God’s Glory Concealed

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| Revelations and Glory series |

• God’s Glory Concealed
• Revelations that Change Us
• We Need Spiritual Hunger
• Why Am I in a Dry Season?

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God’s Glory Concealed

When we study the Scripture, we begin with a mystery that is concealed and, through the process of meditation on His word, God reveals the truth to us. Why did God do it this way though? What does this show us? Solomon explained it this way in Proverbs 25:

“It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.”

Proverbs 25:2

So, “it is the glory of God to conceal things”. But why? In what way does this demonstrate His glory? As I contemplate that question, I’m overcome with all of the ways this demonstrates His glory. Oh, how does it not! Let me try to do this justice; let me try to illustrate it for us.

Understanding Glory

First, we need to start with a fresh foundation because, you see, the word “glory” doesn’t always settle well for me (and I suspect I’m not alone). When I think of the word “glory” I think of something visible, something that’s on display for everyone to see, something we want everyone to know. Here’s what’s happening: we often mistaken the word “glory” for what would better be described as “fame”. God is glorious whether or not we are aware of His glory.

I think sometimes we can have the impression that God’s priority when He created the world was seeking His own glory; it isn’t. In fact, just a little later in Proverbs 25, the Scripture tells us plainly that it is not “glorious to seek one’s own glory.” (Proverbs 25:27)

God does, on occasion, make His glory known, but that is not His priority. His glory is actually demonstrated in Proverbs 25:2 by just the opposite. His glory is demonstrated by the fact that He isn’t seeking to be known but concealing Himself. I think this is the first way we can understand this verse: God is glorious (in part) because fame isn’t His priority.

Why is this glorious? Consider how many beautiful and glorious astronomical objects (e.g., search “NGC 6357”) were hidden from us for thousands of years. Consider how many more remain hidden now. Their beauty alone demonstrates God’s glory, but does it not add to His glory that He allowed them to be concealed. He isn’t flaunting His glory; it simply overflows from who He is, from how glorious He is.

Let me demonstrate His glory in this further.

The Glory of His Goodness

What is His priority then if not His fame? Think about how Jesus would heal someone and then instruct them not to tell anyone. Why did He do that? Because when they ignored His instruction, He wasn’t able to enter the towns anymore, but people had to go to the wilderness to find Him (Mark 1:45). He wasn’t seeking His fame then because it made it harder to do good for us. His priority wasn’t His fame, but our good. Like the story of Moses on Mount Sinai, His goodness is so glorious (see Exodus 33:18-23).

This has certainly been true for me. I can’t tell you how many times God has done good for me and never taken credit for it. On occasion I realize the way that He took care of me, but I know there are so many more instances that I never notice. He is glorious because He does good for me even when I don’t appreciate it. He is glorious because He does good for all of us even though we refuse to acknowledge it, even when we don’t deserve it. He is glorious because “He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45).

Because God is glorious, knowledge of His glory is the inevitable result of His creation of the world. However, that doesn’t mean knowledge of His glory was His priority when He created the world. Let me say this another way: The world wasn’t created to lead to His glory. His glory, His goodness, His love, lead to the creation of the world.

There’s more…

The Glory of His Approachability

The fact that God conceals things demonstrates another aspect of His glory for us. Jesus explains it for us in Luke 10, following the example of Proverbs as He praises the Father for concealing things:

“I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.”

(Luke 10:21)

As we search for understanding, God is gracious to reveal it to us. As He reveals it to us, we see the glory of God and praise Him. Not only because it’s beautiful, but because He revealed it to us. Not only because of how amazing the truth is, but because of His character. His character that He was content to let it be concealed, to set it aside not for the most intelligent among us but simply for those who were hungry for the knowledge of Him, who wanted to know Him.

Whenever we hear that God is glorious, we rightly feel that we aren’t worthy to approach Him. However, part of what makes Him glorious is that even though we are unworthy, He invites us to approach. His glory is compounded by this, that in His unapproachable glory He has chosen to be approachable.

Next Time

We’ve talked here about the first part of this verse in Proverbs that “it is the glory of God to conceal things”, but what does the second part teach us? It says that “the glory of kings is to search things out”. Next time we’ll explore the effect it has on us when we search out the truth. Don’t forget to subscribe to our email/podcast or follow us on Instagram/Facebook so you don’t miss it!