Metzora (Infected One)

Leviticus 14:1-15:33

“The Evil Tongue”

POSTED 11 APRIL, 2008

by Mark Huey
mhuey@outreachisrael.net

“The one to be cleansed shall then wash his clothes and shave off all his hair and bathe in water and be clean. Now afterward, he may enter the camp, but he shall stay outside his tent for seven days. It will be on the seventh day that he shall shave off all his hair: he shall shave his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair. He shall then wash his clothes and bathe his body in water and be clean” (Leviticus 14:8-9).

In Tazria, I did not discuss the different aspects of leprosy. Instead, I decided to focus on “what Yeshua did,” and the undeniable reality that Yeshua and His Disciples were Torah obedient. The deeper understanding of leprosy was not considered, but in Metzora the subject is again up for review. So with the gentle prodding of the Ruach, let us dig a little deeper into this issue.

Generally, the Torah portions that deal with the various states of being unclean fall right before the season of Passover. In this time of cleaning the leaven or sin out of our lives, are there some unseen transgressions that inevitably fly undiscovered below the radar? Is it possible that the Father wants us to personally deal with a matter that has a devastating impact on the Body of Messiah? That subject, of course, is the one that Torah students have been contemplating for centuries as these portions about “leprosy” are discussed. The Jewish Rabbis have taught that the more profound issue that is being dealt with is not the physical condition of a skin affliction, but instead the spiritual affliction known as Lashon Hara, or the Evil Tongue.

Lashon Hara

In these chapters we are confronted with the Hebrew words tzaraat (t[rc) or tzara ([rc) that cannot be accurately rendered in English. Consequently, the medical term “leprosy” is used in most Bibles. But as Torah students have searched for the deeper meaning of these terms, they inevitably went to the other times that the words were used in the Torah, and compared them to how they are used in this parashah. There are two incidents in the Israelites’ deliverance from Egypt when these terms are used to describe the results of “speaking against” someone, or questioning one’s motives and creating doubt or suspicion about someone:

“Then Moses said, ‘What if they will not believe me or listen to what I say? For they may say, “The Lord has not appeared to you”’…The Lord furthermore said to him, ‘Now put your hand into your bosom.’ So he put his hand into his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous [tzara] like snow” (Exodus 4:1, 6).

In the first instance, Moses questions whether the people of Israel will believe him and follow his guidance as he has been chosen to lead them out of Egypt. Moses’ first reaction to God is to question his brother’s ability to follow the explicit instructions of the Lord. So, the Lord gives him the sign of having his hand turn leprous in order to get the attention of his fellow Israelites. Leprosy and the ability for it to appear and disappear would be a definite sign that a spiritual condition of unbelief was plaguing the Israelites.

The second time the term is used, and probably the most influential reference, is when Moses’ sister Miriam speaks against him to Aaron. It appears that both Miriam and Aaron are speaking against their brother, but Miriam receives the judgment of becoming leprous:

“Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married (for he had married a Cushite woman)…But when the cloud had withdrawn from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow. As Aaron turned toward Miriam, behold, she was leprous [tzara]” (Numbers 12:1, 10).

Only the pleas that Moses makes to God restore her to normalcy. Seeing these usages of “leprosy,” the Sages have made the association of slander and malicious gossip to the condition of leprosy. Consider the connections that can be made by killing someone with words that emanate from your heart and soul. Yeshua tells us that a wickedness which generates death and destruction comes forth from an evil tongue:

“The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his hear” (Luke 6:45).

Here, the connection is very obvious. When the heart is filled with evil, the mouth and what ushers forth are great indications of the dark condition of the soul. Our Creator knew this problem and the potential devastating consequences of the spoken word—especially when that word is used maliciously to deliberately harm someone.

We need to remember that God just spoke the word, “let there be light,” and His Creation started to form. Our Heavenly Father knows the power of the tongue and the words spoken. He omnisciently knew that the brave schoolyard colloquialism to defend oneself from verbal abuse was not an accurate statement: “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me!” Words do hurt, especially when they are designed by the wicked heart to deliberately damage another person. Here is what the Lord says about things He hates:

“There are six things which the Lord hates, yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers” (Proverbs 6:16-19).

If you list these seven things you note that the following are abominations before the Lord:

1. haughty eyes
2. a lying tongue
3. hands that shed innocent blood
4. a heart that devises wicked plans
5. feet that run rapidly to evil
6. a false witness who utters lies
7. one who spreads strife among brothers

The Most High considers these seven things abominable. If you consider what they actually are, you will note that three of the seven have to do with utterances that originate with the tongue. And, there might be a good case to include the evil heart that devises wicked plans in this list, because in order to execute the plans, they might need to be verbalized. You can quickly see that almost half of the things that the Lord despises have to do with the evil tongue, or the wicked heart that opens the mouth to execute its plans. Now you might understand why the Lord wants His people to be very careful about what comes forth from their mouths.

