The Prophet and the Canyon: What the Old Testament Prophets Could Not See

I once saw a powerful drawing that has stayed with me for many years.

It showed an Old Testament prophet standing on the edge of a vast, deep canyon. He was staring intently across to the other side — much like a person standing at the rim of the Grand Canyon, looking at the breathtaking view opposite him.

On that far side, the prophet saw clearly the glorious scene God had revealed to him in prophecy: the Messiah reigning in Jerusalem, Israel fully restored as a nation, the earth filled with peace and righteousness, and the Kingdom age in all its splendor.

What the prophet could not see was the massive canyon a deep chasm that separated where he stood from the glorious future he was beholding.

That hidden canyon represents the Mystery — this present Age of Grace, the Church which is the Body of Christ. It was a truth that God kept secret from the Old Testament prophets.

The prophets saw Israel’s suffering and judgment… and then their eyes jumped straight across to Israel’s future glory in the Kingdom. They never saw the “canyon” of this present dispensation of grace that would come in between.

This simple drawing beautifully illustrates one of the most important principles in rightly dividing the Word of Truth: the difference between prophecy and the mystery.

In the coming posts in this series, we will look at:

• Why God hid this mystery
• What the prophets actually saw (and what they didn’t)
• How the Apostle Paul was given the revelation of this mystery
• What all of this means for us today

• First Coming
  • Isaiah 53
• Second Coming
  • Zechariah 14
• Millennium
  • Isaiah 11

in the valley:

• Ephesians 3:2–9
• Colossians 1:26

 

What If Hosea 5:15 Looks Beyond Assyria?

Bible prophecy often has a near fulfillment and a future fulfillment. Sometimes a prophet speaks to events in his own generation, yet his words seem to reach far beyond his own day.

Hosea 5 is one of those chapters that makes me stop and ask, What if?

The historical setting is clear. Ephraim turns to Assyria instead of turning to the Lord.

"Then went Ephraim to the Assyrian..." (Hosea 5:13)

History records that Assyria became the very instrument God used to judge the Northern Kingdom.

But then we read these remarkable words:

"I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early." (Hosea 5:15)

That little word "till" catches my attention.

Could Hosea be describing more than the Assyrian captivity? Could this verse also cast its shadow forward to a future day when Israel, after a time of great affliction, finally turns back to the Lord?

The next chapter begins with an invitation:

"Come, and let us return unto the LORD..." (Hosea 6:1)

Is that simply the prophet's call to his own generation? Or is it also a glimpse of Israel's future national repentance?

Other passages come to mind.

Jesus said:

"Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." (Matthew 23:39)

Paul wrote that "all Israel shall be saved" (Romans 11:26), and Zechariah spoke of a day when Israel would look upon the One whom they pierced (Zechariah 12:10).

I'm not writing this to be dogmatic. Rather, I'm inviting you to read Hosea again with these passages in mind.

What if Hosea 5 has both a historical fulfillment in Assyria and a prophetic horizon that reaches all the way to Israel's future restoration?

Sometimes the prophets speak like someone looking at distant mountain peaks. The nearer mountain is easy to identify. Beyond it, another peak rises on the horizon. From the prophet's viewpoint they appear close together, though centuries may separate them.

As you read Hosea, ask yourself: Is chapter 5 describing only the events of the eighth century B.C., or is the Spirit also pointing us toward a future day when Israel will once again seek the face of her Messiah?

I encourage you to search the Scriptures like the Bereans and see where the text leads.

Jerusalem Will Never Be The Same

 

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The Weaver's Tapestry

One of the most beautiful illustrations I have heard for Romans 8:28 is that of a tapestry.

It is only an illustration—not a doctrine—but it helps us picture something that Paul teaches.

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

When most people admire a tapestry, they see the finished side.

The colors blend together.

The pattern is beautiful.

Every thread seems to be exactly where it belongs.

But turn the tapestry around.

The back tells a different story.

Loose threads.

Knots.

Colors crossing in every direction.

There appears to be no order at all.

Suppose, however, that you were not merely looking at the back of the tapestry.

Suppose you were part of it.

You feel the needle pierce the fabric.

The thread is pulled tight.

The needle disappears only to emerge somewhere else.

You cannot see what the Weaver sees.

All you know is that it hurts.

Many of us have experienced seasons like that.

A job is lost.

A loved one dies.

A relationship is broken.

A dream fades away.

We ask the same question:

"What is God doing?"

The truth is that we usually see only the back side of God's work.

Joseph certainly did.

From the pit...

...to slavery...

...to prison...

