Introduction  

1.  When God has not spoken on a matter, what are we to do?  How are we to regard the silence of the Word of God?  It often seems that many religious people are more concerned about what God has not said rather than being intent on learning and doing what is written in the bible. In an effort to seek justification for some idea, we often hear people say, "Well, the bible does not say not to do it!"

2. To understand the bible, we need to know how to deal with what is not said.  The purpose of this lesson is to study how we should consider or treat the silence of the Scriptures.

I. THE BIBLE PLACES MUCH EMPHASIS ON WHAT GOD SAYS!

A. The expression, "Thus saith the Lord" emphasizes the authoritative pronouncements of God. See Jeremiah 6:16; Amos 1:3,6,9,11,13, etc.

B. Several Old Testament prophets introduced their books by saying, "The Word of Jehovah which came to ..." (Hosea 1:1; Joel 1:1; Micah 1:1).

C. The New Testament emphasizes that God has spoken through Christ (Heb.1:1) and wise people hear what God has spoken through Christ (Mt.7:24; Acts 3:22,23).

D. What God has said is all that we need (2 Tim.3:17; 2 Pet.1:3) and we should not be curious to see "what Jehovah will speak unto me more" Numbers 23:19.

 II. GOD EXPECTED ISRAEL TO RESPECT HIS SILENCE WHILE PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION TO WHAT HE SAID.

A. Read Deuteronomy 29:29.

1. Secret things--These are matters God has chosen not to make known; they belong to God; man is not to be concerned with these matters.

2.  Things that are revealed--These things God has made known to us in His Word and are for our use.  The following is a quotation from M.C. Kurfees in The Need of Continued Emphasis on the Restoration of the Ancient Order, 1929, pp.36,37.

The Hebrew term for "reveal" in this passage means "to make naked, to uncover, disclose," and it is correctly rendered by the term "reveal."  The latter term is from the Latin velum, meaning a "covering," "curtain," or "veil," and with the prefix "re" denotes uncovering or taking off the veil; that is, God uncovers in His word certain things which would otherwise be unknown to man, and it is these "uncovered" or "revealed things alone which "belong to" man, and which, therefore, he is to preach or teach.

B. Read Numbers 9:1-14.

1. God's law was that the Passover must be observed on the 14th day of the first month,(vs.2,3; cf.Ex.12:1-6).

2. Because of uncleanness, certain men could not observe the Passover at the appointed time. They asked Moses what to do.

3. Moses respected God's silence.  He would do nothing until God revealed what to do, vs.8. The secret things belonged to God and Moses knew it. Moses lived by what God had revealed.

C. "Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that through patience and through comfort of the scriptures we might have hope," (Rom.15:5). Indeed, there is a lesson for us to learn from Deut. 29 and Num. 9--we learn to respect the silence of God. We are to be busy doing what God has revealed to us.  To do that in service to God which God has not revealed is to become involved in presumptuous sin (Psa.19:13), speculation, and become a contributor to division.

III. THE PRINCIPLE OF RESPECTING GOD'S SILENCE IS ALSO FOUND IN THE NEW TESTAMENT, GOD'S LAW FOR ALL PEOPLE TODAY.

A. Read Hebrews 7:4.  Moses "spake nothing" concerning priests being chosen from the tribe of Judah.  Jesus was of the tribe of Judah. He could not, therefore, be a priest on earth. The priesthood has been changed and Jesus is a priest after the order of Melchizedek. The change in priesthood necessitated a change in the law.  The writer of Hebrews thus makes an argument based on the silence of the scriptures.

B. Read 2 Timothy 3:16,17. The Word of God furnishes the man of God "completely unto every good work." Anything not mentioned in the scriptures cannot be a good work, as the Lord defines good works.  If the scriptures are silent as to a certain work, then it is not, scripturally a good work. It is a secret thing which belongs to God and not to us, a seen earlier from Deuteronomy 29:29.

C. Read 1 Peter 4:11. Since we are told to speak as the oracles (utterances) of God, it would follow that we ought to do no speaking unless God has spoken. We should not try to enunciate what God has not said; We are to speak as God has spoken.  The only sure way we can do this is to give book, chapter, and verse as we "preach the word" (2 Tim.4:2). When God is silent we are to be silent! If there is no utterance from God, there should be no utterance from man.

Now see the chart that follows for a practical application of the principles that have thus far been mentioned.

  Today, we must ask for a "thus saith the Lord" by command, approved apostolic example or a necessary inference.  This is the only way to religious unity. It is unscriptural for churches to plan activities on the basis of the silence of the scriptures. God has revealed what he wants us to know and to do. Let us study and do His will.

  Martin Luther said that anything could be retained in worship, etc., which was not specifically forbidden.  He did not respect the silence of God to the same extent that he respected what God said.  Many religious people have imitated this view and built their programs of work around this unscriptural philosophy.  The result is religious division.