What Does the Bible Say - Is It Literal or Figurative #3?

In this episode, Arnie and Fred continue their discussion of examples of other figures of speech. We begin by talking about similes. We note that similes are words or phrases that compare two things. We look at two examples that have the words like or as in them. Next is a discussion of similitudes. We explain what they are and look at two Bible examples where this figure of speech occurs. Hyperboles are looked at next. They are obvious and intentional exaggerations indicating excitement or used to make a point. Jesus used them as did the apostles. We discuss four examples. Personifications are used in both the Old and New Testaments. We note what they are and look at several passages where they appear. Finally, we begin to talk about how to distinguish figurative from literal language but will have to complete this in the next episode. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript of this Buzzsprout episode provided for your convenience.

Transcript

Fred Gosnell: 0:00

This is a presentation of the Woodland church of Christ meeting at 3370 Broad Street in Sumter, South Carolina. We meet for worship on Sunday at ten thirty am and five thirty pm. We meet for bible study at nine thirty am on Sunday and seven pm on Wednesday. If you have questions or comments on this lesson, you may email them to Fred Gosnell at fgosnell@ftc-i.net or to Arnie Granke at agranke440718@twc.com.

Arnie: 0:33

Good afternoon. This is Arnie Granke and Fred Gosnell in Sumter, South Carolina, with the church of Christ at Woodland. And this is what does the Bible say? It's brought to you by the by that congregation. If you happen to be in the Sumter, South Carolina area or nearby we, we would be glad to have you stop in, worship with us, attend the Bible class with us and talk about what the Bible does say. This series that we've started here a couple of sessions ago involved with the Bible being, is it literal or figurative? So many people look at the Bible and they say, oh, it's all figures of speech. Nothing means exactly what it says. That's just not the truth at at all. So we thought that it would be a good idea to look at some figures of speech and see how they're used and recognized. We speak and we write in figures of speech all of the time, and that's a figure of speech as well. And so we we've looked at the fact that the Bible is verbally inspired. We've looked at at the fact that Jesus treated various accounts in the in the Old Testament as being historically accurate and being literal. Things like things like, for example, creation, or David eating the shew bread, or Jonah being swallowed by the the whale and being in the belly of the whale, things of of that sort. Jesus and his apostles understood some of the historical and literal Bible accounts to contain figurative language. Some of them were parables. Some of them were proverbs. Some were were allegories and and then we began to to look at some examples of of other figures of speech. One of them that we talked about was, was a metaphor. Uh, where do we want to go from ther, Fred?

Fred Gosnell: 2:59

Well, Arnie, I'm looking at the word simile. And a simile is a word or a phrase that compares two things, and usually when you see this, it'll have words like or as to indicate the similarity. And one of the places that we find that is in Matthew chapter six, verses five through seven. And Jesus had been asked about praying, and he said in Matthew six, beginning in verse five, he says, When thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites. And notice, he says, as the hypocrites are, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets that they may be seen of men. Verily, I say unto you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet and when thou hast shut the door, pray to thy Father, which is in secret, and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. But when you pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathen do. There's our word as, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. So he's telling them now, don't be as the hypocrites, or like the hypocrites, or don't be as or like the heathen. And then he tells them, well, this is what they do. Well, don't you do it, because if you do it, you'll be just like a hypocrite. And if you do what, if you start to you your prayers, and you have all these great words and they're long and they're flowering and all that they repeat, well, that's what heathens do. So he says, Don't be as the heathens or as the hypocrite. So So Jesus is using a simile when he has a comparison there, using the words like or as.

