Bereansearching Bible Studies

Prophecy of God’s Just Judgment against Nineveh, the capital of Assyria (and its king Sennacherib?); Comfort for Those Who Trust in God, but Vengeance for God’s Enemies

The Book of Nahum begins with these words, “The burden of Nineveh.” And we next read that it is a book of the “vision” provided by God to Nahum (נַחוּם (naḥûm) ^H5151) meaning “Comfort” and “Consolation” (but sometimes “ruefully” and with “lamentation”), the Elkoshite (אֶלְקשִׁי (‘elqšî) ^H512), meaning “gathered” or “ensnared” by God. The “burden” of the “vision” is that the book is a prophesy of judgment against Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, in punishment for its destruction of Israel and all of Judah except Jerusalem over the period spanning about 722-701 BC.

But the Book of Nahum is also a book of “Comfort” to all those whom God “gathers” to Him. Remember that Jesus said in John 6:44, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” And in Ephesians 1:10, “That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; [even] in him:” In Matthew 3:12 where we read of John the Baptist talking about Jesus coming on Judgment Day, “Whose fan [is] in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

We will see, therefore, that Nineveh is being used as an historical allegorical “type” representing all of God’s enemies, the unsaved, who will be destroyed by fire on Judgment Day.

Note: Interestingly, Noah נֹחַ (nōaḥ) ^H5146, whose means “Rest” or “Consolation“, also relates in a way to Nahum (נַחוּם (naḥûm) ^H5151 as we read in Genesis 5:29, “And he called his name Noah, saying, This [same] shall comfort נָחַם (nāḥam)  ^H5162 us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.” This word for “comfort” נָחַם (nāḥam)  ^H5162 , which is used here to pertain to Noah, is the root word from which Nahum (נַחוּם (naḥûm) ^H5151 is derived.

Historical Context of Nahum:

The Book of Nahum is from approximately 660 BC, or about one hundred years after Jonah (circa 800 BC to 750 BC, when Nineveh was first spared by God, by His Grace, when the people repented upon hearing the preaching of God’s Word by Jonah His prophet…please see: Jonah). Nahum also lived during the reign of Manasseh, king of Judah, who ruled the period from 697 BC to 643 BC.

However, the more recent pronouncement of God against Nineveh via the prophet Nahum, while also entirely judgmental as was Jonah’s, this time foretold only destruction from which there would be no repentance as there was in Jonah’s day.

King Sennacherib Was God’s “Axe” (or “Saw”), in God’s Hand Against the Majority of Judah

INTRODUCTION #1:

Isaiah chapter 10 (about the same time as Nahum, ~700 BC) describes how God had used Assyria, led by king Shalmaneser, as an instrument (or tool) of Judgment in God’s Hand to destroy the ten northern tribes, known as “Israel”, with their capital in Samaria, back about 722-720 BC. Isaiah 10:5, “O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation.” Isaiah 10:15 also tells us why God would violently remove a later king of Assyria, Sennacherib…because Sennacherib was like an “axe” boasting against the Hewer (the Axeman) Who used it, as opposed to God Being the One Who raised up Assyria to punish Israel and Sennacherib as an “axe” (or “saw” or “rod”) to destroy the majority of all of Judah, except Jerusalem (for apostasy), roughly twenty years later around 701 BC, “Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? [or] shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake [itself] against them that lift it up, [or] as if the staff should lift up [itself, as if it were] no wood.” The book also pronounces the just judgment and the related destruction of Nineveh (and it being forever only as a place of only beasts grazing…which is still the case today…and as later (~630 BC) also prophesied in Zephaniah 2:13-15.,”And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, [and] dry like a wilderness. And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; [their] voice shall sing in the windows; desolation [shall be] in the thresholds: for he shall uncover the cedar work. This [is] the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I [am], and [there is] none beside me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, [and] wag his hand.” 

King Sennacherib, the King of Assyria, was defeated upon besieging Jerusalem by the Angel of the LORD during the reign of King Hezekiah (2Ki 19:35-39, Isa 37:36–38; 2Ch 32:20–23 ). The Bible tells us in those passages that Sennacherib subsequently returned to Nineveh and was murdered by two of his sons. The timing is not entirely clear, but it was likely very close to 700 BC (particularly considering that King Hezekiah ruled in Jerusalem from ~716 to ~687 BC). Later, in complete fulfillment of Nahum’s prophecy, Nineveh was ultimately completely sacked and destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar close to the time of Zephaniah’ prophesy, around 630 BC (but some substantial reporting says that it was few years later in 612 BC).

However, Jeremiah 50:17&18 tells us of the latter’s (Babylon’s) fate as well, “Israel [is] a scattered sheep; the lions have driven [him] away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones. Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria.” Even though God used both empires ruled by an evil king to serve His purpose of devastating first Israel and later Judah/Jerusalem, God also later destroyed both empires led by those evil kings because of their pride in themselves and for being glad in their part in having destroyed Israel and later Judah/Jerusalem.

God Used Evil Kings Against Israel Three Times, But Later Destroyed All Those Evil Kings

Note also that just as God raised up Sennacherib in Assyria to bring judgment/punishment to the majority of Judah, and then later God disposed of that ruler, which is consistent with God raising up Pharaoh in Moses day to serve God’s purposes (Romans 9:17 & 18, “For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.“), and then later similarly with Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon.

The Bible student should particularly note the clear comparison with what we read in Isaiah 14:4, “That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar), and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!” and then in  Isaiah 14:12-15, that the king of Babylon is likened by God to the devil because of what we read, “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! [how] art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.” The devil in his pride sought to be like God, yet we know from Proverbs 16:18 that, “Pride [goeth] before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”

God specifically states that this pronouncement against the earthly king of Babylon (a real historical figure) is a “proverb“, which in the original Hebrew is מָשָׁל (māšāl)^H4912 which has been translated variously as proverb (19x), parable (18x), byword (1x), like (1x). So then, Isaiah 14 is teaching us that God was using them as allegorical lessons, “Historical Proverbs/Parables“, to show us what God Will Do to the devil (a spiritual figure), leading up to and ending on Judgment Day. This is the comfort and consolation to the saints of God. There is mercy to God’s chosen people, and also judgment and justice brought upon God’s (and the believers’) enemies on Judgment Day.

Note also that in all three cases, all three of these rulers were used by God as tools in His Hand, and, because they were full of pride, they were all then were brought low, and, ultimately, they and their kingdoms were destroyed.

INTRODUCTION #2:

As mentioned above, not only was the king of Assyria, Sennacherib to be eliminated, but the capital of Assyria, Nineveh, would also be laid completely waste as we read in Zephaniah 2:13-15, (about 70-90 years later in ~630 BC or 612 BC) “And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, [and] dry like a wilderness”. And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he shall uncover the cedar work. This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none beside me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.”

2 Kings 19:5-7, “So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah. And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.” Please also note that this wording is identical (word for word) to what we read in Isaiah 37:5-7, “So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah. And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say unto your master, Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.” Another very similar, but not identical, recount can also found in 2Chronicles 32:9-22.

The Exposition of the Book of Nahum

Chapter 1: It begins with “The burden of Nineveh”

Nahum 1:1, “¶The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.”

The “Burden of Nineveh” is a sign that God is about to pronounce a judgment against Nineveh. However, Nahum, means “Comfort” or “Consolation” from the Hebrew word נַחוּם (naḥûm) ^H5151 and is derived from the Hebrew root word נָחַם (nāḥam) ^H5162 and he is an Elkoshite (meaning “Gathered” or “Ensnared” by God). Nahum was from an area that is not specifically known. However, Capernaum, which literally means “Nahum’s village”, is located on the northwest shore of Galilee. Capernaum was the home of Peter, Andrew, and Matthew and Jesus moved there after leaving Nazareth. We read in Matthew 4:13, “And leaving Nazareth, he (Jesus) came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:”

(First SIDE NOTE: Nehemiah, for whom the Book of Nehemiah concerns, also is derived from the Hebrew root word for comfort, נָחַם (nāḥam) ^H5162, and his name means “Jehovah Comforts”. Please also see: Nehemiah.

(Second SIDE NOTE: Jesus pronounced a judgment against Capernaum later in Matthew 11:23, “And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.“)

God’s Vengeance Upon His Enemies

Next we read in Nahum 1:2 that God is “jealous” and “furious” and that God will “take vengeance”(נָקַם (nāqam))^H5358 against His adversaries/enemies …

Nahum 1:2, “God [is] jealous, and the LORD revengeth (נָקַם (nāqam))^H5358; the LORD revengeth (נָקַם (nāqam))^H5358, and [is] furious; the LORD will take vengeance (נָקַם (nāqam))^H5358 on his adversaries, and he reserveth [wrath] for his enemies.”

We know that this is consistent with what we read in many places in the Bible such as Deuteronomy 32:35, “To me belongeth vengeance (נָקָם (nāqām)^H5359, and recompence; their foot shall slide in [due] time: for the day of their calamity [is] at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste. For the LORD shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that [their] power is gone, and [there is] none shut up, or left.”

The New Testament reiterates this point in both Romans 12:19, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but [rather] give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance [is] mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” and Hebrews 10:30, “For we know him that hath said, Vengeance [belongeth] unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.”

And reading further back in Deuteronomy 32:41, “If I whet my glittering sword (Barak ^H1300, For more on Barak, please see: https://bereansearching.com/2009/09/19/the-battle-of-armageddon-the-earthly-version-already-happened/), and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance (נָקָם (nāqām))^H5359 to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.” and Deuteronomy 32:43, “Rejoice, O ye nations, [with] his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance (נָקָם (nāqām))^H5359 to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, [and] to his people.“

Next in Isaiah 34:8, similarly we read where in the context of the end of the world and Judgment Day, “For [it is] the day of the LORD’S vengeance (נָקָם (nāqām))^H5359, [and] the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.” Also in Isaiah 63:4, “For the day of vengeance (נָקָם (nāqām))^H5359 is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.” Micah 5:15 also says, “And I will execute vengeance (נָקָם (nāqām))^H5359 in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.”

when condemning Babylon God tells us in Jeremiah 50:15, “Shout against her round about: she hath given her hand: her foundations are fallen, her walls are thrown down: for it [is] the vengeance  (נְקָמָה (nᵊqāmâ))^H5360 (meaning avenging/revenging) of the LORD: take vengeance (נָקָם (nāqām))^H5359 upon her; as she hath done, do unto her.“

Moreover moving forward agin to the New Testament, in Luke 21:22, we read that Jesus said just before the end, during the great tribulation in the advent to Judgment Day, “For these be the days of vengeance (ἐκδίκησις (ekdikēsis))^G1557, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.” We are reminded of this in Romans 12:19, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, vengeance (ἐκδίκησις (ekdikēsis))^G1557 is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” We get a little more insight on this in 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9, “Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance (ἐκδίκησις (ekdikēsis))^G1557 on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished (δίκη (dikē)^)G1349 with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;” Finally in the Book of Jude 1:7, “Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance (δίκη (dikē))^G1349  of eternal fire.”

Even the islanders of Melita (Malta) knew of God’s vengeance when the Apostle Paul was bitten on the hand by a serpent when gathering sticks to put in a fire as we read in Acts 28:4, “And when the barbarians saw the [venomous] beast (spent) hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance (δίκη (dikē)^)G1349 suffereth not to live.” However, the islanders were quickly converted when as we read in the next two verses, in Acts 28:5&6, “And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.” Paul was used as a “Christ figure” in this Historical Parable to portray Jesus defeating the devil and Jesus’s casting the devil into the fires of Hell.

And we can derive additional confirmation when we look at these verses speaking prophetically of Jesus Christ coming as Judge on Judgment Day in Isaiah 59:17&18, “For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance (נָקָם (nāqām)^H5359 [for] clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke. According to [their] deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence.” This is corroborated in Jeremiah 46:10, “For this [is] the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance (נָקָם (nāqām)^H5359 , that he may avenge (נָקַם (nāqam)^H5358 him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord GOD of hosts hath a sacrifice* in the north country by the river Euphrates.” And please note how clearly this is explained in Psalm 58:10&11, “The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance (נָקָם (nāqām)^H5359 he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. So that a man shall say, Verily [there is] a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.“

Psalm 94:1, “¶O LORD God, to whom vengeance (נְקָמָה (nᵊqāmâ))^H5360 belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance (נְקָמָה (nᵊqāmâ))^H5360 belongeth, shew thyself.”

* The LORD’s Sacrifice

The reference to the LORD’s sacrifice is interesting because we also see in Zephaniah 1:7&8 that there is similar wording, “Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD [is] at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests. And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD’S sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king’s children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel.” It appears very likely that God is declaring that Judgment Day will also be to Him “the day of the LORD’S sacrifice“. Other verses that support that view can be found in Ezekiel 39:17-19, “And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field,Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, [even] a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood. Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.” But the reader should read on the end of the chapter to see that the eternal Israel of God will nonetheless be fully restored as we read in the last verse, Ezekiel 39:29, “Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.“

We also know from Revelation 14:10&11 that the wicked, who worship the beast rather than God, will burn forever at Judgment Day like a sacrifice on an alter, “The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.“

God’s Comfort to His Church

However, we are also reminded in Nahum 1:3,

“The LORD [is] slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit [the wicked]: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds [are] the dust of his feet.”

