Patriarchs and Patterns
October 7, 2001

I would guess that most of you have seen a picture or poster like this. They were quite popular some years ago. Superficially, the part in the middle looks like a bunch of squiggly lines. But if you stand back a ways and relax your focus, it will begin to resolve into three-dimensional pictures. In this poster, for example, there are several fighter jets.

A person might well be sceptical if you tell him there are images behind the squiggles and ask him to believe it on faith. Unless he can see it for himself, and get beyond the natural tendency to focus only on what's obvious, what you say will seem like nonsense. It might be hard to convince a person to keep looking until the 3-D images pop out at him. But once a person has seen for himself, he will know something is there, and he'll be more open and persistent in the future.

I'm sharing this because this poster reminds me of the Bible. The Bible was written by numerous people over the course of centuries. Superficially, it might look like a collection of stories or myths, equivalent in some ways to the holy books of other religions. It may be difficult to get non-Christian friends to even take a good look at it! And they won't likely believe it's God's word just because you say so!

But behind the obvious, there are pictures and types and images that transcend the individual books and authors. Proverbs 25:2 says:

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter.

There is an amazing unity that underlies the whole of God's word and testifies to the fact that it is God's word, not the uninspired words of various authors and historians. Once a person sees for himself and knows something exists beyond the obvious, he is more likely to search and study further. Once a person knows there's treasure to be found, the search becomes hopeful and directed.

This is something I really appreciate about Steve's teaching. He helps us see for ourselves what the Bible contains beyond the obvious and superficial. Sometimes he traces around the images and types to help us see them ourselves. My friends, the Bible contains so much more depth than any computer-generated poster! It may have infinite depth! Matthew 7:7 says:

Seek and you will find.

God invites us to seek Him in His Word, the Holy Bible.

Even the Hebrew numbers and names in the Bible often conceal hidden truths. For example, these are the names of the patriarchs from Adam to Noah as listed in Genesis 5. Each of these names has a meaning or sounds similar to another word with a meaning. Adam means man. The meaning for Seth is replaced. Eve named him that because he replaced Abel, who was killed by Cain. Methuselah means his death shall bring it. Upon Methuselah's death, God judged the earth with the flood. At 969 years, he was the oldest of the patriarchs. You might speculate that the reason he was given so many years of life was that God was staying his hand, showing his patience and longsuffering, withholding his judgment to give people one last opportunity to repent. That's happening even today.

Here are the meanings of all the names.

• Adam (man)
• Seth (replaced)
• Enosh (mortal)
• Kenan (sorrow)
• MaHalale'el (God, the Blessed One)
• Yered (shall come down)
• Enoch (teaching)
• Methuselah (his death shall bring)
• Lamech (despairing)
• Noah (rest)

If you combine these words, you get a statement of the Gospel message:

Man replaced by mortal sorrow. God, the Blessed One, came down teaching. His death shall bring the despairing rest.

I thought that was amazing when I first saw it. It's just one small example of a treasure hidden in the Holy Word, his love letter to mankind.

Let's pray:

Father God, who art in heaven, thank you for the incredible depth and wonder of your Word. Thank you for your patience, for staying your hand of judgment to give every willing heart an opportunity to repent and accept the great gift you have provided through your Son. Give us faith during these troubled times. We pray for the leaders of this country as they make decisions that will affect many people's lives. Be with those you have made responsible for administering justice on earth. We pray for our church, that Your will will be done here. Be with our pastor and his family. We pray for this offering today as we give back but a small part of the great bounty you have given us. In Jesus' name, Amen.