WEBVTT 00:00:00.020 --> 00:00:02.600 Have you ever come to a passage of Scripture and thought, 00:00:03.100 --> 00:00:04.700 Why didn't God just say more? 00:00:05.340 --> 00:00:08.580 Or faced a season of life and whispered, or even shouted, 00:00:09.280 --> 00:00:10.880 Lord, I don't understand what you're doing. 00:00:12.220 --> 00:00:15.740 There are moments when faith feels less like standing on solid ground 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:17.600 and more like standing in fog. 00:00:18.440 --> 00:00:19.420 And maybe you've wondered, 00:00:20.140 --> 00:00:21.680 If God wants us to trust Him, 00:00:22.340 --> 00:00:23.740 if He wants us to know Him, 00:00:24.500 --> 00:00:26.740 why does He leave some things unexplained? 00:00:27.220 --> 00:00:27.940 Why the mystery? 00:00:29.280 --> 00:00:32.940 Today's verse doesn't remove the fog entirely, and that's part of the point. 00:00:33.620 --> 00:00:35.900 But it does show us something beautiful. 00:00:36.980 --> 00:00:39.300 Mystery is not a flaw in the Christian life. 00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:42.020 It's part of the glory of God. 00:00:42.640 --> 00:00:45.900 And our response to that mystery says something about us. 00:01:00.360 --> 00:01:02.960 Hello, beloved, and welcome to Verses We Missed. 00:01:03.420 --> 00:01:06.480 I'm your host, your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. 00:01:07.220 --> 00:01:11.000 Every week we slow down and spend time with the quieter parts of Scripture. 00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:13.880 The verses that hide in plain sight. 00:01:14.620 --> 00:01:17.920 The ones that reward a slower reading and a prayerful heart. 00:01:18.880 --> 00:01:21.720 This is your midweek breath of scripture and grace. 00:01:23.180 --> 00:01:25.620 Today, we're looking at Proverbs 25.2. 00:01:26.280 --> 00:01:27.200 Let me read it for you. 00:01:28.180 --> 00:01:34.480 It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out. 00:01:35.480 --> 00:01:37.600 One sentence, two glories. 00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:40.480 God's glory and the glory of kings. 00:01:41.520 --> 00:01:48.260 Let's dig in. Proverbs 25 begins a new section of the book. Verse 1 tells us that these were 00:01:48.520 --> 00:01:55.320 proverbs of Solomon copied by the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah. This was wisdom preserved for 00:01:55.600 --> 00:02:01.980 leadership, for rulers, for responsibility. And the first proverb in this section sets the tone. 00:02:02.980 --> 00:02:07.440 God's glory is seen in concealing. A king's glory is seen in searching. 00:02:08.619 --> 00:02:11.540 They're not at odds. They're designed to work together. 00:02:13.300 --> 00:02:16.740 So, let's start with, it is the glory of God to conceal things. 00:02:17.780 --> 00:02:23.780 That word glory speaks of weight, honor, splendor, the visible expression of greatness. 00:02:24.640 --> 00:02:26.700 And we're told something that may surprise us. 00:02:27.170 --> 00:02:33.600 It is God's glory to conceal things, not to reveal everything, not to explain every detail. 00:02:34.340 --> 00:02:35.980 To conceal, isn't that interesting? 00:02:36.680 --> 00:02:42.480 It brings us into what theologians have long called the incomprehensibility of God. 00:02:43.360 --> 00:02:47.160 It's important to note that that word doesn't mean God is unknowable. 00:02:47.840 --> 00:02:50.840 It means He is not exhaustively knowable. 00:02:51.440 --> 00:02:52.040 There's a difference. 00:02:53.080 --> 00:02:54.780 God has truly revealed Himself. 00:02:55.500 --> 00:02:57.020 He has spoken to us in Scripture. 00:02:57.580 --> 00:02:58.980 He has revealed His character. 00:02:59.580 --> 00:03:02.960 He has made Himself known most clearly in His Son, Jesus Christ. 