Similes
Similes are common in the Bible and help us picture something in a new way, so that we can begin to get a grasp on a concept that is otherwise inscrutable.
- 1 light year = 5.88 TRILLION miles
- 70 mph - 24/7 - 365 days = 613,200 miles
- 70 mph - 24/7 - 365 days = 613,200 miles
- 9.6 million years
- Proxima Centauri - 4 light years
Because God’s Word is often describing the characteristics of the Lord God Almighty, similes are common in it. Similes help us picture something in a new way, so that we can begin to get a grasp on a concept that is otherwise inscrutable. For example, let’s revisit the simile in verse 11. We know a lot more about the height of the heavens than David did back in 1000 BC. And yet, we realize more and more how little we still understand. Proxima Centauri is, as far as we know, the closest star to our Sun. It is, we think, over 4 light years away. Let’s try to wrap our minds around that. 1 light year is 5,880,000,000,000 miles. Yes, 5.88 TRILLION miles! If you travel 70 miles an hour in your car 24/7 for one year you will go 613,200 miles. At that rate, it would take you approximately 9.6 million years to go the distance light travels in one year. And the closest star is over 4 light years away. As if that wasn’t enough, per our current guesses, the objects we have detected in the universe that are the furthest away from us are over 10 billion light years away from here.
