“Fatherless, Widow, and Stranger”:
A Spiritual Understanding of the Biblical Books of Esther and Ruth
It is far more than mere coincidence that the only two books in the entire Bible which are named after women, Esther and Ruth, also happen to provide historical accounts of women who are, respectively, “fatherless” (Esther) and “widows” (Ruth and Naomi, and Ruth was also a “stranger”). Why is that? We can begin to find the answer by searching God’s word, the Bible, to find that in Psalms 68:5, God declares, “A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, [is] God in his holy habitation.” Then in Jeremiah 49:11, “Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve [them] alive; and let thy widows trust in me.” We also read in the New Testament in James 1:2, “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.” Moreover, God classifies them together with the “stranger.” In Deuteronomy 10:18, we read, “He (God) doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.” and in Deuteronomy 27:19 we read, “Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen.”
In each of the two historical accounts provided in the books of Esther and Ruth, we will see God’s mercy and providence bestowed on those who would otherwise be entirely destitute and without any hope apart from God’s mercy alone. Those two earthly, historically accurate, accounts of God’s mercy upon the destitute fatherless and widows (one, Ruth as a Moabitess,was also a stranger) were provided by God in the Books of Esther and Ruth to typify His magnificent salvation plan, in which God displays His eternal spiritual mercy, by grace alone, to destitute sinners who would otherwise be entirely without hope apart from the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Each book displays God’s mastery over time and space, involving supernatural ironies and challenges to faith, that glorify God in the process, and give us insights into Who God Is, and about His love for His saints, His Bride (the church), as made possible only through the intercessional sacrifice of His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ.
A detailed exposition on the Book of Esther has already been produced that can be found here: https://bereansearching.wordpress.com/2009/09/19/an-exposition-of-the-book-of-esther/. In that exposition it is shown that Esther, as an otherwise destitute orphan, was established by God as a typological representation of the body of believers from throughout the world (both Jews and Gentiles) who would ultimately co-share in God’s Kingdom as the Bride of Jesus Christ. Mordechai, Esther’s nearest living relative, served as a nurturing savior to Esther, and guided her and her people in a time of great affliction to safety from their mortal enemies. Mordechai, who was eventually elevated to the right hand of the King in glory and honor, is shown in that exposition to have been clearly established by God as a typological representation of Jesus Christ.
But what about Ruth? It has already been pointed out by another writer, Warren W Wiersbe,[1] that there are some amazing twists and counterpoints when the two books are viewed together from the purely historical perspective. Wiersbe correctly points out in one example that first, “The Book of Ruth tells the story of a Gentile who married a Jew and became ancestress of the Messiah (Jesus Christ),” while, “The book of Esther introduces us to a Jewess who married a Gentile and was used of God to save the Jewish nation from destruction so that the Messiah (Jesus Christ) could be born.”
But what about the spiritual perspective as was already exposited for Esther? Are there similar parallels that we might find in the Book of Ruth? Indeed there are.
Dear reader, please read on.
An Exposition of the Book of Ruth
(Another Book of Prophesy that Reveals God’s Magnificent Plan of Salvation
Through the Person and Work of Jesus Christ)
The Book of Ruth is read every year to the assembled congregations of the Jewish people in their synagogues to the present day. It is read as part of the celebration of the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot…The Feast of Weeks is the second of the three pilgrim festivals ordained in the Old Testament after Passover and before the end of the year Feast of Tabernacles). The Feast of Weeks is known by Christians as the Feast of Pentecost. The feast is celebrated at the end of the barley harvest (or time of the “first fruits”) and it is the time of year when the most critical period in the Book of Ruth takes place, when Ruth meets Boaz, Ruth’s and Naomi’s kinsman-redeemer. And just like the Book of Esther, the Book of Ruth has both an earthly (historical) and a Heavenly (spiritual) meaning, and hence it is also an historical “parable.” While the Book of Ruth does provide an account of an actual period in history, it was nonetheless written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and it has been incorporated into God’s Word the Bible. It is a vignette orchestrated by God in the first instance (historically) and written down as precisely crafted in the Bible in the second instance (spiritually) to fulfill God’s own purposes.
Perhaps the most important of God’s purposes was to convey in one short, four chapter, historical account some critical elements of His magnificent salvation plan. The message of the Book of Ruth is the same Gospel message that can be found everywhere else in the Bible, as it focuses on the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The only difference is that, each time Jesus is interwoven and revealed as having been otherwise hidden in the Bible, we can learn more about Him and God’s Gospel plan through Him (which glorifies God in the process). However, to truly “see” Jesus (to believe with our hearts and not just our minds), we must have our spiritual eyes opened by God. Given that this can indeed be the case, then another purpose for God having provided us with the Book of Ruth is that it will edify and strengthen the faith of the saints (the believers).
So where do we “see” Jesus in the Book of Ruth? As an introduction, let’s first briefly look at the seven named persons in the order of their appearance, and then the plotline:
1) Elimelech: The Jewish husband of Naomi, who’s name means, “my God is King” who led his family away from Bethlehem-Judah on a sojourn to Moab during the time of the Judges and who suffers an untimely death in Moab.
2) Naomi: The wife of Elimelech, and the mother of his two sons, who becomes a widow in Moab. A Jewish woman whose name means, “my God is Sweet(ness)”.
3) Mahlon: The first named son of Elimelech and Naomi, whose name means “sickness” who married Ruth, a Moabitess woman after his father died, and then himself suffers an untimely death.
4) Chilion: The second named son of Elimelech and Naomi, whose name means “consumption.” who married, Orpah, a Moabitess woman after his father died, and then himself also suffers an untimely death.
5) Orpah: The Moabitess wife (soon widowed) of Chilion, whose name means “her neck(?)”.
6) Ruth: The Moabitess wife (soon widowed) of Mahlon, whose name means, “satisfied.” (Ruth is also a “stranger” in Israel)
7) Boaz: The rich kinsman redeemer of Elimelech’s Jewish family born in Bethlehem, (the “House of Bread”), whose name means “in him is strength”, and who married Ruth (the then Moabitess widow), and who ultimately became the great grandfather of King David (and a direct line ancestor/progenitor (from David’s son Nathan through to Mary) of the Lord Jesus Christ).
8) The unnamed servant of Boaz who was set over the reapers: the person who served as headmaster of the maidens and who gave the account of Ruth’s actions to Boaz.
9) Obed: The son of Boaz and Ruth, whose name means “servant”, “worshipper”, or “follower”
Obed is representative of all of God’s children who become saved through the marriage of Jesus Christ and his church. All believers who are the children of God are also servants, worshippers, and followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. It could not be any other way. This name was no accident, as I trust that you have now learned that none of the names of persons recorded in the Bible were ever accidental or incidental. They each carry an intended meaning that is carefully woven into the tapestry of God’s Magnificent Salvation Plan.
The Plot:
The story of Ruth begins in the day of the Judges, about the time of Eli, and just before Samuel during a time of famine in the land. The famine evidently led Elimelech to choose to move to Moab in search of sustenance. We read early in Chapter 1 that Elimelech soon died, and then his sons, Mahlon and Chilion, each took wives from the women from Moab (Ruth and Orpah respectively), which was another grievous sin in contradiction to God’s edict as stated in Deuteronomy, Chapter 23. The next thing we read is that both of the two sons soon die and also leave behind no children (no heirs).
