Wednesday
Evening Bible Study
November 3, 2004
Proverbs 30
:1 The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the
prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal,
prophecy – massa’ – utterance, oracle, burden – a
“heavy” message.
It came from Agur to Ithiel to Ucal.
We don’t know who these fellows are.
Agur – ‘Aguwr
– “gathered”
Jakeh – Yaqeh – “blameless”
Ithiel – ‘Iythiy’el
– God is with me"
Ucal – ‘Ukal
– “devoured”
Some translations take the men’s names and put them together like this:
(Pr 30:1 NLT) {1} The message of Agur son
of Jakeh. An oracle. I am weary, O God; I am weary and
worn out, O God.
(Pr 30:1 The Message) {1} The skeptic swore, “There is no God! No God!—I can do
anything I want!
:2 Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have
not the understanding of a man.
brutish – ba‘ar – brutishness (being like an animal), stupidity
understanding – biynah – understanding, discernment
:3 I neither learned wisdom, nor have the
knowledge of the holy.
He feels like he doesn’t know much at all.
He doesn’t feel like he really knows God.
:4 Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended?
who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who
hath established all the ends of the earth? what is
his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?
Do you know who he’s talking about?
Agur may be asking these questions because he doesn’t know, but we do know.
Agur is talking about God. He’s talking about Jesus.
Jesus is the One who has ascended and descended to heaven:
(Eph 4:9-10 KJV) (Now that
he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts
of the earth? {10} He that descended is the same also that ascended up far
above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
God has control over the elements – yet so does Jesus.
(Mark 4:41 KJV)
And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What
manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?
His name – a “name” also refers to a person’s nature or attributes.
God’s special name He gave to man was Yahweh – the “existing One”
Jesus is the name above all names, His name means
“Yahweh is salvation”.
:5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto
them that put their trust in him.
pure – tsaraph – (Qal) to smelt, refine; to test (and prove true); smelter,
refiner, goldsmith (participle)
Silver and gold are refined in the fire.
Refining not only removes the impurities, but it shows the metal to be
what it is, silver is silver, gold is gold.
Ps 18:30 [As for] God, his way
[is] perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he [is] a buckler to all those
that trust in him.
Ps 119:140 ¶
Thy word [is] very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it.
God’s Word is tested and found to be true.
I have a friend who works for UPS.
From time to time they come up with new ways to improve the
company. I’m sure that some of them
might be excellent ideas, but it sounds to me that some of the ideas came from
guys who don’t know what it’s like to drive a truck on a route.
God’s Word isn’t just a bunch of new-fangled ideas that have no basis in
reality. God’s Word is pure, true,
tested, proved.
that put their trust – chacah –
(Qal) to seek refuge, flee for protection
When Israel
entered into the Promised Land, they were living in a day of blood feuds. If someone accidentally killed another
person, the family of the dead person was obligated to hunt you down and kill
you. So when the Israelites entered into
their Promised Land, God did something to put an end to the feuds. They were to set up six cities of
“refuge”. When a person accidentally
committed manslaughter, they could run to the city and find shelter,
protection.
God is a shield to those who run to Him
:6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove
thee, and thou be found a liar.
Don’t make up things about God. He
tells us about Himself through His Word – be sure to let your ideas about God
be formed from His Word.
Some people will say things like, “Well I don’t believe in a God who sends
people to hell.”
Hell may not be a pleasant thought, and the devil has done a good job of
making us think that the idea of “hell” is old and outdated, but it doesn’t
change the fact that there is a place called hell and that people will be
judged and sent there.
Jesus spoke more about hell than any other person in the Bible.
Jesus did everything He could to keep you from hell. He died on a cross to pay for your sin. You need to respond by accepting His
forgiveness and following Him.
:7-9
Two requests
:7 Two things have I required of thee; deny me
them not before I die:
:8 Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me
neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:
:9 Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is
the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the
name of my God in vain.
He asks for two things:
Truth – keeping lies far from
him
vanity – shav’ – emptiness, vanity, falsehood
lies – kazab – a lie, untruth, falsehood, deceptive thing
Truth is important to growing in life:
(Eph 4:15
KJV) But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head,
even Christ:
Not telling the truth or even acknowledging the truth
causes trouble. Last night during the
election returns, one of the Democratic gals being interviewed kept challenging
the things the news guys were saying.
She said that she was never wrong and that her sources told her that Mr.
Kerry was definitely going to win the state of Ohio. After she got done, everyone on the panel in
the newsroom wasn’t sure what to say.
But as the evening and night wore on, it seems that either she was
misinformed or she wasn’t telling the truth.
If I am not being truthful with myself about life, I’m not
helping anything. If I have a problem
with something and refuse to admit it, I’m only hurting myself.
