Metzora
Infected One
“The Evil Tongue”
Leviticus 14:1-15:33
2 Kings 7:3-20
excerpted from TorahScope, Volume I
In Tazria last week, I did not discuss the different aspects of leprosy which were detailed. Instead, I decided to focus on what Yeshua did in terms of following the Torah. In Metzora, being considered this week, the subject of leprosy is again up for review. So with the gentle prodding of the Ruach (Spirit), let us dig a little deeper into this issue. The instructions we encounter include what a cleansed leper was to do, in order to be restored to the community of Ancient Israel:
“He who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and bathe himself in water; and he shall be clean. After that he shall come into the camp, but shall dwell outside his tent seven days. It shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows. He shall shave off all his hair. He shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his body in water. Then he shall be clean” (Leviticus 14:8-9, WMB).
Generally, these Torah portions which deal with the various states of being unclean, are considered right before the season of Passover. In this time of cleaning the leaven out of one’s house—and hopefully also the sin out of one’s life—are there any unseen transgressions which inevitably fly undiscovered below the spiritual radar? Is it possible that the Lord might want you to personally deal with a matter which has a negative influence on your family life, the people at your congregation, or the greater Body of Messiah?
One subject which has been traditionally associated with Metzora has been contemplating a spiritual affliction known as lashon ha’ra or “the evil tongue.” The Jewish Rabbis have taught that the more profound issue, which is being addressed in either Tazria or Metzora, is not the physical condition of a skin affliction, but instead a spiritual affliction. Baruch A. Levine summarizes in the Etz Hayim commentary,
“Playing on the linguistic similarity of the Hebrew for ‘leper’ (m’tzora) and the Hebrew for ‘one who gossips’ (motzi shem ra), the sages considered leprosy to be a punishment for the sins of slander and malicious gossip (Lev. R. 16:11). They teach that gossip is like leprosy because it is highly contagious. One infected person can spread a malicious rumor to many others.”[1]
Lashon Ha’ra
In the chapters of Tazria and Metzora, we encounter the Hebrew noun tzara’at and verb tzara,[2] which are difficult to translate into English. The medical term “leprosy” is used in most Bibles. As interpreters have searched for additional meanings of these terms, they inevitably went to the other times where they appeared in the Torah, comparing them to how they were used in this parashah. There are two notable incidents considered.
The first time Bible readers see leprosy referred to, regards the Ancient Israelites’ deliverance from Egypt. The subject at hand concerned the results of speaking against someone, questioning one’s motives and creating doubt, and/or holding suspicion toward someone:
“Moses answered, ‘But, behold, they will not believe me, nor listen to my voice; for they will say, “The LORD has not appeared to you.”’…The LORD said furthermore to him, ‘Now put your hand inside your cloak.’ He put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous [tzara], as white as snow” (Exodus 4:1, 6, WMB).
In this first instance, Moses questioned whether the people of Israel would even believe him and follow his guidance, as the Lord had chosen him to lead them out of Egypt. Moses’ reaction was to question Ancient Israel’s ability to follow the explicit instructions of the Lord. So, the Lord gave him the sign of having his hand turn leprous. Leprosy, and the ability for it to appear and disappear, would be a sign of how a spiritual condition of unbelief was plaguing the Israelites.
The second time Bible readers see leprosy referred to, and probably the most influential reference outside of Tazria-Metzora, was when Moses’ sister Miriam spoke against him to Aaron. While it appeared that both Miriam and Aaron were speaking against their brother, Miriam received the judgment of becoming leprous:
“Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married; for he had married a Cushite woman…The cloud departed from over the Tent; and behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow. Aaron looked at Miriam, and behold, she was leprous [tzara]” (Numbers 12:1, 10, WMB).
Only the pleas which Moses made to God restored his sister to normalcy (Numbers 12:13ff). Seeing these usages of “leprosy,” the Sages concluded that slander and malicious gossip were a major cause of leprosy. Their opinion should be well taken. Consider the connections which can be made by killing someone with words which emanate from the heart. Yeshua spoke of how a wickedness which generated death and destruction—came forth from an evil mouth:
“The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings out that which is good, and the evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings out that which is evil, for out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45, WMB).