Arnie: 4:46

And, and really the word simile, you'll notice, is like

Fred Gosnell: 4:46

Yeah and I think you just used a simile, sheep like the word similar. And that's the reason why it's called that, because you're you're showing a similarity between two different things and and it's a very frequent figure of speech we use that a lot of times. Another one Fred is in in Isaiah. Here's one from the Old Testament, Isaiah, 53 and talking about about sheep. And Isaiah said, beginning in verse six, All we like sheep. See, we're like sheep in some, some way. In what way are we like sheep? Have gone astray and have turned everyone to his own way. If you leave sheep unattended, and they've got an open range, they'll just wander off somewhere. And the problem with that, of course, very obviously, is is they may not be able to feed themselves if they're not kept in the in the place where, where you can tend them. They could they could die. They could be victims of some wild animal, or just starve to death. So so it's important that we, that we keep them in in a safe place. Well disciples and and people that worship the Lord to some extent are are like sheep in in that respect. And they they go astray too. And then Isaiah continues, We have turned everyone to his own way. Notice that Isaiah doesn't say, You have turned everyone to his own way. He he puts himself in that category as as well. And he said, The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, he was afflicted. Yet he opened not his mouth. He's brought as a lamb, not that he is a lamb, but but like a lamb can be brought where you want to take him. Jesus was brought as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb; See, there's another simile in the same sentence, as a sheep, as a lamb, so he openeth not his his mouth. And and so in that way, we realize that that similes are very common things. But it doesn't mean that Jesus was, in fact, a sheep. He didn't say Baa ah ah and he didn't have, he wasn't covered with wool or anything of of that sort. There were just several things that he did that were sheep like to benefit us as a as a matter of fact.

Arnie: 8:02

I guess I did. I did it unconsciously.

Fred Gosnell: 8:05

Sure, yeah. So then that leads us to our next word, similitude. And, of course, a similitude, of course, when you say that we can notice that part of the similitude is simile. So a similitude is a simile that is expanded into a brief story or a explanation of something that's more than just a sentence or two. For instance, we had Jesus talking about the Wise and Foolish man in Matthew chapter seven, beginning in verse 24 now notice what he says. He says, Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him there. There's our word like there. Liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock, and the rain descended and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house. It fell not, for it was founded upon a rock. And everyone that heareth these things of mine and doeth them not, shall be likened. And there's our word, like, likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand, and the rain descended and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell. And great was the fall of it. So, so. So Jesus gives us two, two explanations. One, the house built on a rock on a good foundation, then one built on sand, on not on a good foundation. And of course, you know the people he's talking to, they would recognize the truth of this. And of course, ultimately, the comparison is, one does what Jesus says, and the other one does not. And of course, it's easy, really, it doesn't take a genius to figure out which one is is which action carried out will be the best for an individual. So that's a similitude there in that section of. Scripture used by Jesus.

Arnie: 10:01

So we all use similitudes, and certainly, Jesus was no different in in that respect. He used another one in Luke chapter seven spoke about children in in a marketplace and and a likeness to that, that kind of an example.Beginning in verse 31 of Luke seven, The Lord said, Whereunto shall I liken the men of this generation? He's already told you he's going to make a similitude. How are we going to liken these people? What's it going to be like? And to what are they like? They are like unto children sitting. Of course, they're they're the children play and and children played in the marketplace and and so he said, they're like unto children sitting in the marketplace calling to one another and saying, We've piped unto you and you've not danced. We've mourned to you. You've not wept. For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine. And you say, he has a devil. The Son of Man is come eating and drinking. And ye say, Behold, a gluttonous man and a wine Bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. That's pretty much how, how many of the the Jewish officials treated Jesus as if that was the the case. They just took the the natural way that he taught and things that he did and and turned them into childlike activities there, more of an insult than anything else was there their purpose there. Verse 35 said, But wisdom is justified of all her children. So we find that there are quite a number of of similitudes that occurred. You know, I'm drinking, thinking Fred, we haven't said anything about hyperbole. That's a word that probably is not familiar to a lot of people. That's a figure of speech, isn't it?

Fred Gosnell: 12:36

Exactly? And of course, a lot of people hear hyperboles, but they don't understand what they're hearing and and they take it literal. Well, hyperbole, it's an obvious or an intentional exaggeration indicating excitement or used to emphasize the point. So just remember that hyperbole is, generally speaking, what is said in a hyperbole is not literal, literally what is said. So, for instance, in Matthew five, verse 30, there, Jesus says, If thy right hand offend thee cut it off and cast it from thee, for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into Hades. So now, does Jesus really mean that, literally, that you need to cut your right hand off? No, that's a hyperbole, because we know that there are other short sections of the Bible that that tells us that we should not harm the harm our bodies in in any way. So, so he's using a hyperbole to tell them how important it is to change their behavior. Of course, he's saying, Well, if your right hand offends you, cut it off. Well, your hands are what you use to accomplish things, a lot of things. So he says, Now you just might as well cut it off if you want to stay out of Hades. So that's a hyperbole. It's an exaggeration, and not meant to be carried out in exactly the way it is said. He doesn't mean to actually cut off your right hand.