00:03:03.740 --> 00:03:04.880 So we can know Him. 00:03:05.680 --> 00:03:13.260 but we cannot know Him fully. If we could fully comprehend God, trace every thread of His wisdom, 00:03:13.760 --> 00:03:19.740 explain every decree, understand every providence, He would not be the infinite Creator. 00:03:21.740 --> 00:03:23.380 Romans 11.33 says this, 00:03:24.350 --> 00:03:30.140 Oh, the depth of the riches in wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, 00:03:30.620 --> 00:03:36.940 and how inscrutable his ways. Now, unsearchable does not mean irrational. 00:03:37.780 --> 00:03:45.500 Inscrutable does not mean arbitrary. It means infinite. God's knowledge is not simply larger 00:03:45.510 --> 00:03:52.320 than ours. It is of a completely different order. And when he conceals things, it's not insecurity 00:03:52.430 --> 00:03:59.419 on his part. It is glory. The mystery doesn't shield a fragile majesty like Oz behind the 00:03:59.440 --> 00:04:07.140 curtain. What it does is it displays a boundless majesty. It reminds us that He is God and we are 00:04:07.280 --> 00:04:15.300 not. And that truth, rightly received, does not unsettle us. It steadies us. Because the God whose 00:04:15.540 --> 00:04:22.620 ways are unsearchable is the same God who has clearly revealed His goodness in Christ. We cannot 00:04:22.680 --> 00:04:29.640 know Him fully, but we can know Him truly. And what He has made known is enough for faith. 00:04:30.440 --> 00:04:36.380 So, now let's look at the second half of the verse. But the glory of kings is to search things out. 00:04:37.040 --> 00:04:42.480 If it glorifies God to conceal, it glorifies rulers to investigate. 00:04:43.980 --> 00:04:49.460 Kings in ancient Israel were responsible for justice, for discernment, for wise governance. 00:04:50.400 --> 00:04:52.060 They could not rule by impulse. 00:04:52.250 --> 00:04:54.660 They had to examine matters carefully. 00:04:55.720 --> 00:04:56.940 Searching was honorable. 00:04:57.640 --> 00:04:59.020 And here's the beautiful tension. 00:04:59.800 --> 00:05:04.140 Divine incomprehensibility does not cancel human responsibility. 00:05:05.280 --> 00:05:08.580 Because while God is infinite, He has revealed truth. 00:05:09.380 --> 00:05:11.920 And that means searching is not presumption. 00:05:12.540 --> 00:05:13.200 It's obedience. 00:05:14.760 --> 00:05:17.880 When you open your Bible and linger over a difficult passage, 00:05:18.680 --> 00:05:24.000 When you compare Scripture with Scripture, when you look up cross-references and ask questions, 00:05:24.500 --> 00:05:30.560 when you consult trusted teachers, you're not putting God on trial. You're sitting at His feet. 00:05:31.160 --> 00:05:35.360 There's a difference between demanding that God satisfy our curiosity and 00:05:35.960 --> 00:05:43.840 humbly asking Him for wisdom. One posture says, Explain yourself. The other says, Lord, teach me. 00:05:45.220 --> 00:05:47.500 Proverbs 25.2 commends the second. 00:05:48.060 --> 00:05:54.420 The searching itself is glorious, not because we will solve every mystery, but because in the 00:05:54.640 --> 00:06:00.720 searching we are drawn into deeper reverence. Faith seeking understanding is not rebellion, 00:06:01.380 --> 00:06:08.460 it is worship. Now think about this. If God revealed everything at once, instantly, effortlessly, 00:06:08.900 --> 00:06:13.480 what would become of our growth? There would be no wrestling, no meditation, 00:06:14.080 --> 00:06:19.840 no returning to the text again and again. But Scripture repeatedly calls us to seek wisdom 00:06:19.930 --> 00:06:26.540 as treasure. Treasure is hidden. It must be searched for, and the search shapes the seeker. 00:06:27.480 --> 00:06:34.660 God conceals in such a way that we must lean in. We must slow down. We must think carefully. 00:06:35.310 --> 00:06:42.480 We must study. And in that process, something happens. We are formed. Our minds are renewed. 