Proverbs 27:3
As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth,
So the heart of kings is unsearchable.
I think this is a difficult proverb. Waltke says, “None of the king’s subjects has penetrated the profundity and inscrutability of his resourceful heart.” He goes on, “The parallelism between the vast universe and the immeasurableness of the king’s heart takes the breath away.” (312)
I do know that you can buy a shirt from Amazon with this phrase on it (sizes range from small to xxxxx – large). But what does it mean?
Let me again quote Waltke:
“In sum, vv 2 and 3 set up a hierarchy of wisdom, authority, and power: God, king, subjects. The intention of this proverb pair depends to some extent on the addressee. If referred to the king, it stimulates him to rule humbly below God and both to investigate the matters of his realm thoroughly and to play his own cards close to his chest. If referred to his officials and/or subjects, it warns them that the king, who stands next in rank to God, has the capacity to search them out and take appropriate action, while he keeps them in the dark. Both God and king are awesome and not be toyed with.” (310)
Generally speaking, we can use these kind of proverbs to check an attitude that we are prone to naturally, an attitude that is exacerbated by living in a democratic state that resists any notion of hierarchy. This attitude is called defiance and leads to a state called rebelliousness.
In the middle of a political season, don’t we need to hear the caution to not speak uncivilly of authorities, either Democratic or Republican?
Bible Reading: Romans 15:14-21
Evangelism – speaking the gospel to unbelievers – is here called by Paul a priestly service. What does that mean?
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