12. Pictures in the Prophets
Pictures in the Prophets
The prophets were seers as well as speakers, and what they spoke depended a great deal on what they saw. “What do you see, Jeremiah?” Jehovah asked the young priest, now called to be a prophet (Jer. 1:11). “What do you see, Amos?” He asked the farmer made prophet (Amos 7:8). “Formerly in Israel, if a man went to inquire of God, he would say, ‘Come, let us go to the seer,’ because the prophet of today used to be called a seer” (1 Sam. 9:9).
This is not to discount the importance of “the word of the Lord” coming to His servants, for prophets were hearers as well as seers. They had hearing ears and seeing eyes; and when they ministered the Word, they tried to help others see as they heard the Word of the Lord. The prophets often used picture language and even dramatic action to get their messages across. God’s people were “ever hearing, but never understanding” and “ever seeing, but never perceiving” (Isa. 6:9; see Matt. 13:14-15); and the prophet had to shock them out of their blind lethargy.
Isaiah
The name Isaiah means “salvation of the Lord,” and salvation (deliverance) is the major theme of the book. The prophet dealt with at least five different “deliverances”:
(1) the deliverance of Judah from the Assyrians;
(2) the deliverance of Judah from Babylonian captivity;
(3) the future deliverance of the Jews from the Gentile nations;
(4) the future deliverance of the earth from bondage in the establishing of the kingdom; and
(5) the sinner’s deliverance from sin and judgment through faith in God’s Suffering Servant, Jesus Christ.
Among other things, Isaiah pictures salvation as cleansing (1:18; 4:4); sins blotted out (44:22; 43:25); a feast (25:6-12; 55:1-5; 12:3); a new exodus (11:15; 43:14-20; 51:9-11); healing (1:5; 6:10; 30:26; 33:24; 53:5; 57:18-19; 58:8); the dawn of a new day (61:1-3 [see Luke 1:78-79]); and a broken yoke (9:4). The image of the exodus connects with that of the highway (11:16; 19:23; 35:8; 40:3; 62:10). The prophet saw God’s people leaving their bondage and walking on a “holy road” that leads to the Holy City.[1]
The imagery in the first chapter of Isaiah reveals the sad plight of Judah, for the nation was like rebellious children (vv. 1-4); a beaten and sick body, uncared for (vv. 5-6); a shack in a field (vv. 7-9); the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (v. 10); a harlot (v. 21); cheap dross and diluted wine (vv. 22, 25); and a fading oak and dying garden, about to be burned up (vv. 30-31).[2] Later, Isaiah used other pictures to reveal the sad condition of the nation: a fruitless vineyard (5:1-7); a bulging wall about to collapse (30:12-14); crushed grain on the threshing floor (21:10); and a sinking ship (33:23). Of course, the great tragedy was that the people were crowding the temple courts and bringing their prayers and sacrifices to God! It was a time of religious excitement, but it was not a time of spiritual power or true holiness.
Isaiah also wrote about the other nations. He pictured Assyria as a lion (5:29), bees (7:18), a razor (7:20), a swollen stream (8:5-8), God’s weapon (10:5, 15, 24), and a tree to be cut down (10:33-34).[3] But Assyria would be trampled down like mud (10:6), and the nations would be gathered for judgment the way eggs are gathered by a farmer (10:14). Proud Moab would be pushed into the manure and have to swim through it! (25:10-12) And Egypt was a broken reed that nobody could confidently lean on (30:1-7; 31:1-3; 36:6).
God’s call, “Come now, let us reason together” (1:18), was a summons for the people to appear in court; for the word translated “reason” (yakah) has definite judicial overtones (Isa. 2:4; 11:3-4; 41:1, 21; 43:26; 45:21; and see Gen. 31:36, 42; 1 Chron. 12:17; Ps. 50:8, 21; Hosea 4:4). Led by worldly priests and false prophets, the people of Judah were treading the temple courts; but God was about to call them into a court of judgment.
Along with the depressing images in Isaiah 1, the prophet also pictured sinners as worn-out garments (50:9; 51:7-8; and see 64:6); rejected branches (14:19); the tossing waves of the sea (57:20-21); tumbleweeds (17:13-14); and grass that withers and dies (15:6; 37:27; 40:6; 51:12; and see 1 Peter 1:24 and James 1:9-11).
Isaiah pictured the Lord as a purger of His people (1:25); a stone (8:14; 28:16); a crown (28:5); a potter (29:16; 45:9); a lion (31:4); hovering birds (31:5); a man of war (42:25; 49:24-26); a shepherd (40:11); a fortress (33:21); a tender mother (49:14-16; 66:13); and a husband (50:1-3).