Naomi fully realized her state of destitution (according to the Bible, Naomi was a “widow indeed”, having been made bereft of both her husband and her children and any hope of livelihood) and decided to return to Bethlehem, because she had heard that, by the grace of God, there was again bread available. The immediate reaction from her daughters-in-law, was that they would accompany her. Nonetheless, Naomi warned them of the hazards and hardships with respect to finding a husband, etc. (e.g., as Moabites, they would be treated like lepers in Israel), and then she instructed her daughters-in-law to return to the homes of their husbands to find “rest”. Orpah went back, sadly, but Ruth stood fast and, despite one last admonition from Naomi, made it clear that she would stay with Naomi until death, and finished with this statement, “….thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:”
The two returned together to Bethlehem, and were greeted by the townspeople who wondered what had happened to Naomi (she was entirely alone except for Ruth “the Moabitess”, a “stranger” in the land of Israel). Naomi made the point of saying that she had come back home out of the land of Moab entirely empty, and moreover, that they should no longer refer to her as Naomi (“sweet”) but rather Mara meaning “bitter” because, “the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.”
In the second chapter of Ruth, we immediately learn of Naomi’s “kinsman” by marriage, Boaz, a “mighty man of wealth.” And Ruth suggests that she go out humbly as a beggar to glean the fields of “corn” (likely the barley) owned by Boaz and she also describes her hope of finding “grace” in his eyes. Indeed after working hard in the fields after humbly asking the headmaster of the reapers for permission to glean, Boaz comes from Bethlehem and takes notice of her. He asks the details from the headmaster and then goes to Ruth and though she be a “stranger” in Israel, Boaz calls her “Daughter”, and tells her to stay close to his maiden reapers and not go to any other fields. He also tells Ruth that the men won’t harm her, and that she may have of the water that the men will bring for the reapers to drink.
Ruth responded by throwing herself to the ground and bowing before Boaz, and humbly asking him why he had shown her such grace, given that she was a stranger? Boaz responded with the statement that he was fully aware of the kindness she had shown to Naomi and the fact that she had left behind all her family to come to a live with people she had never known before. Boaz blesses her in the name of the God of Israel, under whose wings she had come to trust.
Ruth was overwhelmed and thanked Boaz and spoke of his amazing kindness in treating her as though she was one of his maiden reapers. Boaz added that at lunchtime she could sit and eat with the reapers as well. Later she did eat with the reapers and was full. After she left to go back to gleaning, Boaz took the additional step of telling his men reapers not to hinder or prevent Ruth from gleaning in any way, and moreover to deliberately drop handfuls of harvested grain to the ground that Ruth could pick them up. That evening, Ruth was able to have her apron filled with a large amount (an “ephah”) of barley.
Ruth took the barley home to Naomi, who after being filled, asked Ruth in whose fields she had gleaned and who it was that had shown her such kindness. When Ruth told Naomi it was Boaz, Naomi immediately replied, Blessed be he of the LORD, and that Boaz had not forgotten the living and the dead, and that Boaz was a relative and hence a near kinsman (the same word as “redeemer”). Naomi said that it was good that Ruth obey Boaz in all as he had told her to do. Ruth did so.
In the third chapter, we learn that Naomi has a plan by which if Ruth properly prepares herself, and then goes into the threshing floor at night when Boaz is sleeping after a harvest dinner, she might make clear to Boaz that she is available to have as a wife by the rule of kinsmanship by laying at his feet. Ruth followed Naomi’s instructions and, about midnight, Boaz was startled and woke up and asked who she was. She replied that she was Ruth and, in essence, asked him to do the service of a kinsman in marrying her. Boaz immediately blessed her for her showing kindness to him (as he was evidently an old man) and that it was clear she was also interested in the duties of raising children in the name of Elimelech. He also said that everyone in Bethlehem knew that she was a virtuous woman (a requirement for a Godly wife according to Proverbs 12:4 and 34:10). While stating his willingness to fulfill her request, he cautioned her that there was a nearer kinsman who was entitled to a first right of refusal. If that man accepted Ruth, then so be it, otherwise Boaz would be happy to marry Ruth. The chapter ends with Boaz providing her with six measures of barley as a gift for Naomi. When Ruth brings the barley in the early morning to Naomi, Naomi instructs Ruth to be patient and sit still. It is clear to Naomi what Boaz intends to do…and that Boaz will not rest until he finishes the business before the day ends.
In the fourth and last chapter, Boaz went to the gate of the city and calls to the man who is the nearest kinsman, and also calls ten elders of the city to be witnesses to the ensuing discussion, upon which the twelve men sat down together. When the nearest kinsman is asked by Boaz if he would be willing to serve as a kinsman redeemer for the dead relative, Elimelech, and to purchase from the hand of Naomi some land in Judah previously belonging to Elimelech, the man said yes. But then Boaz said whenever the kinsman purchases the land, he must also fulfill the duties of the near kinsman redeemer and marry the widow of the line to raise up children in the name of the deceased. That meant the kinsman must marry Ruth, “the Moabitess.” That was the deal breaker, and the man ceremonially refused to accept his nearest kinsman opportunity and passed it to Boaz. Boaz announced to all who were in hearing that this day he would serve as the kinsman redeemer for Elimelech and his two sons. Moreover he made clear that they would all be witnesses to his intent to purchase as part of that inheritance, Ruth “the Moabitess” to be his wife, in order to raise up children as an inheritance in the name of the dead men. The people in the city rejoiced at this, and offered many blessings pertaining to the tribe of Judah. Subsequently, Boaz and Ruth were married and had a son, named Obed. Naomi was able to hold the baby boy in her arms. The women proclaimed that Ruth was to Naomi better than seven sons. Obed grew up to become the father of Jesse, who became the father of King David…hence Ruth and Boaz were genealogical ancestors, through Davids’ son Nathan down to Mary, of the Lord Jesus Christ.
If we compare this historical account with the rest of the Bible, we can find some amazing and unequivocal parallels between the following:
1) Boaz with the Lord Jesus Christ (as the Kinsman Redeemer of all believers, who otherwise, apart from God’s intervening grace, would have remained “widows indeed”)
2) Ruth “the Moabitess” with the body of believers (the remnant from the Gentile nations; as an in-grafted Jew of the eternal Israel) and hence representative of the church, the eternal bride of Jesus Christ. (Who would have otherwise remained destitute (estranged from a husband) and under the curse of God as a stranger in Israel, as God frequently reminds us through His repetitive use of the term “Moabitess”)
3) Naomi with the remnant of the Nation of Israel, who repent and come to God on His terms and who are saved by the grace of God to also have an equal inheritance in the eternal Israel, and hence who, by redemption, are also a full partaker in the eternal spiritual marriage with Jesus Christ.
4) The unnamed servant of Boaz (who was set as headmaster over the reapers) with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit provides a watch, and guidance, and intercession for the believers while they are here on Earth while they work in the fields of humankind. The Holy Spirit Communes with Jesus and intercedes for the believers with God. In Romans 8:26, we read, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
5) Obed, as the first born son of Boaz by Ruth, with all believers who are the result of the marriage between Jesus and His church, hence his name means “servant” and “worshipper.”
6) Elimelech, as a type, or figure, of Old Testament National Israel, which rejected the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ, and who fell into spiritual adultery and sin as typified by his leaving Bethlehem and moving to Moab and with his sons going on to marry Moabitish women.
