What is meant by “secret things?”
Question:
Good afternoon,
In Deuteronomy 29:29, what is meant by "secret things"? Is it referring to unrevealed things not found in the Bible? Is it referring to things that the Bible, specifically the New Covenant, doesn't speak about at all? I hope my wording is understandable.
Thanks.
Answer:
"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" (Deuteronomy 29:29).
Moses has been reviewing Israel's history just before they entered the Promised Land. He reminded them of all the wonders they had seen and the victories they experienced. Thus, he reminds them to keep the covenant (Deuteronomy 29:9). Some would be tempted to reject the covenant, and they would face God's wrath (Deuteronomy 29:18-21). Outside observers may wonder why this happens to God's people, but they are instructed to inform these outsiders that this happened to those who forsook the covenant. God's anger destroyed them just as it was written in the covenant (Deuteronomy 29:25-28).
Deuteronomy 29:29 is a reminder that God hasn't revealed everything about the future. There are things He keeps hidden. One reason is that God knows people tend to be rebellious and would claim they "knew" what was going to happen.
"Therefore I declared them to you long ago, before they took place I proclaimed them to you, so that you would not say, 'My idol has done them, and my graven image and my molten image have commanded them.' You have heard; look at all this. And you, will you not declare it? I proclaim to you new things from this time, even hidden things which you have not known. They are created now and not long ago; and before today you have not heard them, so that you will not say, 'Behold, I knew them.' You have not heard, you have not known. Even from long ago your ear has not been open, because I knew that you would deal very treacherously; and you have been called a rebel from birth" (Isaiah 48:5-8).
An example of this is God keeping hidden what would occur because people killed the Messiah.
"Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but 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 thos who love Him" (I Corinthians 2:6-9).
Another thing that Paul tells us that God kept hidden was the saving of the Gentiles.
"For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles-- if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace which was given to me for you; that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel" (Ephesians 3:1-6).
God chooses what He will reveal. We must respect the fact that God hasn't told us everything. He has His reasons, and we should not expect to understand everything. What God has revealed to us is ours to obey. We cannot argue that we don't know enough to obey Him.
