THE LANGUAGE OF RIDDLES
When God came down and had a little chat with Miriam, Aaron and Moses, God said something very interesting: He said that when He speaks through his prophets, he does so through dreams and visions, which are filled with riddles. Numbers 12:6-8
Since the Bible is filled with prophetic riddles, you had best conclude that just because you can read what God wrote, does not mean you can understand what He says! God speaks in riddles for his own purposes, and you would be wise to not let your smugness get the best of you, by assuming you have been clever enough to decipher his hidden codes. The Bible warns of a group of people in the church who are "ever hearing, but never understanding," Mark 4:12 so do not be quick to conclude that you understand God's words just becuase you spend a lot of time reading, writing and hearing them. That's not smart!
If you want to prepare yourself to understand God's revelation knowledge, which is often couched in His language of riddles, then let me suggest two books that should prove useful in retraining your mind: the first is A Whack on the Side of the Head, by Roger Von Oech (Warner Books 1983) and It Won't Fly If You Don't Try, by Richard Farmer (Multnomah 1992).
Both of these books teach you to think creatively, and show you how to take fresh approaches to old problems. It is this kind of fresh thinking that will prepare your scholarly mind to receive God's very unscholarly revelations!
