This
chapter is one that is a bit more obscure than the others. There is a section at the end, which is full
of “three and yea four” to give us examples.
The examples can be applied throughout Proverbs as specific itemized
examples for our minds to put solid truth around what is being taught.
1 The
words of Agur the son of Jakeh,
even the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal,
We
really don’t know too much about Agur. This is the only place in Scripture he is
mentioned. Much was made in that day
about the name of a person. Agur means gathered and Jakeh
means blameless. The other two that are
mentioned may have been students of Agur because
there is speculation that Agur may have been a public
teacher and here in this instance been giving private lessons that were
recorded. Ithiel
may have been the father of the “son of Ithiel”
mentioned in Nehemiah 11:7 “And these are the sons of Benjamin; Sallu the son of Meshullam, the
son of Joed, the son of Pedaiah,
the son of Kolaiah, the son of Maaseiah,
the son of Ithiel, the son of Jesaiah.” For
clarity, Benjamin was a tribe.
The
word “prophecy” here is used in the sense of a load, lifting
up or bearing. This is most
likely to show the difference between the “words” of Agur
and the voice of the LORD.
2 Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the
understanding of a man.
This
should be a lesson to us when we are given the opportunity to do the work of
the LORD. Agur
took the time to make sure that those who read this understood his humility and
humbleness. He realized where his
strength came from and his insights were from God. The word “brutish” is interesting in that it
is only used 6 times in scripture. It is
literally to be ignorant of truth. "Whoso loveth
instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth
reproof is brutish. " - Pro 12:1 KJV. This demonstration of humbleness is to turn
the attention from himself to bring into focus to the statements that were
given to him by the Holy Spirit.
“Having
not the understanding of a man.” This
simply means he, in and of himself does not have the tools of a common man but
instead a discernment from LORD.
3 I
neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy.
Again Agur
continues to make sure there is no mistake where the Wisdom comes from in this
writing. He is saying Wisdom is a
gift. It is not just head knowledge or
an accumulation of experiences that makes one possess the following wonders.
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?
Agur further sets the stage for the
following instructions and Wisdom by stating the ultimate in
considerations. In a way he is saying
while you may consider yourself wise and learned, consider your feebleness and
frailty compared to the One who demonstrates Himself in His creation.
5 Every
word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
The
word “pure” is the same word used in Pr 25:4 “Take
away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer.” Every word is perfect and without blemish or
impurity. Notice the armor God offers in
Ephesians 6:13-18 “13Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil
day, and having done all, to stand. 14Stand therefore, having your
loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15And
your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16Above
all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench
all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17And take the helmet of
salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18Praying
always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto
with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;”
As
faithful soldiers of the LORD we have to trust in the
provisions we are allotted otherwise, consider, there is little point in even having
armor when it is locked up in the closet gathering dust. The call to have trust is one that will be
full of action and not opinions.
6 Add
thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
As is
common, man seeks convenience or an easier way.
While seeking that convenience in his journey to elude discomfort he
will reason his own understanding in order to connect peace and harmony. This is a stern warning to take literally
what is said otherwise we would fall into one of the abominations found in the
list of Pr 6:16-19, this is item number two; “a lying tongue”
7 Two
things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die:
Here, Agur is putting forth his “request” before God in the form
of a prayer. The word “required” is a
formal way of saying “request.” Agur is requesting the following benefits before he dies.
8 Remove
far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with
food convenient for me:
The
word “vanity” is emptiness or worthlessness in living. The Hebrew root of the word “vanity” means
devastation and ruin or waste. He is
asking to have a life of meaning. One
without disasters and calamity. He asked
also that it be full of truth. Keep in
mind here Agur is praying that truth be around
him. He also prays to have only that
which is necessary and not either end of the spectrum. With respect to food, he only ask that it be convenient, which is to say, prescribed or
declared his portion.
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.
Understand
here that it is not wrong to have been blessed with the finer things in life
and even to an abundance for which you cannot consume in your own
lifetime. There is a story in Matt
19:16-24 about a rich young ruler who came up to Christ and asked how he might
gain eternal life. Christ told him to
keep the commandments. The young ruler
said from a “self-righteous” heart, “which?”
Christ named off six of the “Ten Commandments” to him and the young
ruler with his deceived heart said and believed, “all these have I kept from my
youth, what lack I yet?” I want you to
understand here that the problem already existed in the rich young ruler’s
heart at this point because he thought he was perfect. He may have even thought to himself, “well
I’ve got this licked…I’m eligible for Heaven!”
