A Daring Image of God

I love the images we find in the Bible. They never stop surprising me. I’m sure I’ve read this dozens of times, but it was only today that it got my attention:

Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
like a strong man shouting because of wine.
(Psalm 78:65)

How do you describe a period in which God is active after what seems to be a long period of inactivity? That’s a pretty effective way – but it’s also highly daring. I don’t have the courage to describe God as waking up and shouting due to intoxication. But the psalmist does.

Maybe we need more theology written with this kind of creativity. As John Frame writes:

It is arbitrary to insist that theology be written in a formal, academic style. Rather, theologians ought to make broad use of human language – poetry, drama, exclamation, song parable, symbol – as Scripture itself does. (The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God)