Hebrew Metaphor
And He answered and said to them, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!” Luke 19:40
Will Cry Out – We know what a metaphor is. It’s a figure of speech in which a word normally associated with some other category is applied to an object or action. Hearts do not have doors (literally) but we can still say, “Open the door to your heart.” The earth doesn’t eat but we can still say, “The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them.” We know what a metaphor is. At least we know what it is from our cultural point of view. But what happens when we investigate the use of metaphor from a Hebrew perspective?
Because Hebrew is a pictorial and phenomenological language, it employs countless metaphors. But Hebrew is also a language based in action, not states of being. So a metaphor is not simply a subtle description of an object or event. A metaphor is a revelation of the true essence of the active purpose inherent in the object or event. Actually, even that sentence isn’t quite right because it is too Greek. In the Bible, metaphors aren’t merely clever descriptions. They are symbols of the true reality hidden in the world. And that reality is associated with the active purpose resident in the reality.
When Yeshua proclaims that the rocks will cry out, this is not simply a clever metaphor. We all know that rocks don’t speak, but He is Hebrew, so His words declare a symbolic meaning. What He is saying is that the event at hand (the entry into Jerusalem) is of such importance that its significance cannot be restrained. It’s not just that rocks will cry out. It’s that the earth itself rejoices to see the coming of the Lamb. The active purpose here (the world’s rejoicing) is symbolized in the rocks. No power can prevent the celebration unfolding before men on this day. It’s not about a metaphor. It’s about the active reality behind the metaphor.
Why do we need to realize that there is more here than a figure of speech? Because we need to enlarge our view. “God is a rock” is not about His stability. It’s about active protection. In Israel, fleeing to the rocks of the mountains is a symbol of safety. “All flesh is grass” is a symbol of man’s powerlessness and transitory existence. “He made man from the dust” is a statement about our inconsequential existence before the Creator. “Your neck is like the tower of David” is a symbol for the woman’s inaccessibility. “The Lord is my shepherd” is a symbol of caring and nourishing. “For we are a fragrance of Christ to God” is a symbol of ritual acceptance.
When we read Scripture, we enter the world of Hebrew culture. The more we are able to grasp that view of reality, the better we are able to worship the God revealed in Hebrew thought. Symbolism is essential to that understanding. The next time you encounter a metaphor, ask yourself, “What does this symbolize? How does this metaphor reveal an active purpose?” You just might discover that the world looks different through Hebrew lenses.
Topical Index: metaphor, symbol, active purpose, Luke 19:40
“When we read Scripture, we enter the world of Hebrew culture. The more we are able to grasp that view of reality, the better we are able to worship the God revealed in Hebrew thought. ”
I like how you put this. I actually used it as the jumping off point in my blog this morning. 🙂 Lots of people as “why?” about following Torah and digging deeper and learning more about Hebrew culture. This the “why?” answer. Because I want to know my God better. I learned about my husband’s past and family and cultural heritage so that I could/can know him better. Why is it that so often we refuse to learn about Yeshua’s past and family and cultural heritage? I seek deeper understanding because I want a deeper relationship. Thanks for (once again) writing clearly what I seem to make a mess of when I think and speak.
On a completely different note, you talk about seeing reality more clearly, too. What is your thoughts on Frank Peretti’s early works (Piercing the Darkness, etc.) where he looks at the world as we see it, and also imagines the world that we don’t see – the struggle between the angels who serve God and the demons who serve the “lord of the earth”? Is this remotely Biblical? It seems that it is to some degree, as the angel who comes with the answer to Daniel’s prayer says he was delayed by demons (or whatever he calls them). I love Peretti’s early books (not so much his later ones). Just wondering. 🙂
Blessings to you! Amanda
Sorry Amanda, but I have never read anything by Peretti.
“’He made man from the dust’ is a statement about our inconsequential existence before the Creator.”
And yet, I know of no other who has been created in “…our image, in the likeness of ourselves,” or for no other that His only begotten Son was sent to be a sacrifice for all humankind. Yes, I agree with our inconsequential existence before an Almighty God, yet His actions like those mentioned serve only to confirm His everlasting and genuine love for us.
Absolutely. On the ontological level, we are but mere creatures, of no extraordinary consequence. No man will ever ascend to the divine. We are but dust. BUT – and this is a big one – God loves us and provides capability for true humanity in active obedience. We are created as HIS representatives here. An awesome privilege and great honor.
Shalom,
“It’s not just that rocks will cry out. It’s that the earth itself rejoices to see the coming of the Lamb. The active purpose here (the world’s rejoicing) is symbolized in the rocks. No power can prevent the celebration unfolding before men on this day. It’s not about a metaphor. It’s about the active reality behind the metaphor.”
Skip … before I comment herein …. I concur with this perspective … and as usual there is so much more! 🙂
The metaphor of crying stones should also be viewed within the pattern of The Word wherein we see “stones” also used to witness:
*Stones as a memorial representing each tribe of Yisrael ….
*Jacob consecrated a memorial stone to bear witness to YHVH’s Presence at Beth-EL and set-up a stone to bear witness to the covenant between he and Laban ….
