11. Pictures in the Poetical Books
Pictures in the Poetical Books
Then, Sir, what is poetry?” James Boswell asked the great British essayist and lexicographer, Samuel Johnson.
“Why, Sir, it is much easier to say what it is not,” Johnson replied. “We all know what light is not; but it is not easy to tell what it is.”[1] Even so, Johnson did a fine job of defining poetry as “the art of uniting pleasure with truth, by calling imagination to the help of reason.”[2] The more you ponder that definition, the more sense it makes.
The poetry of the Bible conveys divine truth in an imaginative way that nourishes the heart and stimulates the mind.[3] God has seen fit to give us part of His revelation in poetical form, and we must recognize this. Students who treat the speeches of Job or the songs of David as they would the narratives of the Gospels or the doctrinal arguments of Paul are sure to miss the meanings wrapped up in these poetical packages.
The Book of Job[4]
The overriding image in the Book of Job is that of a court of law, with Job challenging Jehovah to declare his crime and present the evidence necessary to convict him. (See Job 9:3, 14-16, 32-35; 10:2; 13:3, 18-19; 23:6; 31:35-37.) Job pleads for an umpire or arbitrator who could bring him and God together to settle the case once and for all (9:33; and see 16:19 and 19:25).[5] Job’s complaint is that the Lord had convicted him and sentenced him before declaring his crime and giving him a fair trial.
Job saw himself as a target at which God aimed His arrows, against which Job had no protection (6:4; 7:20). God had declared war on Job and unleashed “wave after wave” of His forces against him (10:17; 16:14). Because of the way God treated him, Job felt like a dry leaf, chaff in the wind, a shackled prisoner, and a rotting garment (13:24-28). In 19:6-12, Job pictures himself as a snared animal, a prisoner treated unjustly, a man fenced in, a king dethroned, a building destroyed, a tree uprooted, and a city besieged! Job couldn’t fight back because God had unstrung his bow (30:11).[6] Job was a man in the furnace, but he had faith that all would turn out well (23:10).
When people suffer, they think about life and death, and Job was no exception. He saw his life as that of a weary hired man waiting for his salary (7:1-5). For him, life was as swift as a weaver’s shuttle (7:6),[7] only a breath that comes and goes (7:7), or a cloud that quickly vanishes (7:9). His days were “swifter than a runner” (9:25), and they skimmed past like papyrus boats and eagles swooping upon their prey (9:26). Man is a flower that quickly withers and a shadow that disappears (14:2). If a tree is cut down, new shoots can spring from the stump; but when man is cut down, that’s the end (14:7-10). He’s gone like evaporating water (14:11-12), and his hopes disappear like a rock being eroded by a river (14:18-19). Man is weak and transient because he lives in a house of clay (4:19; 10:9), a cheap hut that isn’t any stronger than a cocoon (27:18).
Job 18 is a vivid description of death that uses the images of a light put out (vv. 5-6; see 21:17), a traveler trapped (vv. 7-10), a criminal pursued (vv. 11-15), and a tree uprooted (vv. 16-21; see 24:20). Death is “the king of terrors” (v. 14). The Apostle Paul saw death as a king that “reigned” in this world because of Adam’s sin (Rom. 5:14, 21). Death is also compared to a harvest (Job 5:26; 24:24), which suggests that death is indeed “the grim reaper.”[8]
Job’s descriptions of his three friends illustrate how useless their “comfort” was to him. To a thirsty man, they were empty streams (6:15-17); to a sick man, they were worthless physicians giving him ashes for medicine (13:4, 12); to a hurting man, they were long-winded, miserable comforters (16:1-3) who crushed him with their words (19:1-2); and to a weary man, they were barking dogs that yelped at his heels (19:28).
In chapter 29, Job gives a description of the blessings he enjoyed during his days of prosperity when he reigned as a king (v. 25) and ministered to others like a father (v. 16). He bravely rescued the poor from the beastly evil men who would exploit them (v. 17), and his words were like the rain that brought hope to the needy (vv. 22-23).
