You cannot apply "rebus" to a sentence about rebus, where that sentence is descbinging/explaining "rebus".
Yes you are correct, if the symbol that represents a sound is one symbol /one sound. Then it is the same wherever/whenever it appears. So the sound/symbol for "for" will always be the same, and the sound/symbol for "four" (a number) will always be the same.
"for" must retain it's sound/symbol and "four" must retain it's sound symbol.
Rebuses apply only to individual words. The sounds meaning the same or being closely similar are irrelevant. It is their two different symbols that tells us whether it is "for" or "four"