Is it possible that during the early years of the nation of Israel, as they were wandering in the desert and eventually occupying the Promised Land, that there were many skin eruptions that warned the community that various people were using their tongues to tear the very fabric of the maturing society? The Lord knew that nothing could be more detrimental to a community than rumors, gossip, slander, and outright lies intending to destroy. Perhaps the opportunity to be set outside of the camp for seven days or fourteen days would cause perpetrators to reconsider their transgressions. Is it possible that as someone dealt with the guilt of using his tongue to murder the character of another person, the repentant person might be healed and the leprous signs could have disappeared? On the other hand, if the evil heart and its intentions continued to dwell on wickedness, then the result was a life wandering around uttering “Unclean, unclean!” by all you approached.

Further Tongue Lashings

Apparently, the problems associated with utterances from the tongue were not just confined to the early stages of Israel’s development. By the time of Apostles, the ability for the spoken word to have a catastrophic impact on the community of faith was fully understood. James the Just deals extensively with the challenges of being in a position of teaching and how the use of one’s tongue can have a variety of consequences:

“Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. Now if we put the bits into the horses' mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way” (James 3:1-10).

In this passage, James admonishes the teachers of his day with the severity of using their tongues, or their ability to teach, incorrectly. He declares, “it pollutes our whole being; it keeps the wheel of our existence red-hot, and its flames are fed by hell” (NEB). This is how powerful the unbridled tongue can be, and it is something that we should be mindful to control by relinquishing its activity to the Holy Spirit. If you keep reading James’ words you begin to understand about how the enemy uses the tongue to create division among the so-called brethren:

“What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask” (James 4:1-2).

“Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it” (James 4:11).

“Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door” (James 5:9).

Fighting, quarreling, speaking against one another, judging one another, complaining against one another—and the list goes on. Do these things sound like the work of the Spirit or the work of the flesh? Well, the answer is simple and obvious. In fact, James mentions it in the midst of these warnings:

“Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” (James 3:13-18).

Here, James compares the wise and understanding with those who are Earthly, natural, and demonic. You can see the apparent contrast. And just like the priests who could look at a skin affliction in the time of Moses and Joshua, in the day of Yeshua and James, it was readily apparent by behavioral actions who was being led by the Ruach and who was being led by jealousy and selfish ambition. What is interesting is that you could generally discern simply by listening to what was coming forth from the various mouths. These indicators have not changed in our generation, some two thousand years later.

The Doers: Slow to Speak

Earlier in the instructional words of James, he makes it very simple for those who have the ears to hear:

“This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless” (James 1:19-26).

Here, James gets into the heart of the matter. He talks about the ability to control the tongue and the anger that bubbles up from the heart. He admonishes his readers to be quick to hear, but be slow to become angry and slow to speak. James knows that if you can just give your heart and mind some time to catch up with the emotions that may have been stirred by some hellacious lies, slander, gossip, or absolute false witness, then you can willingly give the situation over to the power of the Holy Spirit. Then, you will be exhibiting the reality that you have been more than simply a hearer of God’s Word, but most importantly, a doer of His Word. This is critical in our day and age as we have so many ways to do damage to people with not just the spoken word. Now with the advances of technology, one can slander a person on video, DVD, cassette, CD, or with lightning speed to the world over via the increasingly ubiquitous Internet. Now with the simple click of a mouse, someone with a wicked heart can commit murder without any bloodletting.

Think again about how you are using your tongue as you enter into the Shabbat that precedes the Passover celebration. Is there perhaps some leaven in this area of your life that needs confession and repentance? We know that He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins as we confess them. We know that He will cleanse us of all unrighteousness if we are truly repentant. But in order to receive the forgiveness God offers us, we must come before Him with a broken and contrite spirit, and humbly confess our errant ways. We must also confess with our mouths. Consider it today. Remember, we must learn to control our tongues:

“For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well” (James 3:2).

We still only know One who is perfect: our Redeemer and Messiah. As fallen creatures, let us all examine the use of our tongues, as we recall our deliverance from bondage to sin in this Pesach season. In so doing, we can be made clean by the washing of the water of the Word (Ephesians 5:26). Then, by His mercy, all who acknowledge their sin should be able to return to the camp of the redeemed, in order to build it up rather than tear it down. And in so doing, we can hopefully accomplish James’ final admonition to his readers and bring known sinners back from certain death:

“My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:19-20).

The Apostle Peter tells us that love for the brethren covers up transgressions:

“Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8).

As we remember the blood of the Lamb that covers us from eternal judgment, let that same love be extended to our brethren with an edifying word rather than an evil tongue!

Mark Huey (B.A., Vanderbilt University in History and Graduate Studies at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University) is the Director of Outreach Israel Ministries (www.outreachisrael.net). He is the author of several books, including: TorahScope, Volumes I & II, and Counting the Omer: A Daily Devotional Toward Shavuot. He is also co-author of Hebraic Roots: An Introductory Study.