Ezekiel 36: 22 "Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. 23 I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Sovereign LORD, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes. Matthew 6:9 "This, then, is how you should pray: " 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
I’m sure that I’ve recited the Lord’s Prayer thousands of times over my life and never once connected these words of praise and reverence … “Hallowed be thy name” with the verses in Ezekiel 36. In these verse, God is extremely unhappy with his people in Babylon. They are not “hallowing” his name, but are living as the heathens that surround them. Through their actions they are "profaning his name among the nations". Yet, despite this, the God of the Israelites (our God) is a God of grace and mercy. He promises them many wonderful blessings (see tomorrow’s blog) and He promises to restore “hallowed-ness” to his name through his people.
So, as we recite the phrase “Hallowed be thy name” at the beginning of the Lord’s Prayer, we shouldn’t take for granted that we’ve got this covered. Our personal praising of God surely hallows Him, but that is not enough. We also hallow His name through our thoughts and our actions while on here on earth. When others see who we are and how we live our lives, we reflect our God. We must continually live our lives showing honor, glory and hallow-ness for our God!
Blessings, jdh