*The Israelites’ crossing of the Jordan and the setting up of the memorial stones ….
*Aseret Hadiberot – Written by the finger of YHVH on Tablets Of Stone ….
*Stones as the standard means of dispensing communal punishment ….
*The reference to raising up stones for children of Abraham ….
* In Revelations true believers receive a white stone with their secret name upon it to to bear witness ….
* Etc., Etc.
Clearly the imagery of stones (hard and true) as faithful witnesses should not be a point of contention.
Personally I believe Yeshua, (in response to the Pharisees’ plea to have HIM rebuke the disciples for worshiping HIM) was declaring much to the Pharisees …. even more than the glory of the event! 🙂
Let us think about it … Israel is the witness …. even the name for the community is called “the witnesses” …. shrouded within the joy of the event is a serious declaration by Yeshua …. well at least if one connects the dots … or should I say connects the “stones”!
Praise Yeshua …. The Rock of our salvation and the one true and faithful witness!
Hi Drew,
Don’t forget the song “no direction home like a rolling stone” by Bob Dylan.
Mr Dylan and the Rolling Stones were probably the most two dominant symbols of the sixties.
Something else that some may find interesting – “the stones” in question were very specific stones. When Antiochus Epiphanes desecrated the altar in the temple by sacrificing a pig on it, that altar could not be reconsecrated. After the Maccabean revolt and victory, the altar had to be destroyed and rebuilt using new stones before they could rededicate the altar and reinstate the temple service, however they didn’t know what to do with the stones from the altar that was pulled down.
Apparently they piled the stones up in the corner of the temple court, fully expecting that when Messiah came He would instruct them as to what to do with them. So when Messiah did come (exactly when the sages expected Him to come, “on the fourth day” i.e. before the close of the fourth millenium since creation) and declared that “even the stones will cry out”, they knew to which stones He was referring. The stones of the altar would bear witness of him. That was their purpose, even though they had been desecrated and cast down.
THANK YOU, again. This is so wonderful to know.
Hi Rodney,
I want to thank you for recommending Tony Robinson to me.
Yesterday, I listened to his presentation of Making Connections Part 1.
Typically, it is difficult for me to listen to a tape, because I’m not very good at listening.
But Tony is a very engaging speaker and great at bringing a group together under one theme.
Thanks again,
Mike
Good morning Skip and my fellow community members!
I really enjoyed this word this morning. As I pondered it I was struck, again, by just how different our western Christian traditions are. The culture within the Christian church is one that more often than not, presents the Bible as a Christian document. So, it is viewed and interpreted through our own modern cultural point of view and understandings. This, as we all know through Skip’s work, is often so shallow and frequently just wrong. My experiences within higher Christian education, a Bible School in Canada in the early 90’s and currently through the largest Christian University in the world, only confirm my point and reveal that one of their primary objectives are to evangelize the students, and promote a continued western Christian interpretation of the Bible rather than a deep appreciation for the history, culture and language of the text and the resultant and inescapable understanding of the Hebrew foundations of our faith in God.
I am so encouraged by this community and our growing understanding of God’s word.
I am just a little one in the midst of all of this but I must say that I am honored to be among you even if I am little. I see the need to grow and that is beautiful. I see the need to understand more about the Hebrew and its way of saying things and our way of interpreting.
Happy Belated Birthday Skip and I am so glad that you led me into this area to learn not only from you but from others who are willing to share their wisdom.
Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body [that casts the shadow] belongs to Christ. (Colossians 2:17)
Of all the books I have read by a plethora of authors, among my top five faves is listed a man by the name of Roy Hession. – “Who is this man”, some may ask, as I did, while “weeping my way” through his very trenchant work- “The Calvary Road.”
I can say (with fond remembrance), G-d placed that book in my hands. Once I decided brother Skip – to “follow Jesus” and to give Him my “everything”, (yes, brother Andrew Murray- my “Absolute Surrrender”), I became laborers together “with G-d.”
“Who is this guy?” is what I kept asking myself,while the tissue box near me was steadily becoming depleted. I decided then and there to investigate this gold mine a little bit deeper. (I do that when I have found an author that speaks truth into my life.)
For Christmas that year I went to Amazon.com and “loaded down” with Roy Hession books. Six and seven dollars per- they weren’t that much, but that was the beginning of my now “too big” library!
Much of what is being discussed here today is found in one of his books entitled: “From Shadow to Substance”. Our Bible (as you already know) is our Him-book. It is from cover to cover, (yes- Old and New), all about Him and for Him (who gives us our daily bread and breath).
We take great delight in “discovering” our G-d is not only a G-d of the telescopic, but of the microscopic as well. He truly delights “in small things” or as one other author puts it – “All Things Great and Small.”
It is near impossible to comprehend a G-d who can speak the universe into existence and yet care for a sparrow that falls to the ground. (It does tend to stretch the mind a bit.)
With all creation I sing- “praise to the King of kings!” and join with the Psalmwriter to say- “let everything that hath breath praise the LORD! “Praise ye the LORD”