Have you ever come to a passage of Scripture and thought,
Why didn't God just say more?
Or faced a season of life and whispered, or even shouted,
Lord, I don't understand what you're doing.
There are moments when faith feels less like standing on solid ground
and more like standing in fog.
And maybe you've wondered,
If God wants us to trust Him,
if He wants us to know Him,
why does He leave some things unexplained?
Why the mystery?
Today's verse doesn't remove the fog entirely, and that's part of the point.
But it does show us something beautiful.
Mystery is not a flaw in the Christian life.
It's part of the glory of God.
And our response to that mystery says something about us.
Hello, beloved, and welcome to Verses We Missed.
I'm your host, your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb.
Every week we slow down and spend time with the quieter parts of Scripture.
The verses that hide in plain sight.
The ones that reward a slower reading and a prayerful heart.
This is your midweek breath of scripture and grace.
Today, we're looking at Proverbs 25.2.
Let me read it for you.
It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.
One sentence, two glories.
God's glory and the glory of kings.
Let's dig in. Proverbs 25 begins a new section of the book. Verse 1 tells us that these were
proverbs of Solomon copied by the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah. This was wisdom preserved for
leadership, for rulers, for responsibility. And the first proverb in this section sets the tone.
God's glory is seen in concealing. A king's glory is seen in searching.
They're not at odds. They're designed to work together.
So, let's start with, it is the glory of God to conceal things.
That word glory speaks of weight, honor, splendor, the visible expression of greatness.
And we're told something that may surprise us.
It is God's glory to conceal things, not to reveal everything, not to explain every detail.
To conceal, isn't that interesting?
It brings us into what theologians have long called the incomprehensibility of God.
It's important to note that that word doesn't mean God is unknowable.
It means He is not exhaustively knowable.
There's a difference.
God has truly revealed Himself.
He has spoken to us in Scripture.
He has revealed His character.
He has made Himself known most clearly in His Son, Jesus Christ.
So we can know Him.
but we cannot know Him fully. If we could fully comprehend God, trace every thread of His wisdom,
explain every decree, understand every providence, He would not be the infinite Creator.
Romans 11.33 says this,
Oh, the depth of the riches in wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments,
and how inscrutable his ways. Now, unsearchable does not mean irrational.
Inscrutable does not mean arbitrary. It means infinite. God's knowledge is not simply larger
than ours. It is of a completely different order. And when he conceals things, it's not insecurity
on his part. It is glory. The mystery doesn't shield a fragile majesty like Oz behind the
curtain. What it does is it displays a boundless majesty. It reminds us that He is God and we are
not. And that truth, rightly received, does not unsettle us. It steadies us. Because the God whose
ways are unsearchable is the same God who has clearly revealed His goodness in Christ. We cannot
know Him fully, but we can know Him truly. And what He has made known is enough for faith.
So, now let's look at the second half of the verse. But the glory of kings is to search things out.
If it glorifies God to conceal, it glorifies rulers to investigate.
Kings in ancient Israel were responsible for justice, for discernment, for wise governance.
They could not rule by impulse.
They had to examine matters carefully.
Searching was honorable.
And here's the beautiful tension.
Divine incomprehensibility does not cancel human responsibility.
Because while God is infinite, He has revealed truth.
And that means searching is not presumption.
It's obedience.
When you open your Bible and linger over a difficult passage,
When you compare Scripture with Scripture, when you look up cross-references and ask questions,
when you consult trusted teachers, you're not putting God on trial. You're sitting at His feet.
There's a difference between demanding that God satisfy our curiosity and
humbly asking Him for wisdom. One posture says, Explain yourself. The other says, Lord, teach me.
Proverbs 25.2 commends the second.
The searching itself is glorious, not because we will solve every mystery, but because in the
searching we are drawn into deeper reverence. Faith seeking understanding is not rebellion,
it is worship. Now think about this. If God revealed everything at once, instantly, effortlessly,
what would become of our growth? There would be no wrestling, no meditation,
no returning to the text again and again. But Scripture repeatedly calls us to seek wisdom
as treasure. Treasure is hidden. It must be searched for, and the search shapes the seeker.