It is Jesus Christ who is the believers’ Kinsman Redeemer. Jesus was born in Bethlehem (the “House of Bread”), and Jesus specifically announced that He was the “Bread of Life” in John 6:47. Jesus established the New Covent symbols of bread and wine to represent His Body and blood. It is Jesus of Whom we must be partakers to have eternal life. Jesus is also the Mighty Man of Wealth. Jesus was born in Bethlehem (just as Boaz was) and Jesus is described as the Lion of Judah…He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords…the cattle on a thousand hills belong to Him…He is the Creator of the Universe! Jesus shows grace to destitute sinners as typified as widows throughout the Bible, who humbly come as supplicants for that grace. Moreover the believers are chosen from a remnant of the world, both Jew and Gentile, and are viewed by God as true “Jews” (the true believers in Christ, the Messiah, please see Romans 2:28-29) and will find rest in Him. We also know that the believers are referred to throughout the Bible as the Bride of Christ (and Jesus Christ is also God). That bride is described in the Bible with the attributes ascribed to Ruth (e.g., virtuous). Jesus Christ imputes His righteousness to sinful mankind and in God’s sight all the believers become virtuous as described in Proverbs 31:10.
Biblical Validation of the Ruth Exposition: Taking a Closer Look by Expository Reading
The preceding review was not written with any presumption that this author understands every nuance of the Book of Ruth. No one (other than God Himself) can ever claim the ability to plumb the depths of the riches of God’s word, the Bible. However, this writer is confident that if we humbly, faithfully, approach the Bible with no other pre-suppositions than that God is the sole author of the Bible, then we can begin to see by that faith (albeit as through a glass darkly) the truths that God has hidden within His word. As we have already learned, there is much more to the Bible than meets the “physical” eye, and it’s not just an intellectual exercise. The Bible itself uses such terms such as “mystery” and “dark sayings” to describe how it has been uniquely crafted by God in a magnificent, and yes, even a mysterious way, whereby He has deliberately veiled or hidden the true spiritual meanings of its passages from those whom He has not given the “spiritual eyes and ears.” The following is this writer’s best effort to explain that hidden truth.
Chapter 1: As was stated earlier, the story of Ruth took place in the day of the Judges, about the time of Eli, and just before Samuel during a time of famine in the land. The famine evidently led Elimelech to choose to move to Moab in search of sustenance. It would seem then that Elimelech had made a particularly bad decision in response to the famine that God had sent. Elimelech had turned his back on the essence of all true sustenance, the House of Bread, and instead turned to the world as is typified by Moab. And God uses famines as punishment for His people when they turn from Him and put His words behind them. Moreover, and more importantly, famine is used by God to represent something else “spiritually.” We read in Amos 8:11, “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:”. When we fail to seek the Lord first, and fail to trust in Him alone, and instead look to the world for our help in times of trouble; God will send a famine of the hearing of His Word (as is found in the Bible) and we will suffer spiritually as a result.
Moreover Moab was a foreign territory that was inhabited by a people whom God had cursed, as we read in:
“Deuteronomy 23:3-6, “An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever: Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee. Nevertheless the LORD thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the LORD thy God loved thee. Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever.” (Remember also that both Moab and Ammon were the sons of Lot, after his wife became a pillar of salt during the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot’s Daughters assumed that they were the only people left on the earth, and so they decided to get their father drunk so they could lie with him and conceive children by him…Moab and Ammon were the result of those incestuous acts. See Genesis 19:30-38). [SIDE NOTE: It is also interesting that if one does a careful review of the geneology from Jacob (who was the son of Isaac, and who was also the same generation as Moab, the son of Lot, and Isaac’s Cousin) down to Boaz, the number of generations can be shown to be nine (see Mathew Chapter 1: 2-5 and Mark 3:32-34). However, Ruth was young enough to be the daughter of Boaz, so she would have been of the next generation…the tenth generation. It would therefore seem that God was showing us that His curse on Moab stopped with Ruth’s generation.]
We read early in Chapter 1 that Elimelech soon died, and then his sons each took wives from the women from Moab (Ruth and Orpah respectively), which was another grievous sin in contradiction to God’s edict as stated in Deuteronomy, Chapter 23. The next thing we read is that both of the two sons soon die and also leave behind no children (no heirs).
Naomi fully realized her state of destitution (according to the Bible, Naomi was a “widow indeed”, having been made bereft of both her husband and her children and any hope of livelihood) and decided to return to Bethlehem, because she “had heard in the country of Moab how that the Lord had visited his people in giving them bread.” The immediate reaction from her daughters-in-law, “Surely, we will return with thee unto thy people.” Nonetheless, Naomi warned them of the hazards and hardships with respect to finding a husband, etc. (e.g., as Moabites, they would be treated like lepers in Israel), and then she instructed her daughters-in-law to return to the homes of their husbands to find “rest”. Orpah went back, sadly, but Ruth stood fast and, despite one last admonition from Naomi, said, “Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:”
After the death of the Naomi’s husband and two sons, Naomi decided to return to Bethlehem because she had heard of God’s showing mercy to His people and His provision of bread to them there. Initially, the daughters-in-law both sought to accompany Naomi back to her people in Bethlehem. Naomi is recorded as having nonetheless instructed her daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah, to return to the homes of their husbands to find “rest”. This is particularly significant because Naomi did not use any other word other than “rest”. She was uttering a biblical, spiritual, truism. Isn’t it to the house of Jesus that we go if we truly seek rest from both our sins and our enemies? Absolutely! Remember how Jesus said, Matthew 11:28, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Naomi could have used other language… but she didn’t. God the Holy Spirit moved Naomi to say “rest” so that it would harmonize with the rest of this historical parable (and the rest of the Bible) to convey important spiritual truths.
But there is another important spiritual aspect of this admonition by Naomi. In Luke 14:25-27, we read that great multitudes began to follow Jesus Christ and then Jesus turned and gave them a similar admonition, “and there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.”
Many people hear the gospel call and are intrigued, at least initially. However, once it becomes clear that the true nature of the gospel is such that we are called upon to make a choice, to follow Jesus and abandon all else: friends, family, and self…then the number of followers dwindles quickly and most go back to the enticements of their old world. We are instructed to put God first in our lives as stated in Matthew, 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness…” We must be willing to put all cherished worldly things and sins into the trash bin. We must truly repent (turn back to God, rather than stay fixated on the enticements of the world) and not go backward. We must be fully committed to serving God in order to achieve eternal life. “Many are called but few are chosen.”(Matthew 22:14)
Ruth typifies those who recognize their destitution and desperate need of finding the bread of life by “grace”, which the underserved favor of God. The two, Naomi and Ruth, returned together to Bethlehem, and were greeted by the townspeople who wondered what had happened to Naomi (she was entirely alone, except for “Ruth the Moabitess”). Naomi made the point of saying that she had come back home out of the land of Moab entirely empty, and moreover, that they should no longer refer to her as Naomi, meaning “sweet”, but rather Mara, meaning “bitter” because, “the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.” It is no accident that Mara is the same as Mary, the mother of Jesus, in the New Testament.
The final key piece of information provided is that this was the time of the beginning of the barley harvest (which not coincidentally happens to also be the same time as Pentecost, the Feast of First Fruits, which was also when the New Testament church was instituted with the pouring out of the Holy Spirit).
Chapter 2: In the second chapter of Ruth, we immediately learn of Naomi’s “kinsman” by marriage, Boaz, a “mighty man of wealth.” And Ruth suggests that she go out humbly as a beggar to glean the fields of “corn” (likely the barley) owned by Boaz and she also describes her hope of finding “grace” in his eyes. But then we are led to believe that by “happenstance” she came into the fields of Boaz…but the reality is that it was in God’s plan and that it is now clear that this was exactly as God purposed (e.g., In John 6:44, Jesus said, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him:”). Next we see that Boaz “came from Bethlehem.” Next we read that Boaz greets the reapers with “The LORD be with you” and the reapers respond with “The LORD bless thee.”
