Beloved, I have the joy of sharing with you today the above theme from Pr 30.1 et seq. Indeed, I use that here God spoke through Solomon, the wisest among the wise. But, as if to show that His Book owes nothing to human intelligence, He is now using Agur, a man who recognizes himself as more stupid than anyone. Having thus presented himself (see 2) and having confessed his profound ignorance, Agur begins by asking fundamental questions: who is the Creator; who is his Son; how to access heaven? To answer this, it was necessary for God to reveal Himself, to descend Himself from that heaven where man could not ascend and to communicate his glorious counsel in his refined Word (v. 5; v. 4 with John 3:5-16; Ephesians 4:4-16; Mark 4:35-41; Luke 1:26-33). Agur knows his limited mind, but he also knows that his heart is perverse and he addresses to God a double prayer: (1) That vanity (the search for self, of the good opinion of men) and the word of lies be distant from him. (2) Let him remain dependent, because he measures the dangers of both wealth and poverty. Wise requests, from which we can draw inspiration! Without illusion about himself, Agur also knows the principles of the world: revolt, own justice, pride, oppression (v. 11-14). Has our “generation” improved compared to his?
Agur has observed and grouped together for our instruction dangerous or odious things, others on the contrary that are wise or beautiful. The lust of the eyes and that of the flesh both claim their satisfaction: “Give, give”! They have the same insatiable mother: the leech, that is, that thirst for enjoyment attached to each man to devour his life (v. 15-16). To these lusts is added pride (1 John 2:15-17). It manifests itself in many ways, but the v. 17, which is very serious to be regarded by all young people, places special emphasis on contempt for authority and the spirit of independence. Along with these principles of the world, vs. 18 and 19 evoke the mysterious ways of God in judgment as well as in love. The v. 21–23 list four things that are detestable because they overturn the order established by God. Then we learn that wisdom goes hand in hand with the feeling of one’s own weakness, with prudence, trust, communion, smallness (v. 24-28); while beauty is related to walking (v. 29-31). How many lessons we can learn in the company of a man who declares himself stupid but whose humility places precisely in the rank of sages according to God! (1 Cor 1:26-29; 1 Cor 2:11-16; 1 Cor 8:1-4).
He was a stupider man than any other; the very intelligence of an ordinary man was lacking; he had not been to any school of wisdom; he had not received, like others, a body of knowledge communicated directly by the Most Holy; quite different in this, as in all things, from the glorious preacher and King Solomon, to whom the Lord had appeared, saying to him, “I have given you a wise and intelligent heart, so that there will have been no one like you before you, and that after you there will be no one like you” (1 Kings 3:12). What characterized Agur, the inspired man, was that in himself he was the opposite of a sage, that he was aware of it and liked to proclaim it highly. Condemning oneself in this way is not common, even among men taught by God. Another prophet, Asaph, did not arrive there at first, and tells us what path he had to go through to judge himself like this. After much struggle he had entered “into the sanctuaries of God” and, placed in the light of His presence, he had said like Agur: “I was stupid and I had no knowledge; I was with you like a brute” (Ps. 73:17, 22).
Four things, awful before God, characterize it: 1° revolt against authority and contempt for the bonds that God has established from the beginning for men; (2) the own righteousness spreading its mantle over sin and defilement; (3) pride, or the high opinion that men have of themselves; 4 ° finally the wickedness which oppresses the weak and the wretched. These are the general characteristics of man’s heart, his public characters, so to speak. Here is another: The leech has two daughters: Give! Gives! There are three things that are insatiable, four that do not say: Enough is enough!… the sheol, and the womb, the earth that is not satiated with water, and the fire, which does not say: Enough is enough! This other character lodges in the depths of the heart: it is “covetousness”, the insatiable desire to acquire, anything, at the expense of one’s neighbor. The two daughters of the leech have only one name. They can have diverse traits, appearance, research, and purpose.