Isaiah 22:15-25 records the dismissing of Shebna and the appointing of Eliakim because Shebna was using his office to get benefits for himself instead of to serve the nation. He would never use his beautiful tomb because God would roll Shebna up like a ball and hurl him away to Babylon (see Jer. 10:18; 22:26), where he would die in exile. What God says about Eliakim ought to be true of anybody in a place of leadership. He was a father who cared for people, not a robber who exploited them. He would use his key to open doors of opportunity for others, and he would be a peg on which they could hang responsibility. He would be a throne and exercise authority to the honor of the nation. But no human leader is in office forever, and the day would come when even faithful Eliakim would have his peg removed.[4]
Isaiah 28 presents a number of pictures of God’s judgment of His people. They are but fading flowers cut down by a storm and trodden underfoot (vv. 1-4a, 17-19); a ripe fig swallowed (4b); drunks out of control, vomiting at a feast (vv. 7-8); a bed without adequate covering (v. 20); a harvest to be threshed (vv. 23-29). While the leaders were making political alliances, hoping to save the nation, God was measuring them with His plumb line and laying a tested Stone for their refuge (vv. 14-19). The image of the stone or rock is found frequently in Isaiah (8:14; 17:10; 26:4;[5] 30:29; 44:8; 48:21; 51:1). God gave the nation a choice: rocks (2:10, 19, 21; 7:19) or the Rock.[6]
Isaiah 30:27-33 is a vivid description of judgment. God’s anger will come like fire and smoke and His breath like a rushing torrent. The nations will be shaken in a sieve and then led away with bits in their mouths like animals. His anger will come like a storm and His breath like burning sulfur.
King Hezekiah’s psalm commemorating his recovery from a near-fatal illness contains several striking pictures (Isa. 38). Hezekiah saw himself going through gates into the land of death[7] and being robbed of the years that belonged to him (v. 10). He saw his body as a shepherd’s tent, about to be pulled down, and like a piece of weaving about to be cut off the loom (v. 12; see 2 Cor. 5:1-4; 2 Peter 1:13-14; Ps. 139:13-16). He felt like a helpless bird being attacked by a fierce lion (vv. 13-14).
Isaiah 40 introduces what the rabbis have called “The Book of Consolation.” Looking ahead to the defeat of Babylon, the prophet announced that the exile was ended and that Judah had “served her term,” a military phrase that means their years of conscripted service were ended. Job used it when referring to man’s time of suffering on earth (Job 7:1; 14:14). Note the familiar themes of the highway (vv. 3-4; Matt. 3:1-3) and fragile human beings like the grass (vv. 6-8), as well as Jehovah as shepherd (v. 11; Gen. 48:15; 49:24; Ps. 23:1; 28:9; 80:1). The greatness of God as contrasted with the insignificance of the nations is seen in verses 12-26.
Babylon boasted that she was a queen (47:5, 7), but God would take her off the throne and put her in the dust (47:1). Instead of basking in glory, she would wade through the waters, her shame uncovered (47:3).
Many of the images in Isaiah 49–53 focus on God’s Servant, Messiah, whom we know and worship as Jesus Christ our Lord. Messiah is compared to weapons in 49:2 and to a light in 49:6 (see Acts 13:47). God will care for His people like a mother (49:15) and treat them like ornaments for a bride (49:18). Isaiah 50:1 takes up the theme of Israel the bride of Jehovah, a theme developed further in Jeremiah and Hosea. According to Jewish law, once a wife was put away she could not return to her husband (Deut. 24:1-4), but the Lord pleaded with His people to return to Him.
Isaiah 52 should be contrasted with Isaiah 47, for the prophet sees the humiliated Jews now clothed with strength and seated on the throne (vv. 1-2), while Babylon has been pushed into the dust. Babylon had walked all over the exiles (Isa. 51:23), but now the tables are turned.
Looking ahead in chapter 54 to the glory of Israel in the promised kingdom, the prophet sees the barren woman giving birth (vv. 1-3), the widow happily married (vv. 4-6), the storm of judgment over (vv. 7-10), and the ruined city rebuilt and beautified with jewels (vv. 11-17).
God’s description of the leaders of the nation in Isaiah 56 depicts them as blind watchmen, mute watchdogs, and selfish shepherds (56:9-12). In chapter 59, Isaiah explains why there is no justice in the land: the rulers “conceive trouble and give birth to evil” (v. 4; see James 1:14-15). Their plans are like vipers’ eggs that hatch poisonous snakes; their works are like spiders’ webs that have no strength and cannot cover them (vv. 4-6). The people are like the blind, groping in the light, and like animals and birds (vv. 10-11). Verse 14 describes a traffic jam: “truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter.” But the Lord will come like a mighty warrior (vv. 16-18) and a pent-up flood (vv. 19-20).
The coming kingdom is like the dawning of a new day (Isa. 60:1-3) and the people will return to their land and to the Lord, flying along like clouds and birds (60:8). The Gentile nations will become nursing mothers for Israel (60:16), and peace will be their governor and righteousness their ruler (v. 17). Isaiah 61:1-3 describes the great changes that will occur when the nation is restored to Jehovah’s favor: from bondage to freedom, from sickness to health, from judgment to jubilee, from ashes on their heads to a crown of beauty, from mourning to gladness, and from despair to praise. They will go from a funeral to a wedding (v. 10).
