Most of us have heard the expression, “He (or she) is on the wrong side of history.” It is a silly statement. What does it mean? It implies that, though the path is bumpy with hills and valleys, history steadily moves forward towards a good destiny. Many, now and in the past, see something different. To them history is moving in a circle, round and round we go. They see life, death, and then new birth. Nations rise, fall, and afterward new ones come along to fill the gap. People are born dependent, become independent, and eventually they lose many of their talents as they grow older. Health is followed by sickness, followed by healing. Seasons come, go, and come again. King Solomon grapples with these things in his old age when he wrote the book of Ecclesiastes (literally meaning one who addresses the assembly). In the West, most intellectuals favor the bumpy road explanation; onward and upward they say. Utopia is just around the corner. Perhaps the circle view is more grounded in reality. It enables us to learn from history, and not be blinded by the presumptions of our present age.
The scientific revolution starting in the 1600s, launched humanity towards a supposed enlightenment. People discovered that they can come to understand, manipulate, and control nature. In our generation, we enjoy unimaginable technological advances, some good (household appliances) and others bad (nuclear weapons). Those that are neutral (the Internet) can be wonderful (making connections) or horrible (access to pornography). We have no way to anticipate the long-term effects of other discoveries (genetic manipulations).
The power unleashed by scientific inquiry led to pride and arrogance. In the early 20th century a movement called logical positivism sprung up, which focused on proof by observation. Anything else would not be accepted as universally true. Therefore, disciplines such as Theology and Philosophy were no longer considered useful. As Steven Hawkins famously declared: “Philosophy is Dead!” Our Universe is way too complex to be subject to such reductionism though. Thomas Kuhn reacted by comparing Science to a boat which scientists are continually rebuilding as it hovers in the waves of the sea of reality.
So here we are in the 21st century. Logical positivism is gone, having fallen out of favor in the late 60s. God is disappearing. Objective morality is an antiquated concept. Postmodernism reigns, with fragments of previous theories splattered here and there. In this new generation, we consider ourselves so wise and so woke. I wonder: “Has our wisdom made us into fools?”
Recently, I read a comment as I was logged into a Facebook discussion group. The author proclaimed: “The god of the bible is not very impressive. He is jealous, vengeful, and violent.” The person writing his comment probably didn’t realize that he was loosely quoting Gene Rodenberry, the creative force behind Star Trek.
If this is your God, he’s not very impressive. He has so many psychological problems; he’s so insecure. He demands worship every seven days. He goes out and creates faulty humans and then blames them for his own mistakes. He’s a pretty poor excuse for a Supreme Being.
I’m sure that many others utter similar things. Sometimes, their statements go viral and eventually they might even turn into memes. Naturally, people who are hostile to the Bible are inclined to accept these things at face value. But are they true? How do we describe the God of the Bible, especially as he is depicted in the Old Testament?
In our era, we read things so literally. That is not how the ancients thought or wrote, even in those sections where they recount history. The authors of the time were very poetic and loved to speak in metaphor. Even today, with our logical minds, we often do the same. Suppose we were transported back to the time of Abraham. If when Sarah died, we asked him: “Are you going to throw in the towel ,” what would he have thought. What if when he was about to go to save Lot from his captives, we said: “Step on it .” Do you think he would have sped up? The messenger who informed him of Lot’s problems might have said: “Lot is in a pickle ,” and then left. Abraham might have pondered that one for a long time. How would the ancients respond when we say, saved by the bell , Google it , or it’s raining cats and dogs . Now, let’s say we write a book loaded with metaphors like these and somehow it survives for a couple thousand years. Can we expect our descendants at that time to fully understand what we write?
So, let’s turn back to the Bible and see if we can bring light to a few of these things. This topic could require an entire book, much too long to hold one’s attention in a single blog post. I’ll focus on just a few quick examples.
Example 1 : The Lord tore me to pieces, or the angel of the Lord took his life.
The book of Job employs many metaphors. In some respects, this is expected. The entire book is a poem, excepting for a bit of narrative at the front to set the scene, and back to state that Job was okay at the end. All of the conversations are spoken in verse. I seriously doubt that these depictions are exactly what was said. I never heard a lengthy conversation where people spoke in rhyme throughout. I don’t doubt that Job experienced things that were awful. The book demonstrates doubt, wrestling with God (which is what the Hebrew word Israel means), and restored faith. It has lessons for all of us. But, let’s consider one passage, Job 16:12
I was at ease, and he broke me apart; he seized me by the neck and dashed me to pieces; he set me up as his target
God did not literally break Job apart. He didn’t seize him by the neck. He wasn’t dashed to pieces and Job was not his target. It is all metaphorical language. It is wise for us to consider this as we read other such passages throughout the Old Testament. The writers are expressing their emotion in the most dramatic ways possible. Their distress is not meant to be taken literally.
