9. Pictures in the Pentateuch
Pictures in the Pentateuch
In the next eight chapters, I want to walk leisurely with you through the Scriptures and point out some of the more important images that are found there. Our purpose is simply to get acquainted with and be excited by the imagery in the Bible. During most of this journey, we’ll only be sightseers. However, here and there we’ll pause to become prospectors and dig a little deeper. Occasionally I’ll drop some homiletical hints, but we’ll save most of the sermonizing for Part 3.
I suggest you keep your New International Version handy so you can read for yourself the verses referred to but not quoted. You’ll be tempted to skip over these references; but if you do, you’ll rob yourself of the exposure you may need to the richness of biblical metaphor and symbolism. Please take time to read each passage and to ponder how it fits into the scheme of things. Your personal contact with the Word will do you more good than your reading of what I have to say about it. Keep your notebook handy so you can write down the ideas that come to you during this adventure.
Genesis
Since Genesis is the book of beginnings, you would expect to find many of the major biblical images first mentioned here. As we saw earlier in chapters 3 and 4, God has seen fit to use the things in creation to reveal spiritual truth to us; and He has also seen fit to embody these truths in words, many of which were originally born as pictures.
In Genesis 1, we are confronted by, among other things, darkness and light, water, seeds, dust, breath, and heavenly bodies—all of which are used imaginatively throughout Scripture to convey spiritual truth. In chapter 2, we are introduced to the Sabbath, a garden, trees, rivers, sleep, marriage, and human nakedness; while in chapter 3, we discover a serpent, clothing, thorns and thistles, sweat, pregnancy, and a sword. Later in Genesis, we will find Babel, Sodom and Gomorrah, a lamb, a ladder (or staircase), a stench, and various animals, all of which show up in other parts of the Word.[1]
Creation (Gen. 1:1-2) is sometimes presented metaphorically. The heavens are “the work of [God’s] fingers” (Ps. 8:3), and the earth was laid on “foundations,” like a building (Pss. 102:25; 104:5; Isa. 48:13; 51:13, 16; Jer. 31:37; Amos 9:6). Sometimes creation is pictured, not as a building on foundations, but as a tent that God “stretched out” (Pss. 19:4; 104:2; Job 9:8; 37:18; Isa. 40:22; 44:24; 45:12; Jer. 10:12; 51:15). To a people who knew something of the nomadic life, the tent was a meaningful image. However, one day the heavens and earth of the old creation “will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded” (Ps. 102:26).
But building isn’t the only picture used for creation. We also find creation pictured as birth. The mountains were born (Job 15:7; Ps. 90:2), and so is the precipitation season by season (Job 38:28-29). God’s words to Job about His creation combine images both of building and of birth:
Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone—while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness. (Job 38:4-9)
The Apostle Paul used creation to picture God’s great work of salvation, the “new creation” in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 5:17). He alluded to the creation of light: “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6). Paul described Jesus Christ as “the last Adam” (1 Cor. 15:45) who brought us deliverance from the judgment caused by the first Adam (Rom. 5:12-21; 1 Cor. 15:20-22, 45-49). The church is the “new man” in Christ (Eph. 2:14-15), and the believer is “God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works” (Eph. 2:10). God’s people can experience a “renewal” day by day as they share in this new creation (Eph. 4:20-24; Col. 3:1-11).
Darkness and light (Gen. 1:2-3) are familiar images in the Bible. Darkness is associated with sin (John 3:19-21; Prov. 4:19; Acts 26:18; Eph. 5:8), Satan’s kingdom (Col. 1:13), the godless world system (2 Cor. 6:14), and eternal judgment (Matt. 8:12). “God is light” (Ps. 27:1; 1 John 1:5) and His Word is a lamp (Pss. 19:8; 119:105, 130; Prov. 6:23). Jesus is “the light of the world” (John 8:12), and believers are lights in the world (Matt. 5:14-16; Phil. 2:14-16; Eph. 5:8-15; 2 Cor. 6:14). The obedient Christian walks in the light and radiates light in the form of love (1 John 1:5-10; 2:7-11). When Christ came into the world, it was like the dawning of a new day (Luke 1:78; Matt. 4:15-16). When sinners trust Christ, they are delivered from the darkness (Eph. 5:8; Acts 26:18). Darkness is associated with death, but light is associated with life (John 1:4-9). Darkness is also connected with trials and testings (Pss. 18:28; 44:19; 91:6; 107:10ff; 143:3). “The night” is usually described as a time of sorrow and suffering (Pss. 6:6; 30:5; 77:2, 6; 91:5).
Both the Gospel of John and the First Epistle of John make much of the metaphors of darkness and light. Nicodemus is known as the man who “came to Jesus at night” (John 3:2; 19:39), but he eventually came out into the light and identified with Jesus (John 19:38-42; 3:21). Judas, however, had the opportunity of walking in the light of the Lord (John 12:35-36), but he went out into the darkness. “As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night” (John 13:30). What an ominous statement: “And it was night.”
