50. Finding Hid Treasure in God's Word

Finding Hid Treasure in God’s Word

Chapter 49 This is one of the richest rewards of truly knowing the scriptures. No other book proves such an exhaustless mine of precious treasures to those who are content to delve deep into it. It is a field for endless study and ceaseless discovery, and the humblest believer may find hid treasure never before dug up by any other, and therefore peculiarly his own. No more unanswerable proof of the divine origin of the Bible can be found than this capacity to reveal to every devout reader something absolutely new. This conception of the Word of God as a treasure house is a ruling thought of Psalms 119, where we constantly meet such expressions as these:

“I have rejoiced in the way of Thy testimonies as much as in all riches” (Psalms 119:14).

“Open Thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law” (Psalms 119:18).

“Make me to understand the way of Thy precepts” (Psalms 119:27).

“The law of Thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver” (Psalms 119:72).

“Thou, through Thy commandments hast made wiser than my enemies.” I have more understanding than all my teachers; I understand more than the ancients (Psalms 119:98-100).

“How sweet are Thy words unto my taste” (Psalms 119:103).

“The entrance of Thy words giveth light” (Psalms 119:130).

“I rejoice in Thy word, as one that findeth great spoil” (Psalms 119:162).

These are a few specimens only of what the psalmist found in searching the Word of God. All figures are exhausted to describe it—a flood of light and joy; more understanding than all his enemies, teachers or ancient sages; food both nutritious and delicious; wondrous things, all riches, thousands of gold and silver, great spoil, etc. The whole Psalm contains at least fifty such tributes couched in every form of speech.

Hence the prayer, “Open Thou mine eyes;” and the promise so often repeated, that they who search the scriptures shall find the testimony of Christ, the witness to themselves, and the secrets of holy obedience and experience. The plan of God is that the reverent study first to know and then to do the Will of God as herein set forth shall have a reward so ample as to be inexpressible—“visions and revelations of the Lord.”

Compare such scriptures as the following: Matthew 11:25-26; John 7:17; Romans 11:25-36; 1 Corinthians 2; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 15:14-21; Ephesians 1:15-23, etc.

He who would find the hid treasure must observe the laws of uniqueness.

Whatever stands alone in scripture may be assumed as having special importance. Not only does its presence in the Word imply a purpose, but its solitariness shows that such purpose is to be discovered within itself, because it has no co-related scripture. It is meant to be complete, having some function of its own not shared by other parts of the Word, and will reveal some special symmetry and unity. This is another illustration of that universal law that nothing in scripture is aimless or useless. That is always unique which stands alone and by itself, either in quantity or quality, in kind or singularity. For instance where any person, fact or subject has but one mention in scripture it is usually designed for emphasis, and the lesson to be conveyed is also unique. Like a single spot of bright color which may give to a dark picture a vernal touch, or a solitary ornament in a building which may complete its whole design, so a solitary mention of a person or an event may contribute a necessary element to the whole body of scripture teaching. A word which is used but once generally has some unique force. “Avouch,” found only in Deuteronomy 26:16-17, carries remarkable significance. By declaring Jehovah to be their chosen God, the people of Israel evoked His responsive declaration that they were His chosen people. This double avouchment or avowal is a sort of bridal vow, in which each partly plights troth to the other in a marital covenant. This thought, from this point on, pervades scripture, that such an affirmation on the part of either God or man evokes and elicits a responsive affirmation from the other. Of Jehovah’s challenge and man’s response, Psalms 27:8 is a good example; also the call to Samuel and his answer. Of man’s appeal to God and God’s response, Pentecost is the most conspicuous illustration. But all avouchment of Jehovah is sure of a counter avouchment on His part. The prayer of Jabez stands alone (1 Chronicles 4:9-10). And Jabez was more honorable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow. And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that Thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that Thine hand might be with me, and that Thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested. This is all we know of Jabez. He was a son of sorrow, like Benjamin. But he was distinguished above his brethren by a high sense of honor. This prayer bears careful study, and is recorded for a permanent purpose, as a lesson for all time. There are four petitions here and they are very comprehensive:

1. The initial request, which includes all the rest is for a True Divine Blessing.

2. A second request is for enlargement—“that Thou wouldest enlarge my coast,” which seems to be equivalent to an increased measure of usefulness.

3. That God’s Hand might be with Him—an expression which in the Word of God always carries the idea of Divine strength and cooperation.

