of intimacy used during prayer. However, I'm more inclined to think that it was something people used to either try and get what they wanted from God ("O Lord God, hear my prayer...")... or to wield power over others, ("O God, I ask you to smite my enemies...").

Unfortunately, that's often how God's name (and religion in general) is used today. As a weapon to hold over others. Or people call on God, not out of intimate relationship, but in an attempt to manipulate/control their environment and life. Shame on us.

Let us not "take the Lord's name" as a tool. Let us be open to the One behind the Name, who earnest loves us deeply. That's someone worth getting to know.