God, we come to you this evening recognizing that you oppose the proud but give grace to the humble.
Just as water flows down to the lowest valleys, the water of your grace flows down to those who have lowered themselves,
those who have humbled themselves before you.
And Lord, that is exactly what we hope to do this evening as we come to this chapter in Proverbs which speaks of our need to live humbly before you.
We pray that you'd shape us in that way, that you'd speak to us and impress the truth and the goodness of your word to us deeply this evening.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Proverbs chapter 30 verses 1 to 33.
The words of Agur, son of Jacke.
The oracle.
The man declares,
I am weary, O God.
I am weary, O God, and worn out.
Surely I am too stupid to be a man.
I have not the understanding of a man.
I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One.
Who has ascended to heaven and come down?
Who has gathered the wind in his fists?
Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name?
And what is his son's name?
Surely you know.
Every word of God proves true.
He is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
Do not act to his words lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.
Two things I ask of you.
Deny them not to me before I die.
Remove far from me falsehood and lying.
Give me neither poverty nor riches.
Feed me with the food that is needful for me,
lest I be full and deny you and say,
Who is the Lord?
Or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.
Do not slander a servant to his master,
lest he curse you and you be held guilty.
There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers.
There are those who are clean in their own eyes,
but are not washed of their filth.
There are those, how lofty are their eyes,
how high their eyelids lift.
There are those whose teeth are swords,
whose fangs are knives,
to devour the poor from off the earth,
the needy from among mankind.
The leech has two daughters,
give and give.
Three things are never satisfied,
four never say enough.
Sheol, the barren womb,
the land never satisfied with water,
and the fire that never says enough.
The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother
will be picked out by the ravens of the valley
and eaten by the vultures.
Three things are too wonderful for me,
four I do not understand,
the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a serpent on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a virgin.
This is the way of an adulteress.
She eats and wipes her mouth and says,
I have done no wrong.
Under three things the earth trembles,
under four it cannot bear up.
A slave when he becomes king,
and a fool when he is filled with food.
An unloved woman when she gets a husband,
and a maidservant when she displaces her mistress.
Four things on earth are small,
but they are exceedingly wise.
The ants are a people not strong,
yet they provide their food in the summer.
The rock badgers are a people not mighty,
yet they make their homes in the cliffs.
The locusts have no king,
yet all of them march in rank.
The lizard you can take in your hands,
yet it is in king's palaces.
Three things are stately in their tread,
four are stately in their stride.
The lion which is mightiest among beasts
and does not turn back before any.
The strutting rooster,
the he-goat,
and a king whose army is with him.
If you have been foolish,
exalting yourself,
or if you have been devising evil,
put your hand on your mouth.
For pressing milk produces curds,
and pressing the nose produces blood,
and pressing anger produces strife.
This is God's holy and authoritative word.
In his book, G.K. Chesterton,
in his book, Orthodoxy,
writes about the paradoxical aspect of Christianity,
where he says,
the more I considered Christianity,
the more I found that while I had established
a rule and order,
the chief aim of that order
was to give room for good things to run wild.
Imagine that you're driving up a mountain road,
and that road has no guardrails
to keep you from driving off the cliff.
Would that make you drive more freely,
since there's nothing restricting you?
Or would that make you drive more timidly,
because there's nothing to protect you?
Likewise, God imposes
a certain order on the universe.
He imposes a certain rule on his people,
but this is for our good.
It's for his glory,
and that's where true freedom
is found for good things to roam wild.
And Proverbs 30 is all about that.
It teaches us that those who follow
the humble king
ought to live humbly within
our God-given boundaries.
First, we see the God-given boundaries of Scripture
in verses 1 to 9,
and then we see the God-given boundaries
in society in verses 10 to 33.
Verse 1 tells us that
we're in a new section, as I mentioned.
It says,
the words of Agard, son of Jacay,
and he designates this an oracle,
which means divinely inspired speech.
Like Solomon, who earlier in chapter 2
claimed that knowledge and understanding
that he is teaching,
he's imparting to us in the book of Proverbs,
are from the Lord's mouth,
Agard claims divine inspiration.
He is consciously writing
with the sense, the awareness,
that God himself is speaking through him.
And notice that he doesn't defend
that claim in any way.
He doesn't appeal to any other external authority
to say, well, you know that this is God's word
because it's consistent with such and such philosophy
or such and such ethical framework.