Arnie: 14:22

You would, you would find the figures of that, of that sort, with regard to almost every function of the body. Put out your eyes, rip out your rip off your ears, tear off your nose, pull out your tongue, and and all of that are hyperboles, and that's not literally meant that way, as if that's what we should do, but it is talking about some of our behaviors seem to have that that result. Spices is, is another one. Uh, Matthew, chapter three, chapter 23 and beginning in verse 23 also says, Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees hypocrites, for you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy and faith. You know, it was okay to use good judgment. It was encouraged. Mercy was encouraged that we be merciful and, and, and, of course, matters of the law are important. Everybody should, should obey, obey the law, but we shouldn't act hypocritical about it, paying attention to these things and and then expecting that that really the the law is just made up of hyperboles. We don't have to do these things. We just sort of act like we're doing them. No, the law is, is the law. After, after saying that in in verse 20, 23, Jesus went on to say, These ought you to have done and not to leave the other undone. Then here's another hyperbole, You blind guides which strain at a gnat and swallow a camel. Do you think Jesus is saying to people literally swallowed a camel? I don't know how big a guy would have to be. Yeah, he'd have to have a huge mouth to be able to swallow a camel. This is an exaggeration for for the purpose of of making a point. So let's not treat it as if Jesus really meant that we ought to swallow camels and and things of that sort.

Fred Gosnell: 17:09

Well, then, then John uses, uses a hyperbole in John 21 verse, verse 25 and he's speaking about the things that Jesus did. And he says in verse 25, And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written, every one I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. Well, does he literally mean that everything that Jesus did could not be contained in all the books in the world? Well, no, he doesn't mean that, but he does mean that there's a lot of other things that Jesus did that has not been recorded. But then he goes on and talks about, But these, these things are written. And so it's important that we understand what was written. And of course, Peter says he's given us all things that pertain to life, and godliness. So, so actually, we have everything that Jesus said that we're supposed to have in our case, in the New Testament, and of course, we have all the rest of the words that God has intended for us to have in the Old Testament. So So John was using a hyperbole to communicate the fact that there's a lot of things that Jesus said, we don't have it all, but what we do have, that's what we have to follow.

Arnie: 18:30

Well, Fred is two and a half times, I would estimate, as old as as Jesus lived to be here on on the earth. So if it would take all the books in the world to write a biography of Jesus, it would take two and a half times as many books to write a biography of Fred. I don't think that that's so, and there would never be enough books around there. It's, it's an exaggeration and and should be treated that way because it makes a a point. Uh, here's another one. Fred, I'm looking in in Ephesians, chapter three, and and verse, verse eight. Paul's writing here, and he says, Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints? Well, I don't think that Paul is less than me. I'm I'm a disciple, I'm a saint. You're a disciple, you're a saint. I don't think that he's that he's less than us. I would say that he's greater than either one of us, and probably greater than many, many saints. But that's a hyperbole to exaggerate his his greatness. So that we understand that grace was given to him. And he goes on to say, is this grace given that I should preach among the Gentiles, the unsearchable riches of Christ? Well, Fred and I both preach. We're preaching to you, so to speak, in in this lesson today. And what a privilege that is. We're we're delighted that you listen and but we also recognize that that it's a privilege, we shouldn't we shouldn't abuse that privilege and teach you things that are false or things that just aren't according to the Gospel, talk about other stuff instead of what the Bible teaches there. But one of the things that it uses is hyperbole, and it's okay for us to do that in such a way that you understand the points that we're trying to show you from the Word of God. Does that work for you?

Fred Gosnell: 21:05

Yeah, well, of course, one of the things that that Paul seemed to have on his mind there was that Paul never did forget that what he had done before he became a Christian, yeah, and he had, he had murdered Christians and and I think when it is unto me, who am less than the least of the apostles, or at least of the other saints, most other saints had never done some of the things Paul did. But, and, and, but he said that, but by grace, it was given him that he should preach on the Gentile so. But, but by hyperbole, he he used that to show that in spite of everything he did by Grace, God gave him the this job, Lord gave him this job to preach to the Gentiles. And so that's that's not to say he was least of all the saints. Actually, he was an apostle. So, so, so I'm certainly not in the league that Paul was, and I understand that. I'll always remember that.

Arnie: 22:02

Most of the people in the world are in that category as as well. And and of course, Paul was an example of of violence there in in taking the life of of disciples. And none of us were perfect. I certainly was no angel before I obeyed the gospel. And and many of the people that we know would would say that that was the case for for them. But now that we've obeyed the gospel, those sins have been washed away, and what a blessing that is for us.

