Hidden Gems: Some Bible Verses “Speak” to You

Proverbs 25:2 – “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings and wise men to search out and reveal God’s hidden secrets.” [I’ve expanded this one a bit to clarify what I believe to be its important meaning. Many words and passages in the Bible are symbols or have symbolic, even multiple meanings. For example, many naïve first-time readers of Genesis 3:1-7 may imagine or think that “the serpent” that tempts Eve in “The Temptation and Fall of Humankind” story is literally a snake of some sort, nor realizing that snakes, serpents, cobras are phallic symbols and also not having read Revelation 12:9 – “So the Great Dragon was cast out, that Serpent of Old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world. He was cast to the Earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Those “fallen angels,” of course, become the possessing demons that Jesus exorcises. And that the identity of the “serpent” in Genesis 3 is not made explicit until Revelation 12 underscores the importance of reading the whole Bible, not just parts of it.]

1 John 4:16 – “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” [A good sermon can be devised by coupling this verse with John 15:1-8  – “Abide in me, and I in you. ... I am the vine, you are the branches.” What strikes me here is those first three words, “GOD IS LOVE.” As I understand it, this is the simplest statement of the nature and character of God, and the entire Bible must be read and can only be understood with this in mind. With every “Bible Story” we read – about Eve or Adam or Cain .. about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, or Joseph .. about Moses or Joshua or Gideon or Samson .. about Saul or David or Solomon .. about Tamar or Rahab or Ruth or Bathsheba or Mary .. about Peter or Paul -- we must ask ourselves, “What is God trying to teach me about LOVE in this story?” Even God’s anger, God’s wrath, God’s fury, God’s nature as a “consuming fire” must be understood from the point of view that GOD IS LOVE.]

1 Corinthians 16:14 – “Do all things with love.” [This is perhaps the simplest biblical statement and guideline for everyday behavior in matters great and small, and should be coupled with 1 Corinthians 10:31 – “Do all to the glory of God.”]

The Three Sins of the Canaanite Tribes – Idolatry, Adultery, and Child Sacrifice – are all violations of love! Idolatry breaks the love bond between God & we His children. Adultery & other sexual sins break the love bond between husband & wife. Child Sacrifice breaks the love bond between parents & children.

Mark 14:24 – “This is my blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for many.” [I recall my excitement when I first grasped the deep meaning of this verse and the related verses in Matthew 26:28 & Luke 22:20; because I had always remembered God’s promise of a New Covenant in Jeremiah 31:31-34 from my first reading of the whole Bible while finishing law school at the University of Texas in 1971-72. What was promised in the Old Testament is fulfilled in the New Testament in Jesus himself, Emmanuel, God with us! Exodus 20 recites Ten Commandments written on stone tablets – two stone tablets twice given. Only two of those commandments are expressed positively: Keep the Sabbath holy & Honor your father and mother. The other eight are expressed negatively: “Thou shalt not ..” Jesus is the living Word, the Word in flesh. He gives Four Commandments, all are expressed positively, and all have to do with love: (1) Love God, (2) Love your neighbor, (3) Love your enemy, and (4) Love one another as I have loved you.]

Matthew 5:43-48 (especially 44, 45 & 48) – “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in Heaven; for He makes His Sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. … You shall be perfect, just as your Father in Heaven is perfect.” [“Perfect” here, of course, means perfection in love, because God IS love! A good sermon can be made by coupling these verses with such as Proverbs 29:13 – “The Lord gives light to the eyes of both” the poor man and the rich, the oppressor and the benevolent. And Romans 12:20 – “’If your enemy is hungry, feed him! If he is thirsty, give him a drink! For in so doing, you will heap coals of fire on his head.’ {In this first part, Paul is quoting Proverbs 25:21-22} Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” After all, the best way to defeat your enemy .. is by making him your friend!]

Matthew 13:10-17 – “It has been given to you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it has not been given. … In them, the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says, ‘hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive, for the hearts of this people have grown dull.” [In fact, it was not just the “blindness” and “deafness” of the common people, but more specifically of the Sanhedrin (the Ruling Council of Scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, and Lawyers) that led to the arrest, trial, torture, and murder of Jesus. That this was done in ignorance is made clear by Peter in his Second Sermon found in Acts 3:11-26, especially in 17-18 – “Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers; but those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.” Paul confirms this in 1 Corinthians 2:7-8 – “We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”]

3 John 2 – “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in good health, even as your soul prospers.” [God wants us to prosper in all good things, not just some good things! This verse is especially meaningful for it shows the correlation between our physical or external prosperity and our internal, spiritual prosperity. I’ve known and cherished this verse for many years; and it’s a good example of a verse that “jumps out” at you and stays with you .. like finding a hidden gem or a gold nugget in the sand of a flowing river.]

Proverbs 10:12 – “Love covers all sins.” [Wow! I probably read this a dozen times before it “jumped out” at me and I really understood it deeply for the first time .. when I was nearing my 83^rd birthday. What does it mean? God’s love is greater than our sins! God’s mercy is greater than our iniquities! God’s forgiveness is greater than our transgressions! What great good news THIS is .. for all of us!]

Ezekiel 18:32 – “I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies, says the Lord God. Therefore, turn and live!” [Here’s another thriller! There’s so much “doom & gloom” in the Old Testament, so many prophecies of destruction in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, that it’s comforting to know that the destruction of evil is not God’s original or foremost intention.]

2 Chronicles 7:14 – “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, pray, seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” [Oh, hallelujah! Here’s another “hidden gem,” indeed! For it applies not only to the times and days of Solomon, but also to the United States of America today! A related verse (pertinent to America today) is Hosea 4:6 – “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge! .. Because you have rejected Me, I will reject you.” It’s high time for Americans to WAKE UP and return to our Biblical roots.]

Revelation 1:8 – “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, says the Lord. Who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” [This verse seems to be spoken by God the Father, while Revelation 1:11 is spoken by the resurrected Jesus to John the Apostle in exile on the Isle of Patmos – “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last. What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia.” (There are related passages in the Old Testament in Isaiah 41:4, 44:6, and 48:12.) As I read such passages over and over again many times, I began to ask myself these obvious questions: What does this mean? What is the Alpha? What is the Omega?  As I pondered these questions, this simple explanation came by inspiration: the Alpha is Genesis chapters 1 & 2, while the Omega is Revelation chapters 21 & 22. In short, the Bible ends as it begins. It begins with the Story of Creation and ends with the Story of the New Creation! Furthermore there is no sin or evil in the Creation, no fear, guilt, or shame; and there is no sin or evil in the New Creation, no fear, no guilt, and no shame. For “the man and his wife were naked, and were not ashamed.” God made nothing vulgar, dirty, or obscene; but Satan attacks and tries to spoil God’s creations, especially what is most holy and sacred, which is “one flesh marriage.” Sin and evil, fear, guilt, and shame come into the Biblical account in Genesis 3 and are destroyed in Revelation 20. * See also Revelation 22:12-13 – “Behold! I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me, to give to everyone according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” The themes that we are justified or saved by grace through faith, but that judgment is according to works are so important they warrant extended commentary.]