That God provided this “comfort” and “consolation” in which “The LORD [is] slow to anger, and great in power,” and that God is just, because God, “will not at all acquit [the wicked]:” Interestingly, God tells us in Isaiah 35:4 that, “Say to them [that are] of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come [with] vengeance (נָקָם (nāqām))^H5359, [even] God [with] a recompence; he will come and save you.” We again see here how God promises and provides comfort and salvation to His people, the believing Christians, because God will utterly destroy His enemies with a recompensing “vengeance.”

So then, regardless or where we look in the Bible, we continue to see this amazing consistency with what we know is true for the enemies of God (the unsaved of the world), whereby their recompense is eternal death in Hell, while the comfort for the believers is the promise of eternal life in Heaven with God as we are told in Romans 6:3 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.“

Although the majority of the rest of Nahum Chapter 1 is more about God’s wrath and judgment, God also makes clear by Nahum that the only place of safety from that wrath and judgment is with Him. In Nahum 1:7, we read more comfort and consolation, “The LORD [is] good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.” It is also useful to go back to read Psalm 103 all of it, but Psalm 103:8 reminds us again that, “The LORD [is] merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.”

Finally, specifically dealing with the word “Comfort” in times of trouble, we find these “comforting” words penned by the Apostle Paul under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit in 2 Corinthians 1:3&4, “Blessed [be] God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.“

Breaking the Yoke of Bondage

Note however that God seems to indirectly mention the King of Assyria, Sennacherib (and therefore allegorically the devil) because we read in Nahum 1:11, “There is [one] come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the LORD, a wicked counsellor.” and later in Nahum 1:13 is the comfort (historically to Israel and Judah, and spiritually to all believers in Jesus) that, “For now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder.” Jesus Is the Only One to break our bonds to sin, death, and the devil, and to plunder the devil’s house of bondage, as we read where Jesus, reading from Isaiah 61:1-2 in the synagogue in Luke 4:18-21, said, “The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave [it] again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”

Isaiah 61:2 is the Book of Nahum in a Nutshell !

It is EXTREMELY interesting to note what was NOT mentioned in the Luke account…that is what is found at the end of the verse of Isaiah 61:2,

“…, and the day of vengeance (נָקָם (nāqām)^H5359 of our God; to comfort (נָחַם (nāḥam))^H5162 all that mourn;”

There it is!… just like we are learning about the Book of Nahum, it is a book of God’s “comfort” (נָחַם (nāḥam))^H5162 to the believers, and God’s “vengeance” (נָקָם (nāqām)^H5359 to the unbelieving world.

As a result of the difference between what Jesus read from Isaiah before closing the book and what the rest of Isaiah 61:2 says after Jesus stopped reading before closing the book, we should all pay close attention to these three things…

1) In the Luke account, It was Jesus Who “opened the book” of Isaiah in Luke 4:17, because it is really only Jesus, as the Son of God, Who can “open” “the book” (as we also read in Revelation 5:1-14);

2) and it was Jesus Who “closed the book“ half way through the second verse of Isaiah 61:2, after which Jesus said “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”; and

3) The reason that Jesus “closed the book” at that point is because the rest of the verse is pointing directly to Judgment Day, at which time Jesus will bring vengeance for God’s enemies and comfort to the believers.  Jesus had to “close the book” if He was going to say the prophesy was “fulfilled” in their ears that day! Jesus could not go any further in the text, and had to stop mid-verse, because Judgment Day is only going to be fulfilled at the “end of the world”! 

Jesus stopped going any further before making reference to the day of God’s “vengeance” נָקָם (nāqām))^H5359, which will be Judgment Day…and it most certainly was not fulfilled on when Jesus was reading in the synagogue (and not yet, if you can still read this). That Day of Vengeance (Judgment Day) is still to come…albeit shortly.

That is pretty amazing when you stop to think about it!

Remember also that in Revelation 3:7 we read that only Jesus has the “key of David” and only Jesus Is The One Who “openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;” and in Revelation 5:5, that Only Jesus “the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book“. What is also a comfort, is that Jesus said that The Father would send, in Jesus’s Name, the “Comforter” God, the Holy Ghost (John 14:26), Who is also the “Spirit of Truth” Who would lead His sheep into “all Truth” and He would speak of Jesus (John 15:26, and John 16:7–13. Believers are given the promise that Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, would open the book (the Bible) for us to see Jesus.  In Luke 4, Jesus specifically said that He would open the eyes of the blind…”recovering of sight to the blind.” See also:   Proverbs 25:2, Proverbs 20:12, Psalm 119:18

For more on this topic please see: Jesus Opens the Book, Jesus Closes the Book

Lastly, it is most interesting that in Isaiah 34:16 God tells us directly to read “the book” (the Bible), “Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.”

Bringing the Gospel of Peace and Comfort to a Sin Darkened World

Finally there is the promise of comfort and consolation for the believers who are used by God to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Nahum 1:15, the last verse of Nahum, Chapter 1, “Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.” Note how God cross-references to this in Isaiah 52:7-10, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion. Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.“

Finally, in Romans 10:15, we are provided additional spiritual context with regard to preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, “And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!“

Chapters 2 and 3: Prophesies that Focus on Nineveh’s Judgment and Destruction

Chapter 2

Nebuchadnezzar Was God’s Hammer Used to Destroy Nineveh

Nahum 2:1, says “He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face…” but it can also be translated “as a hammer that dashes in pieces“. This seems to suggest, correctly that God would use Babylon to means by which God would destroy Nineveh (and hence Assyria) as we read how Babylon is called the “hammer of the whole earth” in Jeremiah 50:23, “How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!” The prophesy was fulfilled when Nebuchadnezzar, in the first year of his reign in Babylon, in conjunction with Cyaxares, or Ahasuerus, king of the Medes, conquered Nineveh, and made himself master of the Assyrian monarchy. Nonetheless, we should also remember Jeremiah 23:29, “[Is] not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer [that] breaketh the rock in pieces?” that Jesus is the “Word made flesh” and He is like a consuming fire and a hammer that will smash God’s enemies into dust on Judgment Day.

[NOTE: As was mentioned earlier, Jeremiah 50:17&18 also make it clear that the same destruction that befell Sennacherib and Nineveh (Assyria’s capital), will likewise befall Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon, “Israel [is] a scattered sheep; the lions have driven [him] away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones. Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria (Sennacherib).” And it is also noteworthy and significant that both Nineveh and Babylon remain uninhabited to this day]

And more corroboration can be found in Exodus 15:6 we read, “Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy. Jesus Is frequently described as Being the “Right Hand” of God the Father, and there are many verses that show this, but these help to clarify…Psalm 118:16, “The right hand of the LORD is exalted: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.”; Psalm 138:7, “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.”; and Psalm 139:10, “Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.” And we also know from 1 Peter 3:22, that Jesus, now in Heaven, “is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him“.

Nahum 2:2 is a difficult verse because the language can be interpreted multiple ways. The King James Translation reads as, “For the LORD hath turned away the excellency of Jacob, as the excellency of Israel: for the emptiers have emptied them out, and marred their vine branches.” The word “hath turned away” is from the Hebrew word “Shoob” (שׁוּב) and is found over 1000 times in the Old Testament and can mean variously “return”, “return again”, “turn”, “turn again”, “recover”, “recompense”, “withdraw”, or “requite”. And then the word “excellency” is from the Hebrew word “ga’on” (גָּאוֹן)^H1347  found roughly 50 times in the Old Testament which can mean variously “pride”, “excellency”, “majesty” or “arrogancy.”

Some negative examples to consider include Psalm 59:12, “[For] the sin of their mouth [and] the words of their lips let them even be taken in their pride: ^H1347 and for cursing and lying [which] they speak.” and Proverbs 8:13, “The fear of the LORD [is] to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, ^H1347 and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.” and Proverbs 16:18, “Pride ^H1347 [goeth] before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”

Some positive examples to consider are Exodus 15:7, describing Jesus, “And in the greatness of thine excellency ^H1347 thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, [which] consumed them as stubble.” and in Psalm 47:4, “He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency^H1347  of Jacob whom he loved. Selah.”

So then, it may well be that we are seeing two things conveyed at once…much like bringing comfort and vengeance at the same time. This verse might be interpreted as saying either that God is returning, or coming back to Israel (and hence also Jacob), to restore its former “majesty”, or that God would “recompense” Assyria for its sin of “pride” and “arrogance” because “the emptiers have emptied them (Israel) out” and “and marred their (Israel’s) vine branches.” Assyria sacked and destroyed Israel and nearly all of Judah. Assyria “emptied” them. And it most certainly marred (the Hebrew word is most commonly interpreted as “destroyed”) Israel’s “vine branches”.

But then what about “vine branches”. This word phrase is also complicated. In the original Hebrew text it is “zᵊmôrâ” (זְמוֹרָה), which can be translated as something pruned, such as a “branch”, “twig”, “shoot”, or “slip”. And apparently, the word has a primarily negative connotation, because it refers to plants used in some form of idolatrous worship. We can see this in Isaiah 17:10, “Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips:” In Ezekiel 15:1, God describes Jerusalem as a useless vine fit only for the fire and in the last verse (Verse 8) declares, “And I will make the land desolate, because they have committed a trespass, saith the Lord GOD.” The key verse to consider is Verse 2, which says, “Son of man, What is the vine tree more than any tree, or [than] a branch (zᵊmôrâ” זְמוֹרָה) which is among the trees of the forest? So it may be that God is reiterating that Israel and Judah were destroyed by the Assyrians (and later Jerusalem by the Babylonians) because of their idolatrous activities, and that everything associated with those activities was also destroyed.

Nahum 2:3reads as follows, “The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet: the chariots [shall be] with flaming torches in the day of his preparation, and the fir trees shall be terribly shaken.” Once again we have a difficult verse to understand. However, it does appear at this point that this verse is pointing towards the earthly judgment against Nineveh, as well as the upcoming supernatural Judgment Day at the end of the world. We know through comparison of scripture with scripture (spiritual things with spiritual things) that “mighty men” refers most often to those in league with God. The word for mighty in Hebrew is gibôr (גִּבּוֹר) ^H1368 which is found about 158 times in the Old Testament. When we look at Ruth Chapter 2:1, we read, “And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband’s, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name [was] Boaz.” From our study of Ruth we know that Boaz was used of God to be a “type” of the Lord Jesus Christ. We also know that this same word is used by God to directly describe Jesus in Isaiah 9:6, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty^H1368 God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” In Zephaniah 3:17, it is absolutely clear that God is the “Mighty” One, “The LORD thy God in the midst of thee [is] mighty^H1368; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.“

We also know that the words “red” and “scarlet” can be associated with blood, but also sin. It is interesting to note that the name Adam, the first man, means “Red”. Although the word for scarlet in this verse is unique, as seems to be referring to clothing having been “dyed red”, we do know from Isaiah 1:18 that, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” We also see references to red being likened to wine (and blood) from a winepress in Isaiah 63:1-4 and Rev 14:19&20, “And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand [and] six hundred furlongs.” and Revelation 19:15.

And what about the “fir trees”? In Isaiah 60:13 we read that the fir tree represents the believers, “The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious.” See also Isaiah 41:19 and Isaiah 55:13.

In Hosea 14:8, we see: “Ephraim [shall] say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard [him], and observed him: I [am] like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found.“

But what about the chariots with “flaming torches”, the word for flaming in the original Hebrew is “‘ēš” (אֵשׁ)^H784 meaning “fire”, and it is the same Hebrew word here in Genesis 19:24, “Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire ^H784 from the LORD out of heaven;“

So it would seem, therefore, that God is bringing judgment with His mighty host with chariots of fire against Nineveh typifying the world and the believers are “terribly shaken”. This is consistent with what we read in Psalm 119:119,120, “Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth [like] dross: therefore I love thy testimonies. My flesh trembleth for fear of thee; and I am afraid of thy judgments.“

In Nahum 2:4 we get a clearer indication of the judgment being pronounced, because it evokes what we have found earlier in Judges, Chapter 4 where we learned about Barak and Deborah’s husband, Lapidoth (under the heading of “Barak, a Portrait of Jesus Christ as the Ultimate Judge” https://bereansearching.com/2009/09/19/the-battle-of-armageddon-the-earthly-version-already-happened/). The same two words appear together again where similar decisive judgment is being pronounced against Nineveh, “The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall justle one against another in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches (lapid H3940), they shall run like the lightnings (barak H1300).” Although the literal, historical aspect of this prophesy was fulfilled about 612 BC, when the chariots of the Babylonians and of the Medes that would be going through the streets of Nineveh and bringing destruction to Nineveh, spiritually it was pointing to the end of the world on Judgment Day when Jesus will come as we read in Matthew 24:27, “...as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” And we also know that Jesus coming on Judgment Day was described by the Prophet Daniel in a terrifying vision in verse 10:6, “His body also [was] like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning (barak H1300), and his eyes as lamps (lapid H3940) of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.“

Verses 5-10

These verses seem to make clear that God is going to destroy Nineveh completely. It appears that God will remember (“Recount”) the military men of Nineveh who will hastily attempt to defend the city at the wall, but they will “stumble. And then God would seem to be suggesting that a great river flood would wash away much of the city, including the palace. The Tigris River is immediately adjacent to Nineveh, the remaining ruins of which are today protected from flooding by a large dam upstream (known today as the Mosul dam). The old city would become defenseless and easy prey for the invaders to conquer and sack. The captives, labeled “Huzzab” meaning “to stand”, would in effect make their last stand and then be taken away as captives. We then see the name of the city clearly mentioned, Nineveh, which is compared to “of old like a pool of water.” From what it is possible to glean this phrase looking at the Hebrew etymology it seems to imply that the pool of water is polluted water. The cry goes out to “Stand, stand;”, “but none shall look back”, so effectively no one regards it. Then in verse 10, we read that all the gold and silver and all the things of desire within Nineveh are taken away and the city is left desolate.

