By: Gen. Jim – 12/25/24
“Indeed (now if), we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, & we turn their whole body.” James 3:3
The Tongue!
James chapter 3:2,3 is written about caution – bridle the tongue. James vs.2 says, “… If any man offend non in a word, the same is a perfect man, & able also to bridle the whole body.” He warns against acting/talking amiss which will bring consequences to the offenders. He uses the “pp” =plural pronoun (we) to include himself. He uses it in vs.1 also. Vs.3, “Behold we (PP) put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; & we turn about their whole body.” From there he goes to vs.6, “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defiles the whole body, & setteth on fire the course of nature; & it is set ON FIRE of HELL!” James gives no mercy to his readers: “But the tongue can no man tame; it is a UNRULY EVIL, full of DEADLY POISON,” vs.8. That DP is “cursing,” vs.9.
Beware, dear believer – we all have a deadly enemy within us called the “Tongue of Fire.” With it we can burn down whole nations; we can slay individuals. Passions & appetites of the flesh, if not bridled, will take one into the belly of HELL!
James’ phraseology, metaphors, & diction in general, differ from other N.T. authors. James is speaking to teachers (vs.1), to be careful what they say – the tongue must be bridled. I recall our first encounter with what James is writing. We had only been saved a few months when we went to a Pentecostal Church in Owensboro, KY (where I was born,) left at age 18 for “golden California,” lived a very sinful life until 1971 when we gave our lives to Christ in Montana. I was 26 & Deborah, 24.
Anyway, back to my experience with a Pentecostal evangelist (holding meetings in a local church). We attended several meetings, felt the power of God (real “Spirit Power”), & were baptized (again) by the pastor & evangelist. Anyway, they took us out to eat and on the way a car darted in front of the pastor’s car & the evangelist let out a loud curse word! This really shocked us, for we thought we were the only real sinners (we both had a nasty cursing habit!), not those in the ministry. This evangelist wanted to fist fight the other driver. Well, over the years, we both have acted like this minister – letting the “Tongue of Fire” have its way. Our Evangelist, we learned, had been a Rock N Roll singer & drug user. Over the years we saw him leave his family, the ministry to go back and “cut” an RNR record. We never knew if he got back to God, for we too left the Church (after 5 years in training), not for the world, but to do international missionary work, which took us all over the world.
A World of Iniquity?
Yep! We use the word “world” like, “a world of trouble,” “a world of work” etc. James no doubt wanted it to mean, “a deluge of wickedness.” The Latins say, “oceanus malorum,” “an ocean of evils.”
The Gk. O.T./Septuagint, in Prov. 17:6 has, “The faithful has a world of riches, but the unfaithful not a penny.” I’ve read where some minsters translate, “The tongue is the varnisher of injustice.” The Syriac has, “And the tongue is a fire; & the world of iniquity is like a wood.” One rabbi, Vayikra Rabba (sec.16, fol.159) has, “Rabbi Eleazar said, ‘man has one hundred & forty-eight members, some confined, others free. The tongue is placed between the jaws; & from under it proceed a fountain of water, (the great sublingual salivary gland,) & it is folded with various foldings. Come & see what a FLAME the tongue kindles! Were it one of the unconfined members, what would it not do?”
According to the Midrash (Hebrew explanation, i.e. rabbinical commentaries/notes on Scripture, written between the beginning of the Exile & (A.D. 1200), Yalcut Simeoni, por.2, fol.107, it has the same sentiment (with a slight variation) as the above (vayikva Rabba). The same applies in the Erachin, fol.15.2, on Ps. CXX (120).3: “What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue?” This statement (question) is connected to vs.2: “Deliver my soul, O LORD, from LYING LIPS, & from a DECEITFUL TONGUE.”
This psalm, according to Heb. scholars, is A Song of Degrees (15 in all). According to Hebrew historians, there were 15 steps by which the priests ascended into the temple, on each of which they sang one of these 15 psalms. This opinion (or fact), according to some scholars/historians, is referred to in the Apocryphal Gospel of the birth of Mary: Her parents brought her to the temple & set her upon one of the steps. Now there are 15 steps about the temple, by which they go up to it, according to the 15 Psalms of Degrees.”
I think vs.1, “In my distress I cried unto the LORD,” was a cry for help, from a faithless pagan people, who sought by lies & deceit to destroy Israel. They were surrounded by pagan nations, just as we Christians are today.
What was the answer to vs.3?: “Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.” What? Accordingly, the harsher the persecution from the enemies, the harsher the punishment from God!: “Sharp arrows!”, “coals of juniper!” The Chaldee Scripture has, “The strong, sharp arrows are like lightning from above, with coals of juniper kindled in HELL beneath.” (one may want to read Job 30:4 on the juniper. Prof. Adam Clark has some very interesting things to say about this text in his vol.3 – Job – commentary & critical notes, pg.133. According to him, “coals of juniper – gachaley rethamim, (used in 120:4) expresses severe & enduring PUNISHMENT. But the roots of the juniper were used for food according to Olaus Magnus (a Goth), & arch-bishop of Upsal (in lib.VII., C.4, of his Hist. de Gentibus Septentrionalibus). Back to Ps. 120:4: “Sharp, fiery arrows” (vs.4)
We can’t miss what the psalmist is conveying in this verse: The pagan’s words have been sharp, fiery, deadly weapons, with the intent to KILL! (see Prov. 25:18-19; 26:18; Isa. 50:11 speaks of fire kindles, sparks, lying down in torment!). The Bible also speaks of the “Sword that CUTS & the Fire that BURNS!”
So, the tongue is a special weapon! It can KILL or wound. It is cunning, artful, deadly as the caustic language. Jesus also used “sharp” words but never were they deceitful. He used the two-edged sword but not in lies: His PIERCING message to the mess-age of His day, was to awaken the people to their real/true state, not what they thought they were – “righteous.” According to Jesus, they were lost sheep, tares, fruitless trees.
Proverbs 25:11 can sum up Jesus’ intent: “A word (or words) fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.” Try this one: “By long forbearance a ruler is persuaded, & a gentle tongue breaks a bond,” -Prov. 25:15. Depending on the situation, depends on how we use words. As Ecclesiastes says, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven” (3:1) … “A time to tear, & a time to sew; a time to keep silence, & a time to speak,” vs.7. Sometimes silence an be more of a weapon than speaking (out of content/context). Yet, speech may be better than silence. Jesus did both.
Back to James 3
James 3:3-5 uses 3 images: 1 – bits & horses, 2 – rudders & ships, 3 – sparks & fires, all occur together in ancient literature (e.g., Philo, Allegorical Interpretation 3:223-224), & some of them even illustrate the “power of speech” (see Plutarch, degarrulitate 10).
“The tongue,” as James describes it, “is a world of fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body,” vs.6. He does not stop with that, “set the whole course of one’s life on fire, & is itself set on fire by hell.”
Yes! The tongue can bless or curse! The “course” of life means “the wheel of existence.” If God had His way (denying our “free will), He would put a bit in our mouths so as to direct our way in the WAY of righteousness. God is not pleased with blessings & cursings coming from His people. He wants pure spring water, not salty water (vs.11). He wants good deeds done that comes from His Wisdom, not humanistic/selfish ambitions that spring from unspiritual, demonic disorders. We, as His blood-bought people are of His “New World Order,” being freed from Satan’s “Old World Order.”