August 6, 2025

Mining the Gold

“Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” (Jeremiah 33:3)

This famous verse of Scripture has no doubt been heard by almost every believer. On one occasion several years ago, I woke up at 3:33 AM and heard the Lord say to me, “Jeremiah 33:3.” At least, I thought I had awakened at 3:33 AM, until I woke up again at 3:33 AM, and heard the same words! When I finally did wake up, I realized I had dreamed – twice! – that I woke up at 3:33 AM, and heard the Lord say “Jeremiah 33:3.” 

The Lord wanted to “awaken” me to this verse and do so with extra emphasis, so He gave me the same dream twice. I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but upon waking, I knew immediately that God wanted me to look at Jeremiah 33:3. 

We all find comfort in the promise that if we call upon the Lord, He will answer us and show us great and mighty things. But I decided to dig a little deeper, and began by reading the verse in several translations. I was immediately intrigued by the Amplified Classic Bible:

“Call to Me, and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, fenced in and hidden, which you do not know (do not distinguish and recognize, have knowledge of and understand).”

The phrase “fenced in and hidden” fascinated me. “Mighty” is the word that motivated the Amplified translators to add this additional phrase. My first thought was, Well, which is right? “Mighty?” or “fenced in and hidden?” Out came the lexicons.

The Hebrew word is batsar.(1) It is a very fascinating word. Follow closely: the root concept is “to cut off,” including the aspect of separating or isolating something. It was often used in the context of doing so in order to protect it. This is why it was used by the Amplified translators to describe something “fenced in and hidden,” like a garden or vineyard; it was even used to describe gold, which is “cut off” from view and “hidden” by the ground. The word also took on the meaning of a city that was cut off, inaccessible, and therefore, “fortified.” The concept of mighty, therefore, is not referring to a muscular or military might, but to something hidden and inaccessible, thus, protected and “mighty.” 

The Amplified got it right. The verse is saying that God will reveal information or a revelation that has been hidden, not yet made known. He will “unhide” it. This can be seen in the fact that a different form of the word, betser,(2) is used to describe gold that was once “hidden” but has now been discovered and mined. Using this analogy, we could say that God is going to reveal the treasure of His Word, or the prophetic revelation necessary to succeed or prosper. We actually sometimes use the phrase “a wealth of information.” This information from Holy Spirit could be prophetic insight regarding the times and seasons, how to break through in a given situation, or direction for the future. Any new insight revealed by Holy Spirit would fit the description of batsar/betser. 

God is willing to reveal the understanding you need to break through and prosper. Your Counselor and Teacher, Holy Spirit, wants to release the spirit of wisdom and revelation to you (Ephesians 1:17). He wants to “uncover” truth, information, and insight for You. Uncover is actually the literal meaning of revelation. Let Him help you mine the gold. Jeremiah 15:16 says, “Thy words were FOUND, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts” (emphasis mine). 

Too often, we fail to “find” the gold, the revelation we need, because we are not diligently looking and listening. Psalm 107:9 tells us God satisfies the thirsty and the hungry, filling them with what is good. “The problem isn’t God’s refusal to speak but our refusal or inability to get quiet enough to hear. Silencing the soul is a learned art. The psalmist David spoke of this. ‘Surely I have composed and quieted my soul; like a weaned child rests against his mother’ (Psalm 131:2). When we quiet the soul, we can hear His voice in our hearts.”(3)

As King Solomon was about to begin his reign over Israel, he prayed a prayer God couldn’t resist. “So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” (1 Kings 3:9). The phrase “an understanding heart” should actually be translated “a hearing heart.” The translators struggle with the concept of a “hearing” heart, so they don’t word it this way. But the Hebrew word is shama,(4) and it means “to hear.” Solomon asked for a hearing heart to discern between good and evil, enabling him to lead God’s people appropriately.

God answered Solomon’s prayer, revealing to him treasures of wisdom, and we can read them in the book of Proverbs. Why don’t you take a little time today and ask God to reveal some treasure to you?

Pray with me:

Father, we echo the words of the Psalmist, who asked You to “open my eyes that I may behold wonderful things from Your law/word” (Psalm 119:18). There is no problem we have, no situation we face, for which the answer cannot be found in Your Word. Give us the hunger and tenacity to dig for the treasure, for You have said that if we call upon You, You would answer and show us the hidden pearls of revelation we need. 

No, these priceless gems are not lying out in the open for the casual seeker to come across them “accidentally.” You do not cast Your pearls before swine. They must be sought, treated as the priceless treasure they are. But for the hungry, You have promised to help us mine the gold and find the treasure. Give us hungry, seeking hearts, just as Solomon possessed. And we know You will respond to that hunger by opening our eyes to see hidden treasures of wisdom.

We pray for our leaders in government and in the church. We ask that You give them wisdom and revelation to lead with Your understanding and enlightenment. Give them supernatural strategies to overcome challenging problems. Give them solutions to heal our nation and spread righteousness and justice. 

And we pray for everyone joining us today. Give them the answer they need in order to overcome, to break through, to succeed. Give them heaven’s understanding and wisdom for every situation they face. All of this we ask in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

Our decree:

We declare that as we call upon the Lord, He will answer us, revealing great and mighty things we did not know. 

Click on the link below to watch the full video:

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1. James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 1219.

2. Ibid., ref. no. 1220, 1221.

3. Dutch Sheets, The Pleasure of His Company (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books), p. 143.

4. Strong’s Concordance, ref. 8085.