00:06:42.940 --> 00:06:50.920 our humility deepens, and our awe increases. And the very act of searching glorifies Him. 00:06:52.100 --> 00:06:57.040 Now let me talk plainly here for a moment. Many believers are content with a surface 00:06:57.560 --> 00:07:03.380 familiarity with Scripture. A verse here, a devotional thought there, a sermon on Sunday. 00:07:04.020 --> 00:07:11.239 And those are good things, but Proverbs 25.2 suggests something more. It suggests that there 00:07:11.260 --> 00:07:18.720 is glory in searching, not skimming and not glancing, but searching. The Christian life is 00:07:18.960 --> 00:07:25.120 not meant to be intellectually lazy. God has given us a book that rewards careful study. 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:32.180 He has woven themes from Genesis to Revelation. He has embedded depth beneath simplicity. 00:07:33.040 --> 00:07:38.440 That's what Verses We Missed is all about, isn't it? Listen, God invites you to dig. 00:07:38.700 --> 00:07:42.900 Not that you can boast in knowledge, but so that you can grow in wisdom. 00:07:43.460 --> 00:07:44.940 And there's a difference, isn't there? 00:07:45.940 --> 00:07:51.060 Information puffs up, wisdom humbles, and wisdom comes through searching. 00:07:52.200 --> 00:07:57.640 So let me ask you, when was the last time you wrestled with a passage until it yielded something richer? 00:07:58.600 --> 00:08:02.500 When was the last time you slowed down enough to meditate, not just read? 00:08:03.680 --> 00:08:06.040 The glory of kings is to search things out. 00:08:06.480 --> 00:08:08.980 And in Christ, you are called to maturity. 00:08:10.020 --> 00:08:12.140 So, how do we search things out? 00:08:12.460 --> 00:08:15.100 What does that actually look like when you open your Bible? 00:08:16.120 --> 00:08:20.300 Well, let me give you a simple set of questions that you can begin asking whenever you study 00:08:20.300 --> 00:08:24.100 a passage, not just Proverbs 25.2, but anywhere in Scripture. 00:08:25.360 --> 00:08:29.940 When you read a verse, slow down and ask, what does this verse actually say? 00:08:30.740 --> 00:08:33.340 Not what I assume it says, and not what I've heard it says. 00:08:33.840 --> 00:08:35.440 What words are actually there? 00:08:36.520 --> 00:08:43.520 For example, here in Proverbs 25.2, what does glory mean here? What does conceal mean? What does 00:08:43.840 --> 00:08:51.820 search mean? Don't rush past the words. Sit with them. Next, what does this reveal about God? 00:08:52.340 --> 00:08:58.180 Beloved, every passage teaches us something about Him. In this verse, we find that God conceals, 00:08:58.720 --> 00:09:03.940 God is glorious, and His wisdom has depth. And what does that tell me about His character? 00:09:04.940 --> 00:09:11.540 Next, what does this reveal about humanity? In Proverbs 25.2, it says that kings are meant to 00:09:11.740 --> 00:09:17.640 search, there is dignity in inquiry, and there is responsibility in leadership. And then hand in 00:09:17.760 --> 00:09:23.220 hand with what does that reveal about my humanity then, what does that say about my calling? What 00:09:23.220 --> 00:09:30.179 does that say about maturity? Next up, what tension does this verse create? Good study notices 00:09:30.200 --> 00:09:37.360 tension. In this case, God conceals and we search. How do those two fit together? When you notice 00:09:37.580 --> 00:09:43.060 tension, don't panic. That's often where you'll find that there's a lot of depth. Next, how does 00:09:43.150 --> 00:09:49.240 this connect to the rest of Scripture? Does this theme appear elsewhere? In today's verse, we could 00:09:49.360 --> 00:09:54.359 ask where does this Scripture speak about God's unsearchable wisdom? Or where does it call us to 00:09:54.380 --> 00:10:00.520 seek wisdom? And how does this connect to Christ? Let Scripture interpret Scripture. Another 00:10:00.780 --> 00:10:05.940 question. What difference would it make if I believed this deeply, not just intellectually, 00:10:06.760 --> 00:10:12.940 practically? If I truly believed that God's concealment is glorious, would I complain less? 00:10:13.500 --> 00:10:20.160 Would I study more? Would I trust more patiently? Searching is not complicated, but it is deliberate. 