March 12th, 2009 by Kristi Stephens

If you didn’t read part one of the figurative language discussion, do that first!

Well, since no one was brave enough to answer my question in the comments, let’s do it together. :)

To test your interpretive skills, take a look at Joshua 10:12-14, the account of the sun standing still while Joshua fought against the Amorites. Now, can you argue that the sun standing still was figurative speech? Why or why not?

Verses 12 and 13 of this passage are in poetic form (note the center justification again.) So, can you argue that this is an example of poetic figurative language and that the sun did not literally stand still?

No! Why not? Notice that 13b-14 are not poetry, they are written in prose!

“The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a man. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel!”

When the Bible states something like that in prose form, it is a literal account of an actual event. It doesn’t matter if you think this story sounds crazy – God made the sun, made the earth, caused the earth to rotate and be the right distance from the sun, etc! The thought of Him being able to make the sun “stand still” for a day should not be that hard to believe!

So now, back to the example I quoted from Hanegraaff’s book. Are we on solid ground to cry “heresy!” when Copeland and other faith teachers claim that God is “a being that is very uncanny, the way He’s very much like you and me… a Being that stands somewhere around six-two to six-three, that weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of a couple of hundred pounds, little better, [and] has a [hand] span of nine inches across”?

YES.

Isaiah 40:12 is a poetic description of God’s presence and majesty. It doesn’t take a seminary degree to realize that this passage is, as we have discussed before, a true description of God given in figurative language. Oddly enough, Isaiah’s main point in this passage is how utterly unlike man God is! To use this passage to say that God looks like us is ridiculous! Read for yourself:

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?

Who has understood the mind of the LORD,
or instructed him as his counselor?

Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him,
and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge
or showed him the path of understanding?

Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales;
he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.

To whom, then, will you compare God?
What image will you compare him to?

He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.

“To whom will you compare me?
Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.

Lift your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one,
and calls them each by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.

Isaiah 40:12-15, 18, 22, 25-26

In addition to just logically reading this, the true meaning of poetic descriptions will always line up with the rest of Scripture. Jesus Himself stated that “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” John 4:24 Scripture is clear that God the Father is Spirit – He is not a physical being like you and me. To claim that Isaiah 40 teaches otherwise is not only illogical, it is unbiblical.

Hopefully this brief discussion clarified things rather than muddying the water for you! Basically, if the Bible describes something as a literal event, it actually happened (including supernatural occurrences that we cannot fathom such as Creation in 6 days, a worldwide flood, Jesus’ miracles, Jesus’ resurrection, etc.).  To argue that these things are figurative is to negate the authority and accuracy of Scripture.

When the Bible describes something figuratively in poetic language, the meaning will always, always be consistent with the rest of Scripture. Keep it in context with the passage, the book, and the Bible as a whole!

May God richly bless you as you seek to know Him and understand His Word!

Make me know Your ways, O LORD;
Teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
For You I wait all the day.
Psalm 25:4-5 (NASB)