Soil, seed (1:11-13), and gardens (2:8-9) play an important role in the biblical revelation. Man is made from the ground, and his body returns to the soil (3:19). Of itself, the dust is dead, but the breath of God gave it life (2:7; Acts 17:25). The Hebrew and Greek words for “breath” and “wind” are also the words for the spirit of man and the Spirit of God (ruach and pneuma). Passages like Psalm 104:29-30 combine these meanings.
When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.
Jesus breathed on His disciples after His resurrection (John 20:22), and the breath of God produced the Word of God (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21). Among the other signs at Pentecost was the “sound like the blowing of a violent wind” (Acts 2:2).
In the Parable of the Sower (Matt. 13:1-23), Jesus compared the human heart to soil; and He described four different hearts according to their responses to the Word of God (the seed). Paul said that the local church is “God’s field” with the potential for a harvest (1 Cor. 3:5-9). In the Parable of the Weeds (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43), Jesus used soil to picture the lost world. “The field is the world.” In this parable, the seed no longer represents God’s Word; it pictures God’s children scattered across the world by the Lord of the harvest. “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went” (Acts 8:4, and see 8:1 and 11:19). The Greek word translated “scattered” is diaspeiro, which means “to scatter seed.” God’s people are a “spiritual dispersion” in the world (diaspora, James 1:1; 1 Peter 1:1).
Seed has life in it, and fruit has seed in it that can produce more fruit. The “harvest” theme is a vast one in Scripture, too big to cover in a brief paragraph. The harvest pictures spiritual maturity (Gal. 5:22-23), effective ministry (John 4:31-38; 15:1-8), winning the lost (Matt. 9:37-38; Rom. 1:13), joy after labor (Ps. 126:5-6; Isa. 9:3), faithful giving to the Lord (Gal. 6:6-10; 2 Cor. 9:6-11), and final judgment to the lost (Matt. 13:39; Rev. 14:14-20).
In Scripture, “fruit” speaks of that which results from life. We manufacture golf balls but we grow apples. Because Christians have the life of God within them, they can bear fruit to the glory of God. The “emergency offering” for the Jerusalem Jews is compared to fruit (Rom. 15:27-28) as is the blessing accrued to the Philippian church because of their gifts sent to Paul (Phil. 4:17, Greek text). When God’s people offer praise to the Lord, it’s called “the fruit of lips that confess his name” (Heb. 13:15).
Human history began in a garden (Gen. 2:8-9) and will end with the saved entering a “garden city” that has a river and a fruitful tree of life (Rev. 22:1-5). Because he became a thief and took what God had forbidden, man was cast out of a garden and the entrance closed and guarded (Gen. 3:23-24). Our Lord Jesus opened paradise to a thief shortly before He died and was buried in a garden (Luke 23:39-43; John 19:41-42). Remember too the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed (Matt. 26:36-46). The image of the garden is also applied in Scripture to the home and family (Ps. 128:3; 144:12).
Two key images must be noted in Genesis 2, the river (2:10-14) and marriage (2:21-25). Water is a basic necessity of life everywhere and is especially prized in the East. We’re told specifically about the wells that were dug by Abraham and Isaac (Gen. 21:25-34; 26:16-33). Water for drinking symbolizes the Spirit of God (John 7:37-39), while water for washing symbolizes the Word of God (John 15:3; Eph. 5:26-27; Ps. 119:9). The refreshing rain and dew from heaven are like God’s life-giving Word (Deut. 32:2; Isa. 55:10-11; and see Hosea 14:5).
Storms and “troubled waters” speak of the tribulations of life (Pss. 18:16; 42:7; 46:3; 88:7; 93:3) and the tumult of the nations (Ps. 46:1-3; Isa. 17:12-13; 57:20-21; Dan. 7:1-3, 15-17; Luke 21:25; Rev. 13:1; 17:15). Psalm 46:4-7 contrasts the quiet but powerful “river of God” with the roaring waters of the nations (vv. 1-3), a contrast also used by the Prophets Isaiah (Isa. 8:1-10) and Jeremiah (Jer. 2:18). Judah had to choose between the help of Jehovah God (“the gently flowing waters of Shiloah”) and the help of Assyria (“the mighty floodwaters of the River”).
The prophets used the image of marriage to illustrate the relationship between Jehovah and Israel (Isa. 43:4; 49:14ff; 62:4ff; 63:9; Jer. 2:2, 20-25; 3:6, 13; 30:14; Ezek. 16:23, 33-37; 23:5, 9, 22). Hosea’s unhappy marriage with Gomer formed the background for his entire book in which he pleaded with the people to abandon their idolatry (prostitution) and return to the Lord. Paul used Christian marriage to picture the relationship between Christ and the church (Eph. 5:22-33; and see Rev. 21:1-4). More than one expositor has seen in the Song of Songs an illustration of the loving communion that ought to be experienced between God’s people and their Savior.