There are several agricultural images in the Book of Job. Eliphaz had observed that “those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it” (Job 4:8). This reminds us of Paul’s words about reaping and sowing in Galatians 6:7-9; see also Proverbs 11:18; 22:8; Hosea 8:7; 10:13. Death is like a harvest (Job 5:26); and the wicked, though they look like luxurious plants, will one day be barren (Job 15:27-35).
In his description of the wicked in Job 20, Zophar sees them perishing like dung (v. 7) and vanishing like a dream (v. 8). The wicked eat evil like they eat food, enjoying every morsel; but what they swallow will turn into poison in their stomachs and have to be vomited up (vv. 12-19). See Job 3:24 and 34:7, and Psalm 10:7.
We have already mentioned the Lord’s poetic description of creation in Job 38: building a house (v. 4) and giving birth to a baby (vv. 8-9). As the morning light moves across the earth, things become visible like the image caused by a seal pressed on the clay (vv. 12-14). Sinners hate the light (John 3:19-21), and the rising sun takes the earth “by the skirts” and shakes the wicked out! The rain and ice come from a hidden womb (vv. 28-29) and the rain storms from the tipping over of jars (v. 37). Jehovah’s description of leviathan in Job 41 is one of the most poetic pictures of a creature found anywhere in literature: his mouth like a door, his back like shields, his breathing like fire that produces smoke and boiling water, his chest like a rock, and his strength able to turn iron into straw and bronze into rotten wood.
Eugene Peterson says, “The Psalms, by profuse and insistent use of metaphor, make it as difficult as they possibly can for us to sally off into vague abstractions, contemptuous of the actual grass under our feet, and call this verbal woolgathering prayer.”[9] He is right!
How people can read the psalms and not end up with their feet of faith solidly on the ground of divine revelation is a mystery to me. The psalmists use imagery from agriculture, warfare, nature, geography, the temple, meteorology, and a variety of vocations to help us grasp the reality of faith in the living God. David’s experiences with God in storms, caves, and battles come to life in these sacred poems that assure us our God cares about our every need. From the very first psalm, in which the godly are compared to trees and the ungodly to chaff, the psalmists magnify the blessing of living in obedience to the Lord.
Since Psalm 1 begins with agricultural images, let’s take that trail and see where it leads us. Trees and chaff illustrate the contrast between the useful and the useless, the living and the dead, the “weighty” and the trivial, the strong and the weak, the permanent and the transient. Jeremiah made a similar contrast (Jer. 11:5-8). The godly are like an olive tree (Ps. 52:8; and see Zech. 4) and a palm tree (Ps. 92:12-15), and their sons are like olive shoots (Ps. 128:3; and see 144:12). The wicked are like trees that appear to be flourishing, but soon are gone (Ps. 37:35-36; and see Job 5:3; Isa. 40:23-24; Ezek. 17:6-10). They are also like chaff that God blows away or burns (Pss. 35:5; 83:13-16).[10]
The image of grass depicts the transitoriness of life (Pss. 90:5-6; 103:15), especially the life of the wicked (Ps. 37:1-2). The wicked are compared to grass on the housetop that withers because it has no depth of earth (Ps. 129:6-7). Psalm 129 contrasts the godly and the wicked: the godly are “plowed up” because of their trials, but they at least produce fruit to the glory of God. The wicked don’t amount to anything.
When we surveyed the images in the Pentateuch, we looked at the significance of fruit and water. The “two ways” described in Psalm 1:1 and 6 make up a frequent theme in Scripture and one that our Lord used in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 7:13-14). Throughout Scripture, people are called upon to make a decision between walking God’s way—the way of the Word—or man’s way—the way of sin and death. There is no middle way and nobody can be neutral.
