Why Is God Called a “Humiliated King”? A Powerful Lesson in Divine Patience

The ministering angels refer to Hashem as a “humiliated King.” At first glance, this is a striking and puzzling description. What does it mean, and what are we expected to learn from it?

Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, one of the great Kabbalists of Safed, explains this idea in his ethical work Tomer Devorah. He writes that the Holy One, blessed be He, endures humiliation in a way that is beyond human comprehension. Nothing is hidden from His providence, and there is not a single moment in which a person exists without being sustained by a constant flow of Divine energy.

A Shocking Reality: Strength Used Against Its Source

This leads to a profound realization. At the very moment a person sins, he is still receiving life, strength, and the ability to act from Hashem. The same energy that allows him to move his limbs and exist in the world is being used, at times, to go against the very will of the One who provides it.

And yet, Hashem does not withhold that energy.

Rabbi Moshe Cordovero expresses astonishment at this reality. Hashem continues to give a person the power to live and act, even when that power is being used to rebel against Him. This is not because He lacks the ability to stop it. On the contrary, He could instantly remove that strength, as we see in the case of Yeravam, whose hand withered when he acted improperly.

Yet He does not. He does not say, “If you choose to sin, then do so with your own strength and not with Mine.” Instead, He continues to sustain, to give, and to bestow goodness. This level of patience and restraint is so extraordinary that it defies human understanding. It is for this reason that the angels describe Him as a “humiliated King.”

The Lesson for Us

Rabbi Moshe Cordovero explains that this quality is reflected in the first of the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, expressed in the words “Who is like You, O God?” Hashem has the power to judge, to take back, and to respond immediately. Yet He chooses patience, continuing to give while waiting for a person to return.

The purpose of this teaching is not only to describe Hashem’s greatness, but to guide human behavior. A person is expected to emulate these Divine attributes. To continue giving even when it is not appreciated, to remain composed even when insulted, and to choose kindness over reaction.

In doing so, a person rises above instinct and reflects, in a meaningful way, the Divine patience that sustains the world.