James 3:1-6

[Hidden In Him]

Stirring Up The Fires Of Gehenna, And A World Of Sin And Iniquity

Gehenna, which technically meant "the valley of the son of Hinnom," was a valley located in the city of Jerusalem where Baal and Molech worship were once practiced, especially during the reigns of Ahaz and Manasseh. These two wicked kings sacrificed their sons in the fire there, more specifically in Tophet, which was the part of the valley where Baal worship was set up. As a result of the human sacrifices practiced there, the valley was thought to be accursed in later Jewish thinking, and came to be associated with Hell, in that human torture by fire took place in both regions.

References to human sacrifice in Gehenna were mentioned several times in scripture:

1 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem, yet he did not do that which was right in the sight of the Lord like David his father had. 2 For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for the Baals. 3 Moreover he burnt incense in the Valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. (2 Chronicles 28:1-3)

Speaking of what this accursed valley would become after the Battle of Armageddon, Jeremiah prophesied that it would become a huge burial pit where the bodies of the wicked were cast into, in remembrance of what took place there during Baal worship:

30 "The children of Judah have done evil in My sight,” says the Lord... 31 "They have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, nor did it come into My heart. 32 Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “when it will no more be called Tophet, or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter, for they will bury the dead in Tophet for lack of room." (Jeremiah 7:30-32)

This was the setting for our next passage in James, where he compared what was now happening in the churches with things that went on in Gehenna during Israel's history:

My brothers, do not become many teachers, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. For we all often stumble. If anyone does not stumble in word, this is a perfect man able to bridle the whole body also. And if we put bits in the mouths of horses for them to obey us, we turn about their whole body. Behold, ships also, being so great and driven by violent winds, are [nevertheless] turned about by a very small rudder in whatever direction the helmsman wishes. So also is the tongue a little member, yet boasts of great feats. Behold, how large a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire [kindling] a world of iniquity. Thus is the tongue becoming established within our membership, defiling the whole body and setting afire the wheel of momentum, being set on fire by Gehenna. (James 3:1-6)

Why would he make reference to such an awful place? Though some interpreters miss it, when he stated, "so is the tongue becoming established within our membership, and defiling the whole body," James was talking about the churches becoming spiritually defiled and set aflame like Gehenna, for the fires of anger and wrath were starting to burn out of control, and the same spirit of murder the Pharisees once walked was now beginning to permeate the churches. They were likewise starting to curse one another (James 4:9), and thereby welcoming in the same spirits the Lord warned them would lead to Gehenna, and by extension to an eternity of suffering in Hell:

21 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." 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, "Raca!" shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says "Moron" shall be in danger of a blazing Gehenna. (Matthew 5:21-23)

The reason for such a judgment was because the Lord wanted His people to love one another, not harbor evil spirits. If they chose the latter, His own anger could be kindled against them, for it amounted to giving themselves over to demonic gods and practicing wicked idolatry like what happened in Tophet, something He detested. And it was because the churches were now returning to these evil things that the gospel was about to go forth unto the Gentiles instead:

They have provoked Me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are no people. I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation. For a fire is kindled by My anger, and it burns to the depths of Sheol. It devours the earth and its increase, and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains. (Deuteronomy 32:11-12. See also Numbers 11:1)


The Momentum Of A Forest Fire

The primary principle James was teaching here was their need to stop the momentum of strife from getting out of control. The actual Greek wording used here was τροχον τῆς γενέσεως, which literally translated meant "the wheel of generation" or wheel of momentum. Like a spreading fire from kindling, they were not to let their strife take off, or it could develop into a massive forest fire that would spiritually level everything to the ground. And part of the problem lay in what James stated from the outset: There were too many "teachers" assuming to possess great spiritual "authority"; ones who couldn't stand being contradicted or made to look bad, so the strife was becoming like a mass fight to the death.

Part of understanding why this was happening is in knowing how Jewish services were conducted. The typical Jewish service began with the reading of the word. If someone felt they had a revelation or teaching from God, they would request that the book containing the passage be given to them, stand before the congregation, and then read the passage and share what the Lord had shown them. After sharing, others in the congregation would then begin adding their own understanding of the passage, and discuss whether or not they believed what was shared was accurate. This is the same custom Jesus was observing in the Book of Luke where it reads:

16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. 17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 and proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” 20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed upon Him. (Luke 4:16-20)

The reason all eyes were fixed upon Him was because they were now expecting Him to teach on it, only what soon came from His mouth sent them into a rage. At first they were astonished at the "graciousness" of His words and marveled that "Joseph's son" was suddenly expounding the word of God with so much authority. But then He began prophesying that they would reject Him, and because of their hard-heartedness the Lord would send Him to others instead. This angered them so badly that they eventually took Him out to a cliff and were about to kill Him in consequence.