Life is a journey, and the destination we reach depends on the path we choose. This is a repeated theme in the Book of Proverbs (2:8-9; 4:17-18; 10:9; 11:5; 14:2, 12; 15:9, 19; 22:5; 28:10; etc.). The wicked woman leads the fool down the path to death, but Wisdom guides the obedient into life (2:16-19; 5:6-10; 9:1-18). The image of the Christian life as a “walk” is often used by both Paul and John (1 Cor. 3:3; 7:17; 2 Cor. 5:7; Gal. 5:25; 6:16; Eph. 2:10; 4:1, 17; 5:15; etc.).[11]
According to Psalm 2:3, the nations see the will of God as chains and fetters that rebels must break off if they are ever going to be free. But the Lord sees His will for us as “cords of human kindness . . . ties of love” (Hosea 11:4), and Jesus said that His Father’s will was the food that nourished Him (John 4:34). If we resist His will, He may have to use a bit and bridle on us (Ps. 32:9); but He would rather guide us by His loving counsel, with His eye upon us (Ps. 32:8).
Stubborn sinners are like horses and mules (Ps. 32:9), but God’s people should be like sheep who faithfully follow their shepherd (Pss. 23; 77:20; 78:52, 71-72; 79:13; 80:1; 95:7; 100:3; 119:176). The “shepherd” image is repeated in the prophets (Isa. 13:14, 20; 40:11; Jer. 31:10; Ezek. 34; Zech. 11; 13:7) and in the New Testament (Matt. 9:36; 25:32; Luke 12:32; John 10; Acts 20:28-29; 1 Cor. 9:7; Heb. 13:20; 1 Peter 2:25; 5:1-4; Rev. 7:17).[12] Like sheep, all of us have gone astray (Isa. 53:6), and all of us will one day perish (Ps. 49:14). While on the theme of creatures, “I am a worm” (Ps. 22:6) is a neglected I AM statement from the lips of our Lord. God calls the nation of Israel a worm in Isaiah 41:14 and promises in verse 15 to transform the little worm into a sharp threshing sledge!
The psalmists compared their enemies to snarling, prowhng dogs (Pss. 22:16, 20; 59:6), bees (118:12), lions (7:2; 10:9-10; 22:13, 21), and bulls and wild oxen (22:12, 21). In Psalm 58, David saw the unjust rulers of his day as snakes (v. 4), lions (v. 6) and slugs (v. 8), as well as water that vanishes (v. 7) and stillborn children (v. 8). While they are cooking their food, a flash flood will come and sweep them away (v. 9).
The image in Psalm 2:9 of the king breaking pottery suggests that the proud rulers described in verses 1-3 are only clay pots! (See Rev. 2:27 and 19:15.) If the nations will submit to God, He can mold them after His will (Jer. 18); but if they rebel, He must shatter them (Jer. 19; and see Isa. 30:12-14).[13]
Since David was a soldier, and Israel maintained a large standing army, we would expect to find military images in the Book of Psalms. There are at least fifteen references to God as the believer’s shield (Pss. 3:3; 7:10; 18:2, 30, 35; 28:7; 33:20; 59:11; 84:11; 91:4; 115:9-11; 119:114; 144:2), and Peter reminds us that believers are “shielded by God’s power” (1 Peter 1:5). The same word (phroureo) is used in Philippians 4:7 to describe God’s peace shielding the heart and mind.
There are two interesting images found in the Hebrew word ‘arak, which is translated “lay [my requests]” in Psalm 5:3. The word means “to arrange in order,” as the priest arranged the wood and the pieces of the sacrifices on the altar. When we pray, we are like priests who bring acceptable sacrifices to God (Ps. 141:2); and there had better be some “fire” in our hearts to help “consume” our offering. There is also the suggestion here that our praying ought to be orderly and not helter-skelter. The second meaning is “to draw up for battle, to take up positions.” Our time with God each morning is indeed a “morning watch” when, as His soldiers, we present ourselves for duty and hear the orders of the day. The priestly image speaks of worship while the military image speaks of warfare.
