Proverbs 25:1-10--More Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 25:1-10
English Standard Version

More Proverbs of Solomon
25 These also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied.

​2 It is the glory of God to conceal things,
    but the glory of kings is to search things out.
3 As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth,
    so the heart of kings is unsearchable.
4 Take away the dross from the silver,
    and the smith has material for a vessel;
5 take away the wicked from the presence of the king,
    and his throne will be established in righteousness.
6 Do not put yourself forward in the king's presence
    or stand in the place of the great,
7 for it is better to be told, “Come up here,”
    than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.

What your eyes have seen
8     do not hastily bring into court,
for what will you do in the end,
    when your neighbor puts you to shame?
9 Argue your case with your neighbor himself,
    and do not reveal another's secret,
10 lest he who hears you bring shame upon you,
    and your ill repute have no end.

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Apparently, this starts a section of the book of Proverbs that Solomon wrote, but they were found and compiled much later by the men of King Hezekiah.  God doesn't always reveal things, but many times conceals things for His glory.  Just think of how the mystery of the gospel has been revealed throughout time.  God knew the entire plan from before the beginning of the world, but He chose to not let everyone in on His plan until much later.  Even when He did reveal the truth to us, He said it in a way in which we did not completely understand until after events already unfolded.  However, the king (the leaders) should search out the truth of these "hidden" things because of how valuable they are.  Back to my example--there is nothing more important to king or pauper than the gospel of Jesus Christ as that alone has the power to save a man's soul and to take him from eternal damnation to eternal life and blessing.

While Solomon is talking about the heart of kings, it sounds as if he's really talking about the heart of God--it is unsearchable (maybe talking about the King of Kings--the Messiah).  Solomon desires for the wicked to be removed from among the people so that the LORD may make something beautiful with the fine silver of His people--silver which is meant to be reflective and show the reflection of the LORD to the world.  Solomon talks about the throne of this king being established in righteousness--this certainly sounds like the kingdom of Jesus reigning from the throne of His father David.

Solomon warns us to be humble before the Great King or we will be humiliated.  We should not assume to stand in the place of the great people unless we are invited.  With that said, we have been invited to draw near and boldly approach the throne of grace because of what Jesus has done.  However, the wisdom of Solmon here reminds me of Jesus talking about the parable of banquet and the man who sat at the head of the table because he felt himself to be someone he was not, and, taking someone else's seat, he was humiliated when the master told him the only seat left for him was at the foot of the table because that seat had been reserved for someone more important.  Jesus taught us to sit at the foot of the table to start off with and not to expect to move up, but in this way if the master chooses to glorify us in front of everyone else and promote us to a higher position, then that would be far better than demoting us in front of everyone. 

Don't be a litigious person always running to the king to solve problems with your neighbors.  Be a peacemaker and work things out with them.  Keep your private issues private.  Don't be a gossip or someone out to slander others for perceived grievances.  If you do such things and make false accusations (or even right accusations but do so in an unethical, immoral, or unlawful manner), the person you are making the accusations against might actually have reason to drag you to court and win and shame you in front of everyone.  Such a person will then be revealed for who they are, and their name will be in disrepute.