Wise Up: Proverbs 30
Proverbs 30 (NIV)
1 The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh—an inspired utterance.
This man’s utterance to Ithiel:
“I am weary, God,
but I can prevail.
2 Surely I am only a brute, not a man;
I do not have human understanding.
3 I have not learned wisdom,
nor have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy One.
4 Who has gone up to heaven and come down?
Whose hands have gathered up the wind?
Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name, and what is the name of his son?
Surely you know!
5 “Every word of God is flawless;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
6 Do not add to his words,
or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.
7 “Two things I ask of you, Lord;
do not refuse me before I die:
8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.
9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God.
10 “Do not slander a servant to their master,
or they will curse you, and you will pay for it.
11 “There are those who curse their fathers
and do not bless their mothers;
12 those who are pure in their own eyes
and yet are not cleansed of their filth;
13 those whose eyes are ever so haughty,
whose glances are so disdainful;
14 those whose teeth are swords
and whose jaws are set with knives
to devour the poor from the earth
and the needy from among mankind.
15 “The leech has two daughters.
‘Give! Give!’ they cry.
“There are three things that are never satisfied,
four that never say, ‘Enough!’:
16 the grave, the barren womb,
land, which is never satisfied with water,
and fire, which never says, ‘Enough!’
17 “The eye that mocks a father,
that scorns an aged mother,
will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley,
will be eaten by the vultures.
18 “There are three things that are too amazing for me,
four that I do not understand:
19 the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a young woman.
20 “This is the way of an adulterous woman:
She eats and wipes her mouth
and says, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.’
21 “Under three things the earth trembles,
under four it cannot bear up:
22 a servant who becomes king,
a godless fool who gets plenty to eat,
23 a contemptible woman who gets married,
and a servant who displaces her mistress.
24 “Four things on earth are small,
yet they are extremely wise:
25 Ants are creatures of little strength,
yet they store up their food in the summer;
26 hyraxes are creatures of little power,
yet they make their home in the crags;
27 locusts have no king,
yet they advance together in ranks;
28 a lizard can be caught with the hand,
yet it is found in kings’ palaces.
29 “There are three things that are stately in their stride,
four that move with stately bearing:
30 a lion, mighty among beasts,
who retreats before nothing;
31 a strutting rooster, a he-goat,
and a king secure against revolt.
32 “If you play the fool and exalt yourself,
or if you plan evil,
clap your hand over your mouth!
33 For as churning cream produces butter,
and as twisting the nose produces blood,
so stirring up anger produces strife.”
Proverbs 30:5
Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
This is motivation to be in the Word daily. As I meditate on this verse today it will encourage me to take refuge in my God.
Have a wonderful Thursday Church!!
I loved this verse also!
God has verse 8 for me today.
Recently, I have had exactly enough to cover what we need. Each time I think there may be extra, something else is needed. Even though I’ve realized this is God’s doing, it was great to read this verse this morning. My heart is to not have too much and walk away from Him, or dishonor Him by being so distracted by a need. Thank you, God, for just enough and for discerning the truth from the lies.
I felt that too when i read it
May God bless you and your incredible family. Bless you for your faith, your endurance and your beauty. Love to you always.
Thank you Tanya for that th0ught. Funny how either end of the financial spectrum can lure us away from God. I memorized this passage in college as I thought about my future. God help me to be a “simple man.”
Verse 27: locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks.
That makes we think that we should, as Christians, move forward together, though we are at times without leadership. And more often, we find ourselves surrounded by earthly leaders who’s agenda doesn’t match with the eternal message of Christ that we aim to share.
There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes yet it is not washed from its filthiness there’s a generation oh how lofty are their eyes exclamation! Verse 12-13
Entitlement! We live in this generation currently. Surrounded day by day with the message “what about me, what do i get out of this deal”. The verse that says their eyes are lofty speaks of pride, and not washing themselves of their filthiness is an unwillingness to see your own sin or wretchedness and DO something about it.
“The leech has two daughters, give and give” very accurate portrayal of the culture and a reminder of what our human nature is like apart from Christ.
“Every word of God is flawless!”
Who doesn’t want more of that???
Verse 15 Struck me in an odd way this morning. “The leech has two daughters.
‘Give! Give!’ they cry”.
I probably toke this way out of context. but it made me pause and think. Am I leaching spiritually, looking to always receive (fill in the blanks)! In my efforts to live a christian life, am I also giving spiritually! Strange I know, but just a thought….
Isn’t it great that we live in a day and age where we know the answer to the questions the writer of Proverbs 30:4 is asking?
John 3:13 “No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.”
It’s so interesting that the writer asked that question so many, many years before Jesus’ birth….pretty cool!
In verse 15-16 it speaks of one of the things that is never satisfied–a barren womb. That verse has always meant a lot to me having struggled so long with infertility. As I was in the midst of it, that verse was true. As I have grown as a Christian, even though my womb is still barren, Jesus has satisfied that empty place with so much more than I could have imagined and filled that emptiness in so many ways, including allowing us to adopt our beautiful kids. Anyone reading this that is enduring infertility, please know God has a plan, trust him and He will fulfill that desire to be a mom in the way that is right for you! Let Him be the thing that satisfies!
Oh friend, that made me tear up. God knew you would be an amazing Momma, and he sent you the babies that were meant to be yours <3
Three things are too amazing for me, four I do not understand:
19
the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a serpent upon a rock,
the way of a ship in the heart of the sea,
and the way of a man with a maiden.
I have always loved this. It speaks to me of dancing, and wildness, and mystery. On another note, I read several versions today and some of them completely crack me up. “I flunked wisdom,” going for weeks without a bath and thinking you look fine, “Surely I am more stupid than any ish” (Orthodox Jewish), and for the life of me I can’t lift my eyelids pridefully, or any other way. I am reminded that an unloved woman who is married, if a force to be reckoned with (translate “mean”), needs compassion and love. I see teeth like swords, and lizards sneaking past guards. Voracious fire. Locusts marching in rows…
V. 4
Anything we can accomplish is merely a representation, a token of what God does. A drawing of a tiger is no comparison to a tiger in real life. God made the real thing.
“I am weary, God,
but I can prevail
I have been so over extended in every aspect of my life. I have been praying for God to help me thru this path he has put out before me.
27 locusts have no king,
yet they advance together in ranks;
So I am just going to put it out there…I have a LOT of anxiety regarding this upcoming election. I am not excited for either prospect to be our leader, I am quite terrified to be honest.
But this verse gives me some hope.
A wise asparagus in a Veggie tale once said “You never have to be afraid to do what is right “.
If we as Christians stand firm in our faith and convictions, we can stay strong and advance, no matter who our current “king” is.
We have one true leader, and He will always lead us in the right direction.