God had a symbolic word for Noah following the flood. It was seen in the rainbow. Genesis 9:12 reads, “And God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.’” Thus God infused the rainbow with a symbolic message of hope and promise.
As was true in Noah’s time, so it would be for generations to come. Not everything that God spoke to Israel under the old covenant was communicated through speech. In numerous ways God continued to speak through symbols. Most notably, His symbolic word could be heard or seen in truths foreshadowed by the furnishings and rituals of the tabernacle and later of the temple. “It was symbolic for the present time” (Heb. 9:9).
Tabernacle and temple
In giving His law, God instituted the priesthood associated with the tabernacle and temple. In the Levitical priesthood God had a symbolic word about a time when a perfect High Priest would offer a perfect sacrifice on a perfect altar under the provisions of a new covenant. Hebrews 8–10 draws out these emblematic and foreshadowing truths.
The law also provided for an annual Day of Atonement. Included in that observance was a symbolic word from God about a sin-bearing substitute. In a solemn ceremony the high priest laid hands on the head of a goat as he confessed the nation’s sins. Symbolically those sins passed on to the goat. Human hands then led this scapegoat away into a wilderness area, symbolically bearing away the confessed sins. In the fullness of time God sent a perfect sin-bearing Savior.
One problem with a symbolic word from God is that it might slip by unseen. Jesus took people to task over having eyes that see not and ears that hear not (Mark 8:18). When it comes to seeing God’s Word symbolically presented, many have eyes that do not see.
An advantage of a symbolic word from God is that each time a symbolic ritual is repeated or symbolic entity is experienced, God’s word is heard again. Such is true of baptism. The visual message given through a believer’s immersion in water relates both to Jesus and to the one being baptized. Symbolically the word about Jesus is a pictorial message about His death, burial and resurrection. The word about the believer is that of being dead to the old life of sin and unbelief as well as being raised to newness of life (Rom. 6:4).
The presence of a symbolic word from God is particularly true with the supper that Jesus initiated the night before the cross. Each time we participate in an observance of the Lord’s Supper, God is speaking a symbolic word. Jesus infused the cup and the loaf with meaning related to His saving death. In the act of observing the supper participants are symbolically proclaiming His death (1 Cor. 11:26).
With eyes open to see we can find other messages in the Bible that God communicates through symbols. Some of these messages were historically present in God’s ways and words with Israel. Other messages are quite contemporary in symbols we encounter as part of a worshipping community. The essential safeguard is that we do not imagine nonverbal messages unless they are supported or conveyed in God’s verbal revelation in Holy Scripture.
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