23 He said to them, “You will surely say this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.’ ” 24 Then He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. 25 But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah... 26 but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon. 27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.” 28 So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, 29 and rose up and thrust Him out of the city. And they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. 30 But passing through the midst of them, He went His way. (Luke 4:23-30)

They reacted this negatively simply because they didn't like being sternly corrected. The leaders among them likely entered that meeting assuming they were the authorities and would do most of the talking, and when the son of Joseph suddenly started making himself out like He was a prophet and suggesting they were spiritually hard-hearted, the result was anger, and enough to attempt to kill Him over it.

This is where we get our expressions about being "hot-headed" or "hot-tempered" from, and it's likewise mentioned in scripture as what often leads to strife. As Proverbs states, "A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, yet he who is slow to anger quiets contention" (Proverbs 15:18). This why James added that hot-headed "wisdom" is not from above, but earthly, soulish and demonic, for it doesn't just stir up strife, it will eventually cause entire congregations to be set aflame "by Gehenna" and burn completely out of control.

 

[Hidden In Him]

But James will also soon use the word "yielding" in reference to the kind of wisdom that was truly from above, meaning it would yield to the reasoning of others if they presented a better argument from scripture. But when there are spiritual "authorities" in the congregation who absolutely refuse to yield to anyone else no matter how convincing their argument might be, the result will always be endless strife, and services will get turned into a gathering in Gehenna, where the result is "social unrest, and every evil state of affairs." (James 3:16)


Keeping The Flames From Spreading

This, then, is why James stated that the tongue was a fire "kindling a world of iniquity." Yet something as small as the tongue could keep the momentum of strife from building if it were controlled, and this is what the other analogies he used in this passage were also intended to teach. Stopping a ship from being driven by wind, and a horse running at full speed involved the same principles. Winds were often associated with a driving spirit that could overtake us, so when James mentioned a ship being controlled by a small rudder, the point was that even if great emotions of resentment or anger were driving us to act, we could nevertheless control things by holding our tongue. Likewise, if a powerful horse bolted and took off on its rider, it could still be turned about and brought under control through a bit in the horse's mouth. So the powerful emotions which heated arguments might generate could still be brought back under control so long as the members of a congregation sought more to be slower to speak and quicker to listen. It might take wisdom to get things going in the right direction, but at least they could keep things from going in the wrong one by controlling the tongue, and speaking only with godly wisdom.

So where does that place us today, and how is it relevant to our lives in the 21st century? Many could easily relate these things to family and marital relationships, but when it comes to the churches, the one person monologue has largely replaced congregational participation. On the surface this would seem like a good thing, only we have also all but eliminated participation in the sharing of God's word as well, which runs completely contrary to the New Testament model. Nevertheless, it is prophesied that home churches and Bible studies will become the wave of the future, and with it these principles and teachings will again become relevant. Christian congregations will again have to keep the fires of Gehenna from spreading, and to do this they will again have to work on controlling the tongue, lest they allow meetings to descend into contentiousness as was taking place in James' time. The idea is not to let the Devil have our tongues or our meetings, but let the Spirit of God use everyone present as He willed, that all might be edified and lifted up through the sharing of God's word together.

As a final note, one thing must also be understood in discussing these matters, and that is that there is a difference between genuine believers discussing the word together and allowing heretics to incite debate over false doctrines by letting them into meetings. Many Christian forums do this today, and it is a mistake. In trying to build a Christian community, they allow people like Jehovahs Witnesses and other heretical sects membership, and such people continually try to take over these communities by flooding them with false teachings. This makes contention and strife inevitable. Certainly such people ought to be allowed to ask questions if they are truly seeking answers, but if allowed to control the narrative and continually direct conversations to the false teachings they favor, the result will be strife, and eventually spiritual subversion and acquiescence. The Spirit of Peace will never maintain rule over a congregation, home church, Bible study group, Christian forum, or even Christian family unless all its members are willfully and consciously submitting to Him as Lord. As a result, false Christians must be kept out of any true Christian community, or it will yet again degenerate into Gehenna, and a world of sin and iniquity.


Questions And Applications

1. Do you consider yourself to be hot-headed or is it something you don't generally have problems with?

2. As stated at the end of the study, dealing with rank heretics who do not belong to God is a different matter, and requires one to discern whether he is dealing with a child of God or a child of the enemy. Jesus, for instance, had to address the Pharisees in Matthew 23 as the "offspring of vipers" and it would not be the only time He identified them as such using similar terms. But to falsely identify a child of God this way would be exceedingly harmful. Do you believe you have the ability to discern which is which, and if so, how and by what criteria would you come to such determinations?

3. How would you react if someone made such declarations about you?

4. While it is not a sin to be authoritative in the things of God, it is a sin to falsely presume oneself to be and attempt to impose your opinions on others because of it. Describe an instance where someone tried to do this with you.

5. Have you had experiences where you either overestimated yourself spiritually or underestimated someone else?