He doesn't defend the authority of the oracle.
He simply asserts it.
Scripture often does this.
The apostles often do this.
In 1 Thessalonians 2, 13, Paul says,
we also thank God constantly for this,
that when you received the word of God
which you heard from us,
you accepted it not as the word of men,
but as what it really is,
the word of God,
which is at work in you believers.
But again, Paul gives no proof.
This is because Scripture is ultimately
self-authenticating.
It is self-attesting
because it is the final and ultimate authority.
It appeals to no other authority.
In Hebrews 6, 13, it says that
since God had no one greater
by whom he might swear,
he swore by himself.
When you're a student writing a paper,
you need to cite sources.
You need to appeal to other authorities
to prove your point
because you have no authority.
But if you are the leading scholar
on the subject,
if you are the authority
on the subject,
you don't cite other sources.
You just speak
because you are the authority.
That's what Scripture is like.
It doesn't appeal to others' authority.
It is God's word
and therefore needs
no other verification.
We don't believe Scripture
because it is consistent
with popular opinion.
We don't believe Scripture
because it is consistent
with even expert opinion.
Whatever the domain
of that expert might be,
we believe in God's word
because God spoke it.
And how do we know
that God spoke it?
Jesus, the incarnate word of God,
says this in John 10, 2-3,
The sheep hear the shepherd's voice
and he calls his own sheep by name
and leads them out.
The sheep follow him
for they know his voice.
Those who belong to God
recognize his voice.
This is why we say
that Scripture is self-authenticating
or self-attesting.
And that self-authenticating authority
is behind the word oracle.
This is what God says to us.
So let's listen to what he has to say.
The man declares,
I am weary, O God.
I am weary, O God,
and worn out.
What is Agur weary from?
We see the answer
in verses 2-4.
He seems to be exasperated
by people who claim
to have wisdom and understanding
apart from God's gracious revelation.
People who claim understanding
and wisdom
when they actually have
nothing of the sort.
He says sarcastically,
surely I am too stupid
to be a man.
I have not the understanding
of a man.
I have not learned wisdom
nor have I knowledge
of the Holy One
who has ascended to heaven
and come down,
who has gathered the wind
in his fists,
who has wrapped up the waters
in the garment,
who has established
all the ends of the earth.
What is his name
and what is his son's name?
Surely you know.
Many people in the world
claim to be wise.
They set themselves up
as gurus and coaches
that can guide us
through life.
They act like they know
everything there is to know
about God
and this world.
But if they are right,
then Agur must surely be a fool.
Someone too stupid
to be a man
because he doesn't have
the kind of knowledge
that they claim to have.
He certainly doesn't share
their presumption and pride.
The words understanding
and wisdom
in verses 2 to 3
are parallel to
the knowledge
of the Holy One
which reminds us once again
of the thesis
of the book of Proverbs
that the fear of the Lord
is the beginning of knowledge.
True wisdom begins
with the personal relationship
with God.
Without knowing Him,
we cannot attain wisdom.
You might be a very skilled
violinist in the orchestra,
but if you are not
synced to the conductor,
you are not going to play music
that fits with the rest
of the orchestra.
Similarly, human beings
who have not submitted
themselves to
and aligned themselves
with God's vision
and God's order
are not going to attain wisdom,
which is the skill
for living in proper relationship
with God and with man.
Sinful human beings
who are impaired,
who have impaired discernment
cannot arrive
at God's cohesive vision
for all of creation.
And when they try to,
they despair,
they fail,
and they resign themselves
to relativism.
That's why we must begin
with the fear of the Lord
for the knowledge
of the Holy One
is wisdom
and understanding.
And knowing this,
Agar asks a series
of rhetorical questions
in verse 4,
who has ascended
to heaven and come down?
Who has gathered
the wind in his fists?
Who has wrapped up
the waters in the garment?
Who has established
all the ends of the earth?
The interrogative pronoun
who,
which is repeated here,
once again emphasizes
the personal dimension
of wisdom?
It's not an abstract principle
of what,
but a who.
The outer two questions
mention the heaven and earth,
and then the inner two questions,
the rhetorical question,
mention the wind
and the waters,
two elements that make up
the stormy sea,
which for the people
in the ancient world
represented the most
uncontrollable part
of creation,
of nature.
And yet God holds
the wind in his fists,
and he wraps up
the waters as in a garment.