4. That he might be kept from evil that it might not grieve or overcome him, which is a petition for a sanctified character and life.

These four requests might be expressed in a way to show more completely their comprehensiveness and symmetry, thus:

Jabez craves and supplicates of God,

Notice also Azariah’s Solitary Prophecy: And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded:
And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him,
Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The Lord is with you, While ye be with Him; And if ye seek Him, He will be found of you; But if ye forsake Him, He will forsake you (2 Chronicles 15:1-2).

These thirty words comprise the whole of the recorded utterance of this prophet, who is here mentioned for the only time. There must, therefore, be some peculiar significance in these words, which are the more pregnant with meaning as we are told in the next verse that “for a long season Israel had been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law.” It was a prolonged season of spiritual death and darkness, and this prophetic utterance lights up the midnight gloom and interprets the situation, while it affords all needed guidance as to the secret of returning blessing.

There is here a Principle of Divine Dealing, applicable to all ages of history. The expression, “The Lord is with you,” is the great assurance which in the Word of God includes all that is most desirable—from Genesis to Revelation it seems to stand for Fulness of Blessing. And here we are taught that this comprehensive good is not bestowed by arbitrary caprice, but obeys certain fixed laws. There is an attitude of mind, heart and will which commands blessing or forfeits it. James gives us the nearest equivalent of Azariah’s prophecy, when he says: “Draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you” (James 4:8). And David in 2 Samuel 22:26-27, when he declares that with the merciful, God will show Himself merciful, with the upright and pure, upright and pure; and with the froward, He will show Himself froward.

We cannot well mistake this plain teaching—the substance of which is that the vacillations in our spiritual experience and history are due not to changes in God, but to changes in ourselves. To the unstable He is unstable, but to the steadfast and faithful, He is found and felt to be the immutable God. The Headlight on the promontory of rock may seem to be moving, but it is the ship that is tossing. This short prophetic address is recorded for our learning, for it carries a weighty lesson for all coming time, which may be briefly stated, thus:

1. God is practically, to every man, what his own life makes him. “Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself” (Psalms 50:21). Our moral and spiritual attitude and aptitude constitute a lens through which God is seen; and if the lens is not clear, true and colorless, it distorts and discolors all conceptions of God.

2. God is essentially changeless in His relations to man. To get into right relations with Him, therefore, is to insure on His part right relations to us. And hence, also, rectification of what is wrong or abnormal may immediately restore blessing.

3 God’s Power is always at the command of the penitent and obedient. There is one great sentence we would write as in letters of flame on every Christian’s memory: Obey the law of the force and the force obeys you. The natural world is full of mystic and subtle forces—light and heat, gravitation, magnetism, electricity, etc. They obey fixed laws, and so far and so long as man conforms to those laws, he controls those forces. Light becomes his photographer, heat his refiner, gravitation his engineer, magnetism his pilot, electricity his messenger, motor and illuminator. So in the spiritual realm there is a similar reign of law. Even the Holy Spirit has His chosen methods and channels as even the winds have their currents; and to know and conform to His elect modes of operation and get into the channels of His streams is to find Him filling our weakness with the strength and power of God. Even prayer commands blessing only when coupled with obedience. As Abraham’s servant said: “I, being in the way, the Lord led me” (Genesis 24:27). The lesson of Azariah’s prophecy is enforced by Canon Evanson, who well observes, that “There is a mutual interaction between the rain of heaven and the mists of earth. These two kindred moistures produce and reproduce one another. When rich rain falls on soft ground, in due time, a grateful mist rises and makes fresh clouds. These again break in fresh rain. God, knowing the hearts of all men, gives His grace to all whom He sees to be receptive of it; and to such as use it will He give it in larger measure. The more work done, the more grace given” (1 Corinthians 15:10; comp.Hebrews 6:7-8).

Jonah’s so-called “prophecy” is unique. He was the firstforeign missionary, and the lessons of his career are most unique and valuable. They are mainly these:

1. That a missionary may be distinctly called of God and refuse to go—in fact so turn his back on his call as to go to the farthest opposite point, as he started for the West—Tarshish or Tartessus, Spain, instead of Nineveh in the remote East.

2. That when a man, called of God, turns his back on God, there is nothing before him but disappointment, darkness and disaster, until he repents.

3. That when a call is repeated, one may go and practically not go—formally undertaking the sacred duty but heartlessly. A loveless obedience is in such case little better than a lawless disobedience.