Fred Gosnell: 22:41

Yes, and now we sometimes the the Bible uses what we call personification. And when that is used, it attributes a personal nature or human characteristics, or volition doing something to something that is non human. For for instance, in Psalm 114, three and four, there we have David writing there, he says, The sea saw it and fled. Jordan was driven back. The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs. So, so well, does the sea really see anything? Of course, it doesn't. And does it flee? Does it flee away? Well, only when the tide comes in and out, you know. Was Jordan driven back? Well, let's see Jordan was driven back. I think when, when some maybe, maybe crossed it, but not, not generally. Well, do the mountains skip like rams? No, they don't. So these are and little hills like little lambs. So these are characteristics of human beings and animals attributed to non human things. And we would have to read the context there to see why that was that was used and to what it indicates. But we find that in a number of places in the Bible. So when we read those things, and when you think, Okay, now, why is he using this figure of speech in this context? And if we try to notice that, we'll probably be able to understand what's being said a whole lot better. If we understand which figure of speech is being used and why the writer is using it. If we recognize that that it's a figure of speech, then we would also understand a little bit about the point that the writer is is making, here is a place that's beautiful. It's got the hills and the valleys and and some small hills and larger hills, you know, and, and somebody might say, Oh, I never imagined it was this beautiful. Well, that's kind of the point that he's. Uh, that he's making, that the psalmist is making when he writes that. Matthew six, in the Sermon on the Mount, uses a, uses personification in in verse 34. There's not a real person there that Jesus is is talking about but he is speaking to people and and telling them about the way they should think and and behave. Take, therefore, no thought for tomorrow. Well, it does it mean to just ignore it. Go unprepared for tomorrow. Well, of course, we should be as prepared as we can but, but don't fret over tomorrow and what it's going to be, whether we'll have food, will we have clothes to wear, shoes that we can put on? Will there be friends, or will everybody, don't worry about all of that stuff. Take therefore no thought for the for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself, not literally. So things will, things will work out alright Is the point that he's making. Sufficient to the day is the evil thereof? Let's just get through today. Get the, eat the food that we need to eat, where the clothes that we need to wear associate with people that we need to associate with, and don't worry about what's in the future. Yes. And then, of course, James, James talks about a tongue that is unrestrained or uncontrolled. In James, chapter one, notice what he says. In verse 26 he says, If any man among you seem to be religious and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. Well, bridle not his tongue. Oh, what? He didn't tie his tongue up or put a bridle on his tongue literally? No, it's not what he's talking about. He is talking about this, this man that seems to be religious, but then his speech doesn't indicate that that's the way he really is, because he hasn't controlled what he says. And of course, you know, it's a pretty easy sometimes to figure out things about certain people that claim to be religious, but then you listen to what they have to say, and you say, you know, I'm not sure that this individual is what he really says he is, because he doesn't control what he says and and so he, doesn't mean you tie your tongue up in little knots, even though sometimes I think that might be a good idea for some people. But, but he's using a figure of speech. You know, people that claim to be religious, they ought to actually speak that way, and if they don't, then they just aren't controlling their speech. Well, of course, they. What that tells us is that our speech can be controlled. What we say we have already thought about, and so if what you're saying doesn't agree with what you claim to be, then you have failed in your communication, and people are going to know your real status, as far as your religion might be concerned.

Arnie: 28:18

So that's personification. Here's another figure of speech. We won't have time, I don't think, to completely deal with it, and we'll probably discuss it again in next, next week's discussion. But how do we distinguish figurative language from literal language? Well, maybe we can give give ourselves some helpful hints here. One of them would be, I think, don't make up our minds prematurely about what something means, and that's what a lot of people have been doing, literally when, when they've they've said that the Bible is just full of big figures of speech. Well, wait a minute. Let's look at them and see what they what they represent. Don't make up your mind prematurely and and fail to consider what the situation is, consider the the case. Uh, the Pharisees, for example, uh, misrepresented Moses as commanding divorce. Well, Moses never commanded anybody to to get divorced. But I think we'll talk about that next. Lord's Day, Fred. Meanwhile, why don't you all take a take a look at Matthew chapter 19, beginning in verse three and and you'll see what that's talking about. And we'll discuss that again. Lord willing, next Lord's day. We appreciate you listening to us. We hope that some of the things we've discussed will be helpful to you in understanding the Bible a little bit better. And in the meantime, we hope that you have a good week. God be with you.