God conceals in such a way that we must lean in. We must slow down. We must think carefully.
We must study. And in that process, something happens. We are formed. Our minds are renewed.
our humility deepens, and our awe increases. And the very act of searching glorifies Him.
Now let me talk plainly here for a moment. Many believers are content with a surface
familiarity with Scripture. A verse here, a devotional thought there, a sermon on Sunday.
And those are good things, but Proverbs 25.2 suggests something more. It suggests that there
is glory in searching, not skimming and not glancing, but searching. The Christian life is
not meant to be intellectually lazy. God has given us a book that rewards careful study.
He has woven themes from Genesis to Revelation. He has embedded depth beneath simplicity.
That's what Verses We Missed is all about, isn't it? Listen, God invites you to dig.
Not that you can boast in knowledge, but so that you can grow in wisdom.
And there's a difference, isn't there?
Information puffs up, wisdom humbles, and wisdom comes through searching.
So let me ask you, when was the last time you wrestled with a passage until it yielded something richer?
When was the last time you slowed down enough to meditate, not just read?
The glory of kings is to search things out.
And in Christ, you are called to maturity.
So, how do we search things out?
What does that actually look like when you open your Bible?
Well, let me give you a simple set of questions that you can begin asking whenever you study
a passage, not just Proverbs 25.2, but anywhere in Scripture.
When you read a verse, slow down and ask, what does this verse actually say?
Not what I assume it says, and not what I've heard it says.
What words are actually there?
For example, here in Proverbs 25.2, what does glory mean here? What does conceal mean? What does
search mean? Don't rush past the words. Sit with them. Next, what does this reveal about God?
Beloved, every passage teaches us something about Him. In this verse, we find that God conceals,
God is glorious, and His wisdom has depth. And what does that tell me about His character?
Next, what does this reveal about humanity? In Proverbs 25.2, it says that kings are meant to
search, there is dignity in inquiry, and there is responsibility in leadership. And then hand in
hand with what does that reveal about my humanity then, what does that say about my calling? What
does that say about maturity? Next up, what tension does this verse create? Good study notices
tension. In this case, God conceals and we search. How do those two fit together? When you notice
tension, don't panic. That's often where you'll find that there's a lot of depth. Next, how does
this connect to the rest of Scripture? Does this theme appear elsewhere? In today's verse, we could
ask where does this Scripture speak about God's unsearchable wisdom? Or where does it call us to
seek wisdom? And how does this connect to Christ? Let Scripture interpret Scripture. Another
question. What difference would it make if I believed this deeply, not just intellectually,
practically? If I truly believed that God's concealment is glorious, would I complain less?
Would I study more? Would I trust more patiently? Searching is not complicated, but it is deliberate.
It's slower than scrolling. It's more thoughtful than skimming.
And Proverbs 25.2 tells us that there is glory in that kind of searching.
Not because we become experts, but because we become students.
Okay, so there are some questions you can ask whenever you open the Bible.
But this does not mean that we can resolve every unanswered question.
There will be mysteries we carry to the grave.
But there's no need to search anxiously.
We can search anchored, anchored in what has been clearly revealed.
God is holy, God is good, Christ has died, He is risen, and salvation is by grace.
The most important truths are not hidden.
They're proclaimed, and that gives us stability while we study the rest.
Let's pray.
Our loving Father, You are infinite in wisdom and rich in mercy.
Father, forgive us for the times we've been content with shallow understanding.
Forgive us when we have neglected the treasure of your word.
Thank you, Lord, for revealing yourself truly, even though we cannot know you fully.
Give us hunger to search, Lord.
Give us patience to wrestle with hard passages.
Give us humility as we study.
And as we seek to know you more deeply, shape our hearts, not just our minds.
Glorify yourself in what you reveal.
And glorify yourself in what you conceal.
We pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
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Beloved, Proverbs 25.2 says,
It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.
This week, don't be discouraged by what you don't understand.
Lean in. Open the Word. Ask questions.
Search carefully, because the mystery is not a wall.
It's an invitation to grow.
Until next time, this is Steve Webb,
and this has been Verses We Missed, your midweek breath of Scripture and grace.
May God bless you richly.
I'm Steve Webb.
Bye.