It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings. Proverbs 25:2
God is so good. So good in that He meets each person; right where they are. When Jesus met the religious leader Nicodemus in John 3, Jesus knew that he was talking to a well read theologian, trained in the Torah. Jesus met him with a theological deep truth; “you must be born again”. That blew Nicodemus’ theological mind! Jesus knew where Nicodemus was. But how great that when Jesus met the woman at the well in the next chapter he met her, not where Nicodemus was, but where she was. Jesus knew her entire life story, he knew that she had little knowledge of the Torah, theology or the likes. Jesus knew that this woman had scars and voids in her life as she jumped from marriage to marriage; bed to bed. He met her where she was, her world, her life with a simple question there at the well; “can I have a drink of water”. God is so good to meet each of us where we are.
To the young believer; the babe in Christ, Jesus is so quick to give revelation; like a child looking for Easter eggs. He wants that young believer to discover him; know him. So many verses in the scripture are about seeking his face, knowing him (Jeremiah 9:23,24, Philippians 3:10, Psalm 27:7). The Father wants us all to come after Him, seek Him, to know Him. To the young in Christ He reveals Himself for where they are. It is like watching a parent playing peek a boo with their child. God doesn’t want to hide from them as much as He wants to be found by them. But as we grow deeper in Christ, we need to go after the deeper things of God. In our early new birth there seems to be low hanging fruit at every turn. God is so gracious to meet us where we are. When Paul spoke to younger believers he said, "Be imitators of me". He knew they needed to see a flesh and bone example living out the ways of God. But to the more mature Paul would write; "Be imitators of God". Those believers needed to move from looking at a man, to looking straight to and for God. So look at this verse:
"It is the glory of God to conceal a matter". In other words; God doesn't need to consult with us over anything. As though God needed insight and especially from us! He can hold all matters close to his chest and doesn’t need council. That is to His glory that being an all knowing God he doesn’t need our insight and certainly not our permission on any matter. I chuckle in a painful time when Job was thinking he had it all figured out and was calling out to God for a response. God does respond:
Where were you when I laid the earths’s foundation? Tell, me if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Job 38:4,5
I am so glad that I have a God bigger than me, otherwise, what kind of God would He be? And He certainly doesn’t need my insight, but how many times do I feel like He doesn’t understand my full situation and thus I need to fill Him in?
God doesn’t need my permission, insight or opinion. But then the verse goes on to say:
“…to search out a matter is the glory of kings”.
Why would God hide matters from us? Are we not sons and daughters of God? We are no longer slaves but friends of God? Are we not co-labors with Him? Then why the concealing of matters?
How hungry are you? In your prayer request for insight on a matter, your desire to know God’s way on something; how serious are you? How much do you really want to know?
We are all familiar with Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a future and a hope”. We love that verse, put it on a tattoo and t-shirt; I love it! But have you ever ventured down to the next couple of verses afterwards? Because verse 13 will say;
You seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13
There is a huge difference between my young nephew hunting Easter eggs and my mother in law doing the Dallas Morning news crossword puzzle. One is designed for the young, the other for the mature.
How hungry are you? How bad do you want to hear from God? Would you fast? How bad do you want to know the deeper things of God? They aren’t for the babes in Christ, they are for those maturing.
I was reading an article about people who look for gold. I am sure that there are those not really sure about it, not invested, they might look at a running stream, pick up a few rocks and examine them. Maybe you are a little more hungry; you bought a dish for panning gold. You read a few articles and found where gold flecks have been located; or maybe this isn’t a hobby, you’re all in. You have researched maps and read findings, you have purchased equipment and plan on camping out or even building a house next to that stream. How hungry are you?
The truth is; there are treasures out there; insight from the hand of God, wisdom, answers; all out there.
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.
How Hungry are You?
Thoughts on Proverbs 25:2