Chapter 62 presents more pictures of the coming kingdom as the nations see Israel’s righteousness like the dawn or like a blazing torch (v. 1) or a crown (v. 3). Israel will again be married to Jehovah and get a new name—Hephzibah, “My delight is in her.” The land will be called Beulah—“married.” Jehovah and His estranged wife will be united, and His grace and glory will be revealed to all the earth.
Before we leave Isaiah, we should note that along with his use of literary imagery, he also used more dramatic methods to get his message across. The names of his two sons were connected with his messages (Isa. 7–8); and Isaiah himself dressed like a prisoner of war for three years, a living reminder to the people that they should not trust Egypt. We shall see that some of the other prophets, especially Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Hosea, had to “live” their message as well as preach it.
Jeremiah
The Prophet Jeremiah didn’t have an easy time of it in his ministry, but God warned him in advance and then assured him of His presence and His help. The pictures of Jeremiah’s ministry are: a destroyer, builder, and planter (1:10); a city, pillar, and wall (1:18); a guide at the crossroads (6:16; see 31:21); a watchman (6:17); a tester of metals (6:27); a physician (8:21-22); a sacrificial lamb (11:19); a runner (12:5); a shepherd (13:17, 20-21; and see 17:16, 23); a man of contention (15:10); and a tree (17:8).
What were the people like to whom Jeremiah ministered? The images presented in chapter 2 answer that question: an unfaithful spouse (vv. 1-8) ;[8] broken cisterns (vv. 9-13); drinkers at foreign rivers (vv. 14-19); a degenerate vine (vv. 20-22); camels and donkeys in heat (vv. 23-25; see 5:8; 31:18; Hosea 4:16; 10:11); and guilty thieves (vv. 26-28).
In chapter 6, the nation is described as: a delicate woman, unprepared for war (vv. 1-2); a defiled well (v. 7); a ruined vineyard (v. 9); a deceived patient (vv. 13-15); lost pilgrims (v. 16); deaf soldiers (v. 17); and cheap metal (vv. 27-30). It was Jeremiah’s task, as it is the task of every faithful preacher, to expose their hearers’ needs, reveal the perils they face, and call them back to the “old paths’’ of God’s Word.
Jeremiah 3 develops the theme of “spiritual adultery,” but it also presents the nation as suffering from the sickness of backsliding (v. 22).[9] Isaiah had touched upon this theme of healing the backslidden (Isa. 30:26; 57:18), and Hosea will also use it (Hosea 6:1; 14:4). The image of “healing” is often used by Jeremiah (8:15, 22; 14:19; 17:14; 30:12-13, 17; 33:6; 46:11; 51:8-9) and may hearken back to the promise in 2 Chronicles 7:14. The false prophets and worldly priests of Jeremiah’s day were only counterfeit physicians who gave a false diagnosis and a useless remedy (8:11; 4:10), not unlike some “health and wealth” preachers today.
The theme of the yoke is important in Jeremiah’s message. The nation had broken off their yoke by rebelling against God’s Law (2:20; 5:5; and see Ps. 2:1-3). Jehovah had broken the yoke of Egyptian bondage (Lev. 26:13), but Israel wouldn’t yield to the yoke of God’s rule over them. The Prophet Jeremiah actually wore a yoke to get the attention of the people so they would listen to his plea that they submit to Babylon (Jer. 27). When the false prophet Hananiah broke the wooden yoke, God told Jeremiah it would be replaced with an iron yoke (Jer. 28); for when we resist the loving control of God, our bondage becomes only worse. If we submit to the yoke, then God can remove it and replace it with lighter “cords” of kindness and love (Hosea 11:4). Alas, Israel rebelled; and their very sins became the yoke that burdened them (Lam. 1:14; and see 3:27). God promised that He would eventually take off the yoke of Babylonian captivity (Jer. 30:8), even as He had done with the Assyrian threat (Isa. 10:24-27).
Jeremiah 4 spells out the remedy for the nation’s sinful condition. They need to plow up their hard hearts (v. 3) and experience a true spiritual circumcision within (v. 4). They should take a bath (v. 14) and wash away their wickedness by confessing their sins. Instead of acting like foolish children (v. 22), they should “join the army” and act like mature men (vv. 5-6).
The Prophet Jeremiah is preeminently the prophet of the heart. The word “heart” is found more than sixty times in his book, and he repeatedly emphasizes the inwardness of religion. The false prophets and priests depended on the presence of the ark, but the day would come when the ark would not be needed (3:16-17). Even the temple would no longer be essential to their faith (7:4-11), and the sacrifices would be replaced by heart obedience (7:21-26) and the law, by a new covenant in the heart (31:30-34). God’s people would experience a spiritual circumcision that would transform their lives (4:4; see 9:25).[10]
Jeremiah’s greatest trouble came from the false prophets who were leading the people astray with their deceitful message of peace. These men were but wind (5:13), worthless physicians (6:13-15), selfish shepherds (23:1-8), wandering guides on slippery paths (23:9-12, 32; and see 6:16 and 18:15), and poor figs that were fit to be thrown away (29:17; chap. 24). Their words were but straw and would be burned up by God’s Word (23:28-29); in fact, the prophets themselves were fuel for the fire (5:14). Instead of spreading holiness in the land, they were “toxic” and were spreading godlessness (23:15).
