Searching for Hidden Meaning

We like to look for hidden meanings, to search out the deeper nuances of scripture, even when they are not there.

I sat in a Bible class once where we read the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. A woman near the front raised her hand to ask a question. "I notice it says here that the people sat on the green grass. Does this symbolize new life?"

I chuckled at the question, then sat in disbelief as the teacher and a couple of others proceeded to discuss the meaning of the word "green" for ten minutes. Couldn't it just mean the grass was green?

Last week I sat in another Bible class where we read through the story of Samson. When we reached the story of him killing a lion, a woman asked, "Is it symbolic that he killed a lion?" Someone else piped in to suggest that it referred to Jesus in Revelation as a lion. (I wanted to throw in that it could just as well refer to Satan as the roaming lion, but I refrained.)

Sometimes I think we look so hard for some hidden, secret meaning that we miss the point. Jesus was going to perform a miracle. The people had to sit somewhere. Isn't it better to sit on the grass than the dirt? But the point is that Jesus is Jehovah Jirah, the Lord who provides.

And Samson was strong. (Not to mention that the lion dying set up the story for Samson to defile his parents, anger the Philistines, and start dishing out God's wrath against them.)

So while it's interesting and often appropriate to search the scriptures for depth and truth, sometimes its might just mean what it says.