In so doing the author declares that the Old Testament is a revelation from God. Through Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and the prophets He has spoken to the fathers in time past. By dreams, visions, signs, in spoken voice, and in “divers manners” God has revealed His will to men. Using instruments from men to mules, He has unveiled Himself. But always His revelation was through imperfect instruments. Of necessity this revelation was fragmentary and incomplete. "At sun dry times” is more aptly translated “in many portions:” Thus we are re minded of the progressive nature of God’s revelation. This is not to say that God’s ability to reveal Himself was limited. Rather it refers to man’s inability to receive the revelation. The ocean is not limited by the teacup in man’s hand; but man’s ability to re ceive it is so limited. God could of necessity reveal Himself only as man was enabled to comprehend it. We find more of God in John than in Genesis, but the God of the one is the God of the other. The difference is in man. In the latter, man is in the kindergarten; in the former, he is in graduate school. To say that God’s progressive revelation is due to His weakness rather than to that of man would be no more foolish than the child who on promotion day said to his teacher, “My! I wish you knew enough to teach me in the second grade!” Obviously, then, while the Old Tes tament Scriptures are the revelation of God, ’they are not His final word to man. The imperfection of His media and the consequently fragmen tary character of His message imply that there is more. It is this truth that the author avows in the opening statement of the epistle. 3. The Human-divine Element (1:2-14) Since revelation is divine in source and human in means, it is to be ex pected that the perfect revelation would be through One who was both human and divine. The author moves naturally to this truth as He declares 34
interplay of His personality with the personality of man could He demon strate His love and mercy. The end result of the revelation of God is His salvation worked out in man — full, complete, and purposeful salvation. 2. The Human Element (1:1b) We are further reminded that while revelation is divine, its object and means “in times past" are human. FOOTSTEPS FOLLOWED 'Twas a sheep not a lamb that strayed away, In the parable Jesus told— A_ grown up sheep that had gone astray From the ninety and nine in the fold. Out in the meadows, out in the cold. 'Twas a sheep the good shepherd sought, And back in the flock, safe in the fold, 'Twas a sheep the good shepherd brought. And why for the sheep should we earnestly long? And as earnestly hope and pray? Because there is danger if they go wrong They will lead the young iambs astray. For the lambs will follow the sheep, you know Wherever the sheep will stray; If the sheep go wrong, it will not be long Till the lambs are as wrong as they. And so with the sheep we earnestly plead, For the sake of the lambs today, If the lambs are lost, what a terrible cost Some sheep will have to pay. God revealed Himself to man (“fa thers”) through man (“prophets”). While He does not specifically say it, we are reminded that “God . . . spake” as “holy men of God . . . were moved (picked up and borne along) by the Holy Ghost” (II Peter 1:21). But the emphasis here is upon the human ele ment in revelation.
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