◄ Proverbs 25:2 ►
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter and the glory of kings to search it out.
Study Bible
It is the glory of God
The Hebrew word for "glory" here is "kavod," which signifies weightiness, honor, or splendor. In the context of God, it reflects His majestic and incomprehensible nature. God's glory is often associated with His divine attributes and actions that are beyond human understanding. The phrase suggests that God's greatness is demonstrated in His ability to conceal, indicating His sovereignty and the vastness of His wisdom. This concealment is not to withhold from humanity but to invite us into a deeper relationship with Him, where seeking and discovering His truths becomes a form of worship.

to conceal a matter
The Hebrew root for "conceal" is "sathar," meaning to hide or keep secret. This does not imply deception but rather the divine mystery inherent in God's creation and plans. Throughout scripture, God reveals Himself progressively, and some aspects of His will and nature remain hidden, inviting believers to trust in His omniscience. The "matter" or "dabar" in Hebrew can refer to a word, thing, or affair, suggesting that God's wisdom encompasses all aspects of life and the universe. This concealment challenges believers to seek understanding and wisdom through prayer, study, and reflection.

and the glory of kings
The term "kings" refers to those in positions of authority and leadership. In ancient Israel, kings were seen as God's representatives on earth, tasked with upholding justice and righteousness. The "glory" of kings, or their honor and duty, is found in their pursuit of wisdom and understanding. This pursuit reflects their responsibility to govern wisely and justly, aligning their rule with God's divine order. The parallelism in this verse highlights the noble role of leaders in seeking out truth and knowledge, mirroring God's own nature.

to search it out
The Hebrew word "chaqar" means to search, investigate, or explore diligently. This phrase emphasizes the active role of leaders in seeking wisdom and understanding. It suggests a thorough and intentional pursuit of knowledge, akin to a treasure hunt. In a broader sense, it encourages all believers to engage in the pursuit of divine wisdom, reflecting the biblical principle that wisdom is more precious than gold or silver. This diligent search is a reflection of a heart aligned with God's purposes, seeking to uncover the mysteries of His creation and His will for humanity.

Persons / Places / Events
1. God
The supreme being, creator, and ruler of the universe, whose glory is revealed in His wisdom and the mysteries He conceals.

2. Kings
Earthly rulers who are tasked with governance and justice, reflecting God's wisdom by seeking out truth and understanding.

3. Solomon
Traditionally attributed as the author of Proverbs, known for his wisdom and role as a king of Israel.

4. Israel
The nation to whom the Proverbs were originally given, representing God's chosen people and their leaders.

5. The Court of Kings
The setting where matters of state and justice are deliberated, symbolizing the pursuit of wisdom and truth.
Teaching Points
The Glory of Divine Mystery
God's wisdom is often beyond human comprehension, and His glory is revealed in the mysteries He conceals. This should lead us to a posture of humility and reverence.

The Pursuit of Wisdom
Just as kings are called to search out matters, believers are encouraged to seek wisdom and understanding through prayer, study, and reflection on God's Word.

The Role of Leaders
Leaders, like kings, have a responsibility to seek truth and justice, reflecting God's character in their governance and decision-making.

Balancing Mystery and Revelation
While some things are hidden, God has revealed enough for us to live faithfully. We should focus on what is revealed and trust God with the mysteries.

Encouragement to Seek
Believers are invited to actively seek knowledge and understanding, trusting that God will guide and reveal what is necessary for our growth and service.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does understanding the glory of God in concealing matters affect your view of unanswered questions or mysteries in your life?

2. In what ways can you, like a king, actively seek out wisdom and understanding in your daily decisions?

3. How does the balance between divine mystery and human responsibility challenge or encourage your faith journey?

4. Reflect on a time when seeking wisdom led to a deeper understanding of God's will. How did this experience impact your relationship with Him?

5. How can you apply the principle of seeking wisdom in your role as a leader, whether in your family, workplace, or community?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Deuteronomy 29:29
This verse speaks about the secret things belonging to God, while revealed things are for us to follow, highlighting the balance between divine mystery and human responsibility.

1 Kings 3:9-12
Solomon's request for wisdom to govern his people connects to the idea of kings seeking out matters, as he desired discernment to lead effectively.

Romans 11:33
Paul marvels at the depth of God's wisdom and knowledge, echoing the theme of divine mystery and human pursuit of understanding.