Genesis 3 presents us with the images of the serpent, food, and clothing. As the serpent (Gen. 3:1), Satan is the deceiver (2 Cor. 11:3); as the lion, he is the destroyer (1 Peter 5:8-9). In Revelation 12, the serpent and lion unite to produce the dragon. Genesis 3:15 informs us that Satan has a family (“your offspring”). This ties in with the Parable of the Weeds, where Jesus sees the weeds as “the sons of the evil one” (Matt. 13:38).
It’s significant that there is no record that Jesus ever called the publicans and sinners “children of the devil,” but He did apply that title to the Pharisees (Matt. 12:24, 34; 23:13, 33; John 8:44); and so did John the Baptist (Matt. 3:7). Satan is a masquerader (2 Cor. 11:13-15) who encourages people to cultivate a “religious self-righteousness” that becomes a substitute for the righteousness of Jesus Christ (Rom. 9:30-10:13).
Throughout Scripture, you see the conflict between the true people of God and those who have religion but not saving faith. It begins with Cain, “who belonged to the evil one” (1 John 3:12) and, like Satan, was both a liar and a murderer (Gen. 4:8-9; John 8:44). The conflict climaxes with the religious leaders who arrested Jesus, abused Him, and then crucified Him. It was the unbelieving religious leaders who persecuted the early church and their successors continue to persecute God’s people today (Matt. 23:33-36).
The image of eating (Gen. 2:16-17; 3:1ff) is associated in Scripture with both sin and sanctity. God’s people should “hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matt. 5:6), but sinners have an appetite for evil. Tasting, eating, swallowing, and digesting are common metaphors today for receiving something into your being. We ask, “Do you expect me to swallow that?” Or we might say, “Let me chew on that for a while” or “I’m so anxious to do that, I can just taste it!”
Describing the evil man, Zophar said to Job:
Though evil is sweet in his mouth and he hides it under his tongue, though he cannot bear to let it go and keeps it in his mouth, yet his food will turn sour in his stomach; it will become the venom of serpents within him. He will spit out the riches he swallowed; God will make his stomach vomit them up. He will suck the poison of serpents; the fangs of an adder will kill him. He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream. What he toiled for he must give back uneaten; he will not enjoy the profit from his trading. (Job 20:12-18)
Eliphaz used a similar image when he described the corrupt person as one “who drinks up evil like water” (Job 15:16). And Solomon wrote, “Food gained by fraud tastes sweet to a man, but he ends up with a mouth full of gravel” (Prov. 20:17).
Proverbs 6:20-35 is a warning to the young man against committing adultery, and verse 30 compares the adulterer with a hungry thief. (In chapter 5, we discussed adultery as depicted by stealing and eating.) Committing adultery satisfied the man’s hunger, but the adulteress was also fed. “This is the way of an adulteress: She eats and wipes her mouth and says, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong’ ” (Prov. 30:20).
“For the lips of an adulteress drip honey” (Prov. 5:3); but love sanctified by God in marriage satisfies this hunger with wine, honey, milk, and fragrant fruits (Song 4:10-15). In other words, temptation is Satan’s “meal” to satisfy the normal hungers that people have within. Wisdom invites all of us to her banquet (Prov. 8:1ff), but the wicked woman also has her table spread (Prov. 7:6ff).
What you and I eat becomes a part of us. The evil person eats and drinks what’s evil and becomes even more evil. The righteous person has an appetite for righteousness, and God can satisfy that hunger. When Jesus told the Jews they had to eat His flesh and drink His blood in order to have eternal life, they missed the metaphor completely and accused Him of violating the Mosaic Law (John 6:53ff). He was simply saying, “Just as your food becomes a part of you, so you must receive me by faith so that I can enter in and become a part of you.”
“Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps. 34:8; see 1 Peter 2:3). The writer of Hebrews described believers as those “who have tasted the heavenly gift . . . who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age” (Heb. 6:4-5).[2] God’s Word is compared to bread (Matt. 4:4; Deut. 8:3), milk and “solid food” (Heb. 5:11-14; 1 Cor. 3:1-2; 1 Peter 2:2) and honey (Ps. 119:103), all of which must be received within if they’re to do you any good physically. For, you can starve if you only admire the beautiful pictures in the cookbook and analyze the recipes.
Jesus equated doing the will of God with eating food (John 4:31-34). God’s will is nourishment, not medicine! The Lord tested Israel’s obedience each morning by sending them manna to eat (Ex. 16:4-5). He reminded them of His grace each year by commanding them to celebrate Passover, a feast that included a menu of lamb, bread, and bitter herbs.[3] Jesus Christ gave His church a feast of remembrance (1 Cor. 11:17-34) involving eating bread and drinking wine. He also compared the coming messianic kingdom to a joyful feast (Matt. 8:11-12; Luke 13:28-29; 22:29-30; see Isa. 25:6-12; 55:1-5).
