“The secret things belong to the Lord, our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”
– Deuteronomy 29:29
Deuteronomy 29:29 is an awesome verse. I just think about what this verse is saying, because this is really two amazing, awesome, mind-blowing truths. One, the secret things belong to the Lord, our God. And two, the things that are revealed, belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. So get the picture, start with the second. God has revealed His law, his word to us, to his people. And this is such a gift.
The fact that we have the Bible, that we have the word of God, that God has not left you and me alone in this world, to figure things out on our own. This broken, confused world, God has given us his word. God has revealed himself to us, his attributes, his character, his ways, his plans, his purposes, his promises, all that we have in his word, the history of how he’s worked among his people, the promises that we can bank our lives on today and bank our lives on forever. The grass withers, the flower fades, the word of God stands forever. This word revealed to us. We have his word, we and our children forever have this word, revealed to us by God. So the gift of God’s word, that’s awesome, breathtaking, mind-blowing.
We Are Thankful For God’s Word
And then the very first part of this verse says, “The secret things belong to the Lord, our God.” In other words, there are things that God has not revealed to us. There are mysteries, there is knowledge that is known only to God. And this is also breathtaking, awesome, mind-blowing. Our minds are so small compared to the omniscient, all-knowing, mysterious in many ways, God of the universe.
Not in every way, because he’s revealed himself clearly to us. We clearly see Romans 1, who God is in the creation, and all the more clearly, Psalm 19 in his word. And yet there are so many things we don’t know that only God knows. And so we pray, God, we praise you for your revelation to us. God, we praise you for your word. I praise you for loving us enough to speak to us, help us to meditate on your word day in and day out, morning and evening, help us to meditate on your word. We need your word, God.
Deuteronomy 29:29 Praises God For The Strength His Word Gives
I praise you for how your word has given strength to me today in ways I really needed it, and praise you for your revelation to me and to my children, to us and our children forever. Your word that will last forever. And at the same time, God, we glorify and praise your name for all the mysteries and all the knowledge that belong to you alone. Oh God, your ways are higher than our ways, your thoughts are higher than our thoughts, your glory is beyond our comprehension. So we praise you for the revealed things in your word, and we praise you for the secret things that belong to you, the Lord, our God.
Deuteronomy 29:29 Prays For The Gotabari Of Russia
And God, as we pray so often on this podcast, and I hope even when we don’t pray together, brothers and sisters are praying just daily for people who don’t have your revealed word yet, for people unreached by your word. We pray today for the Gotabari people in Russia. None of them, as far as we know, none of them having your word in their hearts. God, we pray that would change for the Gotabari people of Russia. And for thousands of other people groups like them, that you would use us to make your word known among them. That which you have revealed might belong to them and their children forever. In Jesus’ name, we pray to you. Oh God, the one who has revealed your word to us and the one to whom belong the secret things. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