And these pairs together,
the two pairs,
of heaven and earth
and water and wind,
together allude
to God's complete knowledge
and control
over creation,
the sky,
earth,
and sea.
And so then,
the answer that
these rhetorical questions
anticipate is this,
the Lord,
who has done this?
The Lord alone
ascended to heaven.
The Lord alone
established the earth.
The Lord alone
gathered the winds
and wrapped up the waters.
This is reminiscent
of Job 28,
12 to 20,
which also speaks
of God alone
being the source of wisdom
because he alone
was there
at the beginning
of creation.
So people then
who presumptuously
claim to have
knowledge and wisdom
apart from God,
Agar is contending,
are deluded
because there is
only one fount
of wisdom,
that is God himself.
And at the end
of this forceful line
of questioning,
the pretenders of wisdom
can't help but
be reduced to silence
because we were not there
when God established
the earth.
We have not ascended
to the heavens.
We were not there
when God rolled back
the seas
and tamed the wind.
The pretenders of wisdom
are humiliated
and reduced to silence.
And then verse 4
ends with the final
two rhetorical questions.
What is his name?
And what is his son's name?
There's a pivotal section
in the Old Testament
where this exact question
is asked.
What is his name?
And that's Exodus chapter 3
verses 13 to 15
where God reveals himself
to Moses.
And when Moses asks God,
what should I tell
your people
when I go to Egypt
to deliver them
in your name?
And they ask me,
what is his name?
And God says,
I am who I am.
Say this to the people
of Israel,
I am has sent me to you.
The Lord,
Yehovah,
the God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob
has sent me to you.
And then in the following chapter,
Exodus chapter 4,
God instructs Moses
to tell Pharaoh this,
Thus says the Lord,
Israel is my firstborn son.
And I say to you,
let my son go
that he may serve me.
If you refuse to let him go,
behold,
I will kill your firstborn son.
The answer to the final
rhetorical question,
what is his name,
is the Lord.
And the answer to the question,
what is his son's name,
is Israel.
God's chosen people.
In other words,
God is the only fount of wisdom,
and only those who are chosen by God
and taught by him
receive his wisdom.
Divine wisdom is not something
we attain through our own striving,
through our own intelligence
and diligence.
Rather, it's something
that we receive from God freely,
something that God reveals to us,
something that God has sole
proprietary rights to,
that he shares with
whomever he pleases.
And this reality demands
humility before the word of God.
That's what verses 5 to 6 are about.
It's only through what God
reveals to us
that we come to know
his wisdom.
Every word of God
proves true,
it says.
He is a shield to those
who take refuge in him.
Do not add to his words,
lest he rebuke you,
and you be found a liar.
This is a quotation
of a line from the victory song
that David used to celebrate
after God delivers him
from his enemies
in 2 Samuel 22,
verse 31,
and Psalm 1830.
It means that those
who take refuge in God,
those who stake their lives
on the word of God,
will be delivered.
They will not be disappointed.
But those who add to his words
will be rebuked
and found a liar.
Because we are not the authors,
because we are not the editors
of God's word,
we're only readers,
only hearers,
only recipients.
We have no right to add
or subtract from his words.
So then,
we have to ask ourselves
the question,
do you live
with the God-given boundaries
of Scripture?
Or are you always trespassing?
Pushing the envelope,
fudging the lines.
To those who trust in his word,
God is refuge,
that shields him,
but those who forsake his word
will be left exposed
and vulnerable.
The expression,
proves true,
is a metaphor from metallurgy,
referring to some precious metal
being refined in the furnace.
If what's inside the furnace
is truly a precious metal,
it will withstand the heat
and remain till the end.
It will prove true.
Similarly,
every word of God
proves true.
Brothers and sisters,
do you believe that?
That there is not
a drop
of dross
in this word.
That every word
of God
proves true.
As Jesus said
in Matthew 5.18,
until heaven and earth
pass away,
not an iota,
not a dot
will pass from the law
until all is accomplished.
It's all gold in here.
It will all stand
the test of time.
Do you believe that?
If you bank
your life
on the word of God,
your check
will never bounce.
If you believe
God's word,
every word he says,
not a single word
of it
will fall to the ground.
If we only believe this
with our whole heart,
we would experience
so much more joy.
so much more
of fulfillment
of his promises
as we believe
and take hold
of what he has
in store for us.