Daniel 2:22
Daniel acknowledges God as the revealer of deep and hidden things, aligning with the concept of God concealing matters.

James 1:5
Encourages believers to seek wisdom from God, who gives generously, paralleling the pursuit of understanding by kings.
Sermons
God Glorified by MysteryThomas G. Selby.Proverbs 25:2
God's Glory in ConcealingW. Clarkson Proverbs 25:2
God's Glory in Hiding SinC.H. Spurgeon Proverbs 25:2
Man's Knowledge Suited to His CircumstancesH. G. Salter.Proverbs 25:2
The Concealed Processes of ProvidenceW. Arnot, D.D.Proverbs 25:2
The Glory of God and the Honour of KingsH. J. Bevis.Proverbs 25:2
The Glory of God in ConcealingRobert Hall, M.A.Proverbs 25:2
Kings: Their Attributes and DutiesE. Johnson Proverbs 25:2-5
People
Hezekiah, Solomon
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Conceal, Glory, Hide, Honor, Honour, Kings, Matter, Search, Searched, Secret
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Proverbs 25:2

     1145   God, transcendent
     4155   divination
     5812   concealment

Library
An Unwalled City
'He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.'--PROVERBS xxv. 28. The text gives us a picture of a state of society when an unwalled city is no place for men to dwell in. In the Europe of today there are still fortified places, but for the most part, battlements are turned into promenades; the gateways are gateless; the sweet flowers blooming where armed feet used to tread; and men live securely without bolts and bars. But their spirits cannot yet …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

God's Glory in Hiding Sin
A sermon (No. 2838) intended for reading on Lord's Day, July 5th 1903, delivered by C. H. Spurgeon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, on Lord's Day evening, July 15th, 1877. "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter."--Proverbs 25:2. The translation of our text, if it had been more literal, would have run thus, "It is the glory of God to cover a matter, but the honor of kings is to search out a matter." For the sake of variety in language …
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

Good News
A sermon (No. 2866) delivered on Thursday Evening, January 6th, 1876, by C.H. Spurgeon at The Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington. "As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country."--Proverbs 25:25. This is a text for summertime rather than for a winter's evening. It is only on one of our hottest summer days that we could fully appreciate the illustration here employed; we need to be parched with thirst to be able to feel the value of cold waters to quench our thirst. At the same …
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

That a Man Should not be a Curious Searcher of the Sacrament, but a Humble Imitator of Christ, Submitting his Sense to Holy Faith
The Voice of the Beloved Thou must take heed of curious and useless searching into this most profound Sacrament, if thou wilt not be plunged into the abyss of doubt. He that is a searcher of Majesty shall be oppressed by the glory thereof.(1) God is able to do more than man can understand. A pious and humble search after truth is to be allowed, when it is always ready to be taught, and striving to walk after the wholesome opinions of the fathers. 2. Blessed is the simplicity which leaveth alone …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

Epistle xxxix. To Eulogius, Patriarch of Alexandria.
To Eulogius, Patriarch of Alexandria. Gregory to Eulogius, &c. As cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country (Prov. xxv. 25). But what can be good news to me, so far as concerns the behoof of holy Church, but to hear of the health and safety of your to me most sweet Holiness, who, from your perception of the light of truth, both illuminate the same Church with the word of preaching, and mould it to a better way by the example of your manners? As often, too, as I recall in …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Epistle Xlii. To Eulogius, Patriarch of Alexandria.
To Eulogius, Patriarch of Alexandria. Gregory to Eulogius, &c. We return great thanks to Almighty God, that in the mouth of the heart a sweet savour of charity is experienced, when that which is written is fulfilled, As cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country (Prov. xxv. 25). For I had previously been greatly disturbed by a letter from Boniface the Chartularius, my responsalis, who dwells in the royal city, saying that your to me most sweet and pleasant Holiness had suffered …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Wherefore Christ Undertook a Method of Setting us Free So Painful and Laborious, when a Word from Him, or an Act of his Will, Would Alone
Wherefore Christ undertook a method of setting us free so painful and laborious, when a word from Him, or an act of His will, would alone have sufficed. 19. Then he labours to teach and persuade us that the devil could not and ought not to have claimed for himself any right over man, except by the permission of God, and that, without doing any injustice to the devil, God could have called back His deserter, if He wished to show him mercy, and have rescued him by a word only, as though any one denies …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