Verses 11-13 describe Nineveh (the capital of the Assyrian Empire) as metaphorically having been the dwelling place of fearless, ravenous, young lions that devoured their prey (Israel and most of Judah), but the last verse makes clear that God had had enough of Nineveh and the Assyrian exploits and would completely destroy Nineveh, “Behold, I [am] against thee, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young lions: and I will cut off thy prey from the earth, and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard.” This is also consistent with what we read in Zephaniah 2:13-15, “And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, [and] dry like a wilderness. And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; [their] voice shall sing in the windows; desolation [shall be] in the thresholds: for he shall uncover the cedar work. This [is] the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I [am], and [there is] none beside me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, [and] wag his hand.“

Chapter 3: More Judgment Day Analogies

Chapter 3 is a reiteration of the judgments promised in Chapter 2. Some notable points include the woes to Nineveh the “bloody city” and the judgments for its abominable whoredoms and witchcrafts that will involve the “glittering spear“(barak H1300) that result in dead corpses everywhere. When we read in Nahum 3:12, “All thy strong holds [shall be like] fig trees with the first ripe figs: if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater.” This is reminiscent of Judgment Day as described in Isaiah 34:4, “And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling [fig] from the fig tree.”

And just as notably, we read how God again describes Judgment Day in similar fashion in Revelation 6:12-16, “¶And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out oftheir places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:“

The nakedness of Nineveh’s sins are exposed and there is no healing for the grievous wounds. The chapter ends without hope and everlasting destruction to Nineveh.

Conclusion: God Comforts the Believers and Will Bring Vengeance on His Enemies

The very last chapter of Isaiah sums things up, of which the following is one excerpt…Isaiah 66:13-16, “As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. And when ye see [this], your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb: and the hand of the LORD shall be known toward his servants, and [his] Indignation toward his enemies. For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire., For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.“

In the Final Tribulation, Leading Up to Judgment Day, God Will Loose the Devil on the World, but the Devil and All of God’s Enemies Will Be Destroyed When Judgment Day Comes

In the book of Nahum, Nineveh is used as a “Type” for the world today in the short period just prior to Judgment Day. In Revelation 20:1-3, we are told that the devil would be loosed for a little season leading up to Judgment Day at the end of the New Testament Era. “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.” That will be the period know as the Great (and Final) Tribulation. It will be a period whereby the devil is used as a tool in God’s hand, like pharaoh of Moses’ day, Sennacherib, and Nebuchadnezzar in centuries later, to bring judgment on His people for apostasy and spiritual fornication. But in the Final Tribulation, it will impact the entire world at once.

Note to the reader: God twice refers to Nebuchadnezzar as His “servant” to render judgment on disobedient Judah in Jeremiah 25:9 and Jeremiah 27:6, but, as is pointed out above, Nebuchadnezzar is nonetheless destroyed by God.

Although the prophesy of destruction of Nineveh was made and fulfilled against in roughly 621 BC, it is a prophesy that must be heeded today, as it is another of many prophesies pointing to the end of this world and Judgment Day when Jesus returns on the clouds of glory from Heaven to mete out vengeance against all those in league with the devil. “Vengeance” is indeed coming from God to the unsaved of the world as we read again in Psalm 58:11, “The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. So that a man shall say, Verily [there is] a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.” Moreover, the book of Nahum also, by its very name, “Nahum”, means “comfort” and “consolation”, and it offers comfort and consolation to all believers, the ones made righteous, who are promised eternal salvation. And is not this comforting and also consistent with what was pointed out above earlier?…that Jesus said that The Father would send, in Jesus’s Name, the “Comforter” God, the Holy Ghost (John 14:26), Who is also the “Spirit of Truth” Who would lead His sheep into “all Truth” and He would speak of Jesus (John 15:26, and John 16:7-13.

Regardless of what some might think, this book is not some useless minor book of prophesy with little relevance to the world today. It offers both “comfort” and “consolation” to the believers in Jesus Christ and promises of “vengeance” to those who never become saved. It is a chilling testimony of the realities of Judgment Day, which the Bible makes clear to anyone who has been given the spiritual eyes to see and ears to hear.

Note to the reader, this study should be viewed as a cross-reference to another post, Isaiah Chapter 29: “A Book that is Sealed“.

Introduction: Spiritual Ears? and Spiritual Eyes?

In Proverbs 20:12 we are told something that is extremely important. “The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them.”

If a person is not physically deaf at birth, or physically blind at birth, or deafened or blinded later by disease or accident; does not everyone have ears that hear and eyes that see? So we must ask, what is the point of this verse?

The answer is that God is NOT talking about “physical” ears and “physical” eyes! Rather, God is talking about “spiritual” ears and “spiritual” eyes, which are NOT innate capabilities that form part of any human being’s natural anatomy. Spiritual ears and eyes must be bestowed on a person only by the grace of God (the LORD) alone, which are evidence of the new birth when a person is “born again” through the anointing and indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit. The abilities to “spiritually hear” and to “spiritually see” are solely the gift of God to whomever God chooses to grant them. And we know from Matthew 22:14, that Jesus clearly said, “For many are called, but few are chosen.” This means that there are only going to be a relatively few who have been given such “spiritual ears” and “spiritual eyes”, because that Gift, Is the Gift of the Holy Spirit, and is synonymous with salvation. That is what “Born Again”, born of the Spirit, means.

And this point is reiterated in Job 28:20&21, ”Whence then cometh wisdom? and where [is] the place of understanding? Seeing it is hid (עָלַם (ʿālam)) ^H5956 from the eyes of all living, and kept close (סָתַר (sāṯar)) ^H5641 from the fowls of the air.” No one will understand, or have any “wisdom”, and no one will have the eyes to see in his or her natural state, because God has to GRANT wisdom and understanding to each person whom He chooses.

Moreover, God tells us plainly and specifically, in three passages in the Bible, why Jesus spoke in Parables (and because God ordained it, this fact is not widely known or discussed in our world because the carnal man finds it offensive):

1. In Matthew 13:10-17 we read where the disciples questioned Jesus about His use of Parables, “And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He (Jesus) answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias (Isaiah), which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.” (And Isaiah 6:9&10 said exactly that, “¶And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 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.“
2. In Mark 4:11+12 we read, “And he (Jesus Christ speaking to His disciples) said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all [these] things are done in parables:  That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and [their] sins should be forgiven them.”
3. In Luke 8:9&10, we read , “And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.“

One has to wonder, “How this can be?“, given that God states so very clearly and plainly how He uses parables to veil the mystery of the kingdom of God from unbelievers. This makes absolutely no sense from the perspective of normal human reasoning, and it is contrary to everything the world tells you about Christianity. This is because the reality is that salvation depends entirely on the supernatural intercession of God as He sees fit (Yes, whether one likes it or not, salvation is of the LORD! exactly as we are told in Jonah 2:9). God has to GIVE a person the ears to hear and the eyes to see!

Moreover, Jesus openly explains two of His parables (The Parable of the Sower as found in Matthew 13:3-9, Mark 4:3-9, Luke 8:5-8), which anyone in the world can readily “physically” read in Matthew 13:10-16, Mark 4:14-20, Luke 8:11-15 (together with the companion “Parable of the Wheat and the Tares” as found in Matthew 13:24-30, which Jesus explained in Matthew 13:36-43.)

So then, even when a parable is fully, and perfectly, explained to someone who is not one of God’s elect/chosen, that parable will mean absolutely NOTHING to that unbeliever beyond merely the intellectual! That is why at the end of the Sower parable, Jesus said respectively in Matthew 13:9, Mark 4:9, Luke 8:8 “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” and “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”, and “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.“

Note: Jesus’ use of the phrase. “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear” hearkens back to Ezekiel 3:27, where we read, “But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they [are] a rebellious house.“

This appears on the surface, intellectually, to not make any sense, and thereby raises the question, how is this possible? The answer to this conundrum is that even if a parable is clearly explained to a person who remains an unbeliever (one whom God does not intend to “hear” or “see” or “perceive” or “understand” the meaning and hence has not been given that ability), then the salvation imbuing essence (The Holy Spirit) will not be manifest…and the Word of God will still remain completely veiled or hidden to that person and that person will remain in an unsaved state. That person will continue to be spiritually deaf and blind stumbling down the road to Hell. This is what makes true Christianity so scary, and so offensive, to carnal man. It is clearly saying that apart from God, there is no hope of Salvation!

God Has to Reveal Himself, Otherwise the Saving Knowledge of Him is Hidden

Not everyone “understands”. Without realizing it, to most people, the Word of God is hidden, because there are only a few who have been granted the “spiritual ears to hear and the spiritual eyes to see.” Please listen carefully to the words of Jesus’ joyful prayer to God The Father…

Matthew 11:25-27, “¶At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal [him.]“

Similarly in Luke 10:21&22, “¶In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and [he] to whom the Son will reveal [him].

And please note carefully what Jesus said to His disciples “privately” in the very next two verses in  Luke 10:23&24, ¶And he turned him unto [his] disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see: For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen [them]; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard [them].” The disciples (as “babes“) were able to see and hear, while to others, to the “wise and prudent” of the world, all these things remain “hid“. To them the Bible is a sealed book, and the knowledge of The Son and The Father is only revealed to the few to whom The Son chooses. As a result, there are very few who fully understand the profound significance of this hard teaching. Please see also the study on Isaiah Chapter 29: “A Book that is Sealed“. 

And please dear reader see how well this harmonizes with John 14:21, where Jesus states, “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest (from the Greek ἐμφανίζω (emphanizō) ^G1718 meaning to “disclose”, “reveal,” “declare plainly”, or “make known”) myself to him.”

Seeing Jesus in All of the Holy Scriptures

Jesus made it clear that the entire Old Testament was about Him as we read in John 5:39, where Jesus was admonishing the Jews and said, “Search the scriptures (only the Old Testament in that day); for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”(The “me” being Jesus Christ Himself!) This is further expounded upon in the study of “The Road to Emmaus“.

The Believers not only “see” Jesus in the Bible (albeit “through a glass darkly” with eyes of faith), but they all will see Jesus “face to face” on Judgment Day and they will all be “glad“!

1 John 3:2, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.“

1 Corinthians 13:12, “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”

Psalm 119:74, “They that fear thee will be glad when they see me; because I have hoped in thy word.“

And remember what the Gentile Greeks said in John 12:21, “The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.“

God Chooses to Whom He Will Reveal Himself

Please also see the side note in the inset below regarding God’s choosing, which is also known as “Election“…

Election (God’s Sovereignty) is Explained by the Example of “the Potter and the Clay“

God makes it clear in no uncertain terms that He Is The Sovereign Creator, Who has total control over all of His creation. And just like a potter can sovereignly form whatever he decides to create out of clay, so too is God able to do with His creation as He so determines (and, as in the case of the potter if the pot did not satisfy the potter, the potter could destroy it and/or remake it differently). That is what we are explicitly told in Isaiah 64:8 “But now, O LORD, thou [art] our father; we [are] the clay, and thou our potter; and we all [are] the work of thy hand.” Additional detail is provided later in Jeremiah 18:1-6, “¶The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make [it]. ¶Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay [is] in the potter’s hand, so [are] ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.” The Apostle Paul later referred back to this analogy to further explain God’s Sovereignty as it applies to each individual in Romans 9:18-24, “Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will [have mercy], and whom he will he hardeneth. ¶Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed [it], Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? ¶[What] if God, willing to shew [his] wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?” Please be sure to check out this more in-depth study on “the Potter and the Clay“.

On the other hand, if God so chooses to save a person (Yes, God chooses who is to become saved, not man, it is by Election alone), then that person will be given the Holy Spirit and with The Holy Spirit come the spiritual ears and spiritual eyes and that person will have the Word of God applied to his or her heart. Note how this is explicitly stated back in Ezekiel 3:10, “Moreover he (God) said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears.“

We also know that salvation through Jesus Christ is through the “hearing” of His Word (Romans 10:17, “So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.“) that they might all know Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. And note what is in the verse that immediately follows: Romans 10:18, “¶But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.” The Gospel will have gone out to all the ends of the earth before Jesus returns on Judgment Day so that man will be without excuse.

The Anointing of God’s Holy Spirit

No one can “hear” or “see” the Truth (Jesus Christ) apart from the Anointing by God of God’s Holy Spirit. And please notice what we read in Revelation 3:18, “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and [that] the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.”

The anointing of the eyes with eyesalve is the Anointing of The Holy Spirit.

