ACCOUNTABLE

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

These are more proverbs of Solomon, compiled by the men of Hezekiah king of Judah:

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings. As the heavens are high and the earth is deep, so the hearts of kings are unsearchable.

Proverbs 25:1-3        

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

How valuable were the words of the great wise king Solomon?

So valuable that a later king pulled together a series of his sayings, sayings that span from Chapter 25 of the Book of Proverbs through Chapter 29. That king was Hezekiah, the king who came into power in the southern kingdom of Judah and brought sweeping revival and reformation, returning the people back to the Lord. Hezekiah came into power after the northern kingdom of Israel had been taken over by the Assyrians and so he was the first king to rule over all of what remained of Israel. Solomon was the last king to rule of Israel before it was divided and so what better way for Hezekiah to bring Israel back to its roots then to renew a commitment to the wisdom of a king who held such a special connection and relationship with the Lord God Almighty.

In Hezekiah, we find a king who used his authority the right way, understanding that his power to rule only came from the Lord who was the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. He realized that he was fully accountable to the One who had given him the opportunity to reign and could just as easily take it away.

Unfortunately, any brief study of Old Testament rulers would show us that not everyone got it like Hezekiah did. There were as many or more wicked kings than there were good ones and they displayed an attitude of disobedience and apathy regarding God and their answerability to Him. Placed in authority to care for and serve the people entrusted to their care, kings too often went their own direction and looked after their own desires, often at the expense of their people. Power has a way of doing that to a person.

And so in the midst of this discussion of those placed in positions of supremacy and command over others, we find the opening verses of Chapter 25, words that speak to all authority figures, not only kings. Look at these words of Solomon:

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings. As the heavens are high and the earth is deep, so the hearts of kings are unsearchable.

Let’s break down these words to some important truths the Lord wants us to understand:

1. We will never know all there is to know about the Lord.

People want to speak all the time like they know everything about the Lord. The truth of the matter is that there is as much mystery as there is revelation, maybe even more so. No one will ever know all that there is about the Lord. It’s part of His glory and why He is Lord and the Ruler over us all.

2. Those the Lord places in authority have an obligation to do whatever they can to make things right and just for their people.

While it’s the Lord’s glory to conceal, it’s the glory of a king to search things out. They are to investigate everything in their governance and seek to make whatever judgments are necessary to ensure they care properly for the people the Lord has allowed them to lead. This might mean instituting or enforcing laws. This might mean delving into a matter to ensure the truth is discovered. This might mean meting out proper judgment in cases with legal bearing.

The bottom line is that those placed in charge are accountable to the Lord for all they do and He expects them to be as fair and just and caring as He is.

3. Nothing is hidden in the sight of the Lord.

The Lord sees everything and although the heart of an authority figure might be unsearchable to a mere, mortal human, it is completely searchable by the Lord who made it and installed it, the almighty Maker and Creator of us all.

This is what serves to keep all leaders of people accountable. This is what serves to keep any of us accountable.

There is nothing concealed from the Lord who sees it all and friends, we should rejoice and be glad in this. We should embrace the fact that we cannot hide anything from the Lord, the One who sheds light on anything attempted to be done in the dark. For through this, we are kept in check, held responsible for our sins in such a way that we are deterred from them and moved more toward righteousness, toward becoming people who do right, the kind of people the Lord wants us to be.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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