00:10:20.740 --> 00:10:24.400 It's slower than scrolling. It's more thoughtful than skimming. 00:10:25.080 --> 00:10:29.140 And Proverbs 25.2 tells us that there is glory in that kind of searching. 00:10:29.960 --> 00:10:33.560 Not because we become experts, but because we become students. 00:10:34.400 --> 00:10:37.440 Okay, so there are some questions you can ask whenever you open the Bible. 00:10:37.940 --> 00:10:41.440 But this does not mean that we can resolve every unanswered question. 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:44.260 There will be mysteries we carry to the grave. 00:10:44.900 --> 00:10:46.720 But there's no need to search anxiously. 00:10:46.980 --> 00:10:51.240 We can search anchored, anchored in what has been clearly revealed. 00:10:51.920 --> 00:10:57.940 God is holy, God is good, Christ has died, He is risen, and salvation is by grace. 00:10:58.500 --> 00:11:00.760 The most important truths are not hidden. 00:11:01.380 --> 00:11:05.940 They're proclaimed, and that gives us stability while we study the rest. 00:11:10.640 --> 00:11:11.000 Let's pray. 00:11:12.320 --> 00:11:16.120 Our loving Father, You are infinite in wisdom and rich in mercy. 00:11:17.420 --> 00:11:21.040 Father, forgive us for the times we've been content with shallow understanding. 00:11:22.080 --> 00:11:25.360 Forgive us when we have neglected the treasure of your word. 00:11:26.460 --> 00:11:30.600 Thank you, Lord, for revealing yourself truly, even though we cannot know you fully. 00:11:31.600 --> 00:11:33.220 Give us hunger to search, Lord. 00:11:33.880 --> 00:11:36.080 Give us patience to wrestle with hard passages. 00:11:36.940 --> 00:11:38.740 Give us humility as we study. 00:11:39.360 --> 00:11:43.920 And as we seek to know you more deeply, shape our hearts, not just our minds. 00:11:44.820 --> 00:11:46.680 Glorify yourself in what you reveal. 00:11:47.520 --> 00:11:49.500 And glorify yourself in what you conceal. 00:11:50.800 --> 00:11:52.340 We pray this in Jesus' name. 00:11:53.400 --> 00:11:53.540 Amen. 00:12:02.580 --> 00:12:04.700 Beloved, this is a value for value show. 00:12:05.060 --> 00:12:07.380 No advertisers or sponsors to pay the bills. 00:12:07.920 --> 00:12:10.280 Just your donation of time, talent, or treasure. 00:12:11.240 --> 00:12:13.220 If this episode awakened something in you, 00:12:13.640 --> 00:12:18.400 If it challenged you to dig a little bit deeper, would you share it with someone who loves 00:12:18.560 --> 00:12:18.800 scripture? 00:12:19.360 --> 00:12:20.540 Word of mouth is powerful. 00:12:21.420 --> 00:12:26.160 And if your podcast app allows ratings or reviews, leaving one helps others to find the 00:12:26.320 --> 00:12:26.440 show. 00:12:27.380 --> 00:12:32.840 If you'd like to support the show financially, you can do that at lifespringmedia.com support. 00:12:33.600 --> 00:12:36.100 Your prayers and your gifts make this ministry possible. 00:12:36.880 --> 00:12:39.420 I'll thank you, and I believe that God will bless you. 00:12:41.240 --> 00:12:43.420 Beloved, Proverbs 25.2 says, 00:12:43.490 --> 00:12:48.040 It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out. 00:12:48.660 --> 00:12:52.120 This week, don't be discouraged by what you don't understand. 00:12:52.980 --> 00:12:56.280 Lean in. Open the Word. Ask questions. 00:12:57.050 --> 00:13:00.160 Search carefully, because the mystery is not a wall. 00:13:00.860 --> 00:13:02.380 It's an invitation to grow. 00:13:03.660 --> 00:13:05.920 Until next time, this is Steve Webb, 00:13:06.380 --> 00:13:10.660 and this has been Verses We Missed, your midweek breath of Scripture and grace. 00:13:11.640 --> 00:13:12.840 May God bless you richly. 00:13:13.540 --> 00:13:14.280 I'm Steve Webb. 00:13:15.140 --> 00:13:15.320 Bye.