The condensed concordance in the back of my ESV Bible has only three verses with CONCEAL so I thought this would be a short study. It is not. The sense of concealing or being hidden occurs well over a hundred times and is fascinating. It means to conceal something with a definite purpose, either for protection or for sinister reasons. In describing what God does — clearly, He hides His people:
For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock. (Psalm 27:5)
Not only that, nothing I do can be hidden from Him. He says, “For my eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from me, nor is their iniquity concealed from my eyes.” (Jeremiah 16:17). The psalmist says: “O Lord, all my longing is before you; my sighing is not hidden from you.” (Psalm 38:9) This is repeated . . .
O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. (Psalm 139:1–6)
As important as that is, the verse that intrigues me is this: “It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.” (Proverbs 25:2) Why does concealing things reveal His glory?
Some say this glory is about God’s mysterious ways, that His wisdom is inscrutable by humans. Others think this means His plans take precedence over human plans, and that He has the last word, no matter what we hope to do. Others interpret this verse as saying God perfectly knows all things and His greatness is only partly revealed to us. A few point to God’s glory is seen because he hides our forgiven sins rather than making a show of them.
I liked this idea: “It is God’s glory that he needs not search into a matter, because he knows it without search; but it is the honor of kings, with a close application of mind, and by all the methods of enquiry, to search out the matters that are brought before them, to take pains in examining offenders, that they may discover their designs and bring to light the hidden works of darkness, not to give judgment hastily or till they have weighed things, nor to leave it wholly to others to examine things, but to see with their own eyes.”
These thoughts apply to me also. I must be like kings who need to guard against hasty judgment. This means everything from the so-called news put on social media to the second-hand stories people tell me.
This verse does not mean that God hides everything. Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” For His revelation, we read, study and meditate on His Word, then teach it to our children so they will know what God makes clear. At the same time, it is humbling and a matter of worship to realize: “The depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Romans 11:33) Even in my searching I cannot find out everything about Him.
GAZE INTO HIS GLORY: One writer says that “while God’s glory is manifest in the silent mystery of the universe, the glory of kings is manifest in their capacity to penetrate this mystery.” Perhaps this is true, yet for me, the glory of unraveling truth about God belongs to God, not to me. Without Him, I could not see it.
When Jesus talked of the future crucifixion, His disciples “did not understand this saying, and it was concealed from them, so that they might not perceive it.” (Luke 9:45) Later, it was fully revealed. This applies to prophecies also. I cannot fully know their meaning till their accomplishment. The future and many other issues will not be fully opened until I am with Him in eternity. For here “we see through a glass darkly; but there, face to face: here we know in part; but there we shall know as we also are known.”
I must be patient and trust the Lord to show me what I need to know, conceal what is not for me, and keep me hidden in His care all the time!
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