One day at a potluck after church, an acquaintance was excitedly describing a book that he had read which revealed the secret number code of the Bible.  He enthusiastically expounded on how the Hebrew of the Old Testament had hidden messages if you used numbers to decode it.  To my ears, it sounded like he was speaking in his own secret code, and I could not figure out what he was talking about.  The Bible that I read did not need hidden numeric codes; it had enough depth of meaning for a person to spend a lifetime delving into its pages without trying to add mystical codes into the mix.

Are there mysterious messages written in code in the Bible?  Not in the way my acquaintance thought, but for many people, the scriptures themselves seem full of hidden meanings that they are helpless to decipher.  They puzzle over metaphors and symbols that have no meaning in modern society.  In addition, they muddle through strange names and then become even more confused when the writers of the Bible throw in other names for the same person or place.  Is it Jerusalem or Zion, Israel or Ephraim, Zerubbabel the governor or Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah?  Then the situation becomes more complicated when the reader realizes that names are more than simple identifying labels.  They represent a person’s character or identity and can even be a message to others.  God’s names might be the most confusing of all as He has more different names than anyone else in the Bible.  For example, Jesus is a form of the name Joshua or Yeshua and means “God saves” or “to deliver”.  His name identified His mission.  Isaiah says that Jesus’ name is Immanuel, which means “God with us”.  Again, the name is the key to the mission.  When do Biblical names have significant meaning and when can we ignore them?  That is a complex question that I cannot always answer, but it is worth consideration.  Finally, even simple stories can be puzzling when we see the lessons that later prophets drew from the stories and realize that there was more happening than the simple actions that we thought we understood.  How do we decode all these hidden meanings and indecipherable symbols?

First of all, we must become familiar with the text itself.  If you do not know the simple stories, you will be confused by later references to the events.  How can you understand the reference in Psalm 77:19 “Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen” if you have never read about the parting of the Red Sea?  Paul will sound confusing in 2 Corinthians 3:13-14 “not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end.  But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away” if you have never read about Moses’ veil in Exodus 34.  As you read more and more of the Bible, you will become familiar with common symbols found throughout the scriptures, such as trees, eagles, women, and vineyards.  The first time you try to decipher the meaning of a metaphor or symbol, it may seem strange, but after you have read it again in multiple locations, the meaning will seem more natural to you.

Secondly, assume that details in the Bible have meaning.  Ask yourself why a specific detail is included in the passage.  For example, Genesis 4:19 tells us that Lamech took two wives.  Because polygamy was common later on, it would be easy to pass over this detail, but this is the first time it is mentioned.  Why?  Because this is the first case of polygamy.  Jesus told us that the intent of God was always that a marriage was between one man and one woman, so the first time someone broke that bond, it is mentioned.  Another example is in Daniel 5:3, where King Belteshazzar is drinking out of golden vessels from the Jewish temple.  Why?  You need to connect the dots with other details in previous chapters.  The dream statue of Daniel 2 forecast the end of Babylon.  The golden statue in Daniel 3 was an attempt to counteract the Jewish God’s prediction.  It failed.  In Daniel 5, Babylon is under siege from Medo-Persia.  The king is attempting to show that the Jewish God was wrong, and Babylon would not be conquered.  That is the significance of the detail of drinking from the temple vessels and praising idols.  King Belteshazzar was fighting against the God of heaven.  He lost.  A third example is a strange story about lions attacking people in 2 Kings 17.  It would be easy to overlook this story, but it is the key to understanding why the Jewish leaders returning from exile would not let the Samaritans help rebuild the temple and the later animosity against the Samaritans in the New Testament.  In reality, every passage of the Bible has details that can be the key to opening the mysteries of the scriptures, so it is important to pay attention to them.

Third, always have the code breaker with you.  What do I mean?  During World War II, the Germans had a code machine that made it almost impossible to break their codes until another machine was developed by the allies that could decipher the codes.  Then the Allies were able to understand the German’s secret messages.  On the other hand, the United States had a code that the Japanese could never break because it was a language, not a mathematical code.  Navajo Indians easily communicated in their language over the radio, but no one else could understand.  The only way to break that code would have been to have one of the radio operators translate.  More than two thousand years ago, God became a man in order to translate the code of heaven for us sinful humans.  Jesus is our key to understanding the mysteries of the Bible.  It is only when the stories of the Bible are viewed through the lens of Jesus’ incarnation, death for our sins, and resurrection to be our high priest that we can begin to plumb the depths of meaning found in seemingly simple stories.  Jesus became our code breaker for the scriptures by acting out their true meaning, and  He sent us a Helper in the Holy Spirit so that we could understand even more clearly.  The Holy Spirit is our radio operator who can translate the significance of the scriptures into our own lives.  Everything in the scriptures should be viewed through the lens of Jesus, and this is why the Spirit’s job is to testify of Jesus (John 15:26).

Fourth, read the Bible as a cohesive message inspired by God.  Too often, people read each book as if it has little relationship with the other books of the Bible.  However, those who have studied the Bible reverently and deeply have been amazed at the unified message and interconnected ideas that bind the whole book together as an integrated whole.  Expect to find connections and explanations in other parts of the Bible.  In short, let the Bible interpret itself.  Yes, it is good to consult other sources, such as commentaries and pastors and archaeological information, but we must always be aware that they are fallible and may lead us in the wrong direction.  Choose your outside sources carefully because there is a lot of misinformation and guesses that have been presented as facts in books and on websites.  The Bible does not contradict itself, but outside sources will.

The Bible does not have mystical mathematical codes under the seemingly innocent words on its pages.  However, to a mind unrenewed by the love of Jesus, the words of the Bible can be unfathomable.  In contrast, when viewed through an attitude of love and faith, the scriptures come alive and reveal themselves to our hearts and minds.  Do not imagine that you will understand all of the mysteries of the scriptures in a day, a year, or even ten years.  The truths found in the Bible are simple enough that a child can understand while being so deep that a lifetime of study will not plumb their depths.  Each nugget of meaning that you dig out is pure gold in your life, so the effort to understand and decipher the word of God is worth all of the effort you put into comprehending its messages.  Start with a surface understanding, but keep digging, and you will find that the mysteries of yesterday have become the foundations of faith and love for God that carry you through life’s most difficult situations.