Are we are in Devarim, or Deuteronomy, already? If Deuteronomy is considered a “repetition of the Torah”, then Words is the greatest name for it. Words are only the most important thing in the Universe. Words created the world and are the very first action of God, He spoke and brought things into existence, then handed that power down to humans.
Hollisa Alewine, the founder of The Creation Gospel, has laid the groundwork for applying the image of a menorah in Scripture any time you have a pattern of sevens. One of her findings is what she calls the Wicked Lamp consolidated in Proverbs 6:16-19, which describes seven things that God hates. Anyone with a lamp is alive. I am going to refer to this Wicked Lamp as a Wicked House because my focus is on humans as dwelling places. I would suggest to you that the Wicked House is a culmination of the evil tongue. It is helpful to visualize a menorah because the structure helps us to see how things are connected at the bottom and also how all branches emanate from the center stump. Starting from the left and working to the right.
Proverbs 6:17: A proud look.
Pride is the beginning of the Wicked House. A proud look can be translated as a proud eye. Pride is the opposite of the Fear of God.
Psalm 12:3: the Lord shall cut off all flattering lips, [and] the tongue that speaks proud things.
Proverbs 6:17: A lying tongue.
Lashon hara is the Hebrew phrase for an evil tongue. Deceit is the opposite of the Spirit of Truth that we are given when we come into covenant with God. We are not reflecting God’s image when we lie because He is Truth and incapable of falsehood. (Nm 23.19)
Proverbs 6:17: Hands that shed innocent blood.
In the Hebrew Scriptures, shedding innocent blood can refer to slander because of the following verse;
Leviticus 19:6: You shall not go up and down as a talebearer amongst your people; neither shall you shed the blood of your neighbor.
Proverbs 18:21: Life and death are in the power (yod-hand) of the tongue.
The author of Proverbs 18 makes it look like the tongue has hands and that it carries a sword, even. We can slice and dice people with our tongues.
Proverbs 6:18: A heart that devises wicked plans.
I mentioned above how the middle branch or trunk of a menorah is the most important part. It is what the branches are drawn out of. It is the crux of the matter. The heart is the issue of the Wicked House. It is where all evil stems from. Yeshua says;
Matthew 12:34-40: The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
Did you know that Psalm 73:9 talks about the tongue as if it has legs and walks? If there are only two paths laid out for us to walk in, the path of life or death, then these feet are treading paths towards death (Dt 30.19).
Proverbs 6:18: Feet that are swift in running to evil.
Psalm 73:9: They (the wicked) set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walks throughout the earth.
Next, we have;
Proverbs 6:19: A false witness who speaks lies.
It would seem that we already touched on this with the second branch but this is a whole different ball game. In the ANE, a person was kicked out of the community or even killed based on the witness of at least two peeps. A person’s life and freedom rested on witnesses who told the truth. Your false testimony of others could rob people of friendships, community, jobs, or reputation. You can still affect someone’s livelihood.
Proverbs 6:19: And one who sows discord among brethren.
The final branch is when this wicked house sows divisions between humans. Remember that in the Parable of the Sower, Yeshua says that words are seeds. It is the tongue that sows seeds that divide between humans.
Every branch stems from the center which is an unclean heart. There is another post called Da Devil where I talk about a false human as the devil, this is reiterating that statement. The tongue can be connected to every manifestation of the Wicked House. The author of James 3 tells us that it is near impossible to tame the tongue because we do not have the power to change our hearts, so what hope do we have?
In Leviticus 14, we have a protocol for the cleansing of a leper. Biblical leprosy is not like the leprosy of today but connected to lashon hara. In Numbers 12, Miriam talks smack about her brother behind his back and immediately gets struck with leprosy. I believe if you look at the elements of the cleansing of a leper, we can find our hope.
Leviticus 14:5-7: And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water. As for the living bird, he shall take it, the cedar wood and the scarlet and the hyssop, and dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water. And he shall sprinkle it seven times on him who is to be cleansed from leprosy, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose in the open field. (bold accents added)
Now we will go to Yeshua’s death and see if we can find any of the highlighted elements present. When Yeshua is immersed (baptized) in the Jordan, the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) rests on Him in the form of a…bird. So, let’s just imagine that Yeshua, the full indwelling of the Divine Presence, is the bird that dies. Next, we have wood. Wood comes from trees and although many people think of a cross, Yeshua hung on a tree.
1 Peter 2:24: He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we, removed from sins, might live for righteousness. “By His wounds, you were healed.”
Isaiah 1:18: “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
John 19:29: A jar full of sour wine was sitting there, so they put a sponge soaked with the sour wine on a hyssop branch and brought it to His mouth.
Psalm 51:7: Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
John 19:34: But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.
1 Peter 1:2: According to the foreknowledge of God the Father, set apart by the Ruach for obedience and for sprinkling of the blood of Yeshua the Messiah
It is as if the death of Yeshua fulfills the requirements of cleansing a leper. After He returns to His home in the shamayim and pronounces us clean, He sends a “Comforter,” the Spirit of Truth that helps us to be a House of Light and not a dwelling of darkness (Jn 15.26).
After a cleansing of the heart, the menorah symbolizing a Righteous House now looks like this;
Matthew 6:22: The eye is the lamp of the body. Therefore if your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.
We are no longer full of pride but light. Instead of a lying tongue, we speak true words.
Ephesians 4:25: So lay aside lying and “each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another.
Instead of hands that shed innocent blood we are busy putting our hands to do good works-the commandments.
Matthew 5:16: In the same way, let your light shine before men so they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Rather than having a heart that devises evil, our heart is regenerated towards truth and love towards others. This is a beautiful prayer by David.
Psalm 51:10: Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
With a clean heart, our feet walk in paths of right choices, towards life.
Jeremiah 6:16: “Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls…”
We now have a new spirit or new heart that helps us to do no harm to our neighbor.
Romans 13:9: Any other commandment (including you shall not bear false witness)—are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Finally, instead of being divisive sons of guns, we are peacemakers. We are given the ministry of reconciliation between humans and God and each other.
Process 12:20: Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, But counselors of peace have joy.
If we want to be perfect humans, reflecting God’s image, we have to learn how to be impeccable with our words.
James 3:12: For we all stumble in many ways. If someone does not stumble in speech, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.
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