When Boaz notices Ruth, and then asks the reapers this question, “Whose damsel is this?” The person in charge of the reapers responded, “…It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab: And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house.” The key points here are that the servant reminds us quickly, twice, that Ruth is a “Moabitess”…a person who is an outcast, and from a God cursed people. We, by nature, are all God cursed people. We are all descended from Adam, but who by God’s grace alone, like Ruth, can find salvation through the intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ as typified here by Boaz as our Kinsman Redeemer. Also it was made clear that she was a diligent worker and worked in the fields all day as a gleaner.
With respect to “gleaning”, God set down specific laws as found in the following Bible verses:
Leviticus 19:9&10, “And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the Lord your God.”
Leviticus 23:22 “And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the Lord your God.”
Moreover, in Deuteronomy 24:17-21 we read, “Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow’s raiment to pledge: But thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee thence: therefore I command thee to do this thing. When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands. When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.”
This is a picture of the fact that we (who have the gospel of salvations through Jesus Christ (and the fruit of the blessings of God) because He has saved us) are to have a concern for those who are still aliens, as orphans and widows, and to provide the necessary spiritual food for those who are without but come seeking for spiritual nourishment.
An interesting parallel can be found in Matthew Chapter 15 where we read in verses 22-28: “And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.” There we see an unsaved person, from a Gentile nation, outside of the people of God (corporately speaking), call upon Jesus as “Lord” and admit that she is no better than a dog, but yet asks if it might be that she (like a dog) might glean some crumbs from her Master’s table. And Jesus showed her grace. Like Ruth, we see another picture of someone who humbly gleans of the spiritual bread to become born again by the grace of God who would have otherwise remained a stranger, orphan, or widow.
Boaz came from Bethlehem just as Jesus came from Bethlehem. Boaz was of the Tribe of Judah, just like Jesus. Boaz said, “The LORD be with you,” to the reapers, and the reapers responded with “The LORD bless thee.” Isn’t this exactly what God says to the believers the reapers in the world? See for example, in Luke 10:2 “Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest,” …However we also know that in the Parable of the Sower, in Matthew 13:39, Jesus said, “the reapers are the angels.” The fact is that “angels” in the original Greek text can also be interpreted as “messengers,” and both the angels of God (from Heaven) and the believers on earth are both considered as being God’s “messengers”. And don’t we say with all our heart like the Psalmist of the Old Testament, “Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, [bless] his holy name.”? Of course we do if we are believers and therefore among God’s reapers and messengers.
In verse…. He knows us Romans 8:29, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
Ruth was a “stranger”, but Boaz called her, “My Daughter”!
In Chapter 8, beginning at verse 1, we read, “Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens: Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn. Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?
Imagine that! Boaz knew he was speaking to a “Moabitess”, a widow and a stranger, and yet he showed loving kindness to her, to the point of calling her his daughter! Does this sound at all familiar? It should, because that is exactly how God views His elect. While we were yet strangers, through Jesus’s intercession, we become the children of God. This is what we read in Ephesians 2:19, “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;”
(Still a work in progress)
Conclusions
We also see that God has provided some interesting factual insights regarding Himself in the Book of Ruth. We can see that Jesus was descended (through Mary’s line through David, See Mathew 6:5) via an incestuous relationship (through Ruth, hence Moab, hence Lot with Lot’s daughter). We are also reminded of another somewhat seamy point when we are provided this verse, “And let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which the LORD shall give thee of this young woman.” Tamar was the daughter-in-law of Judah and she played the harlot (prostitute) to entice Judah in order to conceive Pharez by him. Moreover, the mother of Boaz (Booz in the New Testament) was named Rahab (Rachab in the New Tetament), and Rahab is the name of a harlot whom Joshua (Jesus) saved, when the city of Jericho was destroyed, see: Joshua 6:17. Even David was both an adulterer and murderer. These sordid historical issues were all included in the Bible by God deliberately to show us how God was willing to clearly and unequivocally associate Himself with sinful mankind from every possible perspective (and yet he Himself knew no sin, 2 Corinthians 5:21) in order to take the believers’ places on the cross and for what would have otherwise been an eternity in Hell. Jesus came to save sinners.
[1] Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Committed: An Old Testament Study- Ruth And Esther, SP Publications, Inc, 1993 (ISBN 1-56476-067-7)
Exalting the Person and Work of Jesus Christ: The Key to Unveiling the Mystery of the Bible
September 19, 2009Exalting the Person and Work of Jesus Christ:
The Key to Unveiling the Mystery of the Bible
(A Typological Interpretive Guide to Biblical Understanding)
The Purpose of this “Bible Study Help”
In Proverbs 25:2 (KJV) we find this extraordinary verse, “[It is] the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings [is] to search out a matter.” If we look carefully at the text as it reads in the original Hebrew using an Interlinear Bible or Online cross-reference like this: http://biblehub.com/text/proverbs/25-2.htm, we find that it can also read like this…”[It is] the glory of God to conceal a “word” (because it is from the Hebrew “dabar”): but the honour of kings[is] to search out a “word” (because the word that was translated into English as “matter” is also the same word found in the original Hebrew to be “dabar”). It appears that God is glorified by the “concealing ofThe Word”, Jesus Christ, in the Bible, and the believers (the believers are all viewed as “kings”, see Rev 1:5&6) are “honored by being made able to “search out The Word”, Jesus Christ when reading the Bible. Through the use of this Bible Study Help it is hoped that the reader will, by the grace of God, come to know The Word, the Lord Jesus Christ [Remember that we read in John, Chapter 1, Verse 1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” and in John Chapter 1, verse 14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”]. It is also hoped that the reader might see that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the “Mystery”, and that Jesus Christ is the “Secret” and the “Hidden Wisdom” of the whole Bible that everyone so desperately needs for eternal life.
This “Bible Study Help” is intended to assist the reader (particularly the student of the Bible who is seeking truth from the Bible beyond just the historical and moral lessons) to understand a different hermeneutic than that commonly being taught in the majority of seminaries, educational institutions, and churches today. Today, the commonly taught principles of Bible study instruct us to read the Bible almost exclusively from a perspective that emphasizes: 1) the historical cultural context, 2) the meaning of the words and verses as they meant only to the people who were living when they were recorded, 3) the specific situation and setting (including geography) of the people to whom the verses were written at the time of the writings, and 4) how the specific passage being studied might relate to either the Old or New Testament Covenants. That methodology is generally referred to as the “Grammatical-Historical” method of Biblical interpretation. Moreover, addtional rules have been created that stipulate that we are not to “read into” a verse any more understanding beyond that which the people at the time would have understood the verses to mean (when those verses were first written).
Other “principles” being taught today state, “Don’t look for allegories in the Old Testament Narrative” and more dogmatically, “Only two percent of the Old Testament is Messianic.” The problem with such humanly crafted and taught rules of Biblical interpretation, and why such rules are so insidious, is that, for the most part, they actually place mental and spiritual “blinders” on the reader, by limiting the reader to see primarily the lower order historical and moral lessons of the Bible. While the lessons thus drawn can certainly be valid and profitable (as they can be fine, proper, and useful for “doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”), the extra restrictions imposed by the “Grammatical-Historical” method are such that the reader might actually miss the most important key, or higher order (aka: “deeper, spiritual”), Biblical meaning and hence true understanding which shows how magnificently and perfectly the Bible was actually crafted by God to reveal the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Humanly crafted and taught rules effectively set limits (boundaries) to what The Infinite Creator and Supreme Omnipotent God could be saying to us in the Bible. Such rules thus lower God to man’s earthly level, rather than exalting and glorifying God at the supernatural Heavenly/Spiritual level from which He Reigns. Those rules prevent us from seeing that Jesus Christ is the Key, supernaturally interwoven through every portion of the Bible!
