The hidden things belong to Yahweh our God,
but the uncovered things to us and to our sons until perpetuity,
to do all the words of this law.
Deuteronomy 29:29
Curiosity is a powerful, driving force. We see that early in a person’s life, while being driven crazy with toddlers trying to taste everything, touch everything and going through the “Why?” stage about everything said to him/her. We see the power of curiosity in the media, which would not exist without it. People want to know what happens, how it happens, why it happens, etc.
Curiosity has been a greatly beneficial motive. It has led to a vast number of inventions which have greatly improved productivity, efficiency, comfort, health, mobility and enjoyment in life. Inquisitiveness has led to an immeasurable increase in our knowledge of our universe, our solar system, our planet, the weather, the animal kingdom, the human race, the human body, plant life—all the sciences.
The drive to know has also been incalculably harmful and destructive. It is involved in the sin of gossip, which has ruined many relationships. It has led people into dangerous situations and environments, at times leading to serious injury and even death. As with any other good trait in our lives as fallen creatures, curiosity is something which must be properly channeled and controlled lest it lead us into trouble.
Curiosity is aroused when we come across something we don’t know or find difficult to understand. Whether out of felt need or the determination that we do not want to stay ignorant, our curiosity leads us to investigate a matter until we have satisfied our desire to know and understand. But what about those times when we hit a brick wall in our investigation? What do we do then?
Moses does not specify what hidden, secret matters he has in mind when he tells Israel that such things belong to Yahweh. The main reason he does not identify them is because he is pointing the people to the reality that God had revealed His law, His instructions, His teachings to them. Moses is telling Israel to focus on knowing, understanding and obeying what God has disclosed to them. He is not seeking to squelch curiosity so much as to establish the priority of what is and can be known.
In the realm of theology, I have found there are definitely matters which are hidden, either in part or in whole. The ones about which I am aware are those which are hidden in part. For example, I know that the God I worship is a triune Being, one God in three Persons. I know that the three Persons of the Godhead are eternally co-equal and co-existent. However, I have no clue as to how that can be and how it “looks.” That’s because those aspects are among the hidden realities which belong to God alone. What I know, I know because God’s Word reveals those truths. However, He has chosen not to explain or reveal everything about His Being, because those matters not revealed belong to Him and not to us.
Another theological certainty I know is that God is absolutely sovereign while man is fully responsible and accountable for his every thought, motive, word and deed. This I know, once again, because God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility are clearly taught in His Word. What I do not know is how to fit them together in am in-depth manner which I can satisfactorily understand and explain.
Nor can I explain how sin could come into being. I know that it did in both the angelic and the human realms, because this is what God tells me in His Word. Yet I cannot grasp how it could happen that sin enters a previously, truly and fully good universe.
I cannot know the time of the Lord’s return. I know He will return, for this He has promised. Yet even while promising to return, He made it known that no one can know when that will take place. Isn’t it interesting how many people throughout history have let their curiosity lead them to try to make a liar of Jesus, claiming that they have figured out when He will return? They illustrate the danger of not properly channeling and controlling human inquisitiveness.
How should I properly handle these theological subjects about which God has chosen to keep some answers hidden even while He informs us of some basic truths? Does the fact that God has kept some details to Himself mean I should refrain from investigating these subjects? Or should I be willing to use my powers of imagination to provide answers to the questions—answers which God has not given?
From the start, I want to be clear in declaring my conviction that we should investigate as deeply as possible whatever subjects and issues are involved in the Biblical accounts, even (especially) those which raise questions to which the answers are not given. I can’t get to know God more fully in the way I need to know Him if I completely ignore the subject of triunity! I must study everything the Bible does say about the triune Godhead.
That last statement is quite important, whatever issue I may be investigating. I must study what the Bible says about the subject. Just because the Bible doesn’t tell me everything about the subject does not give me the right to ignore what it does say about the subject. The truth God has revealed is the truth for which He holds me accountable—that’s the major point of Deuteronomy 29:29. Whenever I am dealing with the person, plan and work of God, it is the Word of God in which I must be immersed.
Furthermore, I must study everything the Bible says about the subject. I can’t pick out favorite verses on a subject or verses which fit my chosen grid, while ignoring the statements of Scripture which don’t fit my grid. I can’t throw out the sovereignty of God by focusing on passages that stress the responsibility of man, nor can I overlook the responsibility of man by emphasizing only those texts which highlight the sovereignty of God. I must accept all that the Scriptures teach, doing my best to grasp how some of the seemingly square pegs fit into the seemingly round holes.
While I seek to do this, I must be honest and humble enough to realize that not always will I be successful. There will be times when my lack of understanding is simply due to my own limited intellectual abilities. The answer may be there, I just haven’t been able to get it. Other times, those times to which Deuteronomy 29:29 makes reference, my lack of understanding is simply because God has kept to Himself and His infinite knowledge the answers to the questions that arise as I study the Bible.
When my investigation of what the Bible says doesn’t answer all my questions, I have found it important to follow three additional rules. First, never adopt as a conviction an answer to a theological issue that the Bible has not provided. Imagination is a God-given gift, but it is not designed to fill in where the Bible is silent on theological matters. The creature is not capable of improving what God has revealed by adding to it. Violation of this principle has led to countless heresies, cults and schisms.
Secondly, when it seems that teachings of the Bible are contradictory or incompatible, refuse to accept those conclusions. The problem on such occasions is not what God has said, but rather my failure to properly understand what God has revealed. Just because I don’t understand how Biblical teachings fit together does not mean they are at odds with each other. It means I need to study further, all the while trusting the veracity of my God.
Finally, whenever there is seeming incompatibility of Biblical teaching, I want to accept everything the Bible teaches about the supposedly incompatible subjects, while at the same time making sure that how they are understood and presented emphasizes, magnifies and exalts the Lord God over everything and everyone else. He the Creator will not give His glory to another (Isaiah 48:10-11), so I have no right to do so as His creature. I have found this principle extremely helpful in sifting through numerous theological fads, helping me quickly determine which of them can be discarded immediately and which of them might need further investigation.
If you have gotten this far, you have probably been wondering for quite a while what this treatise has to do with our family genealogy! Here’s the connection: in the past twenty-plus years during which I have actively pursued the genealogical study of our family, I have developed a list of questions about which I have great curiosity. Some of those questions have to this point been impossible to answer, while for others I have made tiny steps of possible progress.
Through the whole process, I have had to remind myself that, since I am the finite being that I am, there will be questions about many areas of life to which I will not know the answers in this life. That doesn’t keep me from pursuing answers as much as possible. I just need to pursue answers properly and be willing to accept and appreciate that God doesn’t owe me any answers. That helps me be highly grateful for any answers He does grant me.
What are the genealogical questions that have been raised in my pursuits? This is already too long a blog, I guess we’ll have to get into that another time!
© 2020 by James A. Odens
All Rights Reserved
Though I was wondering where you were going with this, I appreciated the explanations 🙂 Thanks.