Enough
food – lechem – bread, food, grain
convenient – choq – statute, prescribed portion
Jesus taught us to pray:
(Mat 6:11
KJV) Give us this day our daily bread.
He doesn’t want to have so much that he turns away from God.
Do you ever consider this prayer?
Usually we are asking for more and more, yet having more can have bad
consequences. We can forget about our
need for God.
He doesn’t want to have so little that he steals or does something stupid.
Paul talked about learning to be content in all circumstances:
(Phil 4:11-13 KJV) Not that
I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am,
therewith to be content. {12} I know both how to be abased, and I know how to
abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be
hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. {13} I can do all things through
Christ which strengtheneth me.
:10 Accuse not a servant unto his master, lest he
curse thee, and thou be found guilty.
accuse – lashan – to use the tongue, slander; to accuse
(Pr 30:10 The Message) {10} Don’t blow the whistle on your fellow workers behind their
backs; They’ll accuse you of being underhanded, and then you’ll be the guilty
one!
:11-14
Bad generations
:11 There is a generation that curseth their
father, and doth not bless their mother.
generation – dowr – period, generation, habitation, dwelling; generation (characterised by quality, condition, class of men)
We could say, “There’s a type of person …”
Instead, the Bible teaches us:
(Eph 6:2-3 KJV) Honour thy
father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; {3} That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on
the earth.
Illustration
A small boy invaded the lingerie section of a big California
department store and shyly presented his problem to a woman clerk. “I want to
buy my mom a present of a slip,” he said, “but I don’t know what size she
wears.”
“Is she tall or short, fat or skinny?” asked the clerk.
“She’s just perfect,” beamed the small boy. So she wrapped up a size 34 for him.
Two days later, mom came to the store herself and changed
it to a 52.
-- Saturday Review
The Bible teaches us to respect our elders:
(Lev 19:32
KJV) Thou shalt rise up before the hoary
head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD.
:12 There is a generation that are pure in their
own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.
(Pr 30:12 The Message) {12} Don’t imagine yourself to be quite presentable when you
haven’t had a bath in weeks.
Hypocrisy –
Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for their hypocrisy:
(Mat 23:23-28 KJV) Woe unto
you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay
tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted
the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to
have done, and not to leave the other undone. {24} Ye
blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. {25} Woe unto you,
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean
the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of
extortion and excess. {26} Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is
within the cup and platter, that the outside of them
may be clean also. {27} Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye
are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear
beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all
uncleanness. {28} Even so ye also outwardly appear
righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
Our walk ought to match our talk.
What happens on the outside shows what’s on the inside.
Illustration
Jesse James killed a fellow in a bank robbery and shortly thereafter was
baptized in the Kearney Baptist
Church. Then he killed another man, a bank cashier,
and joined the church choir and taught hymn-singing. He liked Sundays, Jesse did, but he couldn't
always show up at church. On two
Sundays, he robbed trains.
If you truly clean the inside, then the outside takes care of itself.
:13 There is a generation, O how lofty are their
eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up.
Arrogance
:14 There is a generation, whose teeth are as
swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth,
and the needy from among men.
People who oppress the poor.
:15-16 Insatiable things
:15 The horseleach hath two daughters, crying,
Give, give.
horseleach – ‘aluwqah – leech – a bloodsucking
worm. It attaches itself to you and
sucks up to three times it’s own weight in blood
before it’s finished feeding. Some
ancients thought this word was a “vampire” instead of a leech.
This is a picture of the things that are never satisfied.
:15 There are three things that are never
satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough:
three … four – a Hebrew literary
device. Apparently a
way of getting your attention. There
are actually four things listed.
:16 The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that
is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough.
grave – sh@’owl – sheol, underworld, grave, hell, pit
The grave is never full. There’s
always room for more people to die.
barren womb – in ancient cultures a
woman got her sense of worth from bearing children. A barren woman was a needy woman.
earth – it keeps taking more and more
water. Your lawn never says, “You never
have to water me again”.
fire – fire wants to be fed.
It’s all about greed, the need for “more”.
:17 The eye that mocketh at his father, and
despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and
the young eagles shall eat it.
Yuck. Gross.
The eye is probably plucked out because the body is dead and lying unburied
out in the open. It’s unburied because no family member has claimed it, no one
cares for it.
This is a bit of a picture to tell you that you get what you give. Jesus said,
(Mat 7:2 KJV) For with what
judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall
be measured to you again.
:18-19
Amazing things
:18 There be three things which are too wonderful
for me, yea, four which I know not:
:19 The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a
serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of
a man with a maid.
man with a maid – it’s talking about
romantic things.
What do these four things have in common?
