HF141 - Reading Between the Lines

To:  Hebraic-Foundations@yahoogroups.com
From:  "Pastor Buddy Martin" <Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org>
Date: Mon, June 20, 2005
Subject:  Bible Study HF141 - Reading Between the Lines

Hebraics,

During my devotion this morning I could not help but rejoice as the Scriptures continued to unfold before me. I thought how amazingly wonderful it is. I've been reading the Bible on a daily basis for over 40 years, and yet to this very day my heart rejoices over newfound treasures. Perhaps Paul had this in mind when he wrote Timothy, saying, "Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything." (2Ti2:7)

In the study to follow we will consider how the secret treasures of the Bible are reserved especially for the child of God. (Caps will be used for emphasis only.)

This is Bible Study HF141 - Reading Between the Lines.

From early times the Hebrews knew that the Torah of Moses was filled with treasures that they were then unable to see. They connected their seeing to a time when Messiah would come. It will help to see this idea as it is found in Talmudic and other Jewish literature. Here are a few quotes ---

(Eccl. Rab. 11:1) "For in this world a man learns Torah and forgets, but in the future to come he will not forget, as it is written, "I will put My Torah in their inward parts and in their hearts will I write it." (Jer31:33)

(Mid. Tanh., Ki Tavo, par. 4) "It is not necessary that Israel should receive the Tora in this world, since all of them will learn Tora from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, in the world to come. Why then was it given to them in this world? So that when the Holy One, blessed be He, will come to teach them in the world to come all of them should know which section He deals with."

(Halakbot G'dolot. p. 233) "Zerubbabel and Elijah will come in the Messianic age and explain all the secrets of the Tora and all that which is crooked and distorted..."

There are many more writings in this regard, but pay particular attention to this one:

(Levi Yitzhaq of Berdichev, Imre Tzaddiqim) "In the Future to Come, the Name [i.e. God], blessed be He, will reveal to us even the [meaning of the] blank spaces in the Tora, so that we should understand the blank letters in our Tora. And this is the meaning of 'For [a new] Torah shall go forth from Me..." (Isa51:4)

Did you catch it? Listen again, "He will reveal to us even the meaning of the blank spaces in the Tora." This is what we call 'reading between the lines.' The point at hand is that the early Jewish writers knew that when it came to the Word of God, their understanding was deficient. And yet out of this deficiency came all the errors and myths and lies and twistings of the Talmudic literature.

What are all these 'blank spaces' in the Old Testament writings? These are the spaces that can only be filled by Jesus Christ. When Jesus was rejected, the book became a closed book. All they had left was dead letter. So they built their religion around the dead letter, hoping somehow to breath life into deadness. I'm afraid they went horribly amiss. Only God can call to life that which is dead.

Did you know that all this was written in Moses and the prophets? Moses wrote about the secret things of God. He also wrote, as did the prophets, that the Jewish peoples by and large would turn from God and enter into a period of spiritual blindness. And Moses and the prophets also wrote about the revealings of God that would take place in the covenant to come - that is, in the eternal covenant of Jesus Christ. You see, it is only in God's Messiah that we have the ability to read between the lines.

Let's come back to what Moses said about secrets. In Deuteronomy 29:29 we read, "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law."

The term 'secret things' is the Hebrew satar [saw-thar']. This is a verb meaning to hide or conceal. It carries the sense of preventing someone from knowing or seeing something. These 'secret things' belong to the Lord Himself. If they can be revealed, then there must be someone to whom they can be revealed. That is to say, the Lord God must truly be Lord of the person before these privileged secrets can be known.

What are these secret things? It is often said that the secret things simply speak of Israel's future in regard to judgments, and the curses, and so on and on. That may be the case. But perhaps there is an intimation that goes beyond the letter, that is to say, the secret things are the things of eternity, the things of wisdom, the things of life, and in particular, the things that belong to the Messiah and thus to His people.

Of course a key word is the word 'observe.' Here again we have a verb that means to do, to make, to accomplish, or perform, or to complete. Notice again that Moses said, "The things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe ALL the words of this law."

Keep in mind that the term 'Torah' simply means instruction, or in this case 'divine instructions.' What then does the ALL refer to? God wants His people to see the completion of all the words of the Law. Of course again we know that the sum total of the Bible wraps itself around Jesus Christ. Jesus is the 'all' of God's Word, which includes the Torah of Moses, and the writings of David, and of the prophets.

Now listen to the apostolic writings:

"Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He [Jesus] explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures." (Luke 24:27)

"Now He said to them, 'These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.'" (Luke 24:44)

"But we speak God's wisdom [Christ Jesus] in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory ... just as it is written, 'Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him." (Cf. 1Co2:7-9)

"Of this church I was made a minister ... so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, that is, THE MYSTERY, [secret things of the Lord] which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints." (Col1:25,26)

"... and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ Himself, IN WHOM ARE HIDDEN ALL THE TREASURES OF WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE." (Col2:2,3)

What then happened to Israel 'after the flesh', that is, those of Israel who rejected Jesus Christ God's Messiah? A spirit of slumber came over them. The slumbering spirit remains over the Jew to this day. This is why Jesus wept over Jerusalem...

"If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes ... and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, BECAUSE YOU DID NOT RECOGNIZE THE TIME OF YOUR VISITATION." (Luke 19:42-44)

The apostle added to this in saying, "But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ. But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away." (2Co3:14,15)

Now back to the beginning where I shared concerning the unfolding of the Scriptures. I have often said to our congregation that the greatest thing that can happen to anyone on this planet - rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief - is to have his eyes opened to Jesus Christ and to His unfolding glory. This is what the new covenant offers.

But there is a point to be made. Being able to read between the lines is not an issue of finding things in the Scriptures that are not there. That is gnosticism. And that is both cultic and generally leads to heresy. The things we discover are already there. The Lord simply opens our eyes to see them.

And this is why we hear Paul praying this kind of prayer; "[I pray] that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, etc." (Cf. Eph1:15-23)

David knew full well about reading between the lines, or, as the sage said, '[We will] understand the blank letters in our Tora." David said it this way; "For with You is the fountain of life [Jesus]; and in Your Light [Jesus] we see light." (Ps36:9)

A brother recently confided in me in his wonderment in how I could find so much of Jesus in the Old Testament. Well, it wasn't easy at the first. But over the years the more I studied the Scriptures, the more God's light poured forth.

Do you know where I was reading this morning that caused me such excitement? Sure you don't. Actually it wasn't in the former testament. Believe it or not my devotion time took me to 2 Timothy 1:8-14. But I'll not comment on that portion unless you see something and wish to talk about. You may do much better in sharing some of your own treasures.

Have you been able to find Jesus throughout the Psalms of David? Do you know what David meant when he said, "Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and your glory?"

Can you find Jesus in Psalm 85:13; "Righteousness will go before Him and will make His footsteps into a way."

Let's see if anyone on the forum has a thirst on this awesome subject of reading between the lines. Have you been reading between the lines? Have you been able to find Jesus in the garden of Eden, on the mountains of Moriah, in the Old Testament high priest, in the writings of David, in the angel whose name was 'Wonderful'?

Share with us where you have found Jesus in the Old Testament writings, especially where it may not be as obvious to others, but it filled your own soul with excitement. (Did you know that it is the revelation of Jesus that carries the glory of Jesus?)

Feel free to contribute to the study. After all, we are all talmidim. So, show me your treasure and I'll show you mine.

The Lord bless you,

Buddy
Lawrence E. (Buddy) Martin, HF Host 
email: Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org

Web: http://www.christianchallenge.org/

"See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled." (Heb12:15)