Whether or not thatmisdirection is a conscious or unconscious goal of those who teach the Grammatical-Historical method of Bible interpretation does not matter, as the result will still be the same. The reader thus taught will have become biased/prejudiced, such that it will prevent the reader (e.g., spiritually blind him) from ever understanding the Bible from a higher order perspective as was eternally ordained by The Author, Who perfectly crafted God’s Word, the Bible…and that Author is God Himself through the power of His Holy Spirit/Holy Ghost. So the question is, should we read and interpret the Bible as taught by men?… or as taught by God? Here’s what the Bible has to say on the subject…In 1 Corinthians, Chapter 2:13-14, we read “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 (everyone in the unsaved state) 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.” In Revelation 19:10, we also read where John records: “…the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” The following “Bible Study Help” will elaborate on only a portion of what God, the Author of the Bible, provides for those whom He graciously blesses with the “eyes to see”, and “the ears to hear.”
The Key to Biblical Understanding: We Must See Jesus
Anyone earnestly seeking for truth in the Bible must ultimately come to the Person and Work of Jesus Christ, for Jesus is, according to John 14:6, “the way, the truth and the life.” In John 5:39, we read 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 (Jesus Christ). It is true that many places in the New Testament speak plainly concerning the loving Gospel of Grace through Jesus Christ: about His suffering and death on the cross as the only acceptable, and therefore perfect, sacrifice/peace offering to God for sin; about His resurrection and exaltation at the Right Hand of God The Father; about His building His church by the power of God the Holy Spirit, and about His return to Judge the unsaved of the world on the Last Day to an eternity in Hell, and to create a new heaven and a new earth for His Eternal Kingdom prepared for those whom He came to seek and to save. However, the diligent Bible student should also be aware of the greater portion of scripture that is the Old Testament where that same message is often veiled in “a mystery” (and it is most certainly not limited to only two percent). The Bible itself uses such terms “mystery” and “parable” to explain how it has been uniquely crafted by God in a magnificent, and yes, even a mysterious supernatural way, to serve God’s purposes. 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.” It is my prayer that all who God has called to read this study help, and the examples that follow, will be spiritually made alive and/or fed 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.
God commands us to both search and study the Bible (both the Old and New Testaments*) so that we might have eternal life. In John 5:39, Jesus said, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me (Jesus Himself).” In II Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
God provides some exemplar proofs for the validity of this typological hermeneutic, which has been applied in the expositions found in these accompanying Bible studies in the Bereansearching Blog. One proof can be found in the Book of Acts, chapter 8:26-35, “And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran thither to [him], and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus
This “Bible Study Help” is primarily for the purpose of providing that exact same guidance, in that its focus is only to preach unto the reader Jesus. It might also be viewed as “strong meat” to those who desire to grow in the knowledge and understanding of the Word of God which is Jesus (See John 1:1&14). In Hebrews 5:13+14 we read, “For every one that useth milk [is] unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, [even] those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” Of course, in so doing, it will cover many of the more basic biblical principles as well.
Beginning with one of Jesus’s parables, this Bible Study Help will establish the criteria by which a few familiar (hopefully) passages of Biblical scripture will later be reviewed to search for the higher order or “typological” meanings of those passages. Hopefully, in the process, the reader’s faith might be strengthened if already a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, and, if not, that the reader might be blessed with that saving faith.
May all who read this Bible Study Help be as the Greeks in John 12:20&21 that came up to the feast to worship and say, “we would see Jesus.”
*II 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, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
Introduction: The Bible is “Holy Scripture”, Unlike Any Other Book!
Before we can begin to gain any wisdom, knowledge, understanding, or truth from the Bible, we must realize that the Bible, God’s Word, is as Holy as God Himself is Holy. God intimately identifies Himself with His Word as we find in John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.“, and later in John 1:14, we see, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” To quote another Christian author, in the Holy Scriptures, the Bible, that God has given, “God reveals Himself, not merely information about Himself, but HIMSELF.”
The Bible was written entirely under the inspiration of the infinite Mind of God (The Infinite God Who created the Infinite Universe… as well as created you and me out of nothing), and is not derived in any way out of the intellect of any man. As a result, it should never be approached (as some teachers have advocated) as one would read “any other book or magazine.” (No other book was ever written under divine inspiration and no other book has been the subject of providential preservation.) We must, instead, try to approach the study of the Bible with the appropriate reverential awe that God HIMSELF deserves. God describes the manner in Psalms 2:11 and Isaiah 66:2 as with “fear” and “trembling.” Because this, in reality, is impossible for anyone to do, in and of himself (because everyone is by nature unclean, clumsy, presumptuous, and irreverent), it is only by God’s infinite grace, and longsuffering mercy, that He allows anyone to come to saving truth from the Bible. We must, therefore, humbly, prayerfully, acknowledge our complete destitution apart from the Good Grace of the Almighty Sovereign God. Those who are called to be the children of God, will not only do this, but will seek after the wisdom and truth of God by searching the Bible. That is why we read 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.” Proverbs 4:7 states, “Wisdom [is] the principal thing; [therefore] get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” and Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy [is] understanding.”
Furthermore, the Bible is not a passive or idle entity. The Bible is the “living” Word of God, and will bring about a reaction in the life of one who reads it, for better or worse, depending on the will of God (and no “other book” is able to read the reader!). That is why we learn in Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God [is] quick (“alive”), and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Through the hearing of the word (see Romans 10:17) a man is either saved, or more greatly condemned. This is why II Corinthians 2:15&16 declares (of those that bring, or preach the word as found in the Bible alone), “For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one [we are] the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life…” Also in Luke 12:48, we read where Jesus states that while those who remain ignorant of the word of God (the Bible) are not excused (they will still be condemned for their sins), they will receive a lesser condemnation than those who are familiar with the word of God, but who, nonetheless, do not become saved, “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.” Bible study is not just an intellectual exercise!
It is this teacher’s most sincere hope and prayer that the words found in Ephesians, chapter one, (every verse) will apply to whomever receives this Bible Study Help, particularly verse 17, “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,” (Note also the use of the word mystery again in verse 9, “Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:“)
The Bible Was Largely Written in Typological (Allegorical) Form
Contrary to what anyone may have previously told you, the Bible is, for the most part, not an easy book to read. Of course, it is true that the Gospel of salvation through the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ alone is plainly stated in a number of New Testament passages, such as John 3:16-18, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” Nonetheless, to a very large degree, the rest of the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, relies heavily on the more difficult “typology” (which, to be understood, requires Holy Spirit led comparison of scripture with scripture). Today, many theologians dismiss the idea that most of the Bible was written in typological form. However, the fact that God uses “allegory,” “figures,” “shadows, and “similitudes” to convey spiritual truth (albeit many times in a veiled, mysterious, or secretive manner) is, nonetheless, plainly stated in the Bible as we find in:
Galatians 4:22-31, concerning the typology of the two sons of Abraham, Ishmael (born of the bondwoman, Hagar (Agar in Greek), typifying the result of fleshly works under the law) and Isaac (born of the freewoman, Sarah, typifying the result of Heavenly promise under grace). “(4:24) Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.”