Here, the connection is very obvious. When the human heart is filled with evil thoughts, the mouth and what ushers forth from it are simply verbal manifestations. God knows all about this common human problem, and the potentially devastating consequences of the spoken word—especially when the spoken word is used maliciously to deliberately harm someone.
We need to remember that at God’s spoken command, the universe came into being (Genesis 1). He knows the power which words spoken can have. He omnisciently knew that the common schoolyard colloquialism, used to defend oneself from verbal abuse, was/is not at all accurate: “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me!” Words do hurt, especially when they are designed by a wicked heart to deliberately insult and damage another person.
Here is what the Lord said about things He hates:
“There are six things which the LORD hates; yes, seven which are an abomination to him: arrogant eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are swift in running to mischief, a false witness who utters lies, and he who sows discord among brothers” (Proverbs 6:16-19, WMB).
These seven things include:
- arrogant eyes
- a lying tongue
- hands that shed innocent blood
- a heart that devises wicked schemes
- feet that are swift in running to mischief
- a false witness who utters lies
- he who sows discord among brothers
If you consider what these seven abominations actually are, you will note how three of them concern spoken utterances which originate with the tongue (#s 1, 6, 7). There might be a good case to include the evil heart which devises wicked schemes (#4) with the tongue, because in order to execute evil plans, such thoughts have to be formulated. Almost half of the things which the Lord has despised and considered abominable relate to an evil tongue, or to a wicked heart which causes the tongue to speak forth dark things. It should not be difficult to see why the Lord has wanted His people to be very careful about what they say with their mouths.
Is it possible that during the early years of the nation of Israel, as the people were wandering in the desert and preparing to enter into the Promised Land—that there were many skin eruptions which warned this community how various people were using their tongues to tear the fabric of the maturing society? When we read about the wilderness journeys of the Israelites, we often do not think of them as people enjoying themselves. There was complaining toward, suspicion of, and also distrust of both God and Moses on the part of many of the Ancient Israelites. There were people who spoke against the directives issued by Moses and the leaders he appointed.
The Lord knew that nothing could be more detrimental to a community than rumors, gossip, slander, and outright lies. Perhaps the opportunity for a person to be set outside of the camp for seven days, or even fourteen days, would cause perpetrators to reconsider their transgressions. Is it possible that as someone dealt with the guilt of using his or her tongue to murder the character of another person, that the offender 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 would the result have been a life wandering around outside the camp—and when people saw you they would have uttered “Unclean, unclean!”?
Further Tongue Lashings
The problems associated with dark utterances from the tongue, were by no means just confined to the early stages of Israel’s development. Speaking slanderous or spiteful words is a common human problem, after all. It is not at all surprising to see that Apostles addressed proper speech. We are all familiar with the Apostle Paul’s word, “Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but only what is good for building others up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear” (Ephesians 4:29, WMB), something which has guided me since I was a young Believer. This week, though, I was led to read through the Epistle of James, and see how James the Just handled the ability for the spoken word to have a catastrophic impact on the community of faith.
James commented extensively about 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 be teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive heavier judgment. For we all stumble in many things. Anyone who doesn’t stumble in word is a perfect person, able to bridle the whole body also. Indeed, we put bits into the horses’ mouths so that they may obey us, and we guide their whole body. Behold, the ships also, though they are so big and are driven by fierce winds, are yet guided by a very small rudder, wherever the pilot desires. So the tongue is also a little member, and boasts great things. See how a small fire can spread to a large forest! And the tongue is a fire. The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire by Gehinnom. For every kind of animal, bird, creeping thing, and sea creature is tamed, and has been tamed by mankind; but nobody can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men who are made in the image of God. Out of the same mouth comes blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so” (James 3:1-10, WMB).
In this passage, James admonished the teachers of his day with how serious it was when they used their tongues. He declared that an evil tongue “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 an unbridled and undisciplined tongue can be, and it is something which we should be mindful to control by relinquishing its activity to the Holy Spirit. If you keep reading James’ words, you begin to understand some of the ways the enemy uses the human tongue to create division:
“Where do wars and fightings among you come from? Don’t they come from your pleasures that war in your members? You lust, and don’t have. You murder and covet, and can’t obtain. You fight and make war. You don’t have, because you don’t ask…Don’t speak against one another, brothers. He who speaks against a brother and 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…Don’t grumble, brothers, against one another, so that you won’t be judged. Behold, the judge stands at the door” (James 4:1-2, 11; 5:9, WMB).