In 1 John 2:20&21, we read more about the “annointing” of The Holy Spirit, also referred to synonymously as “unction” “from the Holy One“, “¶But ye have an unction (χρῖσμα (chrisma)^G5545 from the Holy One, and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.“

This is made all the more clear in 1 John 2:27, “But the anointing (χρῖσμα (chrisma) ^G5545 which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing (χρῖσμα (chrisma) ^G5545 teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.“

And “The Holy Spirit” Is also known as “The Spirit of Truth” as Jesus told us in John 14:17, “[Even] the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” and John 15:26, “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, [even] the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:” and John 16:13, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.“

In 1 John 4:4-6, the believers are described as knowing the Spirit of Truth versus the spirit of error and having the ability to hear the Truth versus error, “¶Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.” (Please see also 1 Corinthians 2:9-16, which will be presented again below, but particularly 1 Corinthians 2:13&14, “¶Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned.“)

An Unbeliever is Spiritually Dead, and Therefore Cannot Spiritually Hear or See

God also tells us in the Bible that the unbeliever, due to the Fall of Adam, is by nature rebellious, and therefore, by nature…apart from God’s direct intervention…will be remain spiritually dead and completely unable to spiritually hear or spiritually see God through His Word. They are compared to those who are physically blind and deaf. Ezekiel 12:2 makes this clear when God told the prophet Ezekiel, “Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they [are] a rebellious house.”

It is particularly important to remember back when Moses was lecturing Israel for its unbelief…even though the Israelites had seen many, many, miracles in Egypt and in the wilderness with their “physical eyes” in Deuteronomy 29:4…”Yet the Lord hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.” Those Israelites remained spiritually deaf and blind in unbelief.

This is reiterated in Romans 11:5-10, “Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then [is it] no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if [it be] of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work. ¶ What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded (According as it is written [Deuteronomy 29:4, see also and Isaiah 6:10], God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear😉 unto this day. ¶And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them: Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway.” And Psalm 69:23 tells us that for those who opposed Jesus and His Gospel, “Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake.”

And then Romans 15:21 makes clear to us that while the Israelites remained “spiritually” deaf and blind, the Gentiles would “see” and “hear” and “understand”, “But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand.” Paul was referring back to Isaiah 52:15 which reads, “So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for [that] which had not been told them shall they see; and [that] which they had not heard shall they consider.“

Note to the reader: Regarding Isaiah 53:1, note how the Apostle Paul relates that verse to the issue of “hearing” begetting saving faith in Romans 10:16-18, “But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. ¶But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.“

And when Jesus was explaining about WHY He spoke in Parables to the multitudes, and the ears that did not hear and the eyes that did not see, in Matthew 13:14&15, Jesus was referring back to what we read in Isaiah 6:8-10, because Isaiah was talking about Jesus (He is the “I” and “me”)…”Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here [am] I; send me. And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 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.“

This important prophesied fact is reiterated in the Book of John, in John 12:38-41, we read…”That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? (In Isaiah 53:1) Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again (in Isaiah 6:9&10), He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.”

And the Apostle Paul, among his very last words recorded in the Book of Acts, gave this expository to the Jews in Rome who were curious about the new Christian “sect” and again made this same point in Acts 28:23-28, “¶And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into [his] lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and [out of] the prophets, from morning till evening. And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not. And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet (in Isaiah 6:9&10) unto our fathers, Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.¶ Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and [that] they will hear it.” The Gentiles would be ingrafted into the family of God through the “hearing” of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

In Psalm 146:8 we read, “The LORD openeth [the eyes of] the blind: the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous:“

Job 33:16, “Then he (God) openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction,“

Job 36:10-12, “He (God) openeth also their ear to discipline, and commandeth that they return from iniquity. If they obey and serve [him], they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures. But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge.“

In Psalm 147:19, God tells us that He shows (reveals) His Word to His people, the Elect, the believers, typified by Jacob and Israel, “He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel.“

Psalm 19:8, “The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD [is] pure, enlightening (אוֹר (‘ôr))^H215 the eyes.

Isaiah 6:9&10, “¶And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 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 29:9-14…“Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered. And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned. Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.”

Isaiah 29:18, “And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.” We must remember that Jesus PHYSICALLY fulfilled this prophesy during His Ministry as we read in Luke 7:22, “Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.” But, because of Jesus’s Ministry and Sacrifice, each and every one of the named miracles (that include the deaf hearing and the blind seeing) continued to be fulfilled SPIRITUALLY throughout the whole New Testament era. Remember also that Paul was guided to refer back to Isaiah 49:8 when he wrote in 2 Corinthians 6:2, “(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now [is] the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)“

Psalm 103:20, “Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.“

Isaiah 32:3&4, “And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken. The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.“

Isaiah 35:5, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.”

Isaiah 42:6&7...”I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light (אוֹר (‘ôr))^H215 of the Gentiles; To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.”

Isaiah 42:18-20, “Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see. Who [is] blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger [that] I sent? who [is] blind as [he that is] perfect, and blind as the LORD’S servant? Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not.” and later in Isaiah 42:23, “Who among you will give ear to this? [who] will hearken and hear for the time to come?“

Isaiah 43:8, “Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears.“

Isaiah 44:18, “They have not known nor understood: for he (God) hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; [and] their hearts, that they cannot understand.“

Jeremiah 5:21…”Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not.”

Isaiah 28:9-13, “Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? [them that are] weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept [must be] upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, [and] there a little: For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. To whom he said, This [is] the rest [wherewith] ye may cause the weary to rest; and this [is] the refreshing: yet they would not hear.  But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, [and] there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.” The essence of this passage is that God is speaking of the Gospel of Salvation wrought through the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ, but the leaders and teachers of National Israel would not listen. They were able to read the words of the Law in the Old Testament, but they simply could not understand what they really mean. The entire Old Testament was in effect a strange tongue to them, just as it is to every human being who is not an elect child of God. The entire Bible is a Parable from God, which can only be truly understood only if God grants a person the “ears to hear” and the “eyes to see“.

And Jesus emphasized, regarding the “hearing” of His Words, in John 5:24&25, “¶Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.“

Finally, Job provides another insight into what it means to become saved. A person’s spiritual ears and eyes are opened and that person understands his or her complete destitution apart from the intercession of God, and the need for The Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Job 42:5&6, “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor [myself], and repent in dust and ashes.“

The New Testament Expounds on the Old Testament with Jesus Speaking in Parables to the Multitudes

In the Old Testament we can read in Isaiah 6:9&10, “And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 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.“) Those are the verses that Jesus was referring back to in Matthew 13:13-17 (remembering that Isaiah is Esaias in Greek), “Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing (ἀκούω (akouō))^G191 they hear (ἀκούω (akouō))^G191 not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear (ἀκούω (akouō))^G191, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing (ἀκούω (akouō))^G191, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear (ἀκούω (akouō))^G191 with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear (ἀκούω (akouō))^G191. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear (ἀκούω (akouō))^G191 those things which ye hear (ἀκούω (akouō))^G191, and have not heard (ἀκούω (akouō))^G191them.“

Note that in Mark 4:23 we read where Jesus explicitly said, “If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.” which is repeated again in Mark 7:16, “If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.“

Luke 8:17&18, “For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither [any thing] hid, that shall not be known and come abroad. Take heed therefore how ye hear (ἀκούω (akouō))^G191: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.“

Luke 9:44&45…Jesus specifically declared to His disciples what was about to happen to Him, and they heard it not because “it was hid from them“. Jesus said, “Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men. But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not: and they feared to ask him of that saying.”

Luke 18:31-34… And then again, Jesus tells the disciples in greater detail what will happen next to Him, “Then he took [unto him] the twelve, and said unto them,Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: And they shall scourge [him], and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again. And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.”

The same was true in Mark 8:15-18, when Jesus, speaking to His disciples, referred to the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod “And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and [of] the leaven of Herod.¶And they reasoned among themselves, saying, [It is] because we have no bread. ¶And when Jesus knew [it], he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened? Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?“

Please let that sink in! The words that Jesus spoke had no impact at that time, because it was supernaturally “hid” from the disciples!

Luke 19:41&42…Jesus wept over Jerusalem where we read, “And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things [which belong] unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.“

The Pharisees, and Most Jews, Did NOT Have the “Ears to Hear”

In John 8:43, Jesus, when speaking in the Holy Temple to the Pharisees (and unbelieving Jews), said, “Why do ye not understand my speech? [even] because ye cannot hear my word.” Jesus immediately made clear the reason why they could not “hear” His Word, as we read in the very next two verses in John 8:44&45, “Ye are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell [you] the truth, ye believe me not.“

It should be exceedingly clear from the above that it is absolutely impossible for anyone to “hear”, if God does not grant that person the “spiritual ears” to understand! Jesus plainly stated in John 8:47, “He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear [them] not, because ye are not of God.” This is eternally serious point to ponder and pray about, but hear it we must!

The Truth is NOT “heard”, or understood and accepted, until God makes it possible!

John 12:16…Note that it was not until after Jesus’s ascension that the disciples understood that Jesus was the fulfillment of all the Old Testament scripture and prophecies…”These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and [that] they had done these things unto him.”

Also in Mark 9:31&32, “For he (Jesus) taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day. But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him.“

In Acts 26:18, we are told how Jesus miraculously appeared to Saul (Paul) on the road to Damascus and commissioned Paul to preach to the Gentiles for this specific purpose…”To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.” Hallelujah!

PLEASE NOTE that God is effectively saying that having one’s “eyes” that are “open” is a prerequisite for receiving “forgiveness of sins” and sanctification…which is entirely consistent with the fact that those whose eyes are not opened will not receive forgiveness of sins or sanctification. This is all the more clear when we read where Jesus explained to His disciples why He spoke in parables in Mark 4:12, “That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and [their] sins should be forgiven them.” Idolatry Is Not the Answer. And please also notice the description of the unsaved who do not worship the True LORD God in Heaven, which we read of in Psalm 115:4-8, “Their idols [are] silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them; [so is] every one that trusteth in them.“

Note how this also ties in with 2 Corinthians 3:12-18, “¶Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: And not as Moses, [which] put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which [vail] is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord [is], there [is] liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, [even] as by the Spirit of the Lord.“

Jesus condemned those, like the Pharisees, that claimed to “see” but were “spiritually” blind in Luke 6:39, “And he (Jesus) spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?

2 Corinthians 4:3-6, “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to [give] the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.“

The Flock Hear The Voice of Jesus, The Good Shepherd:

Note also how, when Jesus was speaking of Himself as the Good Shepherd in John 10:2-5 that His sheep “hear his voice“, “But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.“

Jesus is also The Good Shepherd Who lays down His life for His sheep: John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” John 10:14-16 “I am the good shepherd, and know my [sheep], and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, [and] one shepherd.” Jesus was thus giving us notice that there were to be “hearing ears” among the Gentiles (the other sheep, not of the Jewish fold) as well.

We should also bear in mind these Words of Jesus, the Good Shepherd ( as given to us in John 10:27-30, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any [man] pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave [them] me, is greater than all; and no [man] is able to pluck [them] out of my Father’s hand. I and [my] Father are one.“

For more on the Jesus as the Good Shepherd, please see this post on The 23rd Psalm.

And what did we read in Matthew 17:5?… “While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.“

The Hearing Ear?

God tells us Isaiah 55:3 (But please also read the whole wonderful chapter to see the blessings for the believers there), “Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.“

While Isaiah 50:4&5 is Messianically describing Jesus, it also applies to every believer in whom Christ dwells, “The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to [him that is] weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.“

And note that having an ear to hear is mentioned 7 times in the book of Revelation with respect to what “the Spirit saith unto the churches.“

1. Revelation 2:7 “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God“.
2. Revelation 2:11 “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death“.
3. Revelation 2:17 “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.“
4. Revelation 2:29 “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”
5. Revelation 3:6 “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.“
6. Revelation 3:13 “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.“
7. Revelation 3:22 “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.“

Note also what we read in Proverbs 18:15, “The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge; and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge.” The wise are wise because God made their ears to hear, and the wise seek to know more of the knowledge from God.

Jeremiah 33:3, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things (בָּצַר (bāṣar))^H1219, which thou knowest not.” And this verse was not really translated as well as it could have been, as the original Hebrew word for “mighty things” is בָּצַר (bāṣar)^H1219, which can also be translated as “hidden things” or “concealed things”, given that it has also been translated as “restrained”, “walled up”, and “withholden”.

Note the similarity with what we find in Isaiah 48:6, “Thou hast heard, see all this; and will not ye declare [it]? I have shewed thee new things from this time, even hidden things (נָצַר (nāṣar))^H5341, and thou didst not know them.” The original Hebrew word that is translated here as “hidden things” could also be translated as “guarded”, “protected”, “preserved”, “kept close”, or “kept secret”, which indeed is a synonym for “hidden things” or “concealed things”.

And please let us not forget Psalm 119:18, where we are instructed to say to God, “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous (פָּלָא (pālā’) ^H6381) things out of thy law.” And we know that Jesus Christ, The Saviour, is “Wonderful” from Isaiah 9:6 (פֶּלֶא (pele’) ^H6382); which is derived from (פָּלָא (pālā’) ^H6381) a miracle:—marvellous thing, extraordinary, wonder(-ful, -fully). And why do we need to have our eyes opened?…well it is because of what we read in Isaiah 45:15, “Verily thou [art] a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour.”

Note also how this is so consistent the above is with what we find In Proverbs 25:2 (KJV), “[It is] the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings [is] to search out a matter.” The words “thing” and “matter” are the same word in the original Hebrew, דָּבָר (dāḇār) ^H1697 (which is translated more than eight hundred times in the Old Testament as “word”), so we are being told in effect by God that He is glorified by the concealing of The Word (Jesus Christ) in the Bible, and the believers are “honored” by being made able to search out The Word (Who is Jesus Christ) when reading the Bible. (For a more detailed exposition of Proverbs 25:2, please see “The Mystery of the Gospel“.

And finally in Revelation 13:9…”If any man have an ear, let him hear.”

