I don't understand all of the depths of the creation of man. There is so much to learn about it. The creation that is represented by the flesh man, goes beyond the being that spends finite decades on the earth. We know that this creation was formed in the image of God (Elohim, which is plural) as He said, "Let Us make man in Our image (likeness, resemblance, representative figure, shadow)" (Gen. 1:26). He formed this creation from the dust (dry earth, ashes, heap of rubbish, debris, pulverized gray powder, as of the grave). Into this sculptured formed from the dust of the earth, Elohim breathed into His nostrils the breath of life. The word for "breath" used here is a word in Hebrew that means to give up or lose life, the panting of a woman giving birth, to disperse by blowing. With this breath, the dust image "inflated" and became a living soul. The words "life, living" used in Gen. 2:7, mean life, but also revived life, restored life, recover, preserve alive. However, this "life" also includes in its root meaning "declare, make known". Because of this, rabbis teach that this breath of life also imparted "the divine voice" to the soul of man, that was created by the breath of God. The New Testament perhaps confirms this teaching in Jn. 1:1-4:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life and the life was the light of men."
The Word (Jesus, see v. 14) was the spark of life deposited in man, and that deposit was light within all men.
Why did Elohim encase the Divine Voice within the soul, the seat of thought, emotion and will? Rabbis teach that this was done for the purpose of prayer:
"Speech has a physical reality and makes it possible for the Divine grace to flow to the physical reality of the material world. The spoken words thus become the instrument or intermediary through which the spiritual fulfillment of prayer can become realized on the physical level."
For this reason also, the LORD scolded His people for their empty prayers spoken while their hearts were far from Him:
"Therefore the LORD said, "Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men..." Isa. 29:13The Divine Voice, therefore, cannot be separated from our hearts, or souls.
The idea of the Divine Voice being deposited into man, in the creation of the living soul, with the breath of life received directly from Elohim, emphasizes to me the importance of the words that we speak, joined with the condition of our hearts. Scripture in many places stresses this power of words spoken, but now I can see the source of that power. Proverbs 18:21:
"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit."
As we have seen, the living soul created by Elohim not only includes the Divine Voice from God, but is the seat of the mind, the will, and all of our emotions. Jesus connected all of these things when He taught the following as He spoke to the most religiously enlightened of His day, the Pharisees:
"Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. A good man, out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words, you will be condemned."
Mt. 12:34-37
What had the Pharisees said that caused Jesus to accuse them of evil use of the Divine Voice? They had said that He cast out demons by the power of the Devil, Beelzebub. Not only did this speak against Christ, but also against God's power to deliver. The Pharisees would have understood the scolding of Jesus, because they understood the connection of the Divine Voice and the soul, or heart, of which Jesus spoke.
The verses above are some indication to us of the power in the Divine Voice given to us. We all know these verses, but we need to understand the ramifications.
In scripture, there was a spiritual condition that was manifested in physical symptoms. Because of the spiritual root of the problem, the sufferer was brought to the priest for it to be identified. This condition is translated as "leprosy" in English. However, the rabbis know this condition, tzara'at (one smitten, to scourge, to strike down), as being associated with "misuse of speech", and he that is afflicted with this spiritual condition as "he that utters evil reports", metzora. What we have translated as "leprosy" in scripture is described below:
"He is a leprous man. He is unclean. The priest shall surely pronounce him unclean (altogether defiled, impure); his sore is on his head. Now the leper on whom the sore is, his clothes shall be torn and his head bare (acts of mourning); and he shall cover his mustache (upper lip), and cry, "Unclean! Unclean! He shall be unclean. All the days he has the sore he shall be unclean. He is unclean, and he shall dwell alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp." Lev. 13:44-46
(They accused Jesus of this "misuse of speech", in His case, blasphemy (Jn. 10:33, Mt. 26:65-67). They thought Him "stricken and smitten by God and afflicted". They scourged Him, and His face was marred by them more than any man. They sent Him outside the city to kill Him. However, He was marred, and scourged, and smitten for our sakes, and for our sins, including, I'm sure, our abuse of the Divine Voice.)
While we see the physical symptoms and connect them to a disease, the cause is spiritual.
We see the connection between speech and "leprosy" in other examples.
God told Moses exactly what He would do to delivery the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt (Ex. 3:15-22). Then Moses answered the LORD, "But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, "The LORD has not appeared to you." (Ex. 4:1)
After Moses said this, the LORD had him cast his rod on the ground. The rod became a serpent, and Moses ran in fear. When instructed to take it by the tail, it became a rod again. Then the LORD had Moses put his hand in his bosom, and when Moses took it out it was leprous. If the people would not listen to the voice of Moses (v. 9), they would be shown these signs, and more. I think these signs were also a warning to Moses. What Moses said to God was questioned the LORD's ability to carry out what He was saying.
When the sister of Moses, Miriam, spoke against the Ethiopian wife of Moses, she was stricken with the condition translated as leprosy, and forced to live outside the camp. Aaron said she was as "one dead, whose flesh is half consumed". Moses prayed to God, and Miriam was exiled only seven days. Miriam's "misuse of speech" not only caused her to suffer, but all Israel was delayed in their journey until Miriam was restored. Not only that, but Israel was driven out of Hazeroth (an enclosed court, especially before the holy tabernacle or temple; to surround with a stockade that separates from the open country; to sound, to blow, to trumpet), and sent to the Wilderness (driving into the desert, or open field; also speech, including its organs) of Paran (place of caverns, desert of Arabia; to boast or explain oneself, to glorify self, vaunt self, to be proud). All Israel paid a price for Miriam's "misuse of speech" against Moses, and, consequently, the Holy One who appeared to Moses (he saw the form of the LORD), not in dreams and visions, but "face to face". The anger of the LORD was aroused against them, and He departed (Num. 12:1-9). The presence of the LORD left them.
According to the rabbis, "misuse of speech", or of the Divine Voice, not only had repercussions for the speaker, but for those who are the hearers of it:
"When we misuse the gift of speech, and its divine purpose, we are diminished, as well as the person to whom, or about whom we are speaking. We diminish the Divine Speak, and also the divine soul within. For this reason, it is akin to murder, which extinguishes the image of God within man."
This knowledge of the rabbis helps us to understand the importance of the teachings of Jesus when He said:
"You have heard that it was said to those of old, "You shall not murder", and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment. But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother (without a cause) shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, "Raca!" (empty headed, worthless senseless) shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, "You fool!" shall be in danger of hell fire." Mt. 5:21-22 (see also Lev. 19:17)
And the New Testament also tells us: "Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life." 1 Jn. 3:15
Remember that the Divine Voice is part of the soul, which also includes our thoughts and emotions, as well as our will. Even our thoughts and emotions carry the power of the Divine Voice.
Just as I sat down to write this, I saw an article about an amazing technological invention. It was developed at MIT. When a person wears the headpiece, it can "hear" your thoughts, and broadcast them in speech through a device such as "Alexa" (see article here). This is a confirmation (and warning!) of the substantive nature of our thoughts and emotions because of their unbreakable connection to the Divine Voice given to us when Elohim made us a "living soul".
Our Father has breathed into us the Divine Voice.
"El Na Refa Na La"-Healing prayer of Moses for Miriam
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAspeVxTLQ8
"Break Every Chain"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUPZbNozGZc
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