The 'secret things' in Deuteronomy 29 are the hidden matters that belong only to the LORD our God.
Deuteronomy 29:29 contrasts these secret things with the things that are revealed, which belong to God's people so they can obey His law. Les Feldick stresses that God has the sovereign right to keep truth hidden and to reveal it when He chooses.
Deuteronomy 29:29 — This is the exact passage that distinguishes the 'secret things' that belong to the LORD from the revealed things that belong to His people to obey.
In Deuteronomy 29:29, Moses tells Israel: "The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law." The verse does not catalogue what those secret things are; it simply states that they belong to the LORD. What God has chosen to reveal, however, belongs to His people, and the intended result is that they do all the words of this law.
Les returns to Deuteronomy 29:29 throughout his teaching on God's secrets. He points out that the verse shows God has the prerogative to keep something hidden until He is ready to reveal it, and that He does not have to reveal every truth at once. Les says this is foundational to understanding progressive revelation and especially Paul's use of the word mystery.
Les uses Deuteronomy 29:29 as a launching point for Paul's use of the word mystery. He says the verse shows God in His sovereignty has every right and reason to keep things secret as long as He wants, but once He reveals a secret, He expects people to believe it by faith. Les says this is how to understand what Paul is doing when he says, "I am revealing a secret."
According to Les, God keeps things secret because He is sovereign and has the right and ability to hide them. He does not have to reveal anything until He is ready. Les points to Jesus telling the eleven that it was not for them to know the exact day and hour, even though God knows the hour. The same principle appears in Deuteronomy 29:29 — the secret things belong to the LORD our God.
Les says a secret, once revealed, is no longer a secret — everyone knows it. He stresses that God expects mankind to believe what He reveals and to act on it. For Israel, that meant doing the words of the Law; for believers today, it means responding to the revealed truth when God, in His sovereign grace, releases it.
God's Hidden Purposes
Les explains that God knows the exact day and hour of prophetic events, and Jesus could honestly tell the eleven that it was not for them to know; God is the everlasting God who can also hide things.
God's Prerogative to Keep Secrets
Les says Deuteronomy 29:29 is one of the foundational verses showing that God has the prerogative to keep things secret and reveal them when He is ready.
Progressive Revelation and Sovereign Grace
Les applies the Deuteronomy 29:29 principle to believers today, saying God keeps things secret until in sovereign grace He reveals them — and this is how the Pauline doctrine was kept secret.
A Revealed Secret Is No Longer a Secret
Les says a secret that has been revealed is no longer a secret; until it is revealed it remains hidden, and God has the right and ability to keep it secret.
God's Sovereignty over His Purposes
Les references Deuteronomy 29:29 to show God's sovereign right to hide things — even while God planned to use Israel to reach the Gentiles at the appropriate time.
God the Sovereign Creator
Les uses Deuteronomy 29:29 to show that secret things belong to the Lord because He is the sovereign Creator of everything.
Faith Response to Revelation
Les says once God reveals a secret, He expects mankind to believe it by faith — this is what Paul means when he speaks as one revealing a secret.
Responsibility for Revealed Truth
Les notes Moses spoke to Israel, but the principle applies in any era: when God reveals a secret, those to whom He reveals it are responsible to believe it and do it.
Deuteronomy 29:29: The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
This verse is the basis for Les's explanation of the 'secret things' — what belongs to God and what He has revealed to His people.
Genesis 21:33: And Abraham planted a grove in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.
Les cites this verse to show that 'the everlasting God' in Hebrew (olam) has a connection to God's ability to hide things.
The Bible does not list them; the verse simply says they belong to the LORD our God. Les Feldick uses the verse to show that God sovereignly keeps certain truths hidden until He chooses to reveal them.
Moses spoke directly to Israel, but Les says the principle is not limited to Israel — whenever God reveals something to people in any era, they are responsible to believe it and follow it.
Les says the verse is the starting point for understanding Paul's use of the word mystery: God has the right to keep secrets, and Paul is revealing what God kept hidden until the right time.
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