Commentary - Proverbs 25:2-3

Bird's-eye view

These two proverbs, collected by the men of Hezekiah, establish a foundational principle of reality by contrasting the glory of God with the glory of human rulers. The glory of God, the sovereign Creator, is displayed in His concealment of matters. He is the infinite well of all knowledge, and the fact that we cannot plumb His depths is a testimony to His greatness. In stark contrast, the glory of kings, who are God's delegated authorities, is found in their diligent investigation. God hides, and man seeks. This is the divine arrangement. The passage concludes by describing the necessary character of a wise king: his heart, like the heavens and the earth, is deep and unsearchable, making him fit to govern in a world full of complexities and adversaries.

Outline

The Text

2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter. 3 As the heavens for height and the earth for depth, So the heart of kings is unsearchable. (ot20-proverbs025-p002)

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter... We begin with a statement that is profoundly offensive to the modern mind, which is the mind of a peeping Tom. The modern man believes he has a right to know everything, and that anything hidden is an affront to his autonomy. But Scripture teaches us that God is God, and we are not. His glory, His weightiness, is demonstrated by the fact that He conceals things. This is not the concealment of a criminal hiding evidence. It is the concealment of a Creator whose thoughts are not our thoughts, and whose ways are not our ways (Is. 55:8-9). He knows everything, and He is the source of all facts. The universe is His story, and He is not obligated to show us the entire manuscript at once. This divine concealment is a call to worship. It invites humility, trust, and adoration. God has revealed to us everything we need for life and godliness, but He has not revealed everything. The secret things belong to the Lord (Deut. 29:29). This is His glory, and our proper response is to bow down.

But the glory of kings is to search out a matter. Here is the antithetical parallel. God's glory is in concealing; the king's glory is in searching out. The glory of a king is therefore a derivative glory. He is not the source of truth, but a discoverer of it. This is the essence of the dominion mandate given to man in the beginning. God created a world pregnant with possibilities and secrets, and He tasked mankind with the glorious work of discovery, of naming the animals, of cultivating the garden. A king, as a civil magistrate, is a particular application of this principle. His task is to bring justice and order. To do this, he cannot be passive. He must investigate crimes, search out wisdom for policy, and understand the times. A lazy king is a disgrace. A diligent king, one who digs for the facts, who refuses to be satisfied with superficial appearances, who labors to bring the hidden things of darkness to light in a court of law, this man has glory. His glory is not in his own cleverness, but in his faithful fulfillment of the task God has given him. He is glorifying God by searching out what God has concealed for the purpose of being searched out by His faithful servants.

v. 3 As the heavens for height and the earth for depth... The proverb now shifts to describe the necessary character of such a glorious king. Solomon uses a common biblical metaphor to describe that which is vast, immense, and beyond our full comprehension. You cannot measure the height of the heavens with a yardstick, nor can you easily plumb the depths of the earth. These things are emblems of unsearchability. They are not infinite in the way God is infinite, but from our limited human perspective, they are practically so. This is the setup for the comparison that follows.

So the heart of kings is unsearchable. A wise and effective king cannot be a simpleton. His heart, meaning his mind, his counsels, his plans, must have depth. He cannot be predictable to his enemies. His wisdom must be such that ordinary men cannot easily figure him out. This is not a license for duplicity or deceit, but rather a commendation of sagacity and prudence. A good king thinks ten moves ahead. He considers all the angles. His subjects and his enemies alike should know that he is not a shallow man. This unsearchability is a form of strength. The fool's heart is in his mouth, but the wise king's counsel is like deep water. This depth is a gift from God, who gives wisdom to rulers who ask for it, just as Solomon did. An unsearchable heart is a sign of a king who is fit to engage in the glorious task of searching out a matter.

Key Issues

Application

First, we must learn to worship God for what He conceals as much as for what He reveals. Our trust in Him should not be contingent on our having all the answers. When we face trials and cannot understand the "why," we must remember that it is the glory of God to conceal a matter. Our part is to trust His character, which He has revealed plainly in Christ.

Second, this proverb gives us a paradigm for our own work. Every one of us is a "king" in some sphere of authority, whether it is in the home, the church, or the workplace. Our glory in that station is not to be passive, but to be diligent searchers. We are to search the Scriptures, search out the best way to love our wives, search for solutions to problems at work. Diligent, faithful investigation in our God-given tasks is a glorious thing.

Finally, we should desire and pray for leaders with unsearchable hearts. In an age that prizes transparency to the point of demanding that leaders be shallow and predictable, we must recover the biblical value of deep wisdom. We should not want rulers who are easily read and manipulated, but men of substance and prudence whose plans are not laid bare for every fool to critique on social media. We should pray that God would grant our leaders this kind of depth, that they might effectively rule in a way that brings glory to them, and ultimately, to God.