to search out a matter is the glory of kings.
Before we go too far into this topic, let me take a little side step and define (briefly and poorly) one of the aspects of the word "glory". --- If you want a great read about Glory, I highly recommend my friend Paul's book "What on earth is Glory?" it's fantastic! --- For this time the aspect of glory I want to refer to, is that glory = Nature/innate character.
This is proven in the encounter of Moses whilst hidden in the cleft of the rock : Exodus: 18 (M)Then [c]Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory!” 19 And He said, “(N)I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and (O)I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” 20 But He said, “You cannot see My face, (P)for no man can see Me and live!” 21 Then the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place [d]by Me, and (Q)you shall stand there on the rock; 22 and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and (R)cover you with My hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but (S)My face shall not be seen.”
Wow - what an amazing passage. Perhaps one of the most amazing passages in scripture. "21 Then the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place [d]by Me, and (Q)you shall stand there on the rock" and who is the rock? Of course it's Jesus. Listen and hear again the promise of God: Behold! There is a place, by me {FOR YOU}, and you shall stand there on the Rock! Also, no man may see Him and live... but we now count ourselves dead to sin and alive/born again IN Christ! Hidden, by God's own Hand IN Jesus, IN the cleft of the ROCK! It is IN Jesus (the rock) that the place of Encounter is found. IN Jesus, we are not alive to/for ourselves anymore, but we are dead to sin/this world, but alive to God, IN Christ.... therefore we get to see HIS face!
And listen to the Heart of God for us from Song of Solomon 2:14 "My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside, show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely."
Look at that! IN THE CLEFT OF THE ROCK!!!! In the hidden place IN Jesus, is the place of encounter. It is where we get to see/experience/know Him & where He gets to see/experience and know US! It should not be overlooked that the heart of God is longing to have you and I reveal ourselves to Him.
There is SO much in this passage about the promise of seeing and knowing Him.
Moses asks/prays/begs to see Gods glory... God's response "I will make all of my goodness..." I Will make (NOTE*** Everything God does initiates in the heart of God. He is not compelled by us, He is compelled by His own nature. He is released through our faith - in order to be Himself in our midst.) A.W. Tozer put it this way "God is the reason for all He does" and again he says "let us not suppose that God loves us because we are loveable, but because He is love." In this passage one of the things that God is saying is "I will do what is in my heart to do...not because of you, but because of me" *paraphrase is mine.
The other interesting thing here * and this is back to my original point* is that Moses askes to see/encounter Glory and God doesn't say no, He says yes. But what He shows Moses is an aspect of His own Nature!
Back to the verse I opened this with : It is the glory "Nature" of God to conceal a matter... if you feel that God is hiding something from you, that what you're looking for always seems just beyond your reach... that you have dreams in your heart (from Him/He is behind them) but they seem like they are always hidden from plain view........ well that's simply God being himself towards you. It's part of who He is. Jesus spoke in riddles Matt 13:13 ""Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand." *Ezekiel 12:2 shows us that the cause of being unable to hear/see is a rebellious heart. Therefore it can be assumed that a repentant/broken/contrite heart is able to see and hear!
NOW - get this "It the glory "Nature" of Kings to search it out
IN Jesus we have been made co-heirs with Christ. It is often assumed that this makes us "Princes/Princesses" in His Kingdom. but that's not what a co-heir is... a prince is one step removed from being the King. HE is in fact training us to be kings, not princes.
In hiding/concealing a matter he is causing our Kingly nature to be forced to rise to the surface. Prov 25:4 "remove the dross from the silver, cause the true metal to come forth, and the silversmith can produce a vessel." italics mine*
In concealing from us, He is forcing us to allow our Kingly glory/nature to rise up on the inside of us, in order that we may continue to be transformed into a nation of Kings. Revelation 1:5,6 says, “...Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father...”
So my friends... you and I are being made into a nation of kings. And it is in our very nature, our dna, to search out what He has concealed. The best place to start is by opening our eyes and ears, through repentance of rebellion in our hearts... the next step is to find the place in the cleft of the Rock. The Place of Encounter, in Jesus. He is hiding... not from you. But FOR you. Selah.
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