The sinner is “pregnant with evil and conceives trouble,” but only “gives birth to disillusionment” (Ps. 7:14). This parallels Job 15:35, Isaiah 59:4 and 13, and James 1:15. False hope is like giving birth only to the wind (Isa. 26:17-18); and in the resurrection, the earth will “give birth to her dead” (Isa. 26:19). This reminds us of the image of “mother earth” that is suggested in Psalm 139:13-15. Job saw his burial as a return to his mother’s womb (Job 1:21, NIV margin note).[14]
We find much bird imagery in the Psalms. At one time or another, all of us have probably felt like fleeing “like a bird” (Ps. 11:1) and escaping uncomfortable or difficult situations. “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest” (Ps. 55:6).[15] Whoever wrote Psalm 102 felt like “an owl among the ruins. . . . like a bird alone on a roof” (vv. 6-7); and God’s suffering people have often felt like hunted birds (Pss. 91:3; 124:7). David rejoiced that God could renew his youth like the eagle’s (Ps. 103:5), most likely a reference to the freshness of the eagle after molting.
The psalmist in Psalm 11:3 sees the troubles of life as evidences that the very foundations of society are being destroyed (see Ps. 82:5). Isaiah saw a similar picture: “the foundations of the earth shake. . . . the earth reels like a drunkard” (Isa. 24:18, 20); and the prophet points to Jesus Christ as God’s “sure foundation” (28:16; and see Rom. 9:33).
Psalm 12 contrasts the words of sinful men (vv. 1-4) with the Word of the Lord (vv. 5-6). The world depends on flattery, lies, and boasting; but God’s Word is flawless, refined, and purified. The sinful person thinks he will triumph with his clever use of words, but it’s God’s Word that lasts and finally conquers. An alternate reading for verse 4 (“we own our lips”) is “our lips are our plowshares” (NIV margin note). Sinners use their tongues as plows (see Ps. 129:3-4) and don’t care who gets hurt.
Life is a cup and an inheritance according to Psalm 16:5, and it is God who prepares and assigns both. Jesus referred to His sufferings as the cup the Father gave Him to drink (Matt. 20:22-23; 26:36-46; John 18:11). The cup can also refer to the wrath of God which a sinful world cannot escape (Isa. 51:17-22; Jer. 25:15-28; Lam. 4:21; Ezek. 23:31-33; Hab. 2:16; Rev. 14:10; 16:19; 17:4; 18:6).
In Jewish society, it was important that each family’s inheritance be protected so that the land, which actually belonged to God, would not be exploited by the wealthy. Originally, the land was assigned by lot (Josh. 14–21, and see Josh. 18:8-10), and it was forbidden to move the boundary stones that marked each parcel of ground (Deut. 19:14; 27:17; Prov. 22:28; 23:10). “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance” was David’s testimony (Ps. 16:6). The common phrase “It fell my lot” refers to the assigning of land by the casting of lots. Job asked, “For what is man’s lot from God above, his heritage from the Almighty on high?” (Job 31:2) Solomon concluded, “So I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot” (Ecc. 3:22; and see 5:18-19 and 9:9).
The tribe of Levi did not receive any inheritance in the land because the Lord was their inheritance (Num. 26:62; Deut. 10:9; Josh. 13:14, 33). As aliens and strangers in this world, we have no earthly inheritance; for the Lord is our inheritance now and forever. As far as our time on earth is concerned, “He chose our inheritance for us” (Ps. 47:4). The believer’s eternal inheritance is mentioned in Ephesians 1:14 and 18, Colossians 1:12 and 3:24, and 1 Peter 1:4.
Psalm 19:4-6 compares the sunrise to a bridegroom coming out of the wedding pavilion and an athlete starting to run a race. Is David suggesting that we begin each day with devotion, like the bridegroom, and determination and discipline, like the athlete? This would certainly make for a balanced life.
Psalms with Multiple Images
It isn’t possible in the small scope of a chapter to look at every image found in the Book of Psalms; but before we move on, I want you to get acquainted with some of the psalms that contain multiple images. For example, Psalm 38 presents several pictures of the consequences of sin in the life of the believer: receiving a father’s chastening (vv. 1-2), experiencing sickness (vv. 3, 5-8, 10 [and see Ps. 32:3-4]), drowning (v. 4a), and bearing a burden (v. 4b, 6).