If you have
an unwavering trust
in God's word,
you have solid ground
to stand upon,
but if you don't,
you'll be tossed
to and fro
by the waves
and carried about
by every wind
of doctrine,
by human cunning,
by craftiness
in deceitful schemes.
And so it is
we need to live
humbly within
our God-given boundaries.
In light of this reality,
Agur brings
this first subsection
to a close
by making two requests
of God.
These are the only prayers
in the book of Proverbs.
Verses 7 and 9,
Two things I ask of you.
Deny them not to me
before I die.
Remove far from me
falsehood and lying
and give me
neither poverty
nor riches.
Feed me with the food
that is needful for me,
lest I be full
and deny you
and say,
Who is the Lord?
Or lest I be poor
and steal
and profane
the name of my God.
First,
because he knows
that God
is the sole proprietor
of wisdom
and that every word
of God proves true,
he asks God
to remove far from him
falsehood and lying.
He wants to tell
the whole truth
of God's word
and nothing
but the truth.
He wants to be
a pure conduit
of God's word
without adding
or subtracting
from it
because he doesn't
want to be rebuked
and be found a liar.
And then second,
he prays for moderation.
Give me neither poverty
nor riches.
Feed me with the food
that is needful for me.
And he gives the reason
for that prayer
in verse 9,
Lest I be full
and deny you
or lest I be poor
and steal
and profane
the name of my God.
it's possible
for us
to romanticize poverty
out of a false humility
and spiritual bravado.
God, make me poor.
Send me to the hardest
parts of the world
so I can be more
sold out for you.
And it's possible
to idolize wealth
out of a hidden worldliness
saying,
God, make me rich
so I can do more for you.
So I can donate millions
of dollars
toward kingdom causes.
So that I can do
bigger things for you.
Both of these extremes
reveal a level
of self-centered pride.
If poverty
and suffering
are the lot
that God intends
for us,
then they will come
and God will sustain
us through them.
But there's no need
for us to seek
them out
because it will
tempt us
to steal
and profane
the name of God.
Similarly,
if prosperity
is the lot
that God has
for us,
then wealth
will come.
without us
desiring
to be rich.
In fact,
we shouldn't
desire to be rich
lest we be full
and deny God.
It's similar
to the Lord's prayer,
isn't it?
Jesus doesn't teach us
to pray
lead us
into the severest
temptations
so that we might
triumph over them.
Jesus teaches us
to pray
lead us
not
into temptation.
Agar's prayer
is a humble
prayer that
doesn't
overestimate
his own
willpower,
his own
ability to be
faithful to God.
He would
rather not be
tempted
lest he fail
and bring
dishonor to God.
He doesn't
seek the glory
of being a man
who is faithful
to God
under the most
difficult circumstances.
He doesn't
seek the glory
of riches
and the respect
and admiration
that that brings.
He simply
seeks the glory
of God.
God,
I just want
to be faithful
to you.
I don't need
to do anything
big.
I just want
to make sure
I don't
dishonor you
in any aspect
of my life.
I just want
to be faithful
to you,
Lord.
That's
Agar's
humble prayer.
A life
of moderation,
a life
of contentment,
a life
lived within
God-given
boundaries.
He's not
interested in
being
extraordinary,
just a
faithful,
ordinary
follower of
God.
Christian author
Michael Horton
puts it this
way in his
book that's
entitled
Ordinary,
Sustainable
Faith in a
Radical,
Restless
World.
Quote,
Facing
another day
with ordinary
callings to
ordinary people
all around us
is much
more difficult
than chasing
my own dreams
that I have
envisioned for
the grand
story of my
life.
Sometimes,
chasing your
dreams can be
easier than
just being
who we are,
where God
has placed
you with
the gifts
he has
given to
you.
Though
agar uses
food as
the main
category,
it stands
in general
for all
the circumstances
in our
lives.
We can
apply this
across the
board.
God,
give me
not too
much power
lest I
abuse it
and dishonor
you,
nor give me
so little
lest I be
abused by
others and
despise you.
God,
make me
not so
successful
that I
forget you,
nor make
me such
a failure
that I
blame you.
We are
to seek
contentment
and moderation
in our
lives for
the sake
of God's
glory,
and not
to satisfy
our ego.
love.
After
exhorting
us to
live within
the God-given
boundaries,
scripture
agar teaches
us to
live humbly
within the
God-given
boundaries in
society as
well in
verses 10
to 33.
