WHEN DID GOD PAINT PICTURES?

GOD IS  T H E  MASTER artist (Gen. 1:1, 27; Job 37:15-16; Psm. 8:3-6; 19:1; 33:6; 95:4-5; 104:1-4, 24-25; Isa. 42:5; Rom. 1:20; Heb. 1:2).  Throughout His Word He often painted very graphic and evocative word pictures by means of metaphors.₁

“But what exactly are metaphors?” you ask.  Perhaps the easiest and best way to explain them is to describe what they do.  Metaphors 1) compare two things, and 2) establish a similarity and connectivity between them.  They 3) communicate ideas through vivid, three-dimensional verbal descriptions to show us how “A” is in some sense is like “B.”₂

Pour carefully over the follow Bible metaphors and note what they tell us about the nature and grandeur of God’s Word.  “What is the Bible…?”

• IT IS THE UNDISTORED MIRROR that lays bear and reflects the real spiritual status of man.  Jas. 1:23

• IT IS THE FAITHFUL JUDGE that will finally weigh the words, actions, and life of man.  Psm. 51:4; Jn. 12:48

• IT IS A MIGHTY HAMMER that shatters the stubborn will of man.  Jer. 23:29

• IT IS A WHITE-HOT FIRE that melts the hardest heart of man.  Jer. 23:29; Mal. 3:2; Isa. 5:24

• IT IS A SHARP, TWO-EDGED SWORD that pierces the conscience of man. Heb. 4:12; Eph. 6:17

• IT IS A BRILLIANT LAMP AND LIGHT that illuminates the path of man.  Psm. 119:105, 130; Jn. 12:46; 1 Pet. 2:9

• IT IS THE STRAIGHT PATH that directs the walk of man.  Psm. 119:32; Jer. 6:16; Psm. 23:2; Prov. 2:13, 15; 4:11, 18; 22:5; Isa. 2:3, 59:9; Mic. 4:2

• IT IS LIVING SEED that germinates in the heart-soil of a spiritual man and then yields much fruit.  1 Pet. 1:23; Lk. 8:11

• IT IS THE STAPLE BREAD OF LIFE that feeds, sustains, and matures the eternal spirit of man.  Mat. 4:4; Deut. 8:3; 32:2; Jn. 6:32-33, 63;

• IT IS PURE, SWEET HONEY that satisfies the spiritual appetite of man. Psm. 119:103, 19:10

• IT IS FRESH, HEALTHY MILK that promotes growth in the essence of man.  1 Pet. 2:2

• IT IS HEARTY, DELICIOUS MEAT that feeds and nourishes the deepest appetite of man.  Heb. 5:14

• IT IS AN ELABORATE TOPOGRAPHICAL MAP that illustrates and details the eternal soul of man.  Psm. 25:5, 143:8, 119:19, 119:33; Isa. 30:21

• IT IS PRECIOUS, REFINED GOLD AND SILVER that holds and keeps inestimable value in the inner being of man.  Psm. 12:6, 19:10; 119:14, 72, 127

• IT IS PRICELESS TREASURE that enriches the inner spirit of man.  Prov. 2:1; Job 28:18

• IT IS AN IMPENITRABLE SHIELD that protects the true heart of man.  Psm. 91:4

• IT IS COMFORTING BALM that heals and soothes the broken heart of man.  Jer. 8:22; Prov. 3:8

• IT IS A FIRMLY EMBEDDED NAIL that cannot be easily removed from the thinking of man.  Eccl. 12:11b

• IT IS GENTLE RAIN that blesses and nourishes the heart-soil of man.  Deut. 32:2

• IT IS A PRODDING GOAD that pushes and nudges the moral behavior of man.  Eccl. 12:11a

• IT IS HIGH-POWERED DYNAMITE that breaks down the independence of man.  Rom. 1:16

• IT IS THE SOLID FOUNDATION that withstands the storms of man.  Lk. 6:47-48, 21:33; Psm. 119:152; Isa. 40:8;

• IT IS THE ALL-WISE COUNSELOR that unravels the worries of man.  Psm. 16:7; 73:24; 119:24; Prov. 1:1-7; 8:14, 19:20; Psm. 2:6; Jas. 1:5

• IT IS GREAT SPOIL AND PLUNDER that abundantly blesses the immaterial needs of man.  Psm. 119:162

• IT IS UNCOMPROMISING LAW that defines and authorizes activity of man.  Deut. 32:45-47; Col. 3:17

_{1 The Greek words, meta, meaning “over,” and pherein, meaning “to carry” suggest a transfer of meaning.}

_{2 Leyland Ryken, “Metaphors in the Psalms,” http://www.turningpointsofthebible.com/wp-content/uploads/Metaphor-in-the-Psalms.pdf}