The swiftness and brevity of life are seen in the images in Psalm 39: a handbreadth (v. 5), a breath (vv. 5, 11), a phantom (“shadow,” v. 6), an alien (v. 12). What we accumulate on this short journey disappears secretly and silently like a garment being eaten by a moth (v. 11; and see Job 13:28; Isa. 50:9; 51:8; Hosea 5:12; and our Lord’s words in Matt. 6:19-20).
Psalm 49 warns against trusting in riches, for death is no respecter of bank accounts. The rich may have enough money to build elaborate tombs, but those tombs become their “houses” where their bodies lie (v. 11). “Their forms will decay in the grave, far from their princely mansions” (v. 14); and in those graves, they see no light (v. 19). If they leave God out of their lives, they die like animals (vv. 12, 14, 20). What a dismal picture!
In Psalm 55, David describes his difficult circumstances as a storm (vv. 6-8); pursuit by prowhng animals (vv. 10-11); evil lodging near him like a neighbor (v. 15); a battle (vv. 18, 21); and deception from false friends (vv. 20-21). You find similar images in Psalm 57: the storm (v. 1), the beasts (v. 4), the traps (v. 6) and the burden (v. 6, “bowed down”). In Psalm 58, the focus is on people like creatures: snakes (v. 4), lions (v. 6), and slugs (v. 8). Psalm 59 compares David’s enemies to snarling dogs (vv. 6, 14-15), and their “barking” to sharp swords (vv. 7, 12-13). The superscription connects this psalm to 1 Samuel 19:11-17.
David’s prayer in Psalm 68 is that all his enemies will blow away like smoke and melt like wax (v. 2). They are but brute animals that God will rebuke (v. 30), like snow that He will scatter (v. 14). He asks God to make the land of the enemy a desert (v. 6), but to refresh His people with showers (v. 9). He sees the Lord coming to his rescue with thousands of chariots (v. 17), winning a great victory and leading off many captives (vv. 18, 24-27). Paul saw this as a picture of Christ’s victory on the cross and His distribution of gifts to the victors (Eph. 4:7-12).
In Psalm 69, David is drowning (vv. 1-2, 14-15), a picture repeated in Psalms 18:4-6, 16-19; 32:6; 42:7; 88:7, 16-18; and 130:1.
The history of Israel recounted in Psalm 78 reveals a gracious God and a rebellious people. God opened the doors of heaven (v. 23; see Gen. 7:11; 2 Kings 7:2, 19; Mal. 3:10) and “rained down” bread and flesh (vv. 24, 27) to feed them; but they continued to disobey. His anger broke out like fire (v. 21), an image found frequently in Scripture (v. 49; Ex. 4:14; Num. 11:1, 33; 12:9; 24:10; 32:13; Josh. 7:1; Ps. 74:1; 79:5; 80:4; 89:46; etc.). He “ended their days in futility” (v. 33) or “like a passing breeze” (v. 39). According to Psalm 90, this refers to their years of wandering in the wilderness. He guided the nation like a flock (v. 52) and eventually gave them David to be their shepherd (v. 72). In spite of God’s goodness to them, the new generation was “as unreliable as a faulty bow” (v. 57), an image repeated in Hosea 7:16.
In Psalm 83, Asaph wants to see his enemies treated like dung (vv. 9-10), blown away like tumbleweeds and chaff (v. 13), burned up like a forest in a storm (vv. 14-15).
Psalm 90 is the only psalm assigned to Moses, and it may have been written in connection with the judgment of God on Israel at Kadesh Barnea (Num. 13–14). The contrast is between the frailty of man and the eternality of God. God gave birth to the mountains (v. 2; see Job 15:7; 38:8), and He will endure forever; but frail human beings are swept away (v. 5; Ps. 58:9; 73:19; and see Gen. 19:15; Num. 16:26; Job 21:18) and wither like the grass that has but a day to live (vv. 5-6). Psalm 92 contrasts the fleeting life of the wicked (“like grass,” v. 7, flourishing but frail) with the beauty and stability of the godly who are like trees (vv. 12-15; and see Ps. 1:3).