Using
various
examples from
nature,
he warns
us not to
transgress
God-instituted
boundaries in
society.
First,
he addresses
insolent
people of
verses 10
to 14.
So,
verse 10
has in
view someone
who seeks
to subvert
the employer-employee
relation.
Do not
slander a
servant to
his master,
lest he
curse you
and you
be held
guilty.
The servant's
livelihood depends
on the
pleasure of
his master.
So,
to spread
malicious
lies about
the servant,
particularly to
his master,
is a grave
violation of
societal order.
And if the
aggrieved servant
then curses
you because
he has no
other resort,
then God
will uphold
his well-based
curse and
hold you
accountable.
This verse
that introduces
11 to 14,
which are
united by the
initial phrase,
there are
those.
Verse 11
has in
view the
family order.
There are
those who
curse their
fathers and
do not
bless their
mothers.
Children
ought to
bless their
fathers and
mothers who
gave birth to
them.
And to
rear them
and to
curse them
instead is a
grave transgression
of societal
order.
And then
verses 12 to
13 get
underneath these
transgressors'
behavior to
their hard
attitude.
It says,
there are
those who
are clean
in their
own eyes but
are not
washed of
their filth.
There are
those,
how lofty
are their
eyes,
how high
their eyelids
lift.
They are
insolent.
Their eyes
are full of
filth,
literally
excrements.
And yet
instead of
lowering their
eyes in
shame,
in humiliation,
in repentance,
their eyes
are haughty.
They lift
high their
eyelids.
They have
too high a
view of
themselves.
They exalt
themselves over
and above the
commands of
God.
And precisely
because they
think that they
are better than
others, they
use other
people for
selfish gain.
Verse 14
tells us that
there are
those whose
teeth are
swords, whose
fangs are
knives to
devour the
poor from
off the
earth, the
needy from
among mankind.
They exploit
the needy and
rob them of
what little
they had so
that they are
wiped off the
earth.
Instead of
being compassionate
toward the
poor, generous
toward the
most needy
members of
society, these
insolent people
impoverish the
poor further to
enrich themselves.
And these
are all
examples of
the insolent
who transgress
God-given
boundaries in
society.
Instead, we
are to live
humbly within
those boundaries.
Dan Agar
warns us about
the insatiable
things, the
insatiable people
in verses 15
to 17.
Verse 15
begins with
an example
from nature.
The leech
has two
daughters, give
and give.
The leech, as
you know, is a
parasitic worm
that has two
sucking organs.
It uses one
to attach
itself securely
to its host.
It uses the
other to suck
blood.
It's like the
definition of a
parasite.
And the
leech has two
daughters and
an identical
twin, give
and give.
It's an apt
illustration of
greedy, insatiable
people.
They are never
satisfied.
They keep
saying give
and give.
They keep
sucking other
people's resources
stealing from
others, taking
advantage of
others.
They live in a
parasitic lifestyle.
Instead of adding
value to society,
they suck life and
value out of it
and drain others'
resources.
These two are
examples of people
who are transgressing
God-given boundaries
in society.
this class of people
are further
illustrated in
verses 15 to
16.
Three things are
never satisfied,
four never say
enough.
The use of
ascending numbers
going from the
leech who has two
daughters to the
three things that
are never satisfied
and to the four
that never say
enough is a
poetic device.
It's a rhetorical
device that seeks to
escalate, kind of
raise the stakes in
order to emphasize a
point that these
things really are
never satisfied.
And what are those
four things?
Sheol, the barren
womb, the land
that never satisfied,
there's never
satisfied with water,
and the fire that
never says enough.
The Sheol, the
realm of the dead,
is never satisfied
even though
approximately 150,000
people die in the
world every single
day.
The barren womb
is never satisfied.
It never produces
offspring no matter
how much seed it
takes in.
The land that must
continually drink more
water is never
satisfied.
Unless it's
continually given
water, it will not
produce crops.
And finally, fire that
spreads and consumes
everything in its
path never says
enough.
These vivid
illustrations all serve
to warn us against
greedy, insatiable
people.
Greedy people
transgress God-given
boundaries in society
because their appetites
are never satisfied.
If you are driven
by lust, don't
delude yourself into
thinking that looking
at one more picture,
watching one more
video clip,
visiting the brothel
one more time,
or having an
affair one more
time will satisfy.