The book of Genesis has another example. Within its narrative concerning the time of the Patriarchs, there is an odd story. Judah marries a Canaanite woman, and they have three sons. The first one somehow displeases the Lord who takes his life. The same fate happens to the second son when he refuses to provide offspring for his dead brother. God takes his life also. This account mixes ancient cultural practices with metaphor. Even today in Orthodox Jewish circles, if a son dies without children, a brother is to marry the wife. It was obligatory at the time of Judah, it later became voluntary, but expected. The metaphor is: “The Lord took his life.” For anyone who died in the Old Testament, especially those who died before their time, people expressed the loss in these terms. Even today, we moderns often use the same kind of language at funerals. People say things like: “God took him, but he is in a better place.” When we read things like this in the Bible it is wise not to think that lightning came down and killed the poor dude in an act of God’s rage. Yes, the person died. Yes, people experienced loss. But we should pause before we blame the thing on God. He is love, not that kind of deity.
Example 2 : Mixing historical narrative with metaphors and linguistic devices
In Genesis 40, Joseph interprets the dreams of a cupbearer and a baker. Both interpretations contain the exact Hebrew phrase: “Pharaoh will lift up your head.” (Some translators miss this.) It is a literary device to emphasize the irony. One servant would be lifted up and restored to his position, the other lifted up and hung on a pole. There is more. I understand that when Joseph’s revelation is read in Hebrew, he appears to be in a trance. This emphasizes that God is speaking directly through him as he interprets. These kinds of phrasing techniques appear all through the Old Testament. If only I understood Hebrew to recognize them.
A second example appears in Second Kings chapter 1. Elijah calls down fire from heaven, and it consumes 100 men who were only following orders. What is happening here? A clue comes from the New Testament. Jesus’ disciples want to call down fire on a Samaritan town that did not show them hospitality. Jesus rebuking them is a clue, and this causes me to look more closely at the Old Testament narrative. I notice the rule of three. In our day, we use this pattern in jokes we tell. First time: something happens. Second time: something again. Third time: punch line and we laugh. So, first time: group of 50 are burned up. Second time: 50 more burned. Third time: Elijah submits and allows himself to be arrested. This is what I see. The author is emphasizing Elijah’s authority. He didn’t have to go, but he did. Similarly, Jesus could have called on legions of angels to avoid the crucifixion, but he did not. When we look at this account through what we know of Jesus, this alternate interpretation is easily lifted out of the passage. We don’t have to assume that the author’s literary device means that 100 innocent men were actually burned.
Example 3 : Day of the Lord, Signs of the Times
There are many metaphors used when it comes to God’s judgment. Eternal mountains go flat. The sun and moon no longer show light. Stars fall from heaven. The day of the Lord is dark and terrible. The Earth shakes and trembles. People hide in the caves. Trumpets sound from the heavens. We will pass through the fire. The list goes on and on. My point is this: It is a terrible thing to face the consequences for the evil we commit. There will be a time of judgment when all will be set right. These colorful biblical metaphors express this in ways as dramatic as the writers of the Bible could compose. The goal is a deep desire to get people to think about how they live, to repent, and turn back to God. They are pictures that are not to be taken literally.
Example 4 : Jesus asks a question.
I find it amazing how many of us read questions that Jesus asks and then instinctively take them as statements of truth. I was guilty of this for years, and it raised questions that I had to work through. One example of this comes from both Luke 18 and Matt. 10. A ruler addresses Jesus as a Good teacher and Jesus responds in an unusual way. “Why do you call me good, only God is good?” Jesus is not denying that he is God, he is asking a question. He wants to find out what is in the ruler’s heart.
A second example is the famous cry from the cross. “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” God forsaking God, how can this be? Yes, Jesus is pointing us to Psalm 22, from which he is quoting. But there is more here. The clue comes when we observe that the cry is one of the few places in the New Testament written in Aramaic. According to James Lamsa, translator of the Peshitta and whose first language was Aramaic, that phrase is a metaphor still used in our time. (Aramaic actually is still a living language.) It means, “This is my destiny; for this I was born.” Understanding the cry as a metaphor makes all the difference.
This is my conclusion. We don’t need to be defensive when we are confronted by expressions like: “Your God is not very impressive.” We certainly don’t need to be Bible scholars. The ancients were not primitive, ignorant people. They were poetic and brilliant in how they used language to express their emotions. God gave them that talent because he too is a poet. We have lost a lot in the way we rationally express ourselves. There is much to learn from those that came before us.
Thanks for listening,Second Look Now
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Thanks for this, Dan.
When I was a little boy, Free Methodist preachers walked us around in the shoes of Moses and Elijah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
They showed us how to imagine emotions and wrinkles hidden in those brief accounts. Gave us permission to look at the text and think for ourselves.
Thanks Dan, this is terrific; and I love the humor 🙂
This article is thought-inspiring and it helps me think how MUCH we can learn from our predecessors, of HOW to think with metaphors and to see wisdom without getting caught in the “modern” literal mode.
Wow this is mind blowing Dave, the word of God is indeed a revelation. We have to avail our selves to the Holy Spirit who inspired the writers to reveal to us the mind of God.