Admittedly, this is all hard for the general reader to accept on the face of it, but God also shows us how He can and does hide anything from anyone as He sees fit. Look again at the example that we are given in Luke 18:31-34, where Jesus point blank told His twelve disciples that He was going to Jerusalem to be put to death and rise again from the dead on the third day in fulfillment of prophesy, “Then he took [unto him] the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: And they shall scourge [him], and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.“, but then we immediately read next, “And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.”

God Is The Only One Who must first give each believer the “spiritual ears to hear” and the “spiritual eyes to see” and “prepare the heart to receive the Word” through which it can be revealed to us that Jesus Christ Is our Only Hope for salvation, as is explained throughout all of the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments.

Jesus’s Healing the Physically Blind and Deaf Was an Earthly Allegory/Metaphor of the Spiritual Healing That Comes with Salvation

Healing the Physically Blind

NOTE: The reader should also be aware that the whole of Chapter 9 of the Book of John is the account of the blind man, blind from birth, who Jesus opened the man’s eyes on a Sabbath day that the man could see. While the account should be read in its entirety, some key points are these:

1) When the Pharisees asked the man how he could see, the man explained that Jesus put clay (made with the spittle of Jesus, see verse 6) and then washed in the pool of Siloam as directed by Jesus and then could see.

2) the Pharisees and some of the Jews refused to believe that it was possible, even though they asked the man three times “How were thine eyes opened?” and his parents once. The formerly blind man answered, “one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.” and then when questioned the third time said, “Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and [yet] he hath opened mine eyes. Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing.” The Pharisees became incensed and cast the man out of the synagogue.

3) Later Jesus met the man (whom Jesus had healed and who was cast out by the pharisees) and we read in verses John 9:35-41, where, after Jesus affirmed to the man that He is the Son of God, “And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him. And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.“

Another account of Jesus healing the “physically” blind as a metaphor for the spiritual is found in Matthew 9:28-30, “¶And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. ¶Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See [that] no man know [it].”

Healing the Physically Deaf

Moreover, in Mark 7:31-35, Jesus similarly healed a deaf man, “And he (Jesus) took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.“

The Spiritual Applications

So then, once again we are assured that what we read in Proverbs 20:12 is true, “The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them.” And the key takeaway from these historical literal accounts, is that they are there to teach us that we are all from birth born spiritually deaf and blind, but God The Father, in His mercy, through Jesus Christ His Son, by the Power of His Holy Spirit, can make us to hear Him spiritually and to see Him spiritually by His Word. And also going back again to Romans 10:17, note what we read in the following verse 18, “So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.¶But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.” The Gospel goes forth to all the world, but it is merely a “sound” that is heard with physical ears. In order for a person to “hear” the Word of God, God has to first graciously grant to a person the spiritual ears to hear.

Remember that only God can make anyone to “hear” or “see”, both physically and spiritually, as we read in Exodus 4:11, “And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?” And then we we go to Matthew 20:32-34, “And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you? They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened. So Jesus had compassion [on them], and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.“

More Insights from the Book of Job

Job also spoke in a “parable”, as we are told in both Job 27:1 and Job 29:1. And a careful spiritual scrutiny of Job Chapters 28 and Job 29 make clear that Job was serving as a “Type” of the Lord Jesus Christ in that parable precisely as crafted by God, The Holy Spirit. 

And note how Job, as a “Type” of the Lord Jesus Christ, says in Job 29:11&12, “When the ear heard [me], then it blessed me; and when the eye saw [me], it gave witness to me: Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and [him that had] none to help him, and Job 29:15, “I was eyes to the blind, and feet [was] I to the lame.”

And before we leave the Book of Job, we should also take a look at Job 32:8, that reads in the King James English translation as, “But [there is] a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.“ Man is a living being with the spirit of life that goes back to Genesis 2:7, “¶And the LORD God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.“ The original Hebrew word that is translated into English as both “inspiration” and “breath” is the same word, נְשָׁמָה (nᵊšāmâ)^H5397. So what Job 32:8 is really saying is that man has the spirit of life as a physical living soul, but, and only if, someone is given The Holy Spirit from God Almighty can they then also have “Understanding”, and by implication, Eternal Life. This also brings to mind what we read in John 20:21&22, “¶Then said Jesus to them again, Peace [be] unto you: as [my] Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on [them], and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:“

Spiritually Dead Versus Physically Dead

Jesus, speaking of the “spiritually dead”, said in John 5:25, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear (ἀκούω (akouō))^G191 the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear (ἀκούω (akouō))^G191 shall live.” But then a few verses later, Jesus speaks of the “physically dead” in John 5:28&29, “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear (ἀκούω (akouō))^G191 his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” Moreover, note later while speaking to the Jews in His day in John 5:37, Jesus said, “And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard (ἀκούω (akouō))^G191   his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.“

And remember also in Luke 24:44&45 (following the encounter on the Road to Emmaus) where Jesus was with the disciples in a room after His resurrection, “And he said unto them, These [are] the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and [in] the prophets, and [in] the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,“

Note the consistency with Ephesians 1:17-20, “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what [is] the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set [him] at his own right hand in the heavenly places,“

And finally let us take a look at Matthew 13:10-17 , “And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive. For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and [their] ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with [their] eyes, and hear with [their] ears, and should understand with [their] heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed [are] your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous [men] have desired to see [those things] which ye see, and have not seen [them]; and to hear [those things] which ye hear, and have not heard [them].“

John 6:63, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit, and [they] are life.” Only The Holy Spirit can “quickeneth”, which means to “make alive” or “bring to life”.

And once again we need to look at 1 Corinthians 2:9-14, “¶But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed [them] unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. ¶Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned.“

It is this writer’s prayer that this may be the same for all whom God has brought to this website, that they might be spiritually quickened (made alive) by God’s Holy Spirit such they would have the “eyes to see” and “ears to hear” so that they will have peace with God through His Dear Son, Jesus Christ our LORD. This prayer is exactly the same as Paul wrote to the Ephesians in Ephesians 1:17 &18, “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,”

Mutuality and Consistency of Parables with Election

Anyone who claims to be a Christian should be familiar with the following verses beginning in the Old Testament in Psalm 65:4, “Blessed [is the man whom] thou choosest, and causest to approach [unto thee, that] he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, [even] of thy holy temple.“

Matthew 22:14, “¶For many are called, but few are chosen.” (passive voice) (also Matthew 20:16)

John 6:44, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.“

Ephesians 1:5, “Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,“

Ephesians 1:11, “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:”

Romans 9:11, “(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth; )“

Second is the astonishing fact that Jesus “spoke in parables”!

Matthew 13:34, ¶All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:” (and Mark 4:34) which fulfilled Psalm 78:2.

It was never Jesus’ intent to save everybody, or anybody who ‘choses’ (active voice) Him!

That is why we have:

1. Matthew 13:13, “Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.“
2. Mark 4:12, “That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.”  See also
3. Luke 8:10, “¶And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.”

And when we consider that the entire Bible is a “Parable”, it makes perfect sense from God’s perspective (but not from man’s perspective) that Election depends on the veiling of Truth through the use of parables. 

Moreover, parables are, themselves, just a “sign” that God’s Salvation Program is strictly by Election, because even when the parables are explained in plain English, if a person is not elect, then the explanation and teaching of the parables will still have no effect on that person. 

“Be Ye Doers of the Word, and Not Hearers Only“

There is also a difference between ‘listening’ and ‘hearing’. The following verses admonish us to not just be “listeners”, but to go forth to share The Word that we have really “heard“.

Remember that Jesus said in Matthew 7:24, “Therefore whosoever heareth (ἀκούω (akouō))^G191 these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:” versus Matthew 7:26, “And every one that heareth (ἀκούω (akouō)) ^G191 these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:“

1. James 1:22, “¶But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers (ἀκροατής (akroatēs))^G202 only, deceiving your own selves.”
2. James 1:23-25, “For if any be a hearer (ἀκροατής (akroatēs))^G202 of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth [therein], he being not a forgetful hearer (ἀκροατής (akroatēs))^G202, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.“
3. Romans 2:13, “(For not the hearers (ἀκροατής (akroatēs))^G202 of the law [are] just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.“

Conclusion

Everyone thinks that they have “Ears to hear” and “Eyes to see“, but the reality is that it is only possible to spiritually hear and spiritually see IF God Wills anyone to be so blessed…God has to GIVE that ability…otherwise everyone would remain deaf and blind to the Truth, Who is Jesus. The result of such blessing is synonymous with Salvation, as opposed to eternal judgment for sin. In John 9:5, Jesus announced, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” after which he immediately healed a blind man, “born blind”. We see similar references to physical healing that point to the spiritually healing culminating in Matthew 11:4&5 with, “Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.” Then we read later in John 9:39, ”And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.” And note the ensuing discussion between Jesus and the Pharisees in John 9:40&41, “¶And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? ¶Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.“

And please also remember that it is only through God’s mercy alone, that, just as it was for the people before and below the prophet Ezra (whose name means “Help” and served as a “Type” of Jesus) in Nehemiah 8:8, that we can still be so blessed…”So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused [them] to understand the reading.” Hallelujah!

It should also be noted that after explaining the “Parable of the Sower“, Jesus spoke forth other parables pertaining of the “Kingdom of Heaven”, such as the “Mustard Seed”, the “Leaven”, the “Wheat and the Tares” (which Jesus also explained to the disciples), the “Hidden Treasure”, the “Pearl of Great Price”, and the “Fisher’s Net”, Jesus asked the disciples if they understood. We read in Matthew 13:51&52, “Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord. Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe [which] is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man [that] is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure [things] new and old.”

We should remember that, according to Nehemiah 8:1&2, Ezra was both a scribe and a Chief (High) Priest of the Levitical priesthood via Aaron (see both Ezra 7:1-5 and Ezra 7:11) and (and while Ezra was established by God as a “Type” of Jesus Christ, Jesus being of the tribe of Judah (not Levi) was the Ultimate High Priest (after the Order of Melchizedek Psalm 110:4), but that all believers in Jesus Christ are also considered by God to be “Kings and Priests” in Christ (according to Revelation 1:6 and Revelation 5:10).

Note how this is also consistent with what we read in Job 36:7 when speaking of God regarding the believers, “He (God) withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous: but with kings [are they] on the throne; yea, he doth establish them for ever, and they are exalted.“

And also 1 Peter 2:5, “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” and 1 Peter 2:9, “¶But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:“

Ephesians 2:4-7, “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.“

The scribe is a believer who is a teacher and expounds the Word of God (the Bible) as “his treasure” from both the Old and New Testaments. See Isaiah 33:5-6: “The LORD is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness. And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, [and] strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD [is] his treasure.“

And is it not interesting that God tells us directly in Proverbs 2:1-6, “My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, [and] apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, [and] liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as [for] hid treasures. Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth [cometh] knowledge and understanding.” And also remember what we are told in Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy [is] understanding.”

And is it not also interesting that we read in Colossians 2:2&3, “That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

And finally, in Ecclesiastes 12:13, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this [is] the whole [duty] of man.” For more on what it means to “Fear God” please see the verses listed here.

Nehemiah 8:5-8, “And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up: And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with [their] faces to the ground”. Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people [stood] in their place. So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused [them] to understand the reading.” The scribes and priests cause the people to understand what the Bible says!

James 1:19, “¶Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift  to hear (ἀκούω (akouō))^G191 , slow to speak, slow to wrath:”

NOTE to the Reader: When we look at the original Hebrew that is translated to English as Proverbs 20:12, “The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them.”, we will find the following:

1) The word translated as “hearing” is שָׁמַע (šāmaʿ)^H8085, which is the same word as “understanding” and “discern” in 1 Kings 3:9-11, “Give therefore thy servant an understanding (שָׁמַע (šāmaʿ))^H8085 heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? ¶And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern (שָׁמַע (šāmaʿ))^H8085 judgment; Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.” The word is reportedly found 1,159 times in the Bible and most often translated by the King James Translators in the following contexts: hear (785x), hearken (196x), obey (81x), publish (17x), understand (9x) discern (6x).

We should all listen VERY carefully to what God tells every believer in Proverbs 22:17, “Bow down thine ear, and hear (שָׁמַע (šāmaʿ))^H8085 the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge. For [it is] a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips. That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee. Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge, That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?“

2) The word translated as “seeing” is רָאָה (rā’â)^H7200, which is the same word as “foreseeth” in Proverbs 22:3 (also Proverbs 27:12), “A prudent [man] foreseeth ^H7200 the evil, [and] hideth himself: [but] the simple pass on, [and] are punished.”  The word is reportedly found 1,313 times in the Bible and most often translated by the King James Translators in the following contexts, see (879x), look (104x), behold (83x), shew (68x), appear (66x), consider (22x), seer (12x), respect (5x), perceive (5x), provide (4x), regard (4x), enjoy (4x), lo (3x), foreseeth (2x), heed (2x), spy (1x).

So then, the verse could be also read as, “The discerning ear, and the foreseeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them.” The lesson being that a “hearing” ear is one that leads the hearer to “understand” and “discern” and “obey” God’s Word, and the “seeing” eye is one that lets the seer to “see” and “perceive” from the Word and “foresee” the Judgment to come, and to find protection (which can only come in Jesus).

God Has to Open a Person’s Heart as well as Ears and Eyes

And let us not forget that it was the Lord, Jesus Christ, Who OPENED Lydia’s heart in Acts 16:14, “And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard [us]: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.”