Romans 5:14, “Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.”
Hebrews 9:8&9, “The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: Which [was] a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;”
Hebrews 8:5, “Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, [that] thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.”
Hebrews 10:1, “For the law having a shadow of good things to come, [and] not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.”
Colossians 2:16-17, “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath [days]: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body [is] of Christ.”
Hosea 12:10, “I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets.”
Understanding God’s Word, the Bible:
God’s Word is a Mystery!
In Psalm 78:1&2, God calls upon all believers to, “Give ear, O my people, [to] my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings* of old:” (yet immediately thereafter only a straightforward Biblical historical account is provided!) In Proverbs 1:5&6, we read, “A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.” (please also see Psalm 49:1-4)
In 1 Corinthians 2 (the whole chapter) we learn more of the means of understanding God’s Holy word, the Bible:
a) in verse 2, “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.”
b) in verse 5, “that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”
c) in verse 7+8, “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, [even] the hidden [wisdom], which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew:…”
d) in verse 10, “But God hath revealed [them] unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.”
e) in verse 13, “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.”
f) in verse 14, “But the natural man (everyone in the unsaved state) 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.”
In John 6:63 we read, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit, and [they] are life.”
Remember, the Bible makes it clear that Jesus spoke in “parables.” In Matt. 13:34 we read that:
“All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: 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.” (and this is a reference back to the prophetic statement we find in Psalm 78:2)
Jesus explained to His disciples why He spoke in parables to the multitudes. In Mark 4:11&12, we read:
“And he said unto them, Unto you (the elect) it is given to know the mystery** of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without (the non-elect), 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.“(God reiterates this explanation in Isaiah 6:9&10, John 9:39&40, and Acts 28:26-28)
* From the Hebrew, “chiydah or ‘gheedah,” (also used as dark sentences or speech) meaning “hard question, riddle, or puzzle,” and is synonymous with the word “proverb” or “parable”. But “parable” itself is derived from Hebrew word “mashal” which has the meaning of a “metaphorical adage requiring mental action.”
** Note that in the New Testament, “mystery” derives from a Greek word “musterion” that means something that imposes silence by shutting the mouth.
***The word “secret” here derives from a Greek word (Strongs 2928) that means “to conceal or hide”.
The Unveiling of The Mystery is God’s Work Alone!
In 2 Peter 1:20&21 and 2:1&2, we are told, “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake [as they were] moved by the Holy Ghost. But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.” These verses are saying that if anyone gives forth an interpretation out of their own intellect or from the carnal minds of others that have taught them, they are false teachers and the truth is not in them. (Even more ominous, they will receive the greater condemnation from God for that sin.) But how are we to know which interpretation is out of a man’s mind as opposed to what God is really saying? God provides us the answer, out of His word, the Bible, as follows:
The Bible is a spiritual book. Referring again back to I Corinthians 2:13, we read, “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.“ And we know from II Samuel 23:2, “The spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word [was] in my tongue.” Clearly the word of God, the Bible, is spiritual, as it was written under the direction of the Holy Spirit. So if we want to learn the true meaning of any verse, then we need to compare scripture with scripture (spiritual things with spiritual things). Furthermore, any revelation of truth from God’s word (which can only come through the use of this methodology) is solely the work of the Holy Spirit. That is why in I John 2:27 we read, “But the anointing (of the Holy Spirit) 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.” This is entirely consistent with what we read in 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.” See also John 15:26–27“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 ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.”
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. 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.“). Just as salvation is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:“) so are our spiritual eyes and ears a gift of God (because we have His Spirit in us witnessing to our spirit). That is why we read in Proverbs 20:12, “The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them.” We must have been given the wisdom of God, by God. (James 1:5, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all [men] liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.“) This will come when we are truly seeking Him (because He first sought us, see John 6:44) and fear (have reverential awe of) Him. We are told in Psalms 111:10 that, “The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of wisdom:“, and in Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of knowledge: [but] fools despise wisdom and instruction.” The more we study God’s word, the Bible, the more, by God’s grace, our faith grows and the spiritually wiser we can become. In Romans 10:17, we find that, “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Furthermore, in Isaiah 50:4, we read, “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.”
Side Note: 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 verse 2:
“See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: 3 and I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, 4 to devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, 5 and in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship.”
God called the man and and God filled the man with His Holy Spirit in order for that man to have “wisdom” and “understanding” and “knowledge” to do the service of the Lord in the building of God’s Holy Habitation (represented by the earthly tabernacle). It is a parable that we must heed, because, just as we are told in Psalms 127, verse 1: “Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it, except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.” That house (and city) represents the Church, as Jesus said in Matthew 16:18 , “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
BTW…ultimately, Bezaleel (which means in the shadow of God; i.e., “under his protection”), the son of Uri (which means “my light”), the son of Hur (no known definition, but from the Bible (Exodus 17:10-12) we know that Our was the only other person to accompany Moses and Aaron up the hill and helped Aaron in supporting Moses’ arms), of the tribe of Judah (meaning “Praised” and Jesus was from the tribe of Judah ) represents the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the Mystery, Kept Secret Since the World Began
Since Proverbs 1:20-23 and 1 Corinthians 1:30 describe Jesus Christ as wisdom, then 1 Cor. 2:7 is really saying,”We speak Jesus Christ in a mystery.” This is a repetition of 1:18, which says that those who are perishing (the unsaved) do not truly understand Jesus is the Savior they need. Those who are saved know who He is, for they see Him in the Bible (John 5:39). To confirm that this is not man’s interpretation but God’s, all we have to do is look at Romans 16:25, which reads, “Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,“. Additional support is found in Colossians 2:2&3, where we read, “… to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God (God the Holy Spirit, Who reveals the mystery), and of the Father (God the Father), and of Christ (God the Son, Jesus); In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” The believers can see how God pre-figured Jesus and salvation through Him alone in all the Old Testament historical accounts (doing the Will of God the Father by the Power of the Holy Spirit). Such examples can be found when we look at the lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Barak, Boaz, David, Mordecai, Nehemiah, Jonah, Job, etc. However, for the rest (the non-elect unsaved who are spiritually blind), such wisdom is “hidden,” because God hides the truth of the Gospel of Salvation through Jesus Christ from them (God leaves them in their blindness!). It should also be noted that at the very end of time the mystery of God will be finished (fulfilled) as we read in Revelation 10:7, “But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.“
It should also be noted that the Book of Revelation begins with the words, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified [it] by his angel unto his servant John:“. A few verses later, in Revelation 1:8, Jesus declares that, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.“
The Book of Revelation is God’s revealed summary testimony of the previously veiled gospel plan to glorify Himself through Jesus Christ’s victory over Satan, sin, death, and hell. He reviews His loving, gracious gospel plan to make ready a people (His Church) to worship Him in spirit and in truth. It emphasizes that the consummation of this already effectuated gospel plan will take place very soon in the historical time context.
Diligently Seeking and Searching for Jesus Christ
In the Introduction to this paper it was shown how God makes it clear that we are to seek Him, and seek Him diligently. In Proverbs 2:1, we read where God says, “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.” We saw in the previous section that in Jesus Christ are “hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Therefore, to seek out wisdom is to seek out Jesus Christ. Furthermore, I Peter 1:10 tells us that seeking out and searching for Jesus is finding salvation and vice-versa, “Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace [that should come] unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.” In Hebrews 11:6 we read, “But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
Additional verses that speak to the issue of diligently seeking for Jesus include:
Psalms 119:2, Blessed [are] they that keep his testimonies, [and that] seek him with the whole heart.”
