Topical Studies
What the Bible says about
Cleansed Heart rather than a Different Language
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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Isaiah 6:1-7
Language is not only a collection of words, but also a reflection of the culture it describes. When a people begin speaking a pure language (Zephaniah 3:9), we know that the dominant culture must have experienced a cataclysmic change from the sinfulness of human society. The pure language reflects a culture that includes God and His way of life. The prophet Isaiah is an example of this principle. Isaiah has a vision of the Lord, sitting on His throne in the Temple (Isaiah 6:1-4). As the majesty of God overwhelms the prophet, he cries out, "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts" (Isaiah 6:5; emphasis ours throughout). The Hebrew word twice translated "lips" here is the same word rendered as "language" in Zephaniah 3:9. Isaiah's response does not necessarily mean that the prophet was in the habit of swearing like a sailor. Undoubtedly, the common tongue of Judah at the time was not pristine, but God's major charge against His people condemned, not the words they were speaking, but their unfaithfulness to Him, particularly regarding their acceptance of paganism. A culture that is far from God will certainly have a debased language, but the real problem was that the Jews of that time were going astray in their hearts, not merely using foul language. When Isaiah caught a glimpse of the Almighty, he was crushed by the great contrast between the purity of his King compared to his own defilement. Before God could use him, the prophet had to undergo purification (verses 6-7). Sin begins in the heart, even though it often escapes through the mouth. When Isaiah's iniquity was forgiven and his sin purged, what was really being affected was his heart. His mouth was simply the extension of his heart that was visible, being on the outside of his body. After his purification, it is implied that he had pure lips—pure language—just like in Zephaniah. As a typical Jew, he was still speaking the same basic collection of Hebrew words, but they were now true words arranged honestly. In addition to the absence of obscenity, lying, and evil-speaking, they were now reflecting a different spiritual reality. It is worth noting that God does not favor one language of man over another. Every language of man is unclean in the sense that all of them have been developed by unclean people to describe a defiled reality. None can compare with the inexpressible language Paul heard in his vision of the Third Heaven (II Corinthians 12:2-4). In addition, our God is not like the god of the Muslims, which requires that they all learn the same language—Arabic—to call on him. God chose to have His Word recorded in three different languages—Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek—each of which uses different words for Deity. God can express His will regardless of the language, and a believer is not required to learn a certain parlance to call on Him. Hebrew is misappropriated in this way more than Greek or Aramaic, even though it is impossible to know the original pronunciation of God's Hebrew names because only consonants have been preserved. God did not leave us an audio recording of what He wanted to be called. Instead, He left us a written record of His transcendent character and nature. Our faith must be in who and what He is, not in a collection of sounds whose original pronunciation we are guessing at anyway. The Jews of Isaiah's day certainly had a much better idea how to pronounce God's names than we do, but that knowledge did them no good because their hearts were set on the wrong things—their "lips," like Isaiah's, were unclean. Earlier, when the freed Israelites had the opportunity to worship the God who brought them out of Egypt, they bowed down in front of a calf made of gold, and Aaron said, "This is your god [Elohim], O Israel . . ." (Exodus 32:4)! The Israelites readily accepted the word Elohim being used in this way due to their deplorable understanding of God. The words they spoke in the Hebrew of their day did not reflect spiritual reality because their culture was corrupted. Their hearts were not one with God. Using a Hebrew name for God did not grant them favor in God's eyes, nor will so-called "sacred names" put us in a better standing with Elohim. What is needed is a cleansed heart, not a different language.
David C. Grabbe
What Is the Prophesied 'Pure Language'? (Part Two)
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Zephaniah 3:9
Acts 2:21 (a quotation of Joel 2:38) foretells that "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved." Zephaniah 3:9, though, shows that there is another prerequisite to calling on the name of the Lord: There must be a pure language. In Zephaniah 3:9, the New Kings James Version uses the word "restore," which can be misleading because it implies that all the peoples—all the nations—had a pure language at some point in the past. The Hebrew, though, shows that is not the case. More correctly, the King James Version reads, "I will turn to the people a pure language," while the English Standard Version renders it, "I will change the speech of the people." This verse is speaking about a coming change rather than a return to something that previously existed. The word translated as "language" also requires a little analysis. The basic meaning of the Hebrew word is "the termination of something," and it is variously translated as "brim," "brink," "edge," and "shore," which all describe terminations. This word is also translated as "lip," another type of edge or termination point. Building on the idea results in a natural progression to words, speech, and thus to language. We need to take this one step farther. In Hebrew thought, the lips are not merely the "edge" of the mouth, but the termination point of the heart. While the lips are used in making sounds, the real engine of speech is the heart. Consider Proverbs 10:32: "The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked what is perverse." Obviously, the lips and mouth have no intelligence on their own, so what is actually in view is the heart, which approves of either acceptable or perverse things. We see this more clearly in Proverbs 16:23: "The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, and adds learning to his lips" (emphasis ours). This is also true of the wicked, as Proverbs 24:2 says that the hearts of the wicked devise violence, and their lips stir up trouble. The lips are the instrument, but the instigator is the heart. Jesus puts this principle so simply, saying, "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matthew 12:34). Another facet of this prophecy of a pure language is that language continues to develop as people try to describe their reality, which is constantly changing. Because of this, language never stops transforming—for good or ill. Some words fall out of use as what they describe is no longer relevant (or acceptable), and new words are created as circumstances change. Existing words are repurposed, taking on different implications. As obvious examples, consider how the words "gay" and "queer" have taken on radically different meanings in the last few sexually-focused decades. Likewise, somebody decided we needed a word to describe people attempting to change their sex, so the word "transgender" was cobbled together. The language changed as the culture changed—and as the culture degrades, so does the language. Currently, we are witnessing an insidious alteration of the meaning of the word "marriage." Although faithful Christians reject the new meaning, which allows for "marriages" other than that of one man and one woman, if time goes on, a new generation will arise within a more profane reality, and the language will adapt because of common usage. Even now, we must often modify the term with descriptors like "biblical" and "traditional." Language, then, is not simply a vast collection of words, but it is also a reflection of the underlying culture. Therefore, when the people have a pure language, it means that the dominant culture will also have experienced a massive renovation. The pure language will reflect a far better reality because it will include God.
David C. Grabbe
What Is the Prophesied 'Pure Language'? (Part One)
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