It will never
satisfy.
If you are driven
by a gluttonous
appetite, don't
delude yourself into
thinking that eating
one more cookie,
or drinking one
more pint of beer,
taking one more
puff of marijuana,
or eating one more
piece of meat will
satisfy you because it
will never satisfy
your appetite.
if you are driven
by a desire for
fame and esteem,
don't delude yourself
into thinking that
one more like,
or one more retweet,
or one more viral
video will satisfy
you.
It will never
satisfy you.
If you are driven
by a worldly pursuit
of outward beauty,
don't think getting
a little more
jewelry, a little
more clothes,
losing a few more
pounds will satisfy
you because it will
never satisfy you.
If you are driven
by greed, don't
think that a little
more money will
satisfy you.
It will never
satisfy you.
This is the very
nature of lust,
very nature of greed.
These things are
never satisfied.
Instead, we should
be content and live
humbly within our
God-given boundaries.
But there's something
else that these verses
are saying also.
Notice that the
illustrations complement
each other.
Shield, the realm
of the dead,
contrasted with the
womb, incubator of
life.
Land that needs
water, contrasted
with fire.
This adds another
layer of poetic
meaning.
Agar seems to be
suggesting that the
cycle of life, the
push and pull of
life, life and death,
rains and fires,
will continue as long
as we live.
It is no use trying
to escape this
reality.
Instead, we should
humbly learn to live
with whatever lot
God gives us.
after these illustrations,
verse 17, which
matches verse 11,
caps off the
subsection and
brings together the
insulin and the
insatiable in one
proverb.
The eye that mocks a
father and scorns to
obey a mother will be
picked out by the
ravens of the valley and
eaten by the vultures.
The haughty eye,
right, mentioned earlier
in verses 12 and 13,
occur again here in
verse 17.
Those who are
insolent and transgressed
societal order will be
picked off by the
insatiable people,
represented by the
ravens and vultures,
which are both
scavenging birds and
therefore apt pictures
of the greedy,
parasitic people.
And then in verses
18 to 20, Agar turns
his attention to the
incomprehensible things.
He says in verses 18
to 19, three things are
too wonderful for me.
For I do not
understand the way of
an eagle in the sky,
the way of a serpent
on a rock, the way of
a ship on the high
seas, and the way of a
man with a virgin.
The way an eagle, the
heaviest bird found in
Israel, the way it
defies gravity and
flies with its majestic
seven-feet wingspan,
soaring effortlessly in
the sky.
The way a serpent,
the way it has no hands
or feet to grab hold
of anything, glides
smoothly and climbs
steep rocks.
The way a ship,
floating on the high
seas, undulates with
the rising tide, rising
and falling with the
waves, without capsizing.
The way a man moves
in concert with the
virgin during intercourse.
These four things,
Agar says, are beyond
his comprehension.
There's something so
graceful and breathtaking
about these things found
in nature.
The way they move in
accordance with God's
order in creation.
But all of these
wonderful examples serve
to highlight this jarring
contrast in verse 20.
This is the way of an
adulteress.
She eats and wipes her
mouth and says, I have
done no wrong.
The word way, which
was repeated four times
in verse 19, is
repeated here again
in verse 20.
But this way is not
the beautiful, graceful
way that's in
accordance with God's
created order.
Rather, it's the
forbidden, twisted
way.
The virgin symbol of
sexual purity is
contrasted with the
adulteress.
Instead of following
the God-ordained
ways of nature,
instead of keeping
within the God-given
boundaries, the
adulteress transgresses
these boundaries and
subverts the God-ordained
way.
She, along with the
man who is foolish
enough to sleep with
her, do violence to
the social order,
destroying marriages,
families, societies.
And yet, afterward,
the adulteress eats and
wipes her mouth.
It's no big deal to her,
just like eating food.
Eats and wipes her
mouth and says, I've
done no wrong.
It was consensual.
What's wrong with that?
It's not my fault that
his wife doesn't
satisfy him.
The adulteress has a
seared conscience and
does not take ownership
of the grave harm that
she has done.
Instead of straying it
from the ways of the
ordained ways of God,
like this adulteress,
Agar calls us to live
humbly within our God-given
boundaries.
And then in verses 21 to
23, Agar turns to the
intolerable things.
Three topsy-turvy social
situations that are
intolerable.
Under three things the
earth trembles.