When he wrote Psalm 102, the psalmist was in an especially melancholy mood. His days vanish like smoke while his bones burn with some unnamed sickness (v. 3). His heart is weak and withered like grass (v. 4), and he sees himself as isolated as a lonely bird (vv. 6-7). When he does remember to eat, his diet is ashes and tears (vv. 4b, 9). God has “tossed him aside” like a useless piece of furniture (v. 10), and his days vanish like a shadow and like the grass (v. 11). Verse 23 sounds like the image of the loom used by King Hezekiah (Isa. 38:12). The heavens and earth may wear out like a garment and be discarded (vv. 25-26), but God will endure forever. The theme is similar to that expressed in Psalm 90.
“They defiled themselves by what they did,” says Psalm 106:39; “by their deeds they prostituted themselves.” As we have noted, idolatry is often pictured as prostitution, a violation of the “marriage covenant” with Jehovah (Ex. 34:15; Lev. 17:7; Deut. 31:16; Jud. 2:17; Jer. 3:2; Hosea 4:12). James 4:4-6 applies this image to the believer’s relationship to the world; and see Isaiah 54:5, Jeremiah 3:20, and Hosea 2:2-5 and 3:1.
The writer of Psalm 119 compares the Word of God to riches (vv. 14, 72, 127, 162), food (v. 103), and light (vv. 105, 130; see Prov. 6:23; 2 Peter 1:19). The wicked are like dross (v. 119), but the suffering psalmist was “like a wineskin in the smoke” (v. 83).
When God delivered Israel from her enemies, as described in Psalm 124, He saved the nation from being swallowed alive, sinking in the waters, being torn by wild beasts, and being trapped like a bird. Psalm 126 probably describes Israel’s sudden deliverance from Assyria (Isa. 36–37), which was “like a dream,” like the waters filling the dry wadi, and like harvesters singing as they brought in the sheaves. Psalm 129 describes Israel’s trials as the enemy plowing long furrows on their back; but then God cut the cords of the plow and set them free.
Note the emphasis in Psalm 132 on clothing: the priests clothed with righteousness and salvation (vv. 9, 16) and the enemy clothed with shame (v. 18). Unity among God’s people, according to Psalm 133, is like oil and dew, both of which come down. One produces fragrance and the other produces fruitfulness. The mention of Aaron’s beard (v. 2) suggests that the oil runs over the breastplate that hung over his heart; and thus the twelve stones, bearing the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, were bathed in the anointing oil.
David was not a priest and therefore couldn’t minister in the tabernacle; but in Psalm 141, he saw that God accepted his prayer as incense and the lifting of his hands as a sacrifice. If his prayer was to be acceptable, he had to watch “the door of [his] lips” (v. 3). David saw the rebuke of a righteous man as a blessing, like oil on the head (v. 5; Prov. 9:8; 15:31; 19:25; 25:12; 27:5-6).
The Book of Proverbs[16]
The theme of Proverbs is the practical wisdom that comes from God and gives blessing to those who obey Him. The book itself states that the proverbs are “for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight” (Prov. 1:2). David Wyrtzen’s paraphrase of this verse says it well: “to internalize the art of skillful living which comes through disciplined training; to discern the words of insight.”[17] Wisdom is presented in several images: beautiful adornments (1:9; 3:22; 4:9); a gracious woman (1:20ff; 8:1-11); treasures (2:1-6; 3:16-18; 8:10-11); a feast (9:1-6); a path or “way” (2:8-22; 3:1-6, 23; 4:11, 14-15, 18-19; 15:10, 19, 24; etc.);[18] a light (6:23); a fountain (18:4); and a tree of life (3:18).[19]
The image of wisdom as a garland or chain (1:9) suggests that wisdom beautifies a person, as would a lei or a chain of gold. Wisdom is also like a crown that enables you to “reign in life” (4:9; 14:18, 24). Those who follow wisdom become like kings, while those who follow folly become slaves. The association of wisdom with one’s father and mother (1:8-9) suggests that the best of the “family jewels” parents can give to their children is the wisdom that comes from the Word of God.