It’s evident that the early church often met together to eat, and 1 Corinthians 10:31 makes it clear that even such ordinary activities as eating and drinking can be done to the glory of God. When Moses and his associates met God on Mt. Sinai, “they saw God, and they ate and drank” (Ex. 24:11). You would expect the text to read, “And they saw God and fell on their faces in worship.” In the placing of the table of “show-bread” in the tabernacle and temple, in the eating of the sacrifices by the worshipers and priests, and in the directions concerning the various Jewish feasts, God sanctified eating and drinking.
However, the act of eating sometimes pictures defeat at the hand of the enemy. The Egyptians boasted that they would “gorge” themselves on the Israelites (Ex. 15:9), but instead the waters of the sea swallowed them up (15:12). David prayed that his foes wouldn’t swallow him up (Ps. 35:25) or devour his people “as men eat bread” (53:4; and see 124:3). Babylon devoured Judah (Jer. 51:34) and Israel was devoured by the nations (Hosea 8:8). Sinners plot how to swallow their victims alive (Prov. 1:12), and soldiers devour the enemy with their swords and arrows (Deut. 32:42; 2 Sam. 2:26; 11:25; Isa. 1:20; Jer. 46:10, 14; Nahum 2:13; 3:15). Of course, the ultimate devourer is death (Ps. 49:14). The teachers of the law “devoured widows’ houses” (Mark 12:38-40; Luke 20:47).
Our next image is that of clothing. When they were in their state of innocence, Adam and Eve were not ashamed to be naked (Gen. 2:25); but after they had sinned, they felt ashamed and sought for a covering (Gen. 3:7). God rejected their coverings and gave them skins to wear (Gen. 3:21), implying that blood had to be shed for them to be acceptable to God.
The Apostle Paul saw in clothing a picture of character and conduct. He admonishes us to “put off” the things of the old life, the way we would take off dirty clothes, and then “put on” the graces of the new life (Rom. 13:11-14; Eph. 4:17–5:21; Col. 3:1-17). He also exhorts us to take our stand against the devil by putting on the spiritual armor that God has provided (Eph. 6:10-18). In the references in Ephesians and Colossians, Paul’s imagery seems to come from the graveclothes that Jesus left behind in the tomb. There may also be an allusion to John 11:43-44.
“All of us have become like one who is unclean,” wrote Isaiah, “and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Isa. 64:6). But what can sinners do about their unacceptable garments? When Messiah ushers in the Year of Jubilee, He gives His people “a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair” (Isa. 61:1-3); He dresses them like brides and bridegrooms adorned for the wedding (Isa. 61:10; and see 2 Cor. 5:17 and Rev. 19:8). The Prodigal Son comes home and is dressed in the best garment in the house (Luke 15:22).
Sometimes in Scripture, a new beginning is marked by people washing themselves and changing their clothes. This was true of Jacob’s family when Jacob returned to Bethel (Gen. 35:1-3) and of Joseph when he left the prison (Gen. 41:14). The people of Israel prepared to meet Jehovah at Sinai by washing their clothes (Ex. 19:10, 14), and the priests and Levites prepared themselves for ministry by having a thorough cleansing and receiving special garments (Ex. 29; Num. 8:5-7, 21). Personal purification for any Jew who was ceremonially unclean involved bathing and wearing clean garments (Num. 19:17-22). “Wash and make yourselves clean” (Isa. 1:16; and see 2 Cor. 7:1).
The ceremonial cleansing of Joshua the high priest illustrates the point (Zech. 3). The high priest was never to appear before the Lord wearing dirty clothes; so Joshua’s plight was a serious one. He pictured the defilement of the Jewish remnant that had returned to the land to rebuild the temple. The filthy garments gave Satan an opportunity to accuse, but God saw this as an opportunity to magnify His grace. Joshua was cleansed and reclothed and his ministry restored. Isn’t this what the Lord promised His people in 1 John 1:9? Paul saw in the transformation of the body at the coming of Christ an experience of “being clothed upon” with the new body (1 Cor. 15:53-54; 2 Cor. 5:1-4). The Twelve were “clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49), and the Holy Spirit “clothed himself’ with Gideon (Jud. 6:34), Amasai (1 Chron. 12:18), and Zechariah (2 Chron. 24:20). Shame and disgrace are compared to clothing (Ps. 35:26; Job 8:22); so are righteousness and justice (Job 29:14; Ps. 132:9) and strength and splendor (Isa. 52:1).
Before leaving the theme of garments, we should look at two occasions in Bible history when garments played significant roles. The first is recorded in 1 Samuel 15 when the Lord rejected Saul as king. “As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore. Samuel said to him, ‘The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today’ ” (1 Sam. 15:27-28). The second is found in 1 Kings 11:26-39, when the Prophet Ahijah tore his new robe into twelve pieces and gave ten of them to Jeroboam, signifying that he would be ruler over the ten tribes that would secede from the kingdom. Because garments are so closely identified with the person, these “action sermons” wouldn’t have been so effective had Samuel and Ahijah used some other object. In this regard, we’re reminded of our Lord’s seamless robe (John 19:23-24).