Jeremiah 29:13, “And ye shall seek me, and find [me], when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”
Isaiah 55:6, “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:”
In Acts 17:27, we read that on Mars’ hill, in Athens, Paul informed the Greeks that God had determined for all mankind, “That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:” Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 7:7, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:” But also remember that we will never truly seek Him unless He first seeks for us, as we read in John 6:44, where Jesus says, “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.”
Hebrews 9:28, “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”
Jesus Christ is The Secret
In Amos 3:7 we read, “Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” A few Bible students (including this author) have erroneously referred to this verse to argue that God will reveal the timing of Jesus’s return on Judgment Day to the believers because of the context of the preceding verse, “Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done [it]?,” (which clearly does relate to the warning of the Judgment to come). However, we know that Jesus Christ is the personification of the Word of God. He and His Gospel of Grace must, therefore, be the primary focus of this verse. Could Jesus Christ be “the Secret” whom God reveals through His word, the Bible? The word translated as “secret” (note that it is in the singular) is from the Hebrew word “sohd,” H5475 in Strong’s Concordance. Let’s look at a few other verses where this same word is found:
Job 15:8, “Hast thou heard the secret of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself?” (Job (who is another type of Jesus Christ) did hear the “Secret” of God, the “Secret” is the word of God Who is Jesus Christ. Please see Matt. 17:5.)
Psalms 25:14, “The secret of the LORD [is] with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant” Jesus is with those that fear God; He makes known to them His everlasting covenant which is His gospel of grace.
Proverbs 3:32, “For the froward [is] abomination to the LORD: but his secret [is] with the righteous.“
Proverbs 15:22, “Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.” The word translated as “counsel” is the same word translated above as “secret,” and so we can see that without Jesus Christ there is only failure, much as we read in:
Psalms 127:1, “{A Song of degrees for Solomon.} Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh [but] in vain.”
Ezekiel 13:9, “And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I [am] the Lord GOD.” Again the word translated “in the assembly of” is the same word for “secret.” Therefore, unless a prophet is in Christ, he will see only vanity (and not Jesus Christ), and he is a false prophet, and God’s hand of judgment will be upon him.
Psalms 64:2, “Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity:” Clearly, we don’t want to fall prey to false Christs (see Matthew 24:24).
Jesus Christ is the “Wonderful” Secret
In Judges 13:9-14, we read where the “angel” (messenger) of the Lord appeared to the mother and father of Samson. There can be little doubt that this “angel” was actually the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, Who had at times appeared in human form to saints of Old Testament times (Gen. 14:18, Gen. 32:30, and Jud. 6:22). Verses 18 and 22 indicate that this messenger was Jesus. Judges 13:18, “And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it [is] secret?” Judges 13:22, “And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.” The word “secret” in verse 18 is translated from the Hebrew word ‘pilee’ (Strong’s H6383) which can also be translated as “wonderful” as we find in Psalms 139:6, “[Such] knowledge [is] too wonderful (pilee) for me; it is high, I cannot [attain] unto it.” It is also derived from the prime root word ‘pala’ (Strong’s H6381) and closely linked to the companion word ‘pele’ (Strong’s H6382) that are also both translated as “wonderful,” or “wondrous.”
In Isaiah 9:6, God declares in this well known prophesy of the first coming of Jesus Christ that, “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 (pele), Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father*, The Prince of Peace.”
It is not surprising therefore that we read in:
Psalms 119:129 {PE.} “Thy testimonies [are] wonderful (pele): therefore doth my soul keep them.
Psalms 119:18, “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous (pala) things out of thy law.” Psalms 119:27, “Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of thy wondrous (pala) works. (NOTE: The “angel” that appeared to Samson’s parents also did “wondrously” (pala) in Judges 13:19.)
The prayer of all mankind should be that God might deal “wonderfully” with them and grant them the eyes to see the Person of Jesus Christ in the scriptures of the Bible; to understand or know Jesus Christ (Who is “the Way”) as Savior and Lord; to talk of, or declare, the gospel of salvation effectuated by the work of Jesus Christ; and, in Christ, to keep (desire to be obedient to) His commandments.
Joel 2:26, “And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously (pala) with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.”
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is Hidden From the Non-Elect
In Proverbs 25:2 we read, “[It is] the glory of God to conceal a thing (“word,” thus: Jesus Christ): but the honour of kings [is] to search out a matter (“word,” thus: Jesus Christ).” The word translated as “conceal” is from the Hebrew word “sahtar,” H5641 in Strong’s Concordance. It is the same word as found just above in Psalms 64:2 that is translated as “hide.” It can also be translated as “secret,” as is found in: Deuteronomy 29:29, “The secret [things belong] unto the LORD our God: but those [things which are] revealed [belong] unto us and to our children for ever, that [we] may do all the words of this law.“
In Isaiah 45:15 we read, “Verily thou [art] a God that hidest (sahtar) thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour.” This is why the prayer of the believer is found in Psalms 27:9, “Hide not thy face [far] from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.” and Psalms 119:18&19, “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. I [am] a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me.” and in Psalms 143:7, “Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit (Hell).”
The New Testament provides additional insight into this issue of God, and His secret things, being hidden from all those except the believers (the “elect”* of God…those whom He wills to save). In Luke 10:21-24, we read, “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 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].”
In John 14:21 Jesus states that, “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 meaning to “disclose,” “reveal,” or “declare plainly”) myself to him.”
For the believers, God makes His words (the Bible) “plain”, as we find in Proverbs 8:8, “All the words of my mouth [are] in righteousness; [there is] nothing froward or perverse in them. They [are] all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge.” For the non-elect, God’s words are “hidden”. II Corinthians 4:3 states, “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.” Ephesians 3:9, “And to make all [men] see what [is] the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:” Colossians 1:25, “Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; [Even] the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest (made known or revealed) to his saints:” Colossians 2:2, “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.”
*NOTE: Regarding the issue of election, remember that Jesus also prayed in John 17:9, “I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.” While it is correct to understand that Jesus was referring specifically to His disciples at that point, we later read in the same chapter, in John 17:20, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, [art] in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” For more on this issue, please read Romans, chapter 9, particularly verses 11-24; and Romans, chapter 11, particularly verses 5-8.
“The Testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophesy”
We also learn that if anyone is a true prophet (one who is declaring God’s word faithfully), then certain criteria must also be met. All true believers, the true prophets, must have the testimony of Jesus Christ, and no one else. That is why we read in Revelation 19:10, “And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See [thou do it] not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” You see the Bible is the word of God, and Jesus Christ is both God and the Word made flesh (See particularly John 1:1 and John 1:14). Revelation 19:13 reiterates this point, “And he (Jesus Christ) [was] clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his (Jesus’s) name is called The Word of God.” Note also that in John 15:26, Jesus told His disciples, “But when the Comforter (the Holy Ghost or the Holy Spirit) 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 (Jesus Christ):”
The Whole Bible is About Jesus Christ and God’s Salvation Plan Through Him Alone!
That is the True Gospel of Grace!