...there was little that appeared to make sense.

Yet years later Joseph could say:

"Ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good."

His brothers saw betrayal.

Joseph eventually saw the finished pattern.

The disciples stood at the cross believing everything had come to an end.

From their viewpoint, the tapestry appeared ruined.

Three days later they discovered that what looked like defeat had become the greatest victory in history.

Romans 8:28 does not say that all things are good.

Some things are unquestionably painful.

Some are the result of sin.

Some are the result of living in a fallen world.

But it does say that God is able to work all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

The tapestry reminds us that we are not the weaver.

We do not see the completed design.

We see only today's thread.

Today's stitch.

Today's pain.

Faith trusts the Weaver even when it cannot yet see the picture.

One day, perhaps in this life or perhaps in the next, we may finally understand why certain threads crossed our path.

Until then we walk by faith, not by sight.

The back of the tapestry may look confusing.

But the Weaver has never lost sight of the pattern.

The Past Is a Teacher, Not a Dwelling Place

 One of the great values of Scripture is that it constantly looks backward.

The prophets looked back.

The apostles looked back.

Stephen looked back.

Even the Psalms repeatedly recount God's dealings with Israel.

Why?

Because the past is a great teacher.

In Acts 7, Stephen reviewed the history of Abraham, Joseph, Moses, and the nation of Israel. He was not merely teaching history. He was showing his listeners how God had been working throughout their history and how they were repeating many of the same mistakes as their fathers.

The prophets often did the same thing.

They reminded Israel of the Exodus, the wilderness, the covenant, and God's faithfulness. The purpose was not to dwell on the past but to learn from it.

Paul also looked back.

In Philippians 3, he recalled his former life as a Pharisee. In 1 Corinthians 10, he pointed believers back to Israel's wilderness experience and wrote:

"Now these things were our examples..."

The Bible repeatedly teaches us to remember.

But it never tells us to live there.

Paul wrote:

"Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."
(Philippians 3:13-14)

Paul did not suffer from spiritual amnesia. He remembered his past very well. He remembered persecuting the church. He remembered God's grace. He remembered the lessons he had learned.

But he refused to make the past his permanent residence.

There is a difference between remembering and dwelling.

Many people become trapped in yesterday.

Some dwell on past failures.

Others dwell on past successes.

Some live with regret:

"I wish I had..."

Others live with nostalgia:

"I wish things were like they used to be."

Yet neither regret nor nostalgia can change the present.

God often asks a different question:

"What remains?"

Jesus told the church at Sardis:

"Strengthen the things which remain."

The focus was not on what had been lost. The focus was on what was still there and what God could still use.

As we grow older, it becomes easy to look backward. There are opportunities we missed, mistakes we made, and seasons of life we cannot revisit.

But God has never called us to build a house in yesterday.

The past can teach us.

The past can warn us.

The past can encourage us.

The past can remind us of God's faithfulness.

But the past was never meant to be our dwelling place.

Learn from it.

Thank God for it.

Then press forward.

The past is a teacher, not a dwelling place.

The God Who Counts the Stars

 One of the most amazing contrasts in Scripture is found in Psalm 147.

The psalmist writes:

"The LORD doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.

He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.

He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names."

— Psalm 147:2-4

Think about that for a moment.

The God who counts the stars is the same God who heals broken hearts.

If we were inventing a religion, we might assume that a God great enough to govern the universe would be too busy to concern Himself with the struggles of ordinary people.

The psalmist says otherwise.

The One who knows every star by name also knows every wound, every tear, and every burden carried by His people.

The same hand that placed the stars in the heavens binds up the brokenhearted.

As Christians, it is difficult to read these verses without thinking of Jesus Christ.

The Creator entered His creation.

The One who called the stars by name was born in a manger.

The One who upholds all things by His power was rejected by His own people.

The One who gathers the outcasts became an outcast Himself.

Hebrews reminds us that Christ suffered "without the gate." He was crucified outside the city, rejected by the religious leaders of His day. Yet through His rejection He opened the door for sinners to be gathered to God.

The God who gathers outcasts became the rejected One.

The God who heals broken hearts endured a broken heart.

The God who numbers the stars allowed Himself to be numbered among transgressors.

What a Savior.

Psalm 147 reminds us that God's greatness and God's compassion are not opposites. They are joined together perfectly in Him.

Because His understanding is infinite, no problem is too difficult for Him.

Because His love is infinite, no wounded heart is too small for Him.

The next time you look up at the night sky, remember this:

The God who knows every star by name knows your name as well.

And He has not forgotten you.