Genesis 4:1 introduces us to the first pregnancy in the Bible and therefore to the theme of pregnancy and birth. Jesus used birth to illustrate spiritual rebirth (John 3:1-21). Just as pregnancy involves two parents, so spiritual birth involves the Spirit of God (John 3:5-6) and the Word of God (1 Peter 1:22-25). Our Lord’s travail in suffering would make possible the joy of birth (John 16:16-22).
But pregnancy and birth also tell us something about sin. “He who is pregnant with evil and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment” (Ps. 7:14). Eliphaz said of the godless, “They conceive trouble and give birth to evil; their womb fashions deceit” (Job 15:35). This sounds a good deal like James 1:15. Isaiah wrote, “You conceive chaff, you give birth to straw” (Isa. 33:11); and in 59:4-14, Isaiah gives a vivid picture of the terrible plight of Jerusalem, including people in court who “conceive trouble and give birth to evil” (Isa. 59:4).
When we studied 2 Samuel 12, we saw that temptation was pictured as a visitor who came to a rich man’s house. The rich man forgot how rich he was and stole a pet lamb from his poor neighbor and fed it to his guest. In Genesis 4:7, temptation is pictured as a wild beast poised at the door, waiting to spring. “But if you [Cain] do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.” To yield to temptation is to open the door. But why was the beast crouching at the door of Cain’s life? Because the deception and anger in Cain’s heart attracted it. Paul’s admonition, “And do not give the devil a foothold” is preceded by a warning against deception and anger (Eph. 4:25-27). James pictures temptation as the bait on a hook or in a trap (James 1:13-15); but in Genesis 4, it was Cain who put out the bait to attract temptation!
Let’s leave the animal at the door for a moment and give some consideration to the image of the door itself. By his unbelief and disobedience, Cain closed the door on the Lord when he went to the altar to worship. By his anger, he closed the door on his brother; and by his deception, he closed the door on himself. Cain knew where his brother was, but he tried to fool God. By his despair, Cain closed the door to his future. Cain opened the wrong door; and when he did, he closed the doors that should have stayed open.
One final picture should be noted in Genesis 4, that of “the ground which opened its mouth” to receive Abel’s blood (Gen. 4:11). God commanded His people to show reverence for blood (Gen. 9:4-6; Lev. 17:11; Deut. 12:23; Ps. 72:14) and not to eat blood as a food, or meat that still had the blood in it (Lev. 3:17; Deut. 12:16). There were probably hygienic reasons behind this law, but primarily it pointed to the “precious blood” of the Son of God who would die for the sins of the world (1 Peter 1:18-19). Abel’s blood cried out for vengeance (Gen. 4:10), but the blood of Christ speaks of forgiveness (Heb. 12:24).
When Abel died, the ground “opened its mouth” to receive the martyr’s blood. People were not allowed to drink or eat blood, but the ground could “drink” it. In fact, for a dead body (with the blood) to remain unburied was a great humiliation (Isa. 14:18-20; 66:24; Jer. 22:18-19). But there comes a time when “the earth will disclose the blood shed upon her; she will conceal her slain no longer” (Isa. 26:21; see Num. 35:33-34). Job prayed that, after he died, his blood would cry out for the justice that had been denied him in life (Job 16:18-22).
The land bears witness to the sins committed upon it. If the people defile the land with their sins, the land will vomit them out (Lev. 18:24-28; 20:22). Man’s sins make God’s earth sick! The earth cried out to God about Abel’s murder. Job invited his land to bear witness of any sin he’d committed against the earth (Job 31:38). In these days of ecological crisis, we wonder what the land would say about the sins of those who exploit God’s creation.
Let’s look at only a few more images in Genesis, and then we’ll move on to the rest of the Pentateuch. The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 13:10-13; 14; 18–19) represent that which is evil in God’s sight and so deserves to be destroyed. The phrase “like Sodom and Gomorrah” describes people who are morally filthy and deserve to experience the wrath of God (Deut. 29:23; Isa. 1:9-10; 3:9; 13:19; Jer. 23:14; 49:18; 50:40; Lam. 4:6; Amos 4:11; Zeph. 2:9; Rom. 9:29; 2 Peter 2:6). Ezekiel 16:44ff traces Israel’s ancestry to Sodom, and Jesus used the two wicked cities to show how unbelieving the Jews were in His day (Matt. 10:15; 11:23-24; Luke 10:12). Sodom and Gomorrah “serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire” (Jude 7). Revelation 11:8 uses Sodom as a code word for the city of Jerusalem, which ties in with Isaiah 1:10. The mention of Sodom and Gomorrah in Deuteronomy 32:32 refers to the enemies of Israel.
Jacob’s act of pouring oil on the rock at Bethel (Gen. 28:18), an act of worship that he repeated years later (Gen. 35:14-15), depicts sacrificial offering. The Jews had their drink offerings which accompanied their sacrifices (Num. 15:1-12). Our Lord’s death on the cross meant that He “poured out his life unto death” (Isa. 53:12) and was “poured out like water” (Ps. 22:14). The act of pouring out a liquid speaks of sacrifice and service. Mary’s act of devotion to Christ comes to mind (John 12:1-8), and also the devotion shown by the woman who was a forgiven sinner (Luke 7:36-50).
