Thoughts for the Day

* King Hezekiah

These are other proverbs of Solomon that the officials of King Hezekiah of Judah copied.

It is the glory of God to conceal things,
but the glory of kings is to search things out.
Like the heavens for height, like the earth for depth,
so the mind of kings is unsearchable.
Take away the dross from the silver,
and the smith has material for a vessel;
take away the wicked from the presence of the king,
and his throne will be established in righteousness.
Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence
or stand in the place of the great;
for it is better to be told, ‘Come up here’,
than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

From Proverbs, Chapter 25 to 29, we get some proverbs of Solomon that were gathered together by Hezekiah the King of Judah, some 270 years after Solomon's death. Since Solomon was reputed to have written around 3,000 proverbs even adding them all together there would still be some missing. At the time of Hezekiah there was a huge spiritual revival and these last proverbs were added to the rest of the book. (It was a bit like finding the Deep Sea scrolls in the 20th century!).

In the first line of these proverbs we have a difficult phrase. No matter how many times I read the words 'The Glory of God' my understanding is limited, and I have to rethink it, so I'm hoping many of you feel the same! Here goes: The 'Glory of God' is the invisible qualities and character of God as shown in a way we can see and understand. Or another way is to say: "The glory of God is the beauty of His spirit." The universe itself bears God's image to some degree and therefore declares His glory (Psalm 19.1). However, the 'Glory of God' which is invisible is most seen in Jesus. Think of his compassion, and his love for people, which led to his accepting a terrible death for us! When we look at Jesus we see what God is like, because Jesus is God made flesh (Colossians 1.15).

The opening words from today's section of Proverbs is a nod to two great scholars, King Solomon and King Hezekiah. Their 'glory' the passage says is the work they are doing in researching and studying the scriptures that tell them about the attributes of God - His holiness, His goodness, His love, etc. Today we could add other people, those who seek for truth, like scientists, doctors, theologians, and academics who explore and attempt to explain our world, humanity, and the scriptures. These people gives us a glimpse of their character as they show us more of God's eternal glory.

Lord God Almighty,
You allow us to see something
of Your glory in our world:-
in the love of a parent for a child;
in the beauty of a sunset;
in the discovery of a new flower;
in the care of someone who is dying;
in the life-long work of those who seek
to find new medicines;
in the work of those who search the ocean depths;
and in the work of those who dedicate their lives
to study the scriptures.
May we continue seek Your glory
in our lives and in our world.
Amen.