Buried Treasure
God is in the business of hiding and revealing things. Much of what Jesus taught was "in code," a lesson or principle hidden inside of a parable or word picture.
It wasn't necessary for God to hide anything, back when man lived in perfect intimacy with God, in the Garden, before sin changed man's nature. God told man he was free to eat from any tree in the Garden, except the one that causes truths to be distorted. God wanted man to understand all things clearly, except for the demonic realm, because looking into it causes death.
Man chose not to trust God. He ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil - and his nature changed. And ever since the fall, man has had a very skewed view of God and the truth. We see through the "Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil," and it taints our view of things. "To the crooked, God shows Himself as perverse."
We can't afford to see all truths in our present state, with our fallen nature. To see everything, before we are walking in obedience and right-standing with God, would make us worse. We see a hint of this in the Garden after the fall of man, when God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever."
God didn't want those two trees mixing. His reaction to the very thought makes it sound like nitro and glycerin mixing together. Perhaps we would have become eternally sinful if we had eaten from the Tree of Life, after eating from the Tree of Knowledge.
First we have to be delivered from the first tree, before we can eat of the eternal tree. God has to bring each one of us through a process. Only as we come under His Lordship can He afford to reveal His great truths. God has therefore hidden many of His truths, and chosen to reveal them to those whose hearts are pure (or moving towards pure): "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." And likewise, "To the pure, God shows Himself as pure."
So the treasure hunt is on. God's precious truths are hidden, but He eagerly desires to reveal them to all who will return to Him for fellowship. But it's crucial that we are seeking Him more than His secrets. Recall how Jesus spoke to the religious men of His day: "You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life." (John 5:39-40) We must be careful that our study of the word is a means to an end (loving God), and not an end in itself.
When Jesus came onto the scene 2,000 years ago, He announced that the treasure hunt was on. There's great treasure out there! And He tells us what it will cost us. "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all that he had and bought that field." (Matthew 13:44) Jesus sold all that He had, and bought the kingdom of God for His subjects. He also hid that kingdom from those who were not ready to live in it:
"…Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, 'I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.'" (Luke 10:21)
It gave Jesus joy to have God's precious truths hidden from the so-called wise and educated people, the experts who would use the knowledge only as a trophy for their own intellect. And it pleased Jesus to see God selectively reveal His best kept secrets to people who would eat it up like kids!
Jesus' favorite secret code was the parable… "Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables…" Pastors today are taught to explain God's word very clearly, making sure that everyone can understand it. Jesus wasn't so careful or liberal with His revelation! He often preferred to speak in code and let the Holy Spirit reveal the meaning to those who "had ears to hear."
God cares greatly about timing, when it comes to revelation of His truths. "Who then is the wise and faithful servant, whom the Master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time?" (MT 24:45) God calls us to understand His timing, when it comes to "feeding" others with His revelation.
After telling several parables, Jesus asked His disciples if they had understood all these things. Then He proclaimed, "Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old." (Matthew 13:52)
As we dig into our bibles for truth, we are to find both "new" and "old." We are to teach commonly understood principles, and new revelations. Teachers, go into the storeroom and start digging, because it's filled with new, undiscovered truths. And don't be afraid to bring out the old ones either!
Parables aren't limited to the New Testament. Even the Old Testament is loaded with secret messages. As a matter of fact, the Old Testament IS a secret message! That's why Jesus declared that "all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John." (MT 11:13) The Prophets and the Law, what is Jesus referring to? The bible of that day! The entire Old Testament is a prophecy, a hidden foreshadowing of things to come.
One translation for the "seven feasts" of the Lord that the Jews celebrate is the "rehearsals" of the Lord. Each holiday is actually a rehearsal for the real thing yet to come! Let's look at the Passover as an example. It was more than a historical event, or an annual ritual to help remember the past. It was a picture of the future, of the last week of Jesus' life. One the day when the families in Israel were bringing lambs into their homes, Jesus was entering the house of God in Jerusalem. The Jews were instructed to keep the lamb in their house for five days to examine it for flaws; at the very same time, Jesus was being examined and challenged by the Pharisees. And when Jesus, the Lamb of God, was dying on the cross as a sacrifice for us, thousands of lambs were being killed as a sacrifice before the Passover feast.
Scripture is chocked full of hidden truths. The Law and the Prophets prophesied. There's far more than just history in our Old Testament; it contains His Story!
So how do we unearth this treasure? Through smarts? No, through Holy Spirit revelation. Jesus is the great decoder. Intelligence isn't what opens up the Scriptures. Jesus does. Remember how, on the road to Emmaus, two of the disciples walked along with Jesus? He "opened their eyes to the Scriptures!" They lived with Him for three years, and didn't have a clue about how the Scriptures were going to be fulfilled by Jesus. Then in one afternoon, He turned on the light bulbs for them!
Jesus was very particular about how He got revealed. Not by demons, although they consistently tried to reveal Him: "I know who you are! You're the Holy One of God!" And Jesus rebuked them and did not allow them to speak. Jesus didn't want His identity revealed by His enemy. Likewise, He doesn't want "flesh and blood," or mere human intellect, revealing who He is. He turned to one source for His introduction: "(Jesus) asked His disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
Treasures lay waiting. One of them is locked within the book of Daniel. As Daniel heard from the Lord about the end times, he told God he didn't understand the meaning. God replied, "Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end…. Those who are wise will understand." (Daniel 12:9-10) God is hiding the meaning of those words until the end, when some will understand. You could be that someone!
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