Under four it cannot bear
up.
A slave when he becomes
king and a fool when he
is filled with food.
An unloved woman when she
gets a husband and a
maidservant when she
displaces her mistress.
So when a person who
does not have the
character nor the
competence to rule
takes the throne, he
becomes intoxicated by
newfound privilege and
power and becomes
overbearing.
He abuses his power,
perverts justice.
His rule becomes erratic
and uncontrollable.
That's what is in view
here.
A servant that doesn't
deserve to rule becoming
king.
Similarly, when a fool who
should go hungry is
instead satisfied, bloated
with food.
When an unloved or
better, a hated, unlovable
woman gets a husband.
When a maidservant
displaces her mistress.
From their places of
undeserved privilege, they
broadcast their folly further
and magnify their harmful
effect on society.
When those who transgress
God-given boundaries in
society are rewarded with
a platform, with
privilege, with power, it
erodes the very foundation
of society.
And then next, in verses
24 to 28, Agar commends
the example of ingenious
creatures.
Four things on earth are
small, but they are
exceedingly wise.
The ants are a people not
strong, yet they provide
their food in the summer.
The rock badgers are a
people not mighty, yet they
make their homes in the
cliffs.
The locusts have no king,
yet all of them march in
rank.
The lizard you can take in
your hands, yet it is in
king's palaces.
Each of these animals have a
significant liability, and
yet they make up for it with
other admirable qualities.
First, the ants make up for their
weakness by their industry, by
their diligence.
They have foresight enough to
store up food during the
summer so that when there's
scarcity in the winter, they
have something they can eat.
Second, the rock badgers, this
is a reference to the rock
hyraxes, rodent-like mammals
that live in the Middle East.
They make their homes in the
cliffs, literally, and therefore
they're noted for their
attention to security.
Though they are weak and
incapable of protecting
themselves from predators, they
provide for their security by
essentially creating a fortress
for themselves.
Third, locusts model order and
unity.
Though they have no king to lead
them, they march in rank like a
well-disciplined army, and
because of that, they can wreak
havoc on farmlands, consume a
staggering amount of props at
once.
Fourth, the lizard, though it's not
particularly elusive, you can
take it in your hands, it's easy
to catch, yet it is in king's
palaces.
This is the only one that's not
really explained.
The lizard in view is what's
commonly known as the house
gecko or the moon lizard, because
it has the habit of coming out
under the moonlight.
And these geckos have no
particular strength except that
they are unobtrusive and
inconspicuous.
We might call this their
modesty.
They're only three to six
inches long, often live unseen
in small crevices of the house,
and they are benign to humans.
In fact, they could be very
beneficial because they prey on
insects that are often
destructive, like moths, spiders,
roaches, termites, and wasps,
which can at times be
destructive.
And because these animals, the
geckos, are unobtrusive and
inconspicuous, they're benign and
even beneficial, even kings are
content to let them inhabit their
palaces.
Though if they wanted to, they could
easily catch them.
This last example of the lizard seems
to be tied to the rest of the
chapter, which speaks of kings.
Verses 29 to 31 speak of proud
creatures who have indomitable
spirits.
They stand for stately kings.
Three things are stately in their
tread.
Four are stately in their stride.
The lion, which is mightiest among
beasts and does not turn back before
any.
The strutting rooster, the he-goat,
and a king whose army is with him.
These four invulnerable creatures are
contrasted with the four vulnerable
creatures of the preceding verses.
The lion, the strutting rooster, and
the he-goat cower before nobody.
And they represent the king who is
bold because he has his army with
him.
There's no use trying to overthrow or
scare that king because he will not
cower before you.
He will not back down.
These proverbs seem to caution us
against causing social upheaval, trying
to cause rebellion, treason.
The four weak creatures of verses 24
to 28 are contrasted with these four
mighty creatures.
And I think the weak creatures are
intended to represent the citizens of
the kingdom, unlike these strong
creatures who represent the kings.
I think this is confirmed by the
repetition of the word people in
verse 24 and 25.
The ants, the rock badgers, are each
personified as a people, which is the
same word that's translated sometimes as
nation.
The ants are a nation not strong.
The rock badgers are a nation not
mighty.
The regular old citizens of the kingdom
who are weak by the very virtue of
their station need to adapt for
survival in the kingdom by emulating
these weak creatures.
They need to learn the ants' industry
because they can't tax subjects like
the king.