Known as “the weeping prophet,” Jeremiah wanted a “spring of water” in his head so that he might be able to weep even more (9:1, 10, 18; 13:17; 14:17; Lam. 1:16; 2:11, 18; 3:48; and see Ps. 119:136; Isa. 22:4; and Rom. 9:1-2). In this, he was very much like Jesus Christ, the “man of sorrows” (John 11:35; Luke 19:41; Heb. 5:7-8; Isa. 53:3). No wonder the people thought that Jesus was Jeremiah the prophet (Matt. 16:14).
Death is personified in Jeremiah 9:21, and in 9:22 death is compared to a refuse collector and a reaper (see Job 5:26). Jezebel’s body was treated like refuse (2 Kings 9:37), and see Psalm 83:10; Isaiah 5:25; Jeremiah 8:22; 16:4, 25:33; Zephaniah 1:17.
The prophet’s treatment of the false gods in Jeremiah 10:1-16 reminds us of Isaiah 40:18-20 and 44:6-20. Jeremiah compared an idol to “a scarecrow in a melon patch”! (10:5)
Jeremiah’s complaint against God in chapter 12 pictures the wicked as fruitful plants (vv. 1-2), but the prophet wants them dragged off and butchered like sheep (v. 3; see 11:19). God sees His people as a roaring lion, a speckled bird, and a wasted vineyard and field (vv. 8-13). In chapter 13, the nation is a flock destined for captivity (vv. 17, 20), a woman in travail (v. 21; and see 22:23), chaff driven by the wind (v. 24) and a shameless prostitute (vv. 22, 25-27).
Jeremiah’s “eating” of God’s Word (15:16) reminds us of Job 23:12, Deuteronomy 8:3 (quoted in Matt. 4:4), John 4:34, Ezekiel 2:8 and 3:3, and Revelation 10:10. We have already seen that the Word is compared to bread, meat, milk, and honey, and therefore it must be received within and digested.
The episodes involving the linen belt (chap. 13), the potter (chaps. 18–19), the yokes (chaps. 27–28), and the burial of the stones in Egypt (chap. 43) were in a sense “action sermons” for the communicating of abstract truth.[11] It’s important to note that the Hebrew word translated “shaping” in 18:4 is translated “preparing” in 18:11. There was still time for the nation to repent, and God would change His plan. The smashed jar symbolized God’s judgment on a people who could not “be repaired” (19:10-11; see 22:28; 25:34; 48:38; Isa. 30:14).
Jeremiah also used current events as “living texts” for his messages, such as the temporary release of the slaves (chap. 34), the opportunity to buy a field (chaps. 32–33), and the coming of the Recabites into Jerusalem (chap. 35). Of course, the constant threat of the Babylonian army outside Jerusalem’s walls gave Jeremiah all the ammunition he needed!
“The cup of God’s wrath” is a frequent symbol in Scripture and is used in Jeremiah 25:15, 17, 28; 49:12; 51:7; and see Lamentations 4:21; Psalm 75:8; Isaiah 51:17, 22; and Ezekiel 23:31-33. John picks up the image in Revelation 14:10, 16:19, 17:4, and 18:6. Four times Jeremiah pictures judgment in the image of the storm (11:16; 23:19; 25:32; 30:23; and see Isa. 30:30).
Jeremiah often compares the Jewish nation to a flock of sheep (10:21; 13:17, 20; 23:1-3; 25:34-36; 31:10; 49:20; 50:6, 17). More than any of the prophets, he uses a woman’s birth pangs to describe people’s response to judgment (4:31; 6:24; 13:21; 22:23; 30:6; 48:41; 49:22, 24; 50:43). The image is found in Psalm 48:6; Isaiah 13:8; 21:3; and 26:17-18;[12] Micah 4:9-10; and Hosea 13:13. Both Jesus (Matt. 24:8; Mark 13:8) and Paul (1 Thes. 5:3) used the image to describe tribulation at the end of the age. Paul also used birth pains to describe his struggles for his converts (Gal. 4:19) and the travail of creation under the bondage of sin (Rom. 8:22).
The judgment messages that close Jeremiah’s prophecy (chaps. 46–51) contain some typical metaphorical images: the devouring sword (46:10, 14), trees being cut down (46:22-23), the flooding waters (47:2; 51:55), the swooping eagle (48:40), the travailing woman (48:41; 49:22-24; 50:43), the harvest (49:9; 51:2, 33), the cup (49:12; 51:7; see 25:15-16; Rev. 14:8-10), and the marauding lion (49:19; 50:44; 51:38).
Lamentations
One of the key images in Jeremiah’s lament over the fall of Jerusalem is that of swallowing. The Lord swallowed up the dwellings of Jacob (2:2, 5, 8 [“destroying”]), but the enemy claimed that they did it (2:16). Of course, both were true; for the God who ordained the disciplining of His people also ordained Babylon to be the means of that discipline.