Just as the Jewish drink offerings accompanied their other sacrifices, so God’s servants by their giving of themselves share in the ministry of others. Paul was “poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from [the Philippians’] faith” (Phil. 2:17). He used the same image when describing his impending death in Rome (2 Tim. 4:6). To the Corinthians he says, “So I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and expend myself as well” (2 Cor. 12:15; see Ecc. 2:19).
In times of great agony, God’s people pour out their souls to God in prayer (Ps. 42:4; 62:8; 142:1-2). Job’s groans poured out like water (Job 3:24; see Lam. 2:11, 19), and his eyes poured out tears before the Lord (Job 16:20).
We also see the image of a stench (Gen. 34:30). Because of what Simeon and Levi did to the men of Shechem, Jacob was in danger. “You have brought trouble on me by making me a stench to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land” (Gen. 34:30; and see Ex. 5:21; 1 Sam. 13:4; 2 Sam. 10:6; 16:21; 1 Chron. 19:6). Even today, we say things like “His name stinks” or “His reputation smells.” What is the connection between names and odors?
“A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth” (Ecc. 7:1). Solomon wasn’t suggesting that the burial of a body is better than the birth of a baby, but that, as far as a person’s name is concerned, his funeral is better than his birthday. Why? Because after people die, their names and reputations are sealed. A good name will remain good and the deceased won’t be able to hurt it. When the baby is named, nobody knows what will happen to that name; but after a person dies, the reputation is known and settled. “The memory of the righteous will be a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot” (Prov. 10:7). And whatever rots usually smells.
Judas Iscariot was given a good name, for “Judah” means “praise” and belonged to the kingly tribe in Israel. But he ruined that name by his sins, and I doubt that any parents today would call a son Judas. On the other hand, Mary of Bethany, the woman that Judas criticized, has a fragrant name that is honored wherever the Gospel is preached (Mark 14:1-9; John 12:1-8).
When the priest ministered at the golden altar of incense in the holy place (Ex. 30:1-10, 34-38), he certainly picked up some of the fragrance and carried it with him. Prayer ought to make our lives fragrant. Our Lord’s death on the cross was “a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Eph. 5:2), and the lives of God’s people should follow His example. Godly living is beautiful and fragrant. Paul looked upon the gifts sent by the Philippians as “a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God” (Phil. 4:18).
The image in 2 Corinthians 2:14 relates to the “Roman Triumph,” the parade that was given to honor any Roman general who had won a great victory in foreign territory, gained new lands for Rome, and brought home valuable spoils from the battle. The general rode in a golden chariot, and with him were his soldiers and the captives they had taken. The Roman priests would have their censers filled with burning incense, and this fragrance would mean life to the victorious soldiers but death to the captives heading for the arena. Jesus Christ has won a complete victory over the enemy (Col. 2:15), and His people march with Him in this triumphal procession. No matter where we go, we should be surrounded by the fragrance of His victory. After all, we march in triumph!
I suggest you study Genesis 49 and note the images Jacob used as he unveiled for his sons the future of the twelve tribes of Israel. Most of his images relate to animal life, but he knew his sons better than we do! Note two images of the Lord: He is the Shepherd and the Rock of Israel (Gen. 49:24).
The shepherd image in Scripture begins with Abel (Gen. 4:2), and continues through the patriarchs, Moses and David, and climaxes with Christ the Shepherd (John 10; Heb. 13:20; 1 Peter 2:25; 5:4; Rev. 7:17). Pastors of local flocks of believers are also shepherds (Acts 20:28). The civil rulers in Israel were looked upon as shepherds (2 Sam. 5:2; 7:7; 1 Chron. 11:2; 17:6; Ps. 78:71; Jer. 3:15; 10:21; 23:1ff; Ezek. 34).
Jacob told Joseph that God had been his shepherd all the days of his life (Gen. 48:15). References to God the Shepherd include: Psalms 23:1; 28:9; 80:1; Isaiah 40:11; Jeremiah 31:10; Zechariah 13:7; Matthew 2:6; 26:31.
The image of God as the Rock speaks of His stability and dependability, the unchangeableness of His nature, and the faithfulness of His dealings. We may go to Him for refuge because He is ever the same and His Word never fails. First Corinthians 10:4 authorizes us to see Christ symbolized in the rock that gave Israel water (Ex. 17:1-7; Num. 20:1-13). In Moses’ farewell song, five times he compared Jehovah to a rock (Deut. 32:4, 15, 18, 30-31). See 1 Samuel 2:2; 2 Samuel 22:2-3, 32, 47; 23:3; Psalms 18:2, 31, 46; 19:14; 28:1; 31:2-3; 42:9; 62:2, 6-7; 71:3; 78:35; 89:26; 92:15; 94:22; 95:1; 144:1; Isaiah 8:14 (Rom. 9:33; 1 Peter 2:8); 17:10; 26:4; 30:29; 44:8; 51:1; Habakkuk 1:12.
