ON THE VANGUARD

WORDS AND BEES
“These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel in the desert east of the Jordan…”
Deuteronomy 1:1a

Within the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament, are many hidden secrets and jewels that we would be wise to search out. I want to do my best to share one with you today. This is hot off the press – I just found this secret yesterday as I was listening to a message by Rabbi Daniel Lappin concerning the words we speak. He made mention that in the original Hebrew language there are no vowels. This I remember from my college days in Hebrew class. While in reading the Hebrew text now days we find the lines and dots that make up the vowel system, the original language did not have this. And as such, some words would be written the same way, but have two different meanings. One example of this is the word דברים
The word Deuteronomy, for which we have the fifth book of the Torah, is actually not a Hebrew word but is the Greek word “Deuteronomion” (Δευτερονόμιον), meaning “second law”. In Hebrew, the book is titled “Devarim” (דְּבָרִים), meaning “words”. In a quick outline of the book, we read that this is when Moses reiterated the words first given by God, including the re-giving of the Ten Commandments, to the younger generation that was about to enter into the Promise Land. The first few words of the book read, “These are the words…”
But these same Hebrew characters, with just the modern day move of a few vowels sounds, spell “devorim” (דְּבֹרִים), which means “bees”. Now again, since the original Hebrew text used no vowels sounds, one has to wonder why the word for “words” would be the same word for “bees”. Is there a connection between the two? The answer to that is yes. Both words and bees have two things in common. They both can produce sweetness or pain. Think with me first concerning the sweetness. We know that bees make honey, a sweet tasting fluid that can be added to tea, can be cooked with, and can be added to many medicines to escape the bitter flavor of the medication. So then is true of words. When spoken right, words have the power to encourage, heal, and soothe. However, at the end of each bee is found the stinger, which when the bee is working to defend itself can be used to bring pain to its enemy. Can words not work the same way? When we feel violated or in danger, picked on or threatened, do we not use our words as a stinger to bring about a pain on our enemy?
In seeing this comparison between our words and bees, it causes me to look at myself in a deeper way. How exactly am I using my words? James describes for us that our tongue is like a fire and one spark from it can set a forest or fire (Jms 3). This parallel from the New Testament was first seen then in the Torah, though, right here in these five Hebrew characters. But the challenge, whether grabbed from the Old or New Testament, is still before us and needs to be examined. How are we speaking? Are we speaking words that work to soothe, heal, and encourage, or are we speaking words that serve only to sting and bring pain? When Moses spoke the words we read in Deuteronomy, He spoke the words of God as God downloaded them to him. What are we speaking? Are we speaking God’s words as well?