God Makes This Point Clearly and Unequivocally in the New Testament:
In John 5:39, we read 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 (Jesus Christ). In John 5:45, we read, “Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is [one] that accuseth you, [even] Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.” Also in Hebrews 10:7 where God explains Psalms 40:7 as saying that the book (the Bible) is talking about Jesus Christ, “Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me, [Jesus Christ]) to do thy will, O God.” Remember also in Luke 24:27 where Jesus, after His resurrection, was walking on the road to Emmaus with the two who did not recognize Him? There we read, “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” Later on, in verse 31, we read, “And their eyes were opened, and they knew him;.” We see this repeated again later begining at verse 44: “And He (Jesus) 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,” This point is reiterated in Acts 3:18, “But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.” Again in Acts 10:43, we read, “To him (Jesus Christ) give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.” In John 1:45 we read where, “Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Finally, in Romans 1:1-3, we read, “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called [to be] an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord…“
We can see, therefore, that effectively the entire Bible has been precisely crafted by God, by His Holy Spirit, into one cohesive, consistent whole, from beginning to end and was written as a “parable,” in that only if God has given the reader “eyes to see” can the Bible truly be understood and applied to his heart, otherwise the Word remains hidden to that individual. It is the only way to “hear” Him (see Matt. 17:5). Because this is so, we can also see how it should be possible to “see” the Lord Jesus Christ (He is both the Word and Wisdom) on each and every page, whether it be in the New, or Old, Testament. In I Corinthians 13:12, we read, “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.“
Remember how Jesus taught in John 14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” and that John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” Colossians 4:3, “Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:” and finally in Matthew 7:13, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide [is] the gate, and broad [is] the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Finally, 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.”
The New Testament Speaks Plainly of the Gospel (“Good News”) of Jesus Christ
Which Previously Had Been Veiled in the Old Testament
In II Corinthians 3:2-18, we read how God compares the New Testament to the Old Testament. We see a clear comparison between the glorious gospel of grace (for both Jew and Gentile!) through Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life that is openly revealed by the Spirit through “great plainness of speech” to the gospel of works by man that can only lead to condemnation and eternal death, but which was nonetheless glorious because it pointed to Jesus Christ in a veiled manner and which veil was removed by the person and completed work of Jesus Christ. “Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: [Forasmuch as ye are] manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency [is] of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. But if the ministration of death, written [and] engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which [glory] was to be done away: How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation [be] glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. For if that which is done away [was] glorious, much more that which remaineth [is] glorious. Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: And not as Moses, [which] put a veil 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 veil untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which [veil] is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil 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.”
Conclusion
The conclusion of the matter is, only if (by the grace of God, alone) we have the Holy Spirit indwelling in our hearts (because we are called and chosen by God) can our spiritual eyes and ears be opened to the hidden Truth of God (in concurrence with being given the necessary faith hope and love and the desire to be obedient to Him!). Because that Truth is of God, and about God, spiritual (not carnal, earthly, human) discernment is required. In Romans 7:14 we read, “For we know that the law (the whole word of God, the Bible) is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.” Therefore, only if we are being guided by the Holy Spirit according to God’s sovereign good pleasure, using the process of searching and comparing scripture with scripture (comparing spiritual with spiritual) within the context of the whole Bible, will the veil be removed such that we can begin to see Jesus Christ and His work of salvation for His people that God has inextricably interwoven throughout all His word, the Bible. Jesus really is the Child of Promise and The Way, The Truth, and The Life. May all who read this be as the Greeks in John 12:20&21 that came up to the feast to worship and say, “we would see Jesus.”
Understanding Parables: A Biblical Proof-Text for Typological Interpretation
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, comparing scripture with scripture (comparing spiritual things with spiritual things); 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, 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 greater condemnation). May we never be as those God describes in II Timothy 3:7, “Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (Remember also that Jesus is The “Truth”)
Word Study, Parable of the Sower
(See Matthew 13:3-23, Mark 4:3-20, and Luke 8:4-15)
The Sower and His Seed: (God and His Word)
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.
*II Corinthians 9:10 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;
The Wayside: (The World, that which is not in “the Way”. Remember Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life)
Psalms 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)
I 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.
I 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.
Devour: (Destroy or Consume)
II 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: (Hard Hearted)
Psalms 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)
II 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.
Withered: (Dried Up, Scorched, as in the Fires of Hell)
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.
Ezekiel 19:12 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 15:6 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 of This World, and 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;
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.
Fruit: (Good Fruit is the Evidence of True Salvation)
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.
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 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.
Psalms 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 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.
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.
Other verses to ponder:
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.”
I 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.”
Psalms 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 Psalms 19 and 119)
Psalms 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.”
I 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.
POSTSCRIPT:
While this Bible Study Help may have given the reader the impression that this author dogmatically believes that there is only one method or level to Bible interpretation, that is neither the case nor the intention of this study. It is certainly true that there are at least three levels of interpretation, i.e., the “literal/historical,” the “moral,” and the “spiritual.” This Bible Study Help is intended to instruct the reader in the highest level, the spiritual, which points to the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The events recorded in the Bible are not myths or legends on which the gospel message is derived. All the events recorded (including all of the Old Testament narratives) are literal, and can be trusted as true facts. From those historical facts we can derive moral lessons. The Bible also contains specific laws and codes of conduct that provide the best means to govern and benefit human society. The framers of the US Constitution wisely drew heavily on those lessons and laws. The proverbs teach us valuable moral lessons. While such lessons will certainly benefit anyone in this life, neither a knowledge of biblical historical facts, or biblical morality through obedience to God’s laws, will bring that person to salvation. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of all of the historical events, moral lessons, and Levitical laws and ordinances, which are all only “types” and “shadows,” and therefore have no lasting substance in themselves. Eternal salvation is only a gift of grace by God obtainable through the hearing of, and responding repentant faith in, the Gospel of Jesus Christ; which is the true purpose and lasting substance of the Bible.
Bible Study #1 Isaiah, Chapter 29
With these guidelines in mind, let’s look at Isaiah 29:10-12. There we read, Isaiah 29:10, “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.”
Isaiah 29 is primarily a testimony by God against the prophets, seers, and rulers (the Priests and Pharisees, the “learned ones”) who claim to understand the word of God, the Bible, but who really have no true understanding at all. To them this “book” is “sealed,” even though they are “learned” men. They are blind guides and the Light of Christ is not in them. They do not have the Holy Spirit to guide them to the truth that leads to eternal life. They do not want, nor seek, righteousness by grace through Jesus Christ alone, but rather through their own efforts through the keeping of the Law. As a result, they are “spiritually blind” and therefore still dead in their sins.
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 II 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, “(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.”
Now getting back to Isaiah, chapter 29; if we go to the next two verses, verses 13&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 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.” 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) 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.”
A Marvelous Work and a Wonder?
As for the “marvelous work and a wonder,” 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 chapter 29, beginning with verses 18 and 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 tells us that He would effectuate His salvation program first, marvelously (from the Hebrew word ‘pala’), by the redemptive action (the work) of the Lord Jesus Christ (as the Passover Lamb at the cross) and then, wondrously (from the related Hebrew word ‘pele,’ identified as a name for Jesus Christ in Isaiah 9:6), 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. 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 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.”
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 verses 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 Revelation 13:8).
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.”
II 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:”
II Peter 3:18, “But grow in grace, and [in] the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him [be] glory both now and for ever. Amen.”
Finally, I 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.
* Note the intimacy between Jesus and The everlasting Father that is reiterated later in: John 14:9, “Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou [then], Shew us the Father?” John 10:30, “I and [my] Father are one.” I John 5:7, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”
Categories: Bible Studies
Tags: Allegory, Bible, Christianity, Commentary, Dark Sayings, Exposition, God, hermaneutics, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Mystery, New Testament, Old Testament
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