"Boast not Thyself of To-Morrow, for Thou Knowest not what a Day May Bring Forth. "
Prov. xxvii. 1.--"Boast not thyself of to-morrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." There are some peculiar gifts that God hath given to man in his first creation, and endued his nature with, beyond other living creatures, which being rightly ordered and improved towards the right objects, do advance the soul of man to a wonderful height of happiness, that no other sublunary creature is capable of. But by reason of man's fall into sin, these are quite disordered and turned out of …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Love in the Old Covenant.
"A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another."-- John xiii. 34. In connection with the Holy Spirit's work of shedding abroad the love of God in our hearts, the question arises: What is the meaning of Christ's word, "A new commandment I give unto you"? How can He designate this natural injunction, "To love one another," a new commandment? This offers no difficulty to those who entertain the erroneous view that during His ministry on earth Christ established a new and higher religion, …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

The Old Testament Canon from Its Beginning to Its Close.
The first important part of the Old Testament put together as a whole was the Pentateuch, or rather, the five books of Moses and Joshua. This was preceded by smaller documents, which one or more redactors embodied in it. The earliest things committed to writing were probably the ten words proceeding from Moses himself, afterwards enlarged into the ten commandments which exist at present in two recensions (Exod. xx., Deut. v.) It is true that we have the oldest form of the decalogue from the Jehovist …
Samuel Davidson—The Canon of the Bible

How the Silent and the Talkative are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 15.) Differently to be admonished are the over-silent, and those who spend time in much speaking. For it ought to be insinuated to the over-silent that while they shun some vices unadvisedly, they are, without its being perceived, implicated in worse. For often from bridling the tongue overmuch they suffer from more grievous loquacity in the heart; so that thoughts seethe the more in the mind from being straitened by the violent guard of indiscreet silence. And for the most part they …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

God's Glory the Chief End of Man's Being
Rom. xi. 36.--"Of him and through him, and to him, are all things, to whom be glory for ever." And 1 Cor. x. 31--"Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." All that men have to know, may be comprised under these two heads,--What their end is, and What is the right way to attain to that end? And all that we have to do, is by any means to seek to compass that end. These are the two cardinal points of a man's knowledge and exercise. Quo et qua eundum est,--Whither to go, and what way to go. …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Christian Behavior
Being the fruits of true Christianity: Teaching husbands, wives, parents, children, masters, servants, etc., how to walk so as to please God. With a word of direction to all backsliders. Advertisement by the Editor This valuable practical treatise, was first published as a pocket volume about the year 1674, soon after the author's final release from his long and dangerous imprisonment. It is evident from the concluding paragraph that he considered his liberty and even his life to be still in a very …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Appendix v. Rabbinic Theology and Literature
1. The Traditional Law. - The brief account given in vol. i. p. 100, of the character and authority claimed for the traditional law may here be supplemented by a chronological arrangement of the Halakhoth in the order of their supposed introduction or promulgation. In the first class, or Halakhoth of Moses from Sinai,' tradition enumerates fifty-five, [6370] which may be thus designated: religio-agrarian, four; [6371] ritual, including questions about clean and unclean,' twenty-three; [6372] concerning …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The History Books
[Illustration: (drop cap T) Assyrian idol-god] Thus little by little the Book of God grew, and the people He had chosen to be its guardians took their place among the nations. A small place it was from one point of view! A narrow strip of land, but unique in its position as one of the highways of the world, on which a few tribes were banded together. All around great empires watched them with eager eyes; the powerful kings of Assyria, Egypt, and Babylonia, the learned Greeks, and, in later times, …
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making

The Ninth Commandment
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.' Exod 20: 16. THE tongue which at first was made to be an organ of God's praise, is now become an instrument of unrighteousness. This commandment binds the tongue to its good behaviour. God has set two natural fences to keep in the tongue, the teeth and lips; and this commandment is a third fence set about it, that it should not break forth into evil. It has a prohibitory and a mandatory part: the first is set down in plain words, the other …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

Proverbs
Many specimens of the so-called Wisdom Literature are preserved for us in the book of Proverbs, for its contents are by no means confined to what we call proverbs. The first nine chapters constitute a continuous discourse, almost in the manner of a sermon; and of the last two chapters, ch. xxx. is largely made up of enigmas, and xxxi. is in part a description of the good housewife. All, however, are rightly subsumed under the idea of wisdom, which to the Hebrew had always moral relations. The Hebrew …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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