The city of Jerusalem had been a queen, but now it was a widow and a slave (1:1) and the crown had fallen (5:16; see Job 19:9; Ps. 89:39, 44). The gold is dull and the jewels are scattered, probably a reference to the cheapening effects of sin on the people (4:1-2, 7-8). What once was precious is now like a clay pot (4:2), and the nation is but “scum and refuse” (3:45). The wages of sin never increase a person’s worth.
The people are caught in the net (1:13), wearing the yoke of their own sins (1:14) and being crushed in the winepress (1:15). The Lord’s face no longer shines upon them (Num. 6:22-26) because there’s a cloud between them and Jehovah (2:1) and their prayers can’t break through (3:44). The fire of God’s angry judgment is their portion (1:13; 2:3-4; 4:11). Zion, the beautiful garden, is now a waste (2:6).
The weeping prophet pours out his heart in anguish for his people (2:11), and he invites the people to pour out their hearts in prayer for God’s help (2:19). He feels like a dead man in the darkness, walled in and weighed down (3:1-9). Jeremiah was given freedom by the Babylonians, but he felt worse than when he was imprisoned by his enemies in Jerusalem! God met him like a bear or a lion (3:10-11); his enemies in Judah hunted him like a bird and tried to drown him in a pit (3:52-54).
There is probably no book in the Bible that so vividly illustrates the wages of sin as the Book of Lamentations does; and in a day when God’s people are weak on holy living, it’s message is desperately needed.[13]
Ezekiel
Like Jeremiah, Ezekiel was a priest called to be a prophet; and, like both Isaiah and Jeremiah, he used vivid imagery and was himself a part of the message. “Ezekiel will be a sign to you” (24:24; and see 12:11 and Isa. 20:3).
As a sign, he was bound with ropes (3:24-27); he “played war” (4:1-17); he played barber (5:1-17); he clapped his hands and stamped his feet (6:11; see 21:14); he acted like he was going on a trip (12:1-16); he trembled as he ate (12:17-20) and groaned like a man in grief (21:6, 12); he played roadbuilder (21:18-23); he was not allowed to mourn his dead wife (24:15-27); and he made two sticks into one (37:15-17). Ezekiel also made use of parables (20:49; 24:3) and proverbs (11:3; 12:22; 16:44; 18:2-3).
The visions God gave him were very dramatic. His first vision was of a storm (see 13:13) that had fire “like glowing metal” at the heart of it and four cherubim within the fire (1:4-14), a picture of the holy judgment of God coming from the north (Jer. 1:14). The call of Moses (Ex. 3), of Isaiah (Isa. 6), and of Ezekiel all emphasized the holiness of God.
The next vision was of a throne on a firmament being moved about by intricate wheels within wheels (1:15-28), a manifestation of the sovereignty of God, His providential workings in the world, and the glory that it brings to Him. The vision was like that of a huge chariot surrounded by a rainbow and moving swiftly from place to place. Ezekiel began his ministry by seeing revelations of God’s holy judgment and overruling providence.
The prophet would meet with resistance but God would make his forehead “like the hardest stone” (3:9; see Jer. 1:17-19).
In chapter 7, God’s judgment would be unleashed like a beast (v. 3), awakened like a sleeping man (v. 5), and poured out like hot liquid (v. 8). The nation would feel the blow (v. 9); the seemingly dead stick had come to life and doom had blossomed (vv. 10-11). In the face of God’s wrath, strong men will become like doves and strong knees will become “as weak as water” (vv. 16-17). God will come like a plunderer (v. 21), and even the rulers will be “clothed with despair” (v. 27).
The image of the “cooking pot” (11:3-15) is repeated in chapter 24. After the first deportation of exiles to Babylon (597 B.C.), the rulers left in Jerusalem considered themselves the “choice pieces of meat” while the exiles were the “leftovers.” But God said that the innocent people of Jerusalem, people the rulers had killed, were the “choice meat” and the evil rulers were the “leftovers.” When Nebuchadnezzar would begin his attack on Jerusalem, the city would indeed be a cooking pot, and the sinners would be destroyed.
Like Jeremiah in Jerusalem, Ezekiel in Babylon had to contend with false prophets (chap. 13). Instead of repairing the broken walls, these men were “like jackals among ruins,” seeking for whatever dead bodies they could find (v. 4). Instead of giving the “bread of life” to the people, the false prophets lived like scavengers. Because they prophesied lies, they didn’t repair the broken walls that made the nation so vulnerable; they only whitewashed the walls with a false peace. When the storm of God’s wrath comes, the walls will collapse (vv. 10-16; see 22:28-31). Paul probably had this image in mind when he called the high priest a “whitewashed wall” (Acts 23:3).
According to chapter 15, the vine is good for either bearing fruit or being burned; you can’t use it for building. If it stops bearing fruit, it becomes fuel. Of course, John 15 comes to mind. The vine image is repeated in chapter 17, a detailed allegory involving an eagle (v. 3, Nebuchadnezzar), a cedar tree (v. 3, David’s royal line), the “topmost shoot” (vv. 3-4, King Jehoiachin), a seed (vv. 5-6, Zedekiah), a second eagle (vv. 7-8, Egypt), the east wind (v. 10, Babylonian invasion), and a second shoot (vv. 22-24, Messiah). See Ezekiel 31 for another “tree” allegory.
