There are three tools of learning that God gave us. They are seeing (visual), hearing (audio) and feeling (kinesthetic). One of the ways of recognizing these meta-programs is in the words we use to describe our reactions: "I see," "Sounds right to me," "I feel all right about this."

". . . then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:5)

"And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them." (Deuteronomy 5:1)

"Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment." (Ecclesiastes 8:5)

Isaiah used simple words as metaphors to reach those who can see, those who can hear and those who perceive.

"Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed." (Isaiah 6:10)

Please note the chiasmus: heart, ears, eyes, then eyes, ears, heart. The center point being eyes, Isaiah is giving us an "insight."

Advertising experts will appeal to your eyes, make it sound right and have you feel their products. These are the most powerful meta programs to teach about and experience life, even Eternal Life.

Around the Eastern and Northern shores of the Sea of Galilee are numerous coves. They were created by the erosion as the prolific rainfall in the winter months raced downward through small canyons to the lake drawing the black igneous basalt stone and gravel out past the shoreline. One such cove is very close to Capernaum. There are boulders of stone, choking thorn bushes and patches of fertile land all situated close to the road that leads to Capernaum, where Jesus lived.

People can easily stand around a boat anchored out from the shore in the cove. The water easily reflects the sound of someone speaking from the boat to the audience almost equal distance from the vessel. This picture setting of the parable in Matthew 13, now makes better sense than a straight shoreline with a boat out from shore.

The most significant message in the parable of the sower is in verse twelve. It is the center of a chiastic image. It is a message of the Gift of the Holy Ghost. The parable uses the wayside, stony place, and the thorns as image points.

 

Then in reverse, consider that the heart was not pricked, the ears were not unplugged (as if stones were in their ears), and their hearts couldn’t understand the way.

The inspired translation of that verse makes the lesson of using the Gift of the Holy Ghost easier to understand.

"For whosoever receiveth to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance; but whosoever continueth not to receive, from him shall be taken even that he hath" (Matthew 13:12)

There is a modern proverb which repeats the message, "If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it." By exercising the gift it expands and grows. The parables Jesus used offered learning experiences on the level of those listening and according to their sense of understanding. Parables are like paintings. They can be studied for more interpretation. Many of Jesus’ parables contained references of nature and human experiences.

"The laws of ritual purity and impurity, the parables taken from nature and the accounts of God's providence over His creatures all involve biology."

"The first connection between birds and Judaism is found in the Bible where there are numerous descriptions, parables and allegories taken from bird life, as well as laws concerning their ritual fitness as food. To the 37 birds mentioned in the Bible, the Talmud adds many more discussing in particular, what features make a bird "unclean," and therefore not kosher."

"They also realized that on the one hand God is far beyond human understanding, but that on the other hand He is closely and deeply connected with everything human beings do. So they used descriptive terms and parables which come as close to describing God as is humanly possible. For example, in their parables they constantly refer to God as "King, Who is King of kings," as opposed to "kings of flesh and blood," and in the prayers they use the term "Our Father, our King;" "father" is intimate, whereas "king" is aloof. The rabbis of the Talmud did not try to put their thoughts about God into a systematic framework because they realized that however well they might succeed, their success would be entirely inadequate."

"When the Gaon of Vilna, the great rabbi Elijah ben Solomon Zalman fell ill and was too weak to study, he asked the Dubno maggid to visit him and read him his stories, parables and biblical interpretations. Once the maggid was asked, "How is it that for every moral lesson you have a beautiful story to teach it with?" The maggid smiled. "To answer that I can tell another story. I was once walking in the woods and saw a boy shooting arrows at targets. There were targets on every tree and each one had an arrow dead center. 'How expert you are!' I said. 'How did you manage so many exactly at the bull's-eye?' 'It's easy,' the boy answered. 'First I shoot the arrow and then I draw the target around it.' I do the same," said the maggid."

"Parables (are) a story often used in the Bible or rabbinic literature to convey a message by means of comparison. The story helps to capture the attention of the listener and its familiar format provides a simple way of illustrating the point."

"Parables in the Bible are often used to show people the error of their ways. Thus, for example, after King David sent Uriah the Hittite to fight in war and when he was killed took the dead man's wife, the prophet Nathan compared this deed with that of a rich shepherd who slays his poor neighbor's only lamb in order to feed his own guests. "Why should the king, who has everything, take that which does not belong to him?" asks the parable."

"The mashal (as the parable is known in Hebrew) takes on many forms in Jewish literature. It can, for example, be an animal tale like Aesop's fables. Thus Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah dissuaded the Jews from revolting against the Romans by telling them the parable of the crane which extracted a thorn from the throat of a lion. When the crane asked for its reward, it was told that it had been sufficiently rewarded in not being eaten when thrust between the lion's jaws. Similarly, the Jews should feel lucky that they had not been annihilated by the Romans."

"One of the most frequent motifs in Jewish parables is the "king" who usually symbolizes God. Plants, fruits and natural phenomena are also common subjects for these stories. Many parables are taken from daily life and are a rich source of social history."

"The rabbis not only used the parable extensively, they also emphasized its great value in understanding the spirit of the Torah. Though the stories in parables are often simplistic and childish, the Midrash warns against ignoring them, "Let not the parable be lightly esteemed in thine eyes, since by its means one can master the whole Torah."

"Another type of aggadah, also often disguised in simple form, was in reality a mystical message. Since mysticism does not lend itself well to exact expression, the rabbis would use a parable or an allegory to make themselves understood." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)

"The principle involved which necessitates the policy of teaching by parables is found in Amulek's statement: "It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him." (Alma 12:9.) The difference in receptiveness to the truth of the Jews, among whom our Lord ministered in mortality, and the Nephites, to whom he went after his resurrection, is nowhere better shown than in the fact that he gave at least 40 parables to the Jews, but he taught the Nephites, not in parables, but in plainness." (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine , Page 553)

(Metaphors) in the Bible very often the acts of God are referred to figuratively using terms such as "the hand of God." Such metaphors are examples of how the Bible speaks in the language of man in order to help us understand concepts which would otherwise be beyond our grasp. Thus a metaphor like "The hand of God" may be used to represent strength and protection such as in the verse, "Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in power; Your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy" (Exodus 15:6). At the same time, the image of God's hands has been used to show benevolence and loving-kindness, as in the verse, "You open Your hand and satisfy every living thing with favor" (Psalms 145)."

"Animal metaphors are frequently used in the Bible. For example, the Almighty "is for them like the horns of the wild ox; they shall devour enemy nations . . . ; they crouch, they lie down like the lion" (Numbers 24:8--9). In the Book of Proverbs, the references to animals serve mostly to teach good behavior: "Go to the ant; thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise" (Proverbs 6:6-8)."

"Hermeneutics is the name given to the rules for interpreting the Torah. These rules are referred to in Hebrew as middot she-ha-Torah nidreshet bahen; the principles by which the Torah is interpreted. According to Jewish tradition, these methods of interpretation were given to Moses when he received the Torah and were handed down to the rabbis of the Talmud. In the Talmud there are several schools of hermeneutical rules. The formulation of Hillel contains seven rules, and that of Rabbi Ishmael 13 rules, most of which are amplifications of Hillel's principles. The 13 middot of Rabbi Ishmael are perhaps the most famous and are included as a portion to be recited in the preliminary daily morning prayers." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)

In the media we want sight, sound and motion. Got the picture? Sound all right? Get the drift?

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