The first fifteen chapters focus on the theme of redemption, Israel’s going out (exodus) from Egypt. The exodus image is related to our Lord’s death in Luke 9:31 and to the death of the believer in 2 Peter 1:15.[4]
Redemption is an important theme in the development of New Testament soteriology. The Song of Zechariah (Luke 1:67-79) majors on it, and it’s the emphasis of Anna’s witness to the Jewish remnant waiting for the Savior (Luke 2:36-38; and see 24:21). Paul deals with the doctrine of redemption in Romans (3:24; 8:23), Galatians (3:13-14) and Ephesians (1:7, 14; 4:30; and see Col. 1:13-14); and Peter mentions it in 1 Peter 1:18-19. Jesus Christ has set us free by paying a tremendous price, His own precious blood.[5]
Pharaoh’s officials asked him, “How long will this man [Moses] be a snare to us?” (Ex. 10:7) Moses later warned the Jews that the gods of the Canaanites would be a snare to them if Israel didn’t destroy them (Ex. 23:33; 34:12; Deut. 7:16, 25; 12:30; Jud. 2:3). The psalmists saw the ploys and plots of the enemy as snares to trip up the godly (Pss. 25:15; 91:3; 119:110; 140:5; 142:3). Israel was delivered from her enemies like a bird set free from a trap (Ps. 124:7).
Two other images from the first part of Exodus should be mentioned: the lamb (Ex. 12:1-13, 21-23) and the leaven (Ex. 12:14-20). More than one expositor has pointed out that the lamb might well be called the theme of the whole Bible.[6] Isaac asked, “Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” (Gen. 22:7), and his question was answered by John the Baptist, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29, 36) Other Scriptures to consider are Isaiah 53:7, 1 Peter 1:19, and Revelation 5:6-14. The word “lamb” is used twenty-eight times in the Book of Revelation to refer to Jesus Christ.
In the Passover scenario, leaven represents that which is evil. Passover is called the Feast of Unleavened Bread because leaven (yeast) was to be put out of the Jewish homes for the full week of the celebration (Ex. 12:15ff; 13:6-7; 23:15; 34:18; see also Lev. 23:6; Num. 28:17; Deut. 16:3). In the first Passover, the leaven was left out of the dough because the people were leaving in a hurry and couldn’t wait for the dough to rise; but from the New Testament usage, leaven symbolizes various kinds of evil: false teaching (Matt. 16:5-12; Gal. 5:9), hypocrisy (Luke 12:1), and “malice and wickedness” (1 Cor. 5:6-8). Like yeast, sin enters quietly, grows secretly, and soon permeates the whole mass.
The “Song of Moses” in Exodus 15 abounds with imagery.[7] The Egyptian soldiers were “hurled into the sea” like so many dead stones that “sank like lead” (vv. 1, 5, 10). The army was shattered like clay pots (v. 6, and see Ps. 2:9) and burned up like stubble (v. 7). Instead of the Egyptians swallowing Israel (v. 9), the waters swallowed the Egyptians (v. 12). All God had to do was exhale and the water congealed into a wall, and then the wall fell on the pursuing army (vv. 8, 10). This great victory assured Israel that their enemies in Canaan would “melt away” and become “as still as a stone” (vv. 15-16; see Josh. 2:9, 24). God would “plant” His people in their land where they would grow and prosper (v. 17).[8]
Like the image of the vine, the image of the eagle (Ex. 19:4) is often used with reference to Israel. In this text, the entire Exodus experience is compared to an eagle swooping down and carrying away its prey. In spite of their bondage, the Jews had gotten too content in Egypt;[9] and God had to “shake up the nest” and teach them to fly by faith (Deut. 32:11). Centuries later, when the Jewish remnant returned to the land to rebuild their nation and their lives, God promised to help them “soar on wings like eagles” (Isa. 40:31).[10] Revelation 12:13-14 describes a future eagle-like deliverance for God’s people.[11]
Israel is not only a vine and a people miraculously delivered on eagles’ wings, but she is God’s “treasured possession. . . . a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:5-6). Peter applied these images to Christians in 1 Peter 2:5 and 9.[12] The image of the treasured possession or inheritance is repeated often by Moses in Deuteronomy (4:20; 7:6; 9:26, 29; 14:2; 26:18; 32:9) and by the psalmists (28:9; 33:12; 74:2; 79:1; 94:14; 106:5, 40). Solomon refers to it in his prayer of dedication (1 Kings 8:51, 53), and the prophets use it too (Isa. 19:25; 63:17; Jer. 10:16; 51:19; Micah 7:18; Zech. 2:12). Since Israel is God’s “treasured possession,” two things are true: the people ought to love God and obey Him; and God must take care of His people, especially when the enemy invades His inheritance.[13]
Numbers
The Book of Hebrews uses Israel’s experience at Kadesh Barnea (Num. 13–14) to emphasize the importance of obeying God by faith and claiming our spiritual inheritance (Heb. 3–5). The bondage in Egypt illustrates the plight of the lost sinner who can be delivered only through faith in the blood of the Lamb and the power of God. Canaan represents the believer’s inheritance in Jesus Christ, an inheritance claimed by faith as depicted in the Book of Joshua. Canaan is not a picture of heaven, and crossing the Jordan is not a picture of death, in spite of what the song writers say. Crossing the Jordan illustrates the believer’s death to the old life and entrance by faith into the rich present inheritance in Christ (Eph. 1:3). In heaven, there will be no enemies or wars!