Babylon is compared to a sword (21:1-5, 19) that will flash like lightning (vv. 9-10). Throughout Scripture, the sword is a consistent symbol of judgment and justice (see Ezek. 5–6; 30–33; Rom. 13:4). The word sword is used seventy-one times in Jeremiah and eighty-six times in Ezekiel.
Ezekiel names the sins of Jerusalem in 22:1-12 and pictures the nation as dross (vv. 17-22; see Jer. 6:27-30), the leaders as ravaging lions and wolves (vv. 23-27), and the prophets as liars whitewashing the tottering walls (vv. 28-31; see 13:10ff).
Ezekiel’s funeral dirge for Tyre pictures the city as a great ship with a mighty crew, bearing tremendous wealth from port to port; but the “ship of state” would sink and be no more. You find a similar image in Isaiah 33:23 and Revelation 17–18.
Ezekiel 29–32 focuses on Egypt, the “great monster” that God will catch in His net (29:3; 32:1-8), the weak reed that the Jews must not trust (29:6; see 2 Kings 18:21; Isa. 36:6), the wages God will give Nebuchadnezzar for his work (29:17-20), and the mighty tree that God will hew down (chap. 31).
Ezekiel 37–48 deals primarily with the future of Israel. The Gentile nations are like graves and the Jews like dry bones in the graves, but God will give life to the bones and bring His people back to their land (33:1-14). The enemies of God will be offered like a sacrifice (39:17-20; see Isa. 34:6; Jer. 46:10; Zeph. 1:7; Rev. 19:17-21).
Ezekiel saw the glory of God depart from the temple and the city of Jerusalem (8:4; 9:3; 10:4, 18-19; 11:22-25), but he saw it return to the new temple and the new city (43:1-5).
Daniel
While the dreams and visions in the Book of Daniel are vivid in their imagery, and for the most part self-explained, there are not many similes and metaphors in the book. The man dressed in linen is described with references to fire, metals, jewels, and lightning (10:4-6; see Rev. 1:12-16). An empire will be uprooted (11:4; see Deut. 28:63; 29:28; 1 Kings 14:15; 2 Chron. 7:20; Ps. 52:5; Prov. 10:30; 12:3; Amos 9:15). Jeremiah makes considerable use of this image (1:10; 12:14-17; 18:7; 24:6; 31:28, 40; 42:10; 45:4.) See also Matthew 15:12-13.
Enemy invasion is pictured as a storm and a flood (Dan. 11:40); resurrection as awaking from sleep (12:2; see Matt. 9:24; John 11:11-14; Ps. 76:5; Acts 7:60; 13:36; 1 Cor. 11:30; 15:6, 18, 20; 1 Thes. 4:13-18); and rewards to the faithful like shining stars (12:3; Matt. 13:43; John 5:35; Phil. 2:15; Rev. 1:16, 20; 2:28; 8:10-12; 9:1; 12:1-4; 22:16).
Hosea
I have counted nearly eighty similes and metaphors in the Book of Hosea, which is certainly quite a record for a book of less than 200 verses. The overriding image, of course, is that of Jehovah’s marriage covenant with His people, and the people’s “prostitution” in worshiping foreign gods (4:10-18; 5:3-4; 6:10; 9:1). The theme is also dealt with in Jeremiah 3 and Ezekiel 16 and 23.
Hosea’s message to the northern kingdom of Israel was illustrated in his own life (chaps. 1–3). Either he married a virgin and she became a prostitute, or he married a woman already a prostitute who returned to her old life. His wife fell so low that Hosea had to go to the slave market and buy her back. “Going back” and “returning” are key themes in the book (2:7; 3:5; 5:4; 6:1; 7:10; 12:6; 14:1). According to Jewish law, Gomer should have been stoned for her sin; but her husband forgave her and took her back.
Hosea used many images to describe the sinful people of the Northern Kingdom: stubborn heifers instead of meek lambs (4:16; 10:11); prostitutes (4:18; 5:1-7); adulterers “burning like an oven” (7:4-7); half-baked bread (7:8); senseless doves (7:11-12; see 11:11); faulty bows (7:16); wild donkeys (8:9); blighted plants (9:16) instead of a fruitful vine (10:1-2); unplowed soil (10:12); mist, dew, chaff, and smoke (13:3).
How will God judge Israel? He will make them like a desert (2:3); a storm will sweep them away (4:19; 8:7); a flood will drown them (5:10); a moth will devour them (5:12); a lion will attack them (5:14; 13:7-8);[14] an eagle will swoop down (8:1); their glory will fly away like a bird (9:11); Samaria will float away like a twig on a river (10:7); they will reap a bitter harvest (10:13); they will have pains like a woman giving birth (13:13).
The emphasis of the book is on God’s loving-kindness in forgiving His unfaithful people and welcoming back those who return to Him. When they return, the valley of Achor (trouble) will offer them a door of hope (2:15; see Josh. 7:24). When sinners return to the Lord, He heals them (6:1-2; 14:4) and brings life to them like the early and late rains (6:3). The withered plant (9:16) will grow and blossom from the dew of God’s blessing and become like a cedar, an olive tree, a pine tree, and a fruitful vine (14:5-8).