Suggestions:
Perhaps they are just mysterious things, as in, “How do they do it?”
One suggestion is that each is able to master something that could be
difficult.
A final idea could be that each one goes where there are no roadmaps.
:20 Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she
eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.
The adulterous woman doesn’t see what’s wrong with what she’s doing. This is the way our society is going today.
:21-23
Four Disquieting things
:21 For three things the earth is disquieted, and
for four which it cannot bear:
disquieted – ragaz – tremble, quake, rage, quiver, be agitated, be excited, be
perturbed
These are things that cause the people of the world to be shook up.
:22 For a servant when he reigneth; and a fool when
he is filled with meat;
fool – nabal – foolish, senseless, fool
(Pr 30:22 The Message) {22} when the
janitor becomes the boss, when a fool gets rich,
BKC: The people tremble because
social turmoil follows the sudden elevation of inexperienced, unqualified
people to positions of power and success.
:23 For an odious woman when she is married; and
an handmaid that is heir to her mistress.
odious – sane’ – to hate, be hateful
She’s not going to be a good spouse.
She’s going to be mean.
(Pr 30:23 NLT) {23} a bitter woman who finally gets a husband…
handmaid … -
(Pr 30:23 NIV) …and a maidservant who displaces
her mistress.
(Pr 30:23 The Message) … when a “girlfriend”
replaces a faithful wife.
:24-28 Four things small but wise
:24 There be four things which are little upon the
earth, but they are exceeding wise:
You don’t have to be big to set an example.
:25 The ants are a people not strong, yet they
prepare their meat in the summer;
Ants prepare (unless you have ant spray) for the winter.
:26 The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make
they their houses in the rocks;
conies – shaphan – rock badger, coney, the hyrax
It’s a small creature, about a foot long that looks something like a rabbit.
It’s got sweat glands in the feet that moisten the foot when it runs. It has special muscles in the feet that along
with the sweat cause the feet to act like suction cups so they can climb up the
rocks.
They are pretty defenseless, except that they know where to make their home
– in a safe place.
:27 The locusts have no king, yet go they forth
all of them by bands;
bands – chatsats – to divide; to shoot arrows
Grasshoppers.
Right now in Africa there are nations battling
huge swarms of locusts.
Locusts have no “king”, yet they manage to travel in such order that they
are quite effective at devastating everything they touch.
In a day a swarm of locusts can travel between five to 130 km and they
normally fly at a speed ranging from 16 to 19 km per hour.
A swarm is capable of eating 375 truckloads of vegetation, that is enough
to feed 10 elephants or 25 camels or rather 2 500 people for a day.
:28 The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is
in kings' palaces.
spider – s@mamiyth – a kind of lizard
(Pr 30:28 NLT) {28} Lizards—they are easy to catch, but they are
found even in kings’ palaces.
Lesson
Effective doesn’t require “big”
You don’t have to be “big” or “powerful” to make an impact on the world.
Just plant seeds.
(Mark 4:26-32 KJV) And he
said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man
should cast seed into the ground; {27} And should sleep, and rise night and
day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. {28} For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the
blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. {29}
But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle,
because the harvest is come. {30} And he said,
Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? {31} It is like
a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all
the seeds that be in the earth: {32} But when it is sown, it groweth up, and
becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the
fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.
Find out what you’re good at.
Find out what God has equipped you to do and do it.
Learn the lessons of the animals:
You may not be a gi-ant, but you can prepare for
the winter.
You may not be a great warrior, but you can hide in the Rock.
You may not be a leader, but you can still be organized.
You may not be a king, but you can still be in the King’s Palace.
:29-31 Four comely things
:29 There be three things which go well, yea, four
are comely in going:
These are things that “look good” when they walk.
:30 A lion which is strongest among beasts, and
turneth not away for any;
:31 A greyhound; an he goat also; and a king,
against whom there is no rising up.
greyhound – mothen – loins, hips; perhaps an extinct animal, exact meaning unknown
Most modern translations have “strutting rooster”.
a king … -
(Pr 30:29-31 NLT) {29} There are three stately monarchs on the
earth—no, four: {30} the lion, king of animals, who won’t turn aside for
anything, {31} the strutting rooster, the male goat, a king as he leads his
army.
I’m not sure if this is a complement to the king or not, being compared to
a rooster or a goat. It would seem that
Agur is making fun of a king who thinks he’s hot stuff.
:32 If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up
thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth.
:33 Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth
butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of
wrath bringeth forth strife.
(Pr 30:32-33 The Message) {32} If you’re dumb enough to call attention to yourself by
offending people and making rude gestures, {33} Don’t be surprised if someone
bloodies your nose. Churned milk turns into butter; riled emotions turn into
fist fights. Speak Out for Justice
Pride stirs up trouble.