The opening of the heart involves the new birth, which is The Gift of the Holy Spirit, Who enables all understanding, as we read in: 

1 Corinthians 2:12-16, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. ¶Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.“

And Please, Let us NOT Forget! Jesus stated specifically, twice for emphasis, the following in John 6:44, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” and John 6:65, “And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.“

And finally, to all who truly believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, and have accordingly been blessed with the ears that hear and the eyes that see, please remember what is given to us in Jeremiah 9:23&24, “¶Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise [man] glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty [man] glory in his might, let not the rich [man] glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I [am] the LORD which exercise loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these [things] I delight, saith the LORD.”

The Apostle Paul referred back to the above verses in Jeremiah 9:23&24 in 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, “¶For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, [are called]: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.”and 2 Corinthians 10:17, “But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.“

Postscript: Man’s Wisdom Will Perish

Just as we read earlier in Isaiah 29:14, “Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, [even] a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise [men] shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent [men] shall be hid.“, we also read in Obadiah 8, “Shall I not in that day, saith the LORD, even destroy the wise [men] out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau?”

And in 1 Corinthians 1:17-31, “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written (Isaiah 29:14), I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. ¶ Where [is] the wise? where [is] the scribe? where [is] the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.¶ For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, [are called]: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, [yea], and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written (Jeremiah 9:24), He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.”

Matthew 5:8, “Blessed [are] the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”

Finally, in 1 Corinthians 2:9-16, where the Apostle Paul refers back to Isaiah 64:4 “For since the beginning of the world [men] have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, [what] he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.“, we read:

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed [them] unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. ¶ Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.“

(For reference: Isaiah 64:4, “For since the beginning of the world [men] have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, [what] he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.“)

Psalm 48:8 &9, “As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever. Selah. We have thought of thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple.” The believers have the ears to hear, the eyes to see, and, as a result, they think of God’s loving kindness, mercy and grace because of what Jesus did for them!

Ecclesiastes 2:14, “The wise man’s eyes [are] in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all.“

Ezekiel 33:31-33, “And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee [as] my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, [but] their heart goeth after their covetousness. And, lo, thou [art] unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not. And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.“

[Note how the above is also reminiscent of what Isaiah said in Isaiah 29:13, “¶Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near [me] with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:” and which Jesus quoted in Matthew 15:7–9, “Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with [their] lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching [for] doctrines the commandments of men.” and again in Mark 7:6&7, “¶He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with [their] lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching [for] doctrines the commandments of men.]

And this is similar to prophesy that we find in Isaiah 52:15, “So shall he (Jesus) sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for [that] which had not been told them shall they see; and [that] which they had not heard shall they consider.“

And remember the dire warning from God in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17, particularly verses 11 and 12, “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness”.

Other Issues Associated with Hearing…Listening to Falsehoods Instead of the Truth

Isaiah 30:8, “Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever: That this [is] a rebellious people, lying children, children [that] will not hear the law of the LORD: Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:“

Jeremiah 5:30, “A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land. The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love [to have it] so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?

2 Timothy 4:3, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away [their] ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.“

Psalm 58:4, “Their poison [is] like the poison of a serpent: [they are] like the deaf adder [that] stoppeth her ear; Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely.“

And yet there is still more to consider... We must not be only “hearers” of the Word, but also “doers”. 

James 1:22-25, “¶But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth [therein], he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.“

James 1:27 “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, [and] to keep himself unspotted from the world.”

James 2:26 “¶For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.“

Luke 6:35 “But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and [to] the evil.“

1 Corinthians 13:1, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become [as] sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.” “Charity” is the highest “love”

2 Corinthians 5:11 “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.” Judgment Day is coming and Jesus Is our Only Hope!

Galatians 1:10, “For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.“

Romans 10:14 “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?”

Finally, We must also remember what Jesus said in Luke 12:48, “But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few [stripes]. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.” The more wisdom and understanding God graciously grants a person from His Word, the greater the responsibility that person will have to use it to His Glory!  (For more on this responsibility, please the Parable of the Talents.)

The Parable of the Sower Provides the Key to Solving All Parables: It is Both a Biblical Rosetta Stone and A Proof-Text for Typological/Allegorical Interpretation, Hence God’s Hermeneutic.

“And he (Jesus) said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?” (Mark 4:13)

Introduction

Dear reader, what you are about to read is unlike anything that you are likely to hear within what is generally described as “Mainline Christianity”. Nonetheless, it can all be validated and proven through the process of searching the scriptures, exactly like the Bereans did in the days of the Apostle Paul. It is this teacher’s hope and prayer that you will be blessed and edified in the reading both this post and in all other posts found on the Bereansearching.com website. All Glory be to God: The Father, The Son Jesus Christ, and The Holy Ghost.

In Matthew 13:1-52, Jesus Christ delivers a total of seven parables of which the Parable of the Sower is the first (followed by the Wheat and the Tares, the Mustard Seed, the Leaven, the Hidden Treasure, the Pearl of Great Price, and finally the Fishing Net).  Notably, in six of these parables, all of the ones that follow the Parable of the Sower, Jesus begins by saying “the kingdom of heaven is like…” 

The Parable of the Sower is quite unique in a number of ways. Discussion of it can be found in three places in the Bible….Please see: Matthew 13:3-23, Mark 4:3-20, and Luke 8:4-15. (These verses are also provided in the Appendix at the end of this post.)

What is most unique about the “Parable of the Sower” (along with the companion “Parable of the Wheat and the Tares” as found in Matthew 13:24-30, which is the only other parable that was also explained by Jesus, and also made plain to the world later, because it is recorded in Matthew 13:36-43) is that we not only read about Jesus openly speaking the parable (essentially a riddle) to the masses, but then we also learn how Jesus later expounds, privately, to the disciples on the meaning of the parable (Jesus solves the riddle for us).  In Mark 4:34, we read, “But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.”

Moreover, Jesus goes further to provide the reason why He spoke in parables, and in the process then Jesus makes it clear that He did NOT intend to make it possible for everyone to understand what He was saying.  Jesus clearly states that it was NOT His intention to save “everyone”.  Jesus also seems to have somewhat upbraided the disciples for not being able to understand the parable on their own, when in Mark 4:13, Jesus said to his disciples, “Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?“  (We will look more into this point in the course of this study.)

The Scribe (One Who Is In Christ Jesus) Expounds the Hidden Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge Out of the Scriptures

Before we go any further we should also be mindful of what Jesus said to His disciples immediately at the end of His delivering the seven parables. In Matthew 13:51&52. “¶Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord. ¶Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe [which is] instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man [that] is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure [things] new and old.”  It would appear therefore that Jesus is saying that a Bible “teacher” (because the word translated as “scribe” is the Greek word,  γραμματεύς (grammateus)^G1122, which can also be translated as “interpreter“*) is one who has been “instructed” by God and given “understanding” from these parables (and therefore ALL of God’s Word as found in the Bible) is like a householder (a responsible party), who will bring forth and expound upon the treasures that God has hidden within the Bible, both old and new (which might be viewed as meaning that which is found in both the Old and New Testaments?).  

Remember how clearly God compares His Word to “hid treasures” as He tells us in Proverbs 2:1-6 “My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, [and] apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, [and] liftest up thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as [for] hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth [cometh] knowledge and understanding.” Finally, in Colossians 2:2&3, “That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 

God provides us with pastors and teachers, etc., as it is written in 1 Corinthians 12:28 “And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.” And in Ephesians 4:11  “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;“

*Note how in Nehemiah 8:7&8, Ezra the Scribe (a “Type” of Jesus) and the other men (scribes?) and the Levites (priests) with him, “…caused the people to understand the law: and the people [stood] in their place. So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused [them] to understand the reading.“

True Understanding of God’s Word Can Only Come as a Gift from God!

In Luke 8:4-8, we read that Jesus spoke the Parable of the Sower, and his disciples question Jesus about the meaning of the parable. Then Jesus answered them first by saying, in Luke 8:10, “Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.”  Understanding, commensurate with salvation, is “given” and therefore a “gift” from God!

In Mark 4:11-12, Jesus is quoted saying the same thing, but with some additional information highlighted here in bold, “Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables. That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.” 

In Matthew 13:10-16, we read the same thing, but with a cross reference from Jesus back to Isaiah 6:9-10 (see also Ezekiel 12:2). “And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parable? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias (Isaiah), which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.“

Note also that Matthew 13:35 says, “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.” This was a cross reference back to Psalm 78:2 “I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:“ Similarly, in Psalm 49:3&4 we read, “My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and  the meditation of my heart [shall be] of understanding. I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.”

Knowing the Parable, and Therefore Knowing ALL Parables?

As was mentioned above, in Mark 4:10 we read that Jesus, when He had just finished telling the parable of the Sower, was asked by His disciples what the parable meant; “And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.”  In Mark 4:13, Jesus gave the following response, “And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?”  

Why did Jesus imply that His disciples should have known what the parable meant?  Could they have known before Jesus explained it to them?  Also, He indicated that if they did know the meaning of this parable, then they would be able to know the meaning of all parables.  What did that mean?

When we do a word study of the parable of the Sower, using a concordance such as Strong’s or Young’s (or even better yet… a personal familiarity with the Old Testament), comparing scripture with scripture (“comparing spiritual things with spiritual” as we are instructed to do in 1 Corinthians 2:13); we find that if we search just the Old Testament (the only scriptures available at the time of Christ) we can derive essentially the same meaning of the parable as Jesus gave His disciples.  By applying the same principles to the rest of the Bible, trusting God’s Word, by faith, being led by the Holy Spirit, it would seem to be consistent that we ought to be able to learn the meaning of “all” parables.

However, please remember that the information in this Bible Study Help is not to be viewed as some kind of a cookbook “recipe,” by which we can automatically come to truth.  God is Sovereign, and in complete control of the revelation of saving truth from His Word, the Bible.  Intellectual knowledge will never save anyone (it could actually add to his or her greater condemnation).  May we never be as those God describes in 2 Timothy 3:7, “Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”   (Remember also that Jesus is The “Truth”). Also remember what Jesus said in John 6:63, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit, and [they] are life.”

The Gift of the Holy Spirit is Required

The Bible requires spiritual insight to understand it.  That faculty is only obtained as a Gift from God, through the indwelling (or anointing) of His Holy Spirit, The “Spirit of Truth*“, Who Is also known as “The Holy Ghost“.  That action is God’s Alone, and is synonymous with the Gift of salvation (Acts 5:32, “And we are his witnesses of these things; and [so is] also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.“).  

It is quite interesting to find in Exodus chapter 31, when God looked for a man of wisdom and understanding and knowledge, that God told Moses the following starting in verses 2-5:“See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: and I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship.”

Since Proverbs 1:20-23, “Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.“  For more on “who” this is, please see the Proverbs Chapter 8 study.

The key here is the Spirit that makes God’s Words known to us, which is entirely in accordance with 1 Corinthians 2:12-16, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. ¶Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.“ For more on this please see: God’s Hermeneutic Explained: 1 Corinthians, Chapter 2

We must also be mindful of the fact that spiritual discernment is necessary to understand the Bible. The anointing of God The Holy Spirit is required to have Jesus clearly revealed to us as is clearly stated in 1 John 2:27, “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.“ The anointing is of the Holy Spirit Who God the Father sent to the believers to lead them into all truth, and that Truth Is Jesus. John 16:13, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that]shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” Note the consistency with John 14:26, “But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” and 1 John 2:20, “¶But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.” (“unction” means “anointing”)

We must conclude from the above that to understand a parable, we must be “comparing spiritual things with spiritual things“, hence we must compare God’s Holy Word with God’s Holy Word (the Bible with the Bible, scripture with scripture) being led by God the Holy Spirit.

Word Study, Parable of the Sower

The following explanations in this study of the various parts of the parable are provided directly to us by Jesus Himself (Who Is The Word Incarnate), but they potentially can be understood through diligent searching the Bible to see how the key words are used elsewhere and thereby derive identical meanings to that which Jesus interpreted for His disciples.

The Parable is Divided Into Four Parts, and Highlighted by some Key Words Drawn From All Three Accounts in Matthew, Mark and Luke:

1. The “Sower” sowed “seeds” and some fell by the “wayside” and was trodden down and the “fowls of the air” “devoured” them.
2. Some seed fell on “stony ground”, no depth of earth, sprung up and because they had no “root” were “scorched”by the sun and lacked moisture and “withered”.
3. Some seed fell among “thorns” that choked them so that they yielded no fruit.
4. Some seed fell into “good ground” and brought forth “fruit”, some 100 fold, some 60, some 30.

The key words of the parable above can be researched from the Bible as provided respectively below:

The Sower and His Seed: (the meaning is by interpretation: God and His Word)

We can see the consistency between what Jesus expounded regarding the seed and the sower with what can be found in Isaiah 55:10&11 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper [in the thing] whereto I sent it.  

Moreover, looking ahead to the New Testament, we read in 1 Corinthians 3:6-7, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.”

The Apostle Paul uses the word “soweth” in reference to both sharing the Gospel (like bread) and sharing one’s wealth in support of others, particularly ministers of the Gospel in 2 Corinthians 9:6-9, “¶But this [I say], He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, [so let him give]; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God [is] able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all [things], may abound to every good work: (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.” The Apostle Paul provides us with a tie-in back to Psalm 112:9, “He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour.“

And then the Apostle Paul immediately goes back to Isaiah 55:10&11, “For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but  watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper [in the thing] whereto I sent it.“, in 2 Corinthians 9:10-12, “¶Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.“, which link together the Gospel “Word” to both the seed that is sown as well as “bread”, which ultimately will be the means by which fruit (believers) can be produced for God.

