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AN
ANALYSIS OF FIGURES OF SPEECH
Message 4:
THE SIMILE
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"Often
the prophets piled up simile upon simile
and metaphor upon metaphor
in their efforts to enforce the message
which they had for the people."
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THE SIMILE
IN ALL languages there are various figures
of speech which are characteristic of all developed
peoples. We are told by the ancient Chinese proverb
that one picture is worth ten thousand words. In other
words, a person can get a clearer idea of an object if
a picture is shown than he can from a lengthy verbal
description of it. Both the ancient and the modern
peoples have introduced figures of speech in their
languages in order to make the thought more vivid and
to make their narration more intelligible and
accurate. Naturally, then, the simile was doubtless
one of the first figures used. As its name implies, a
simile is that figure by which a comparison in its
simplest form is presented. We shall in this short
study notice a few instances of this figure of speech,
taking an example here and there - though the Bible is
full of them.
There appears a most beautiful, vivid, and graphic
simile in Isaiah 55:10,11:
For
as the rain cometh down and the snow from
heaven, and returneth not thither, but
watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth
and bud, and giveth seed to the sower and
bread to the eater; so shall my word be that
goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not
return unto me void, but it shall accomplish
that which I please, and it shall prosper in
the thing whereto I sent it. |
There is hardly a place
upon the face of the globe where the people are not
acquainted with the falling of the rain and the coming
of the snow. Of course, around the equator, people do
not see snow except in the high mountains. Even in the
desert the rains fall at times. Hence Isaiah's
comparison was indeed quite apt and vigorous. As the
rain and snow fall to the earth and put moisture in
the soil, that makes possible the growing of crops, so
God's Word which comes down from heaven to man is the
spiritual moisture that is necessary for the
production of a spiritual crop in the life of those
who receive it. All the moisture that comes serves a
definite, specific purpose. So it is with the Word of
God which comes from heaven to as, falling upon the
human heart. For instance, the Apostle Paul, in
speaking of the gospel, said that
it is the power of God unto salvation to him that
believeth (Rom. 1:16).
It is a savor of life unto life and death unto
death (II Cor. 2:16,17). Thus we are
given assurance that every word that proceeds out of
the mouth of God accomplishes a definite, specific
purpose—that for which it is sent.
In Jeremiah 23:29 we have another beautiful simile:
Is not my word
like fire? saith Jehovah; and like a hammer that
breaketh the rock in pieces? This verse is taken from a long
discourse which Jeremiah delivered concerning the
prophets that were in Israel at that time (see Jer.
23:9-40). The false prophets and profane priests were
dominating the entire situation. The prophets were
giving forth their visions and their own words and
were leading the people astray. Because of this fact
Jeremiah foretold the coming of the tempest of
Jehovah, even His wrath, that would burst forth upon
the wicked nation. But Jeremiah let his auditors know
that he was speaking of the end time, In the latter days ye shall
understand it perfectly. In order to
impress upon the minds of the people the power of his
oracle, Jeremiah declared that the Word of God was like fire … and like a hammer
that breaketh the rock in pieces ....
This language is an echo of the methods that were used
for breaking rock. Sometimes fire was placed upon a
rock in order to soften it; then the hammer was used
to complete the job of breaking it. In a manner
analogous to this, declared the prophet, God's Word
will break, crush, and crumble all opposition
eventually. There is no word of God that is devoid of
power. In fact, all the power of Almighty God backs up
every utterance that He has ever spoken.
