Rēad to Read …Again
Daily Reading: Deuteronomy 28-29
Deuteronomy 29:29
The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
There are secret things and revealed things. The secret things belong to the Lord our God, the revealed things belonged to Israel and their children forever. Today too, there are secret things and revealed things. Often, much time, angst, and ultimately frustration is created by mankind trying to obtain or understand the secret things to the point of forgetting, ignoring, or overlooking the revealed things.
Jesus seemed to touch on this in Matthew 23:23 when He said; Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. These religious leaders were devoted to the smallest items of detail and omitted the clear, simple, foundational things of the faith. May we be careful of this snare and sidestep it at all costs.
Arguing over the secret things of God is like two fleas arguing over which one owns the dog they are on. True, sometimes, in the Bible God reveals some of His secrets, but not all. For example, Acts 17:31 states that God has appointed a day that He will judge the world. A day for this has been scheduled. It is recorded on God’s calendar. We don’t know that day, can’t know that day, will never know that day until it happens. Jesus said of His return, But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. Matthew 24:36
Throughout the Bible there were secret things alluded to, but not revealed. One only has to read the book of Daniel to know this is true. For that prophet of old prophesied things that He had no way of understanding. Even today, some of His prophecies have come true and can be understood, but some are yet to be fulfilled. When, where, how, and why are secrets of God that one day may be revealed, but only when they happen.
In I Corinthians 15, the great resurrection chapter, the Apostle Paul reveals a mystery of God, to the Glory of God. And another thing, when Jesus spoke in parables He spoke to His children truths that have been secret since the foundation of the world, but He spoke them in a way that only those with the key of faith can unlock their real meaning. Notice Matthew 13:35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
Yes, there are secret things of God and revealed things of God. May we be wise enough to focus on the latter and just stand amazed at the former.
Dr. William T. Howe