When we probe their intimate character, we find in them a unique principle: Give! Gives! This thirst for selfish enjoyment that governs the world is comparable 1° to the tomb that engulfs without giving anything back forever; (2) to a sterile woman who receives without ever producing fruit; (3) arid land that always drinks water without ever being satiated; (4) to the fire that devours without ever extinguishing, as long as it has food to swallow. What a frightening picture of the principles of the world and the state of man! And is it not natural that it should be followed by this sentence: The eye that mocks a father and despises obedience to the mother, the crows of the torrent will die him and the cubs of the vulture will devour him”? The contempt for authority and disobedience, already mentioned in v. 11, can be summed up in one word, the independence that is the basis of all evil in man. It is she whom the word of God calls iniquity, when it tells us, “Sin is iniquity” (1 John 3:4). Now these things will draw upon men the terrible judgment of God that follows death.
The frightening development of evil and the unbridled characters of man are all too visible on earth, but if these are the “ways of God,” man’s mind is unable to recognize them; they are too wonderful for him. Three things are too wonderful for me, and there are four that I cannot know: the path of the eagle in the heavens, the path of the serpent on the rock, the path of a ship in the heart of the sea, and the path of man to the girl. There are:
1° The way of “God’s judgment”. It is not that judgment itself cannot be distinguished at the moment when it falls on its object, but what has prepared it, what has suspended it for a long time, what brings it, what decides it, is as invisible to man as the traces of the wings of the eagle (Mat 24:28; Job 39:33) in heaven.
2° The way of “wisdom and prudence” which like the serpent (Matt. 10:16), uses the hard rock as the path that leads it to its goal. No one can see it, this path. Man’s unbelief, hardening, Satan’s empire over his heart, his hatred of God, Wisdom makes them serve the fulfillment of his purposes. “O depth of riches, and wisdom, and knowledge of God! How unfathomable his judgments are, and his ways cannot be found! For who has known the lord’s mind, or who has been his counselor?… To him be the glory eternally! Amen” (Rom. 11:33-36). Everything will proclaim this wisdom and knowledge, but now we must be content to know that it will reach its goal, without the human eye being able to follow in its footsteps.
3° The way of “god’s government”. There is a divine government; man feels the effects of it every day when he has to suffer the consequences of his actions. Certain facts inevitably lead to certain results; thus “he who sows for the flesh will reap corruption”; “he who keeps his tongue of evil will see happy days” here on earth. But, how God’s government achieves its ends and makes us reach the desired port, while in appearance evil triumphs and good is unknown and oppressed, this is as obscure in the eyes of man as the path of the ship in the heart of the sea. We believe for a moment to follow in his wake and behold he has already disappeared (Ps. 77:20).
4° The wonderful way of “love”, that of “man to young girl”. By what path does love come to conquer, to possess the object of its desire? So what attracted him to us? What did he see in us that aroused his sympathies? By what means did he succeed in revealing himself and in giving rise to mutual affection? So many riddles that the mind of man will never be able to probe.
It is the case of all these things as a very simple drawing on which the hand of a child has intersected an infinity of lines without pattern and order, so that it is impossible for the eye to find the primitive line. The author of the drawing will know alone what covers the inextricable maze of man’s ways. So it is with the eye of God; he discerns His ways, and those of man cannot hinder them. All of God’s ways come to fruition. And yet the believer can know them, but not from what he sees on earth. For this he must enter the sanctuary: “Your way is in the holy place” (Ps. 77:14).
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
Agur’s sentences:
- Lowering of oneself, of the just
Gen 18:27 Abraham resumed, and said, Behold, I dared to speak to the Lord, I who am but powder and ash. 1 Sam 9:21 Saul answered: Am I not Benjamite, of one of the smallest tribes of Israel? and is my family not the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why, then, do you talk to me like this? Mk 1:7 He preached, saying: He comes after me the one who is more powerful than me, and I am not worthy to untie, by bending down, the strap of his shoes. 1 Cor 15:9 for I am the least of the apostles, I am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I have persecuted the Church of God.