Often the prophets piled up simile upon simile and
metaphor upon metaphor in their efforts to enforce the
message which they had for the people. As an
illustration of this practice let us notice the
following quotation: And the daughter of Zion is left as a
booth in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of
cucumbers, as a besieged city (Isa. 1:8). Isaiah, in chapter 1,
denounced the people for their wickedness, sins and
their formal, hypocritical worship. The people had not
acted with the intelligence of the dumb brutes that
know where to go to get their food and to be
protected, but Israel was not that wise. Therefore,
declared the prophet, Mount Zion, the city of
Jerusalem, will become as a booth in a vineyard. At
that time there were many robbers and marauders in the
land of Israel. When the grapes became ripe, watchmen
had to be placed on guard to prevent theft. After the
harvest of the grapes was over, little food would be
left. The situation would look desolate. The leaves
would fall from the vines. There would be little or no
signs of life in the vineyard. In a manner analogous
to this, declared Isaiah, would Zion become in the
midst of the country. In other words, he was
foretelling an invasion of the country and the
depredations that would be committed together with the
wreckage and waste of the country. Zion, however,
would be left alone in the midst of such appalling
waste. This is indeed a dismal picture. Following the
simile, the prophet compared Zion to a lodge in a
garden of cucumbers. This lodge was similar to the
booth in the vineyard and served the same purpose
during the time the vines were yielding their
vegetables. This figure is followed by a literal
statement that Jerusalem would be as a besieged city.
It is not difficult for anyone to gain a clear picture
of the significance of this prophecy.
We see another very striking illustration in the
following passage: And it shall be when a hungry man
dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh,
and his soul is empty; or as when a thirsty man
dreameth, and, behold; he drinketh, but he awaketh,
and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath
appetite; so shall the multitude of all the nations
be, that fight against mount Zion (Isa. 29:8). In the first seven verses
of this chapter the prophet foretold the time when the
armies of the world besiege Jerusalem and the city,
together with the Jewish nation, and Palestine will be
crushed into the dust, figuratively speaking. Israel
will be brought to her greatest extremity. From the
natural standpoint it will appear to the enemies of
Israel that they are just on the very verge of
complete victory over God's Chosen People. At the
critical moment before the Jewish resistance collapses
and the nation is to be blotted from the face of the
globe, Jehovah appears on the scene suddenly. This one
who appears and who delivers her is none other than
the Lord Jesus Christ, the Hebrew Messiah, when He
comes again in glory and power to deliver His people
from their enemies. Concerning those nations that will
be so very confident of complete victory, the prophet
declared that they would be like the hungry man who
slept and dreamed of eating. When he awoke, however,
he discovered that he had taken nothing—no food
whatsoever, nor any drink. So it will be with those
nations that besiege the Jews in Jerusalem in the very
end of the age. They, figuratively speaking, will be
drugged with their overconfidence in their own
strength and power. No thought occurs to them except
complete victory and the taking of the spoil. But when
the Lord Jesus appears and His feet stand upon the
Mount of Olives, these enemies of Israel will be
rudely awakened out of their abnormal sleep of
confidence and will be as hungry as ever, not having
taken any of the spoil. This simile does indeed
enforce the lesson.
Turning to the New Testament, we see many forceful
similes. For instance, our Lord, in concluding His
Sermon on the Mount, gave us the simile in which He
compared those who hear His words and do them to the
man who built his house upon the rock. When the rains
fell and the floods came and beat upon that house,
they were not able to destroy it because it had a firm
foundation. On the other hand, those who hear His
words but do not heed are compared to the man who
built his house upon the sand. When, therefore, the
rains came and the floods rolled around it, it fell
because it had no foundation. Thus our Lord in a most
fitting and forceful manner concluded the Sermon on
the Mount, one of the fullest and most wonderful
passages that ever fell from His lips:
24.
Every one therefore that heareth these words
of mine, and doeth them, shall be likened unto
a wise man, who built his house upon the rock:
25. and the rain descended and the floods
came, and the winds blew and beat upon that
house; and it fell not: for it was founded
upon the rock. 26. And every one that heareth
these words of mine, and doeth them not, shall
be likened unto a foolish man, who built his
house upon the sand; 27. and the rain
descended, and the floods came, and the winds
blew, and smote upon that house; and it fell:
and great was the fall thereof.
~ Matt.
7:24-27 ~
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