“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (4:23). What flows out of our lives depends on what is found in our hearts. “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life” (10:11; 20:5) because it teaches wisdom (13:14; 18:4), the fear of the Lord (14:27), and understanding (16:22). The marriage relationship is compared to drinking at the pure fountain, while adultery is compared to water spilled in the gutters of the street (5:15-20; see 25:26).
Solomon has a great deal to say about eating and drinking, perhaps because entertainment was such an important part of his own life (1 Kings 4:20-28).[20] We’ve already noted that in Solomon’s view, married love compares to drinking pure water (5:15-20); adultery is like drinking “stolen water” (9:17) and eating “honey” (5:3; but see 20:17). The adulteress “eats and wipes her mouth and says, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong’ ” (30:20). She tells the sinner to “drink deep of love” (7:18), but it leads only to death.
Honey seems to be a major item on the menu in Proverbs. Pleasant words are like the honeycomb (16:24) because they impart wisdom, which is like honey (24:13-14). Fools feed on folly (15:14) and cheerful people have “a continual feast” (15:15). Honey also pictures honor and recognition from others (25:27); and if you eat too much of it, it will make you sick (25:16). In other words, don’t go around looking for praise.
The Book of Proverbs has so much to say about the tongue and human speech that we can’t begin to cite all the references. Words are like deep waters (18:4); reckless words are like a sword (12:18). Gossip is like “choice morsels” that are savored and swallowed (18:8; 26:22); the words of the wise nourish those who receive them (10:21; 12:14; 13:2; 18:20-21). Boastful words are like “clouds and wind without rain” (25:14; and see 2 Peter 2:17 and Jude 12). Apt words are valuable and beautiful, like “apples of gold in settings of silver” or beautiful jewelry (25:11-12; 10:20). The wise person knows what to say, when to say it, and how to say it. Wise words bring healing (12:18; 15:4; 16:24), but wicked words are like scorching fire (16:27; 26:20-21), and lying words are like dangerous weapons (25:18). Good news is like cold water to a weary person (25:25) and brings health to those who hear it (15:30).
Since he was a much-married man, Solomon included some interesting images of marriage and the home. A “quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping” (27:15) and a disgraceful wife is like “decay in [the husband’s] bones” (12:4). A godly wife is a crown (12:4), a fountain (5:18), and “a loving doe, a graceful deer” (5:19). A wayward wife is compared to “a narrow well” instead of a refreshing fountain, but the prostitute to a deep pit (23:27; and see 22:14). Of course, Proverbs 31 is the locus classicus in the Bible on the character of the ideal wife.
The sluggard does people more harm than good, like vinegar on teeth or smoke in the eyes (10:26); and he turns on his bed like a door on its hinges (26:14).
Proverbs 26 contains several images relating to the fool. Giving honor to a fool is like snow in summer or rain in harvest: it’s out of place and will do more harm than good (v. 1). It’s also like tying a stone in a sling (v. 8): it can’t be used to accomplish anything. To send a message by a fool is like maiming yourself (v. 6); and to give him wisdom, such as a proverb, will get him nowhere (v. 7) or lead to him hurting others (v. 9).
Life is a burden (1:13; 3:10) that “weighs heavily on men” (6:1) and leads to pain and grief (2:23). Trying to enjoy life is like chasing after the wind (1:14, 17; 2:11, 17, 26; 4:4, 6, 16; 5:16; 6:9). One reason for this widespread discontent is that our eyes have an appetite (2:10; 4:8; 5:11; 6:9) much bigger than life can satisfy.[21]
When Solomon writes that man’s fate is like that of the animals, he’s referring to death and decay, not destiny (Ecc. 3:18-21). Like the animals, we die and our bodies turn to dust.