NOTE to the reader: In a similar vein, and in keeping with the Apostle Paul’s admonitions, we see another reference back to the Old Testament in the previous chapter in 2 Corinthians 8:15, “As it is written, He that [had gathered] much had nothing over; and he that [had gathered] little had no lack.”, which referred us back to the gathering of the manna in Exodus 16:18, “And when they did mete [it] with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.” These verses set forth another lesson for us on how God’s economy works…which is antithetical to all human reasoning. For more on God’s economy please see: “God’s Equity, and the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard” and “Are You Buying It?“.

We know that the work that God is talking about is the people who believe as the result of faithfully preaching and teaching the Truth (Jesus Is The Truth) of the Gospel of Salvation.  This is clear in1 Corinthians 9:1, “¶Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord?“

Please also note the consistency with  Isaiah 44:3&4, “For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses.” And note how this points us to Jesus Christ when we read of Him here in Isaiah 53:2, “For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.” The believers are considered by God to be Jesus’s seed. Jesus first sprang up out of dry ground and bears fruit with seed, and when the believers spring up with life (out of the “good ground” rooted in Christ), then they will bear fruit (other believers) through the spreading of the Word, the Good Seed, which is the Gospel of Jesus!

Jesus is the first/chief of those who will be raised/resurrected. 1 Corinthians 15:23, “But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.” Psalm 85:12, “Yea, the LORD shall give [that which is] good; and our land shall yield her increase.“

There is a very clear correlation between the above and what we read in the “Parable of the Seed” found in Mark 4:26-29, “¶And he (Jesus) said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.” And the “harvest” is Judgment Day!

And we should also note how consistent this is with Hebrews 6:7&8, “¶For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: But that which beareth thorns and briers [is] rejected, and [is] nigh unto cursing; whose end [is] to be burned.” (Please note how this is also consistent with the “Parable of the Wheat and the Tares” as found in Matthew 13:24-30, which is the only other parable that was explained by Jesus in Matthew 13:36-43 making clear that the unsaved, the “tares”…”the children of the wicked [one]” who respond to the Word by “bearing thorns and briars“, would be “burned” in a “furnace of fire” (Hell) “in the end of this world“.

Dear reader, please note how perfectly these verses harmonize with what we find in Ecclesiastes 11:1-6. There we read, “¶ Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. If the clouds be full of rain, they empty [themselves] upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be. He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.  As thou knowest not what [is] the way of the spirit, [nor] how the bones [do grow] in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both [shall be] alike good.”  

The above sets of verses, when taken together, tell us quite clearly that we are not to be slack in sowing the seed, that is, by Jesus’s own interpretation, to not be slack in spreading the Good News of “The Gospel of Salvation through the Person and Work of the LORD Jesus Christ” as is wholly contained in the Bible. God is telling us not to worry, not to fret, and not to fear about how well The Word will be received, or even whether or not it will be received at all! The seed/Word is God’s, and the ground/heart of man is made and prepared by God to receive it or not.  We do not know the heart of man, only God does.  It is all God’s business, so as faithful servants, we are simply to go forth into the world to preach the word faithfully. In Isaiah 32:20 we also read, “Blessed [are] ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth [thither} the feet of the ox and the ass.” This is also telling the believers to preach the Gospel everywhere, as well as to send forth missionaries to preach the Gospel, and they will be blessed of God.

And remember how God, through Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians, encourages us in 1 Corinthians 3:6, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.”  God Is The One Who will make the seed/word prosper or not.  God will be the one to make the planted seed/word bear”fruit”by converting and saving a sinner.  (NOTE: That we are provided a similar instructive admonition by God in the Parable of the Talents.)

Note also Job 5:8-10: “I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause: Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number: Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields:”

And finally, note the harmony of the above with Psalm 65:9-13, “Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, [which] is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it. Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers: thou blessest the springing thereof. Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness. They drop [upon] the pastures of the wilderness: and the little hills rejoice on every side. The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing.“ When the Gospel of Salvation through Jesus Christ (like water) goes forth upon those to whom God gives the ears to hear, then they will spring forth like corn and become fruitful for God themselves. Hosea 14:7 tells us that, “They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive [as] the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof [shall be] as the wine of Lebanon.“

Sow in Tears, Reap in Joy!

We also see in Psalm 126:5&6, “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves [with him].  These verses can only be interpreted that it is only through the sowing of the precious seed is the Gospel of Salvation through Jesus Christ, the Word of God, that can only lead to the ultimate joyful harvesting of saved souls for God.  Jesus was the Suffering Servant Who sowing the precious seed of the Gospel will doubtless come again (on Judgment Day) rejoicing and bringing His sheaves with Him as will all of His followers, the believers with Him! Isaiah 51:11, “Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy [shall be] upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; [and ]sorrow and mourning shall flee away.“

We should also remember that the majority of the seed did not yield good fruit, and only a relatively small portion grew and brought forth good fruit, but the seed was sown everywhere nonetheless. Similarly, we are not given to know beforehand how the seed will end up, we are simply to sow the seed, which is the Word of God. The result will eventually be manifest one way or the other, but, in any case, we are assured that, as we read in the last part of Acts 13:48, “¶And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.“

Hosea 10:12, “Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for [it is] time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.“

Proverbs 10:5, “He that gathereth in summer [is] a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest [is] a son that causeth shame.”

Zechariah 10:9 , “And I will sow them among the people: and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and turn again.”

*We also should remember what Jesus said in John 4:35-38, “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.“   Moreover, we read in in 1 Corinthians 3:6-8 , “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.” 

Then in 2 Corinthians 9:6-11, “¶But this [I say], He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, [so let him give]; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all [things], may abound to every good work: (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever. Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for [your] food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.”

NOTE to the Reader: The Apostle Paul is speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, with these verses having both temporal and spiritual implications. While they can be interpreted to mean the sharing and dispersing monetary benefits to the poor in the temporal sense, they are most importantly discussing the spiritual blessing of salvation to the spiritually poor of the world through the bountiful sharing and dispersing of the Word of God, the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Only by sowing that “Seed”, will it be multiplied and bountifully increase the fruits (bringing souls to Jesus). Those who share the Word bountifully will reap souls bountifully. Think on that!

Finally, James 1:18 tells us that the believers are begotten with the “Word of Truth” (which is the Word of God, which is Jesus Christ) and result in being the “firstfruits” of His creation.  The Word is the seed that gets planted by God that beats the good fruit, “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.“ and later in James 1:21, “¶Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.” The Word is ‘engrafted‘ or implanted (sown) within the believer’s heart, which brings about Salvation.

The  Wayside: (The World, that which is not in “the Way”.   Remember that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life)

Psalm 140:5 “The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords; they have spread a net by the wayside; they have set gins for me. Selah.”

*Matthew 20:30 And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, [thou] son of David.

* New Testament, only shown to reinforce illustration.

Fowls of the Air:  (Forces of Satan…he is the “Wicked One”)

1 Samuel 17:44 “And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.”

1 Samuel 17:46 This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

Job 28:21, “Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close (concealed) from the fowls of the air.”

We should also be cognizant of the fact that God specifically call birds of prey and carrion eaters as an “abominations” and God doubles the use of the word “abomination” to make the point.   Leviticus 11:13-15 ¶”And these [are they which] ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they [are] an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray, And the vulture, and the kite after his kind; Every raven after his kind;“

Given that the devil and his workers their works are also “abomination” to God, we can readily see the connection between fowls of the air and the devil’s hosts

And Regarding the “Wicked One”:

The moniker, the “Wicked One”, makes it very clear who the fowls of the air are meant to represent, but again it is entirely consistent with the exposition presented above.

Proverbs 10:16 “The labour of the righteous [tendeth] to life: the fruit of the wicked to sin.“

Psalm 109:6 “Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand.”

And we should remember that Haman, in the Book of Esther, was an unequivocal “Type” of the devil, and Esther identified Haman in Esther 7:6 in the following manner, “And Esther said, The adversary and enemy [is] this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen.“

*Ephesians 2:2, “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. ¶But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)And hath raised [us] up together, and made [us] sit together in heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus:“

*1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:;

*Matthew 13:38, “The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked [one];“

*Matthew 13:39, “The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.”; and,

*2 Thessalonians 2:8, “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:”

Isaiah 40:24, “Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.“

*1 John 2:13 “I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him [that is] from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him [that is] from the beginning. I have written unto you,young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. “

*1 John 3:12 “Not as Cain, [who] was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his ownworks were evil, and his brother’s righteous.“

*1 John 5:18 “We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.“

Devour: (Destroy or Consume)

2 Chronicles 7:13, “If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;”

Isaiah 33:11 “Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath, [as] fire, shall devour you.”

Jeremiah 51:34, “Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out.”

Zephaniah 3:8, “Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the LORD, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination [is] to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, [even] all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.”

Stony Places: (Hard Hearts)

Psalm 141:6, “When their judges are overthrown in stony places, they shall hear my words; for they are sweet.”

Ezekiel 36:26, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.”

Root: (Jesus Christ, the Root of Jesse. We Must be Rooted in Christ!

2 Kings 19:30, “And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.“

Isaiah 11:10,  “And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.” Jesus Is the Root of Jesse via king David.

*Colossians 2:6-8, “¶As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, [so]walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. ¶Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.“

Finally, it should be clear by now that the root that was not in the plant that withered is Jesus. For we read in Colossians 1:27, “To whom (Jesus Christ) God would make known what [is] the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:“

Withered: (Dried Up and Scorched, as by the Fires of Hell…Those who cannot endure the trials of tribulation and persecution)

Isaiah 27:11 When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off: the women come, [and] set them on fire: for it [is] a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will shew them no favour.

Isaiah 40:6 “The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof [is] as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people [is] grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.“

Ezekiel 9:12, “But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them.”

Joel 1:12 The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, [even] all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.

*John 5:3 In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.

*John 15:4-6 “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. ¶ I am the vine, ye [are] the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast [them] into the fire, and they are burned.”

Thorns:  (Cares and Enticements of This World, as well the Snare of False Gospels)

Genesis 3:18 “Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;”

Numbers 33:55&56, “But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them [shall be] pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell. Moreover it shall come to pass, [that] I shall do unto you, as I thought to do unto them.”                                                  (Note that God would use the people of the world to vex the people of God as thorns and pricks.)

Judges 2:3 Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be [as thorns] in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.

Proverbs 22:5 “Thorns [and] snares [are] in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them.”

Isaiah 32:13 “Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns [and] briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy [in] the joyous city:”

Isaiah 33:12 And the people shall be [as] the burnings of lime: [as] thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire.

Jeremiah 4:3  For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.

Ezekiel 2:6  “And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns [be] with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they [be] a rebellious house.“

Ezekiel 28:23&24, “For I will send into her pestilence, and blood into her streets; and the wounded shall be judged in the midst of her by the sword upon her on every side; and they shall know that I [am] the LORD. ¶And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the house of Israel, nor anygrieving thorn of all [that are] round about them, that despised them; and they shall know that I [am] the Lord GOD.“

Good Soil (the “good heart” of the elect of God)

Ezekiel 17:8 It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine.

Psalm 45:1 “[[To the chief usician upon Shoshannim, for the sons of Korah, Maschil, A Song of loves.]] My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.“

*Luke 8:15 “But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.“

Fruit: (Fruit, is the Evidence of True Salvation…and that fruit should be manifest in the winning of souls for Jesus Christ through the sharing of the Gospel)

Mini Introduction:

There are some important verses regarding fruitfulness in the Bible.  Key ones to ponder begin in Proverbs 11:24-26, “There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and [there is] that withholdeth more than is meet, but [it tendeth] to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing [shall be] upon the head of him that selleth [it].”  And also Proverbs 11:30, “The fruit of the righteous [is] a tree of life; and he that winneth souls [is] wise.” with Proverbs 14:25, “A true witness delivereth souls: but a deceitful [witness] speaketh lies.“

Likewise, James 5:20, “Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.“

There is amazing harmony between how Jesus the bearing of life giving fruit (by the righteous believer, the wise) was equivalent to the “winning of souls” with what we just read above in Proverbs 11:30. Daniel 12:3, “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.”

Note how this harmonizes with what we find in 1 Corinthians 3:6-8,  Where Paul states that as a Believer, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.”  Paul was not just talking about planting churches per se, but rather bringing in new believers through the spreading of the Gospel of Salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Leviticus 26:4 “Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.”

Deuteronomy 11:17, “And [then] the LORD’S wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and [lest] ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you.”

Deuteronomy 22:9  “Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds: lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard, be defiled.”

Psalm 1:3, “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.“

Proverbs 11:30, “The fruit of the righteous [is] a tree of life; and he that winneth souls [is] wise.“

Proverbs 12:12,”The wicked desireth the net of evil [men]: but the root of the righteous yieldeth [fruit].

Isaiah 4:2 “In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth [shall be] excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.“

Isaiah 27:6, “He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.”

Jeremiah 17:8, “For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and [that] spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.“

Ezekiel 34:27, “And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I [am] the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them.”

*Matthew 3:10, “And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.“

*Matthew 7:17-20, “Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither [can] a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”

*John 15:5&6, “¶ I am the vine, ye [are] the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast [them] into the fire, and they are burned.”