- Slander, general references
Ps 31:14 I learn of the bad words of many, The terror that reigns around me, When they consult together against me: They plot to take my life. Ps 101:5 He who secretly slanders his neighbor, I will annihilate him; The one who has haughty looks and a swollen heart, I will not stand it. Pr 11:9 Through his mouth the ungodly loses his neighbor, but the righteous are delivered by science. Jer 9:3 They have their tongues stretched out like a bow and throw lies; It is not by the truth that they are powerful in the country; For they go from wickedness to wickedness, and they do not know me, says the Lord.
- The poor, neglect and oppression of the
2 Sam 12.4 A traveler arrived at the rich man’s house. And the rich man did not want to touch his sheep or oxen, to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to his house; he took the poor man’s sheep, and prepared it for the man who had come to his house. Ps 10:2 The wicked in his pride pursues the unfortunate, They are victims of the frames he has designed. Isaiah 3:15 By what right do you trample on my people, and crush the face of the poor? Says the Lord, the Lord of hosts. Ez 18:11 if this son in no way imitates the conduct of his father, if he eats on the mountains, if he dishonors the wife of his neighbor,
- Making mistakes, natural consequences of
-Presumption Ps 36.3 For he flatters himself in his own eyes, to consume his iniquity, to satisfy his hatred.
Spiritual slavery Isa 44:20 He feeds on the ashes, His abused heart misleads him, and he will not save his soul, and will not say: Is this not the lie that I have in my hand?
-Sufficiency Gal 6:3 If someone thinks he is something, even though he is nothing, he is abusing himself.
-Inattentive hearing Jas 1:22 Put speech into practice, and do not limit yourself to listening to it, deceiving yourself with false reasoning.
-A language without brakes Jas 1:26 If someone believes to be religious, without holding his tongue in bridle, but by deceiving his heart, the religion of this man is in vain.
Bigotry 1 Jn 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Spiritual poverty Rev 3:17 Because you say: I am rich, I have enriched myself, and I need nothing, and because you do not know that you are unhappy, miserable, poor, blind and naked,
From all of the above, we note that if there are wise things in this world that we must be attentive to, there are also “beautiful” things in the midst of all the repulsive things produced by sin: There are three things that look good, and four that have a beautiful gait: the lion, the strong among the beasts, and who does not turn away before anyone; the courier who has the kidneys girdled; or the goat; and the king, against whom no one can rise. If we find wisdom only in smallness, we find “beauty” only in “walking”. Yes, it is beautiful the pace of the lion, the strength in the walk, which goes straight its way, “disdaining obstacles”. – She is beautiful, the look of the courier, with the kidneys girdled both to “serve others” and to “provide a quick run”. – She is beautiful, the allure of the goat (Jer. 50:8) who goes before the flock, “giving him the example” of walking, bringing all the sheep to the fold). It is beautiful finally, the allure of the king, a march of “divine authority”, to which no power can resist. Ah! may it be given to us, with our eyes fixed on Christ, perfect model of all these gaits, to reproduce its beauty in our walk here on earth! Give us, O God, to know wisdom in humility, to realize power in walking! But if you have acted madly in rising, and if you have thought badly, put your hand on your mouth. In case the madness of our natural heart, lifting us to our own eyes, has taken us out of the path of humility and power, to expose ourselves to the evil principles that act in the world, what remains for us to do, if not to humiliate ourselves, to say like Job: “Behold, I am a creature of nothing… I will put my hand on my mouth… I abhor myself, and I repent in dust and ashes” (Job 39:37; 42:6). For the pressure of milk produces butter, and the pressure of the nose causes blood to come out, and the pressure of anger excites the quarrel. Let us not forget that what is good becomes “excellent” under the pressure of God’s hand. If humiliation is not produced by natural means, it will be the “punishment” that will produce it; while any pressure exerted on the flesh can only produce results “related to the flesh”. And when we have duly weighed this word of Agur, we will be able to see that among all the pressing religious and spiritual problems of our time, it must also be entertained and resolved: Let us seek to ensure a more equitable distribution of wealth, so that the extremes of wealth and poverty can disappear, and so that all may be fed with the food they need. Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to react to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow “Exhortations addressed to Lemuel by his mother ” (Pr 31).
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.