Hosea 7:9 pictures the nation as getting old and weak but not realizing it (see Jud. 16:20). Their compromise with the godless Gentiles had cost them their strength.
Hosea 10:4 has a modern ring to it: “therefore lawsuits spring up like poisonous weeds in a plowed field.” See Amos 6:12.
When God called His people at the beginning, they were like fresh fruit to Him (9:10). He took off their Egyptian yoke and bound them to Himself with kindness and love (11:4). But they turned to idols and began to feed on the wind and pursue vanity (12:1). Now they must offer the fruit of their lips, words of confession and repentance; and then He can heal them (14:1-2).
Joel
The overriding image here is that of a plague of locusts, insects invading the land like a conquering army (1:6; 2:2, 11, 25). They spread out like the dawning sun (2:2); they consumed the fields like crackling fire (2:5) and robbed houses like thieves (2:9). It was time for the people to repent, but not merely with outward demonstrations (2:13).
Joel saw in this devastating event a picture of the coming “day of the Lord” when God would reap a harvest and judge the nations for their sins (3:13).
Amos
Since Amos was called from being a farmer, you can expect to find agricultural images used in his messages. God’s Word is like the roar of a lion or a clap of thunder, and we had better listen (1:2). Damascus had treated her enemies like chaff (1:3). Sinful Israel will feel the weight of God’s judgment like somebody run over by a cart full of grain (2:13). When the invading army is finished with Samaria, not much will be left, as when a lion catches a sheep (3:12). The kingdom would be overthrown even as Sodom and Gomorrah (4:11), like fire sweeping through a house (5:6).
Amos dared to call the leading women of the land “cows of Bashan” who would be led away to slaughter (4:1-3). The prophet saw the poor mistreated and exploited (5:7-13), and he cried out for justice to bring cleansing and healing to the land like a river and a stream (5:24). But until the people repent, God will send them a famine of His Word (8:11-12). He will shake the house of Israel “as grain is shaken in a sieve” (9:9; Luke 22:31; Isa. 30:28).
Amos closes his book on an encouraging note: The “house of David,” now but a fallen tent, will one day be restored (9:11; Isa. 33:20; 54:2; Jer. 10:20), and Israel will enjoy God’s blessings again. She will be planted, never to be uprooted again (9:15).
Obadiah
Edom was proud of its “nest among the stars” (v. 4) and sure of its security, but God would reach them and bring them down. Verses 5-6 parallel Jeremiah 49:9. One day, the Jews will be like fire and burn Edom like stubble (v. 18).
Jonah
Jesus said that Jonah’s experience of death, burial, and resurrection was a “sign” and a picture of His own death, burial, and resurrection (Matt. 12:38-41). Jonah saw the depths as a prison that locked him in (2:6) as his life was “ebbing away” (2:7).
Micah
The Lord’s coming in judgment is vividly described in 1:3-4, with the mountains melting like wax. (See Pss. 18:7ff; 144:5; Isa. 64:1.)
The prophet is so stirred he howls like a jackal and moans like an owl (1:8). Micah tries to find the godly, but it’s like looking for fruit after the harvest is ended (7:1). He sees God’s people dying from an incurable wound (1:9; Jer. 10:19; 14:17; 15:18; 30:12, 15; Lam. 2:13; Nahum 3:19; and see Isa. 1:5-6). The leaders of the nation are exploiting the people the way men butcher meat (3:1-3), and the judges are like thorns and briars (7:4).
The Lord summons His people to court (6:2) and warns that judgment is coming. The people will be trampled like mire in the street (7:10), but God will eventually judge Israel’s enemies and make them lick the dust like snakes (7:17). God will forgive His people’s sins, treading their sins underfoot and burying them in the depths of the sea (7:19). Israel will defeat their enemies and be like the dew and the rain (5:7), and a lion among the sheep (5:8). The Lord will give them horns of iron and hooves of bronze so they can thresh the nations (4:13). God will gather His people like sheep and bless them again (2:12).
Nahum
God’s wrath is poured out like fire (1:6) and Nineveh will be burned up like stubble (1:10). The invading army is as fast as lightning (2:4). The slave girls moan like doves (2:7; Isa. 38:14; Ezek. 7:16). Nineveh is no longer a lions’ den (2:11) but a pool that is leaking water and will soon be dry (2:8). Perhaps this is a picture of the people fleeing the city. The invaders will strip away everything, just like locusts (3:15-16).
In the prophet’s description of the invading Babylonian army, he compares the horses to leopards and wolves, and the soldiers to vultures. The army sweeps like the desert wind and picks up prisoners the way the wind picks up the sand (1:8-11). The army swallows people (1:13) and catches them like helpless fish in their nets (1:15).[15]
“Greedy as the grave” (2:5) reminds us that death “feeds” on people. (See Ps. 49:14; Prov. 27:20; 30:15-16; Isa. 5:14; 14:11.)