They need to provide for their own
future.
They need to imitate the rock badgers'
attention to security because they lack
the king's military prowess.
They need to find other ways to secure
their families and properties.
If they want to thrive in this kingdom,
instead of provoking the king by
inciting anarchy, they should imitate
the unity of the locusts that march in
rank despite not having a king.
And lastly, they should emulate the
modesty of the lizard who gains access
to the palace not by being brash and
self-exalting but by being civil and
unobtrusive.
This interpretation is confirmed by
Agar's conclusion in verses 32 to 33
where he warns against being a
political opportunist.
It says,
If you have been foolish exalting
yourself or if you have been devising
evil, put your hand on your mouth for
pressing milk produces curds,
pressing the nose produces blood,
and pressing anger produces strife.
Continuing to incur people's wrath by
foolishly exalting yourself will
surely produce strife.
If you find yourself doing that, if you
find yourself devising evil, plotting
against others, using others as stepping
stones in order to get ahead, then you
need to put your hand on your mouth, stop
yourself in your tracks, lest you bring
disaster upon yourself.
Once again, this is Agar's recurring
theme.
We should live humbly within God-given
boundaries instead of exalting
ourselves beyond them.
But the bad news is we have all
foolishly exalted ourselves beyond our
God-given boundaries.
That's been the history of humanity from
the very beginning.
God created the heavens and the earth
and at the climax of his creative work, he
created Adam.
He then created Eve and gave her to Adam
as his special helper so that together they
might exercise dominion over the earth,
including over all the creatures.
However, at the fall, the serpent transgresses
its boundary by tempting Adam and Eve to
eat from the tree of knowledge of good and
evil, which God had forbidden them to eat
from.
And Eve, instead of exercising proper
dominion over the creature, listens to it
and eats it.
Then she offers it to her husband Adam, and
Adam, instead of exercising his headship over
his wife, listens to her and eats it.
And so humanity together, which was supposed to
rule as God's representatives, instead seeks to
usurp God's throne.
Instead of relying on God's revelation of good
and evil, Adam and Eve seek moral autonomy,
seeking to determine for themselves what is good
and evil, without reference to God.
And that's what we all have done at one point.
Living for ourselves without reference to God,
we have foolishly sought to exalt ourselves
over and against God, our King, instead of living
humbly within the boundaries He's given us.
We have had insolence toward His societal order.
We have shown indulgence of insatiable greed and
lust.
We have tolerated intolerable social upheaval by
giving folly and wickedness free reign in our lives and
in our world.
We have transgressed the boundaries God's given us.
But God, because He loves us, does not leave us to our own
devices.
As Agur asserted in verse 4, only the Lord who has ascended
to heaven and come down, and only His Son can save us from
our folly and impart to us the wisdom from God.
And it is for this reason that God the Father sent His only Son,
Jesus Christ.
John 1.18 says,
No one has ever seen God, the only God who is at the Father's
side.
He has made Him known.
John 3.13 says,
No one has ascended into heaven except He who descended from
heaven, the Son of Man.
Jesus is the fulfillment of Agur's prophecy.
He is the only person who can reveal God the Father and His
wisdom to us because He is the only Son of God.
God, Jesus is the Son that Israel failed to be.
We had trespassed into where only God should be, but instead of
despising us and punishing us and kicking us back to the place
where we belong, God sent His Son Jesus to cross over into our
filth, into our sinful places.
Jesus did this so that He might rescue us.
In our hubris, we exalted ourselves against God, but in humility,
Christ emptied Himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the
likeness of man, and being found in human form, and He humbled Himself by
becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross.
And it's because Jesus paid the price of our treason on the cross.
The King, think about it, the King, the heir to the throne, dying on the cross like an
exile among His own people so that we might be reconciled to God and restored to His kingdom.
And it's only by believing in Jesus, in His life, death, and resurrection for our sake,
that we can be forgiven of our transgressions, that we can be filled with His Spirit.
We can receive the wisdom of God and live humbly, following the humble King,
within the boundaries that God has given us.
Please take a moment to reflect on this.
How is God calling you to greater humility in your life?
How is God asking you not to occupy yourself with things that are too great and wonderful for you,
but instead to humble yourself and to walk trustingly beside Him like a weaned child with its mother?
After you've done some reflection, let's, we'll respond together by praying out loud as a church.
Amen.