*2 Corinthians 9:6-11, “¶But this [I say], He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, [so let him give]; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all [things], may abound to every good work: (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever. Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for [your] food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.“

*Colossians 1:5,6, “For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; Which is come unto you, as [it is] in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as [it doth] also in you, since the day ye heard of [it], and knew the grace of God in truth:

Conclusion:

The Parable of the Sower is provided by Jesus to teach about His Kingdom and the results and effectiveness of His Word (The Gospel of Salvation) as it is dispersed universally throughout the whole world. Only the elect of God will be rooted in Christ, and have that Root take hold in their hearts to be able to bring forth good fruit (bringing more believers into the fold through the spreading of the true gospel as it was given to them).  Though it was initially spoken by Jesus as a parable, Jesus openly expounded the meaning of that parable (as well as the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares), thereby providing us a means by which to interpret the entire Bible.  That means is by using the Bible, God’s Holy infallible Word, as its own interpreter.  We must compare scripture with scripture, “spiritual things with spiritual.”  We can also see that the lesson is just one more proof that the Bible is one cohesive whole, from beginning to end, and that it always points to the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ! Praise God for His Wisdom and Mercy!

Additional KEY verses related “sowing” and “reaping” that are definitely worth pondering:

Hosea 2:21-23,  “And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the LORD, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth; And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel. And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to [them which were] not my people, Thou [art] my people; and they shall say, [Thou art] my God.“

James 3:17&18, “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, [and] easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.”

2 Corinthians 9:6, “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.”

Job 4:8 , “Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.”

Proverbs 11:18 “The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness [shall be] a sure reward.“

Hosea 8:7,“For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk; the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.”

Galatians 6:7-9, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.“

Other verses to ponder regarding God’s Word in General:

1 Corinthians 10:11, “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” 1 Corinthians 10:6, “Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.” (These verses are excerpted from God’s warnings to avoid the errors of National Israel found in 1 Corinthians 10:1-13).

Romans 15:4, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”

2 Timothy 3:16&17, “¶All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.“

Psalm 19:11, “Moreover by them is thy servant warned: [and] in keeping of them [there is] great reward.” (please, if at all possible, read all of Psalm 19 and Psalm 119)

Psalm  37:30, “The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.“

Ecclesiastes 8:5, “Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man’s heart discerneth both time and judgment.”

Hebrews 12:25 “See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more [shall not] we [escape], if we turn away from him that [speaketh] from heaven:  Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more (Judgment Day) I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.“

Ecclesiastes 1:18, “For in much wisdom [is] much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.“

Galatians 1:12, “For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught [it], but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.“

1 Corinthians 13:1&2, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity (love, “agape” in the Greek), I am become [as] sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.  And though I have [the gift of] prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity (love, “agape” in the Greek), I am nothing.” 

If we don’t have the Godly love (agape) of Jesus Christ in us (which is synonymous with true salvation), we are nothing.

APPENDIX:

1) The Parable of the Sower as found in the book of Matthew 13:1-23

Matthew 13:3-17, “The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow.  And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” 

“And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.” 

Jesus’ Explanation:

Matthew 13:18-23, “Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.  But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.“

2) The Parable of the Sower as found in the book of Mark 4:3-20

Mark 4:3-13, “¶Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow. And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had nodepth of earth: But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred. ¶And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. “

¶And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all [these] things are done in parables: That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and [their] sins should be forgiven them“.

Jesus’ Explanation:

Mark 4:14-20, “¶And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?“

“The sower soweth the word. And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended. And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive [it], and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.“

3) The Parable of the Sower as found in the book of Luke 8:5-15

Luke 8:5-10, “A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, andthe fowls of the air devoured it.And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. ¶And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? ¶And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.“

Jesus’ Explanation

Luke 8:11-15, “¶Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock [are they], which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of [this] life, and bring no fruit to perfection.But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep [it], and bring forth fruit with patience.“

Interestingly the name “Jezreel” in Hebrew, יִזְרְעֶאל (yizrᵊʿe’l)^H3157 means “God sows“. It also just so happens that the “Valley of Jezreel” in Northern Israel is also known as the “Valley of Armageddon“, which is the earthly representation of where God will bring about Judgment Day. It is not yet clear to this teacher why this is the case.

POSTSCRIPT

Another point needs to be made to the reader, and admittedly, this is all hard for the general reader to accept on the face of it. Even when something is explained in plain and simple terms, the Bible makes clear that God can, and does, hide anything from anyone as He sees fit. Look again at the example that we are given in Luke 18:31-34, where Jesus point blank told His twelve disciples that He was going to Jerusalem to be put to death and rise again from the dead on the third day in fulfillment of prophesy, “Then he took [unto him] the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: And they shall scourge [him], and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.“, but then immediately after, we read next, “And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.”

God Is The Only One Who must first give each believer the “spiritual ears to hear” and the “spiritual eyes to see” and “prepare the heart to receive the Word” through which it can be revealed to us that Jesus Christ Is our Only Hope for salvation, as is explained throughout all of the Bible, both in the Old and New Testaments.

We can see that Isaiah 29 is primarily a testimony by God against the prophets, seers, and rulers (the Priests and Pharisees, the “learned ones”) who during the Old Testament era claimed to understand the word of God, the Bible, but who really had no understanding at all.  Today also, in the New Testament era (when so many new Bible translations/interpretations have become available that have tampered with God’s Word) many theologians, academicians, and religious leaders who claim to have an understanding of the Bible, nonetheless lack the spiritual insight to separate truth from error whereby they preach a false hermeneutic and “false gospel”.  To all of them, this “book” is still “sealed,” even though they may be “learned” persons.  They neither desire nor seek righteousness by grace through Jesus Christ alone, but rather by their own efforts, through the keeping of the Law or pursuing and pushing a “false gospel” using false doctrines”.   We have, for example, some who are called “dispensationalists”, who claim that there is more than one Gospel, as though the Jews are still under a works gospel and the Gentiles under grace. Such thinking identifies them as “false prophets”, and the Light of Christ is not in them.  They do not have the Holy Spirit to guide them to the Truth (Jesus Christ) that leads to eternal life.  They are “spiritually blind” and therefore still dead in their sins and under the wrath of God.  Such false teachers will all be destroyed in Hell on Judgment Day. Matthew 15:14 makes clear that we are to, “Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.” The ditch (or pit) is a Biblical metaphor for Hell.

As for the “not learned” one, there is no implication that he can do any better.  All he can say, and rightly so, is that “I am not learned.”   Moreover, regarding the “not learned,” the Bible has only unpleasant words to say.  Turning to 2 Peter 3:16, for example, we’ll find that regarding the understanding of scripture by such a one, “As also in all [his] (Paul’s) epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as [they do] also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.“

So who then can understand this sealed book, the Bible?  The believers can.  We know this from Isaiah 8:13-16, “Sanctify the LORD of hosts (Jesus Christ) himself; and [let] him [be] your fear, and [let] him [be] your dread.  And he (Jesus Christ) shall be for a sanctuary (to the believers); but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem (those who claim to have fellowship with God, but really do not).  And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.  Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples (the true believers).”  Also in Isaiah 8:20, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, [it is] because [there is] no light in them.”  (Matthew 6:23, “But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great [is] that darkness!“) 

Finally we read in Romans 11:8 where the Apostle Paul referred back to Isaiah chapter 29, “(According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.”

A Marvelous Work and a Wonder

Now getting back to Isaiah, chapter 29; if we go to the next two verses, verses Isaiah 29:13 & Isaiah 29:14, we read, “Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near [me] with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:  Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous [פָּלָא (pālā’)^H6381] work among this people, [even] a marvellous [פָּלָא (pālā’)^H6381] work and a wonder [פֶּלֶא (pele’) ^H6382]: for the wisdom of their wise [men] shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent [men] shall be hid.”  To understand this passage we don’t go to men, we go to God through His Word the Bible.  In Matthew 15:7-9 (and Mark 7:6-9), we read where Jesus was rebuking the Pharisees and scribes (the learned ones, the prophets, rulers, seers of that day whom God had blinded referred to in Isaiah 29:10&11) and God records for us, “[Ye] hypocrites, well did Esaias (Isaiah in Greek, Isaiah 29:13) prophesy of you, saying,  This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with [their] lips; but their heart is far from me.  But in vain they do worship me, teaching [for] doctrines the commandments of men.”  Jesus also said in Matthew 23:27 ¶, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead [men’s] bones, and of all uncleanness.”   Moreover, we read again in 1 Corinthians 1:18-19, “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written (Isaiah 29:14), I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”

God is declaring that despite the fact that so many “learned” men of Israel (who intellectually knew what the Bible says) are so blind to any understanding of what it is really talking about, God would save a remnant of all humankind (both Jews and Gentiles*) for Himself.  We are told this in the concluding section of Isaiah 29:18&19, where God capsulizes the essence of salvation, “And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book (the “sealed” book, the Bible), and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.  The meek also shall increase [their] joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel (the Lord Jesus Christ).”

*God refers to the Gentiles in Isaiah 29:17 as Lebanon (not Israel) which will become a fruitful field.

God tells us that He would effectuate His salvation program first, marvelously (from the Hebrew word פָּלָא (pālā’)^H6381), by the redemptive action (the work) of the Lord Jesus Christ (as the Passover Lamb at the cross) and then, wondrously (from the closely related Hebrew word פֶּלֶא (pele’) ^H6382, identified as a name for Jesus Christ in Isaiah 9:6, see below), by “the opening of the blind eyes” (spiritually speaking) through the pouring out of His Holy Spirit on people from every nation (not just Jews) beginning at Pentecost.  

Isaiah 9:6, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful [פֶּלֶא (pele’) ^H6382 ], Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

Isaiah 25:2 “O LORD, thou [art] my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful [פֶּלֶא (pele’)^H6382] [things]; [thy] counsels of old [are] faithfulness [and] truth.

In Isaiah 28:29, “This also cometh forth from the LORD of hosts, [which} is wonderful [פָּלָא (pālā’)^H6381] in counsel, [and] excellent in working.“

Habakkuk 1:5, “Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously [תָּמַהּ (tāmah) ^H8539]:for [I] will work a work in your days, [which] ye will not believe, though it be told [you].”

And let us not forget Psalm 119:18, “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous [פָּלָא (pālā’)^H6381] things out of thy law.” 

Almost no learned Jew who was familiar with Old Testament would have been expecting salvation via the Messiah (Who is Jesus Christ) to be provided to anyone other than just the Jews (Gentiles are not Jews). This knowledge was kept hidden from them (the book was sealed, they were blinded) until the era of the New Testament (even though God had spelled it out clearly in many places in the Old Testament). For proof that this is the only correct interpretation, we must first turn to Isaiah 42:6&7 where we read, “I the LORD have called thee (Jesus Christ, as the servant) in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, [and] them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.”  Then in Luke 2:30-32, we read that the devout Jewish man, Simeon, upon seeing the child Jesus in the temple at Jerusalem, declared to God under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, “For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,  Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;  A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.” And notice that in the last chapter of the last book of the Bible we read in Revelation 22:10, “And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.”  The prophecy of this book (the book of Revelation) is not to be sealed, for it is intended for the end of time, which is indeed now in these last dark days. And just like the Book of Revelation, the entire Bible is now being opened by God, as the seals are being broken by Jesus, so that we can see what was previously hidden in the sealed book, the Bible. 

Finally, in Acts 13:38-41, we read that (after Pentecost) while Paul and Barnabas were preaching the gospel of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ in Antioch in a Jewish synagogue, they said, “Be it known unto you therefore, men [and] brethren, that through this man (Jesus Christ) is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:  And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.  Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets;  Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.”  Because many of the Jews did not believe, they were rebuked by God as we read in Acts 13:46-48, “Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you (the Jews): but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.  For so hath the Lord commanded us, [saying], I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.  And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.”  This is the true meaning of a “marvelous work and a wonder”.

Summary of Isaiah Chapter 29

In conclusion, we can see that the “sealed book” referred to in Isaiah, chapter 29, is the Word of God, the Bible.  We can see that the “learned one” is anyone who claims to have Biblical authority in his doctrinal pronouncements, but who is really preaching a false gospel because God has blinded him to the truth concerning salvation only through the Lord Jesus Christ.  As for the “marvelous work and a wonder”: it is God’s magnificent salvation program for “the elect of God” who are chosen by God from out of all mankind (not just the Jews).

That salvation program was wrought by God the Father through Jesus Christ His Son in the power of the Holy Spirit which effectively began in earnest about 2000 years ago (but was predetermined from the foundation of the world, and therefore covers the Old Testament believers as well, see 1 Peter 1:2, “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.” together with Romans 8:30, “Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” and finally Ephesians 1:3-7, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly [places] in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;”.

Let us always remember that God is glorified by the Son, Jesus Christ.  It is Jesus whom we should believe in and come to know as our Saviour and Lord.  He is the One we should worship and honor, as saith the scriptures: John 3:35&36, “The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.“

2 Peter 1:2&3, “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,  According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that [pertain] unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:“

Finally, 1 Peter 4:11 “If any man speak, [let him speak] as the oracles of God; if any man minister, [let him do it] as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever.

(This lesson was extracted from another longer blog post “Exalting the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ” and is also placed here as a stand-alone study exalting-the-person-and-work-of-jesus-christ-the-key-to-unveiling-the-mystery-of-the-bible-a-typological-interpretive-guide-to-biblical-understanding/)