Necessary Inference in the Old Testament

by Terry Wane Benton

It has been said that the Old Testament was always direct in communicating God's will and that the idea of having to “infer” God's will has never been necessary and, therefore, is not necessary now. But is that argument a necessary conclusion? Consider just a few things that show that the argument's premise has never been so.

In Deuteronomy 1:5, we find Moses having to explain the Law. When you explain the Law, you must tell the meaning and how it applies. But, you cannot explain how it applies without using reason and connecting the words to an application and that simply cannot be done and never has been done and never can be done without using the common sense of drawing a necessary inference. An application is always an inference that this is how we are to perform and apply those words.

On this side of the Jordan, in the land of Moab,

• Moses began to explain this law NKJV
• Moses began to expound this law, NIV
• Moses began to explain this law - AMP

Explaining and expounding the Law means inferring both the meaning and proper application of words. There is never an escape from having to reason through understanding and proper application.

"So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading" (Nehemiah 8:7-8 NKJV).

Notice that there is “the reading distinctly from the book.” Is that all that needed to be done? No! Reading demands discerning the meaning of words, and understanding the words demands inferring the sense in which it is to be understood and applied. Without proper reasoning upon the words in the book, there can be no proper application. But all application comes through necessary inference.

Take one of the Ten Commandments and see if this is not so. “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it Holy.” Those are words in the Law. But what is meant by “remember”? Does it mean to remember it in thought and just have a thought? What is the Sabbath day? The text itself does not say what it is. This must be learned from other passages with more information coming into play than just the words themselves. How does one keep it holy? Again, this is learned by comparison of information in other places, and then a conclusion is drawn from the total information on that topic. After the reasoning has drawn the necessary inference on the meaning of the words, there is the necessary inference as to who it applies to and how it will be carried into our actions.

Don’t let anyone fool you about the common sense of reasoning through commands and examples to their necessary inference about the proper application in whatever law we discuss. To ridicule such things is to claim that God does not require reasoning upon His words for proper application and obedience.

Furthermore, Jesus answered a question about the proper application of the Law of Moses by referring to the statement in Genesis 2 and telling the context of Deuteronomy 24 and the proper application to those who want to be righteous instead of living in hardness of heart. Thus, Jesus used necessary inference from the sources to show proper application. That means that Jesus believed in necessary inference.

Is all law directly stated, like, “Do not divorce for every cause?” Or must we discern from all that is stated that God forbids divorce for every cause? In discerning and reasoning over the collective statements, each tested in their context, one reaches the necessary implication that we are forbidden to divorce for every cause. Here is a law derived by necessary inference from the collective data.
When Satan tempted Jesus and misused scripture, Jesus showed that there was a necessary inference to be drawn regarding the proper usage of scripture (Matthew 4). When a doctrine of non-resurrection was asked, Jesus showed that there is a necessary inference to be drawn from the statement, “I AM the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Thus, truth and righteousness were not all spelled out. Many things had to be discerned by exercising the senses upon the available evidence and then drawing the necessary inference. This is all part of the process of “testing all things, and holding fast what is good” (I Thessalonians 5:21).

This means we cannot escape the fact that God has always expected His people to reason properly. Law and truth are not always directly spelled out, and you do derive law from statements, examples, and commands that force us to necessary conclusions not directly stated. Those who say otherwise reveal an unfortunate ignorance that reason can’t overcome in them.