You can believe the Word of God, or you can rely on your own limited resources. If there is no specific scriptural proof to indicate otherwise, all scripture must be taken as meaning precisely what it says. There are some who make generalities out of specific cases, and make it a license to allegorize portions that don't make sense by their interpretation. The Pharisees allegorized portions of the scripture they did not understand, which resulted in a national tragedy.


I'm not sure that it is a matter of literal verses allegory, but rather allowing the Word of God to interpret the Word of God. The pharisees missed their visitation because their hearts were hardened toward God. They interpreted the Word of God based on the hardness of their hearts as opposed to allowing the Word of God to interpret itself and allow the Word of God to have it's perfect work in circumcizing their hearts. It is still the same today.