The promise of Habakkuk 2:14 echoes Isaiah 6:3, 11:9, and Psalm 72:19. The description in chapter 3 of God’s coming down to earth compares His splendor to sunrise (v. 4) and His march to that of a conqueror in a chariot (vv. 8-9; and see Ps. 114). The mountains writhed in pain (v. 10) as God threshed the nations (v. 12) and trampled the sea (v. 15), another symbol of the nations.
The prophet’s closing note is one of confidence: he has the feet of a deer and can climb higher! (v. 19)
Zephaniah
God’s judgment of His people would be like a storm sweeping across the land (1:2-3; 2:2; Gen. 6:7) and a feast in connection with a sacrifice (1:7; Isa. 34:6; Jer. 46:10; Ezek. 39:17-20). The people, according to Zephaniah, would be like blind men (1:17) whose blood and entrails would be treated like dust and refuse.
Throughout Scripture, God’s jealousy over His beloved people is often compared to fire (1:18; 3:8; Deut. 4:24; 6:15; Ps. 79:5; Zech. 8:2; see Ex. 20:5; 34:14). In His judgment, nations will be blown like chaff (2:2), uprooted (2:4), made like Sodom and Gomorrah (2:9), and made as dry and parched as a desert (2:13).
The prophet described the rapacious rulers as lions and wolves (3:3) to be devoured by His fire (3:8). These images are as frightening as they are powerful.
The prophet used an object lesson based on the levitical laws of ritual uncleanness (2:10-13; Lev. 6:24-30; Num. 19:11-13; Ezek. 44:17-19; 46:20). God’s people were defiled and therefore “toxic” and needed to be cleansed.
God made Zerubbabel, the governor, His “signet ring” (2:23), which was the seal a person used to “sign” documents. The governor was God’s guarantee that the promised Messiah would indeed come and defeat Israel’s enemies and establish the kingdom. Zerubbabel is named in the genealogy of Jesus Christ in Matthew 1:12-13. (On the spiritual implications of a seal or signet, see Song 8:6; Jer. 22:24-27; 2 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13.)
Zechariah
The people tried to run away from God, but everything the prophets said caught up with them (1:6). Had they obeyed, God’s blessings would have accompanied them (Deut. 28:2; “accompany” is the word “overtake”). God’s Word runs swiftly to accomplish His purposes (Ps. 147:15; Isa. 55:11; 2 Thes. 3:1).
“The apple of his eye” (2:8) echoes Deuteronomy 32:10 and refers to the pupil. The word apple means “little man” because when you look into someone’s eyes, you see yourself there in miniature. The pupil is a most sensitive and important part of the eye and must be guarded jealously. See Psalm 17:8 and Proverbs 7:2.
The image of the stick snatched from the fire (3:2) is also found in Amos 4:11 and Jude 23.
Zechariah 9:5 presents a withering dead hope, which is quite a contrast to the “living hope” that God’s people have because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:3).
The coming victory of God’s people is pictured in Zechariah 9. God will use His people like weapons (v. 13) and their strength will be like that of men full of wine (v. 15). God will save them the way a shepherd saves his flock or a king his jewels (v. 16). The sheep will be as strong as horses (10:3) and the people will pass safely through “the sea of trouble” (10:11-12), a reference to the exodus of Israel from Egypt.
Zechariah 12 deals with the defense of Jerusalem in the last days. God will use the city as a cup that will make the Gentile nations drunk so that they will attack and be defeated (v. 2; see Ps. 75:8; Isa. 51:17; Jer. 25:15). The city will be a rock (v. 3) that will injure those who attack. Judah will be a fire that will burn the enemy like firewood (v. 6). The nation will be refined like silver and gold (13:9; Job 23:10; Ps. 139:1-3; Mal. 3:2-4; 1 Peter 1:7; 4:12).
Malachi
“Opening the floodgates of heaven” (3:10) seems to be a proverbial phrase (2 Kings 7:2, 19; Ps. 78:23) that may be based on Genesis 7:11.
Israel as God’s “treasured possession” (3:17) takes us back to Exodus 19:5 and also to God’s special treatment of the Jews when they were in Egypt (Ex. 8:22; 9:4, 6, 26; 11:7; 12:13). See also Deuteronomy 4:20, 7:6, 14:2, 26:18, and Psalms 33:12, 135:4.
The closing images center around a day of judgment when God’s fire will burn like a furnace (4:1) and destroy proud sinners who will become ashes (4:3). But the saints will rejoice like calves released from their stalls (4:2; Isa. 35:6). The sun that burns the wicked will bring healing to the righteous (4:2; Pss. 27:1; 118:27; Isa. 60:1, 19-20).
The English Old Testament ends with the warning that God will smite the earth with a curse. The New Testament closes with God promising that there will be no more curse (Rev. 22:3).
“He was often a healer, sometimes a worker of signs, frequently a preacher, but always a teacher. . . . Teaching was his chief business.”
“The common people are captivated more readily by comparisons and examples than by difficult and subtle disputations. They would rather see a well-drawn picture than a well-written book.”
“Metaphors are much more tenacious than facts.”