Isaiah 48:5-6 — I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I showed it thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them; and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them. Thou hast heard, see all this; and will not ye declare it? I have showed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them.

Some things in life are just mysteries. Actually this piece is a bit of a mystery to me. I thought I was writing about something today, but The Holy Spirit seems to have decided otherwise. It’s so mysterious I’m not even sure where this is leading! So let’s investigate together …
Isaiah 48 is all about God’s dealings with Israel. A big picture view shows that He has used suffering to purify and refine her, and to bless her especially when she has turned to Him, and that He will do so again. We can be comforted by the knowledge that the same process applies now to those who repent and turn to Him to accept Him as Lord and Savior. We will be purified, and refined, and blessed.
Verses 5 and 6 of Isaiah 48 tell of the mystery of prophecies. “In times past, I’ve told you things that I had planned, and then they happened — and now I’m going to do it again.” How does He do that? I don’t know. Of course I know God is omniscient — but that doesn’t mean I know how it works.
In modern usage a “mystery” is just something to be searched out. In Biblical times it carried the extra idea of something that had been hidden, but then was revealed. The apostle Paul added an extra layer to the notion:

Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: to God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen. (Romans 16:25-27)

In the New Testament, the notion of mystery becomes the idea of a secret that is revealed by God to His servants through the Holy Spirit. Jesus talks to His disciples about “the mystery of the kingdom of God”. To Paul, however, the “mystery” to be unfolded is God’s plan of salvation and Jesus’s place in it. Paul also uses “mystery” to refer to the future resurrection of Christians, the restoration of creation in Christ, the inclusion of Gentiles in the church and the eventual salvation of Israel, lawlessness, and the godliness of Christ.
Wow! That’s a lot of mystery! You know what I’m feeling right now? I’m feeling there’s a lot of stuff for me to know more about. Maybe, from time to time, I’ll try and unravel a mystery or two …