Israel came to Kadesh Barnea and refused to trust God for the power to defeat the enemy and claim their God-given inheritance (Num. 13–14). “So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief” (Heb. 3:19). As a consequence, they wandered in the wilderness for thirty-eight years until that older unbelieving generation died off; and during those years of wandering, they did a great deal of rebelling and complaining! It appears that most professing Christians today are between Egypt and Canaan. They had enough faith to be delivered from Egypt, but they do not have enough faith to enter into Canaan and become “more than conquerors.”
In Numbers 13:32 and 14:9 we find the image of eating: the land will swallow up the people, but the people can swallow up their enemies. Balak, king of Moab, was afraid that Israel would “lick up everything . . . as an ox licks up the grass of the field” (Num. 22:4). Balaam the prophet saw Israel as a wild ox and a lioness (Num. 23:22, 24; 24:9), their camp spread out “like gardens beside a river” (Num. 24:6).
The familiar phrase “like sheep without a shepherd” is introduced in Numbers 27:17 and is found again in 1 Kings 22:17, 2 Chronicles 18:16, Ezekiel 34:5-6, Zechariah 10:2, and Matthew 9:36.
Deuteronomy
The Lord “carried” Israel like a strong eagle (Ex. 19:4; Deut. 32:10-11), a concerned father (Deut. 1:31; Isa. 46:3-4; 63:9; Hosea 11:3), and a loving shepherd (Ps. 28:9).
Egypt was “the iron-smelting furnace” (Deut. 4:20) where God allowed His people to suffer (Gen. 15:13-14; 1 Kings 8:51; Jer. 11:4). Hell is compared to a furnace (Matt. 13:42, 50; and see Gen. 19:28).
“For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God” (Deut. 4:24; 9:3; Heb. 12:29) and His anger “burns like fire” (Ex. 15:7; 32:10-11; Deut. 6:15; 7:4; 11:17; Josh. 23:16; 2 Kings 22:17; Job 19:11; 20:23; Pss. 79:5; 89:46; Isa. 5:25; 9:5; 13:13; 42:25; Jer. 4:4; 21:12; 15:14; 17:4; 21:12; Hosea 8:5; Zech. 10:3). Fire not only symbolizes God’s holy anger against sin, but it also speaks of God’s protection of His people as “a wall of fire” around them (Zech. 2:5).
Moses’ song in Deuteronomy 32 opens with a comparison of the Word of God to rain and dew (32:2; and see Job 29:23 and Isa. 55:10-11). Just as the land needs the rain and dew in order to be fruitful, so mankind needs God’s Word to produce spiritual fruit for His glory. Unlike the land of Egypt, where the farmers used irrigation, the Promised Land depended on rain and dew to water the crops; and God sent the rain if His people were obedient (Deut. 11:8-15). Proverbs 16:15 compares the favor of the king to the refreshing rain on the earth.
Moses’ prophetic blessing of the twelve tribes should be compared with the blessing Jacob gave his sons (Gen. 49). Note that both Moses and Jacob use comparisons with animals. God is compared to a shield and a sword in Deuteronomy 33:12 and 29 (images that are also found in Gen. 15:1; Deut. 32:10; 2 Sam. 22:3, 31; Pss. 3:3; 7:10; 18:2, 30; 28:7; 33:20; 59:11; 84:11; 115:9-11; 119:114; 144:2; Prov. 2:7; 30:5; Isa. 31:5; Zech. 9:15; 12:8). Psalms 84:9 and 89:18 refer to Israel’s king as “our shield,” and Paul used the image of the shield to illustrate the protective power of faith (Eph. 6:16). According to 1 Peter 1:5, God’s people are “shielded by God’s power” through their faith in Him. I’ve devoted more attention to some of the images found in the Pentateuch because they are repeated frequently in Scripture and are basic to our understanding of biblical symbolism.
I’ve passed over some of the minor images, but you can locate them and trace them for yourself. Whenever you find a figurative expression in the Bible, trace the cross references[14] and see how they relate to each other. I’ll have more to say about this kind of Bible study when we get to Part III.
“We learn nothing rightly until we learn the symbolical character of life.”
“The capacity for wonder presupposes a certain childlikeness that has lost its value today in both literature and art.”