The image in Ecclesiastes 5:3 suggests that as pleasant sleep indicates a sleeper who is a hard worker, many words indicate a person speaking who is a fool. Life as a fleeting shadow (Ecc. 6:12; and see 8:13) is a metaphor we have met before (1 Chron. 29:15; Job 8:9; 14:2; Ps. 102:11; 109:23; 144:4). Burning thorns make a lot of noise but don’t produce much heat, and fools laugh but accomplish nothing worthwhile (7:6).
Ecclesiastes 12:1-7 is one of the greatest poetic descriptions of aging and death found anywhere in literature. Solomon compares the human body to a house (see Job 4:19; 2 Cor. 5:1-2; 2 Peter 1:13) and the process of aging to the decay of the house: the arms and hands shake; the back bends over; the teeth decay and fall out; eyesight and hearing begin to fail; the hair gets white; strength fails; appetite weakens; and the ultimate step is death.
In Ecclesiastes 12:11, the words of the Preacher are compared to goads, because they “prod” people into thinking, and to nails, because they give people something to “hang on to” as they try to live wisely, or something on which to “hang” truths as they learn. I’m tempted to suggest that the “goads” and “nails” may illustrate two aspects of preaching: the goads for the imagination, to stimulate interest and excitement; and the nails for the reason—the left brain, if you please—to give the logic of the message and the “points” that people can grasp and put into practice.
I’ve noticed that effective preachers use both goads and nails so that they present something for everybody. They will appeal to the imagination with images and illustrations, and then say, “Now, if you want this to work in your life, here are four simple steps you can follow.” Then they pound in the nails, after which they move into the next image or illustration. The key to effective preaching and teaching is a balance between images (goads), and concepts (nails). “Images without concepts are blind,” we’ve learned from Sallie McFague; “concepts without images are sterile.”[22]
The Song of Songs[23]
The wealth of Oriental imagery in this neglected book is enough to challenge the most astute exegete, but the first question he or she must face is, “To what literary genre does the book belong?” Is it an allegory about Christ and the church, or Jehovah and Israel? Is it actual history that conveys a deeper spiritual meaning, with Solomon a type of Christ and his beloved a type of the church (or Jehovah and Israel)? Or is it a love poem or drama that extols marriage and the love of husband and wife? If a drama or poem, how many main characters are there, two or three? These aren’t easy questions to answer, and good and godly scholars must be allowed to disagree. If we better understood the Eastern setting of this book, and the symbolism behind it, we would have an easier time interpreting it.
The flavor of food and drink, the fragrance of spices and the beauty of things in nature comprise the major images of the book. Solomon’s love is more delightful than wine (1:2, 4; 4:10) and his fragrance more pleasing than perfume (1:3, 13-14). However, there are also references to “fragrance” that refer to the beloved rather than to her lover (1:12; 4:10-11, 16; 7:8). Note the extended use of images from nature whenever the lovers describe each other (2:1-3, 9, 14, 17; 4:1-5, 12-15; 5:10-16; 6:4-9; 7:1-9).
The phrase “his banner over me is love” (2:4) suggests that her lover openly reveals his love for her and glories in it, the way an army displays its banner. The military image is repeated in 6:4. For the New Testament believer, love is certainly the power that conquers; for “we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Rom. 8:37).
In 4:12–5:1, 6:2, and 8:13, we find the image of the garden, which speaks of the beauty and fruitfulness of the beloved. The phrase “a garden locked up” (4:12) suggests her purity and exclusive devotion to her lover. In the East, in ancient days, gardens were special places for joyful pleasure. If the Song of Songs teaches us anything, it’s that married love is a beautiful and delightful thing because God made it that way.
“What a power of brain and imagination belonged to these Old Testament prophets, and with what decision they married it to equally robust expression! They were poets as well as prophets. They had imagination as well as reason. They had vision as well as sight.”
“Civilization begins in the imagination. The wild dream is the first step to reality.”