Fighting, quarreling, speaking against one another, judging one another, complaining against one another—and the list goes on. Do these things sound like works of the Spirit or works of the flesh (cf. Galatians 5:19-21)? Well, the answer is simple and obvious to spiritual persons guided by the Lord. In fact, in the midst of his warnings, James contrasted what inappropriate and appropriate wisdom were:
“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by his good conduct that his deeds are done in gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, don’t boast and don’t lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, sensual, and demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition are, there is confusion and every evil deed. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” (James 3:13-18, WMB).
James compared the wise and understanding with those who were Earthly, natural, and demonic. The contrast is obvious. Just like the priests who could look at a skin affliction in the time of Moses and Joshua, in James’ day it was readily apparent, by behavioral actions, who was living a life of the Spirit and who was living a life of jealousy and selfish ambition. And these things were not difficult to see: one can generally discern simply by listening to what is spoken from the various mouths whether one has godly or demonic wisdom. These indicators have not changed in our generation, some two millennia later. We have the same responsibility to speak forth, and listen to, godly wisdom.
The Doers: Slow to Speak
Earlier in the instructional words of James, he made it very simple for those who had the ears to hear:
“So, then, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger; for the anger of man doesn’t produce the righteousness of God. Therefore, putting away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness, receive with humility the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his natural face in a mirror; for he sees himself, and goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect Torah of freedom and continues, not being a hearer who forgets but a doer of the work, this man will be blessed in what he does. If anyone among you thinks himself to be religious while he doesn’t bridle his tongue, but deceives his heart, this man’s religion is worthless” (James 1:19-26, WMB).
Here, James got to the heart of the matter. He talked about the ability to control the tongue and the anger which bubbled up from the heart. He admonished his audience to be quick to hear, but be slow to become angry and slow to speak. James knew that if people could just give their hearts and minds some time to catch up with their emotions—which may have been stirred by some fallacious lies, slander, gossip, or false witness—then they could willingly give the situations over to the Lord. Then, with a sound heart and mind, Believers should exhibit the reality of how they were more than just hearers of God’s Word, but most importantly, doers of His Word.
Such admonitions are critical in our day and age, as we have so many more ways to do damage to people than just the spoken word. Now with the advances of technology, one can slander another 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 on some personal blog, someone with a wicked heart can commit murder without any bloodletting. People can find their character assassinated with little or no warning. Bullets are no longer required…
Think again about how you are using your tongue as you enter into Shabbat this week and are probably preparing yourself for Passover. Is there any leaven in this area of your life which needs some confession and repentance? We know that He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins if we confess them. We know that He will cleanse us of all unrighteousness if we are truly repentant (1 John 1:9). 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. We must learn to control our tongues:
“For we all stumble in many things. Anyone who doesn’t stumble in word is a perfect person, able to bridle the whole body also” (James 3:2, WMB).
If we can acknowledge our faults, then we should be able to enter into the assembly of the redeemed, and speak edifying words which are able to build up people in the Lord. The words we speak should be evidence of God’s love inside of us (cf. 1 Peter 4:8), and should be used only to help others. If we speak anything negative, it should be only in the form of admonishing people from staying away from sin, and what takes them away from the salvation we possess in Messiah Yeshua. In so doing, we can hopefully accomplish James’ final admonition to his readers, and bring known sinners back from death and exile from God:
“Brothers, if any among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:19-20, WMB).
As you remember the blood of the Lamb which redeems us from eternal judgment, let that same love be extended to your brothers and sisters with an edifying word rather than an evil tongue!
NOTES
[1] Baruch A. Levine, “Leviticus,” in David L. Lieber, ed., Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary (New York: Rabbinical Assembly, 2001), 652.
[2] Francis Brown, S.R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs., Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1979), pp 863, 864.
