God uses symbolic metaphor in teaching us His Word also.
A metaphor is simply a figure of speech, a representation of one thing used to point to another thing. All languages use it. ("I'm so hungry I could eat a horse.") Also an analogy, or allegory, or parable.
Why does God use those things in His Word? It's because by figures of speech, allegory, parable, symbols, they can express a whole lot more information than giving it with just one simple phrase. Symbols draw pictures in our mind, like the old saying, "a picture is worth a thousand words." God's Word is full of these kind of examples. Recall all the times that Lord Jesus at His 1st coming gave teachings in parables.
Here is an analogy, or parable, first given in The Old Testament, but used also in The New Testament. It might a bit difficult to grasp at first, but the New Testament references to it should become obvious that God is giving it as a metaphor about worship, the true vs. the false...
Isa 54:1-7
54 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.
The way we know the above is a metaphor, and not about actual barren and pregnant women, is that the woman who is "barren" (without child), should not be happy and singing, because bearing children for a woman is a blessing from God, especially in Old Testament times. And just how... can the "desolate" barren woman have more children than the married wife?
We should automatically realize with the above, God is telling us something of great importance, but He put it in the form of an allegory, or metaphor, or parable. I've actually had some gals complain with me bringing up that word "barren" there, because they thought it was like a cuss word. No, that is God speaking in the above using that idea, not me. And the word "barren" is not a cuss word. It simply means a woman's womb that has not, or will not, bare children. Would some preachers in some of the Churches get fired for covering this in their Church today? Most likely some in the congregation would complain about this being covered from God's Word.
The Meaning:
The meaning of this "Blessed are the barren..." idea is about spiritual worship. In 2 Corinthians 11 Apostle Paul used this metaphor when he said he wanted to present us to Christ "as a chaste virgin". A chaste virgin per this analogy means a virgin that remains barren and without child, i.e., those that did not travail with child, like the Isaiah 54 parable says. Paul said he espoused us to "one Husband", Jesus Christ.
Lord Jesus used this "Blessed are the barren..." metaphor in Luke 23:26-31 on His way to be crucified, and He noticed some women there in Jerusalem weeping for Him. He said to them...
Luke 23:28-30
28 But Jesus turning unto them said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.
29 For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, "Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck."
30 Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, "Fall on us"; and to the hills, "Cover us."
KJV
This analogy about spiritual worship applies two ways, the Faithful who wait on Jesus to come as the "barren" without child. But the "married wife" as a harlot that does NOT wait for Christ to come, but instead falls away to another in His place, and is found spiritually... travailing with child, symbolically.
God uses this example to get His Message of warning across against falling away from Him into false worship. So why would Lord Jesus especially point to those "Daughters of Jerusalem" in this? Recall per Paul in Romans 11 that he showed God had spiritually blinded the majority of Jews, until the fullness of Gentiles comes in; and this so The Gospel would go to the Gentiles. Jesus was actually giving them warning, especially for their children at the end of this world when the false-Messiah shows up in Jerusalem, and some fall away to him instead. Then when Lord Jesus does appear, they will know what they have done, and will be in shame, wishing for the mountains and hills to fall upon them. Yet they will say that, "Blessed are the barren..." about those who did NOT fall away, and remained symbolically "barren".
Would you have understood what Jesus was pointing to with that "Blessed are the barren..." idea if you had never studied The Old Testament Book of Isaiah, specifically this Isaiah 54 Chapter?
Most likely you would not have had a clue what Jesus was talking about with quoting that "barren" idea from Isaiah. This is an important lesson that those in Christ are to study ALL... of God's written Word, and not just dwell in The New Testament Scriptures all the time. I realize that some Churches like to claim all The Old Testament Books are past history, but they are wrong. There is much Bible prophecy written in God's Old Testament prophets has yet to come to pass, and including for after... Lord Jesus Christ's future return.
A metaphor is simply a figure of speech, a representation of one thing used to point to another thing. All languages use it. ("I'm so hungry I could eat a horse.") Also an analogy, or allegory, or parable.
Why does God use those things in His Word? It's because by figures of speech, allegory, parable, symbols, they can express a whole lot more information than giving it with just one simple phrase. Symbols draw pictures in our mind, like the old saying, "a picture is worth a thousand words." God's Word is full of these kind of examples. Recall all the times that Lord Jesus at His 1st coming gave teachings in parables.
Here is an analogy, or parable, first given in The Old Testament, but used also in The New Testament. It might a bit difficult to grasp at first, but the New Testament references to it should become obvious that God is giving it as a metaphor about worship, the true vs. the false...
Isa 54:1-7
54 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.
The way we know the above is a metaphor, and not about actual barren and pregnant women, is that the woman who is "barren" (without child), should not be happy and singing, because bearing children for a woman is a blessing from God, especially in Old Testament times. And just how... can the "desolate" barren woman have more children than the married wife?
We should automatically realize with the above, God is telling us something of great importance, but He put it in the form of an allegory, or metaphor, or parable. I've actually had some gals complain with me bringing up that word "barren" there, because they thought it was like a cuss word. No, that is God speaking in the above using that idea, not me. And the word "barren" is not a cuss word. It simply means a woman's womb that has not, or will not, bare children. Would some preachers in some of the Churches get fired for covering this in their Church today? Most likely some in the congregation would complain about this being covered from God's Word.
The Meaning:
The meaning of this "Blessed are the barren..." idea is about spiritual worship. In 2 Corinthians 11 Apostle Paul used this metaphor when he said he wanted to present us to Christ "as a chaste virgin". A chaste virgin per this analogy means a virgin that remains barren and without child, i.e., those that did not travail with child, like the Isaiah 54 parable says. Paul said he espoused us to "one Husband", Jesus Christ.
Lord Jesus used this "Blessed are the barren..." metaphor in Luke 23:26-31 on His way to be crucified, and He noticed some women there in Jerusalem weeping for Him. He said to them...
Luke 23:28-30
28 But Jesus turning unto them said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.
29 For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, "Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck."
30 Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, "Fall on us"; and to the hills, "Cover us."
KJV
This analogy about spiritual worship applies two ways, the Faithful who wait on Jesus to come as the "barren" without child. But the "married wife" as a harlot that does NOT wait for Christ to come, but instead falls away to another in His place, and is found spiritually... travailing with child, symbolically.
God uses this example to get His Message of warning across against falling away from Him into false worship. So why would Lord Jesus especially point to those "Daughters of Jerusalem" in this? Recall per Paul in Romans 11 that he showed God had spiritually blinded the majority of Jews, until the fullness of Gentiles comes in; and this so The Gospel would go to the Gentiles. Jesus was actually giving them warning, especially for their children at the end of this world when the false-Messiah shows up in Jerusalem, and some fall away to him instead. Then when Lord Jesus does appear, they will know what they have done, and will be in shame, wishing for the mountains and hills to fall upon them. Yet they will say that, "Blessed are the barren..." about those who did NOT fall away, and remained symbolically "barren".
Would you have understood what Jesus was pointing to with that "Blessed are the barren..." idea if you had never studied The Old Testament Book of Isaiah, specifically this Isaiah 54 Chapter?
Most likely you would not have had a clue what Jesus was talking about with quoting that "barren" idea from Isaiah. This is an important lesson that those in Christ are to study ALL... of God's written Word, and not just dwell in The New Testament Scriptures all the time. I realize that some Churches like to claim all The Old Testament Books are past history, but they are wrong. There is much Bible prophecy written in God's Old Testament prophets has yet to come to pass, and including for after... Lord Jesus Christ's future return.