I don’t know for sure but I do know that Christ
was able to perceive the condition of the young man’s heart and knew the one
thing that would cause him to stumble.
When Christ told him to go and sell ALL that he had the rich young ruler
turned and went away sad. You see, to
the rich young ruler everything was just fine, his life here on earth was
complete and comfortable. But in his
mind and heart he was able to deny Christ concerning his eternal life.
On the
other end of the spectrum, Agur asked not to be so
poor that in order to survive he would have to steal. I’m not sure many of us would understand this
sort of poverty unless we had at one time or another been homeless and without
work or a means of providing for ourselves and family. I can only conjure what it would be like to
wake each day and ponder where the next morsel would come from just to sustain
life in the basest manor.
10 Accuse
not a servant unto his master, lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty.
The
word “accuse” means to slander or falsely accuse someone that is under the rule
of another. The danger here is that when
you say something bad about the servant you also accuse the master having bad
judgment in that he was unable to detect this thing you have brought to his
attention. By virtue of falsely accusing
someone, according to the law, the accuser is now subject to the penalty of
that which he falsely accused. In
Leviticus 6:5 “or whatever it was he swore falsely about. He must make
restitution in full, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the
owner on the day he presents his guilt offering.”(NIV)
11 There
is a generation that curseth their father, and doth
not bless their mother.
We
should always try to be a blessing to our mother and father. After all, they are the ones who brought us
into the world and raised us. Some of us
may not have been raised in the best of circumstances and some may have even
been abused but scripture is clear about how children should regard their
parents. Proverbs 20:20 “Whoso curseth his father or his
mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.” It is one thing to have difficulty with our
parents and their lives but we cannot treat them with
a lack of respect.
12 There
is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from
their filthiness.
I
remember in my early Christian days hearing a woman saying this, “those
teenagers are going out to their mom’s and dad’s cars and listening to that
rock music.” The thing that puzzled me
was while those teens may in fact have been doing that, she stood their every
Sunday after the service and gossiped about some of the most shocking and
private matters of fellow believers. She
was just fine in her own eyes. If we
find ourselves starting a sentence off with, “did you hear about…” be warned.
"Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye,
but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?" Or how can you say to
your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in
your own eye?" You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and
then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye."
- Mat 7:3-5 ESV
13 There
is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up.
This
may help you understand exactly what this verse is saying. Do not move your head at all and look up to
the ceiling then look back down. Now, do
it again only quickly. Have you ever
done that? Sometimes we even tend to
start our eyes slightly to the left and when they get to the top they slide
across before coming back down. This is
a look given to another eye-lofter signifying our
superiority over someone else. We have
all done it at some time or another. We
may even do it still but we need to understand what is
actually going on when we do this. This
is an outward demonstration of an attitude filled with disdain demonstrated
toward another person.
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.
This
verse is referring to those who continually oppress. There is nothing in them that will allow even
the smallest amount of grace and mercy to be extended to the poor and
needy. There is no regard for the person
during the process of devouring them.
The fact that their “jaw teeth as knives” indicates their prowess and
expertise in extracting what they want from the poor and needy. While “teeth are as swords” indicates the
deepness of their infliction. Notice too
that these weapons are from the mouth and not the hand. This means that the things we say can cut and
maim a person into ruins and even death.
When this is out of control in a person like the one in verse 13, from
our lofty perch we pick off those around us like a sniper high in the trees.
15 The
horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give.
There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough:
The
word “horseleach” is only used once in the entire
Bible. It comes from the Hebrew word
meaning to suck. There are always going
to be those who beg out of slothfulness.
They will constantly say give, then when something is given it is as
though they turn up the pressure to get even more. It is as though they sense the giver is
giving so then they need to cry some more.
I knew a guy, he was a poor man who lacks often
and he would brings me things and try to sell them to me. Sometimes he even needed gas to go and get
them so he would barrow ten dollars. I would
push back and tell no at first and normally end up giving him the money. Once I gave him the money
he would begin to need other things. He
started the second phase of “give” “give.”
I am
not sure why this section of scripture is laid out this way here but seemingly
right in the middle of this verse we begin a new journey into groups or numbers.
16 The
grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the
fire that saith not, It is enough.
We
know the grave will never be full until the end of time. The barren womb on the other hand always has
the hope and the ever-present desire to be fruitful. We have to think in
the big picture to understand “the earth that is not filled with water”, in
that, where one area may be flooded another lacks water. There is always somewhere or something that
needs water. Although I am sure they had
some means of extinguishing a fire in Bible times, fire was still one of the
most ferocious disasters that could occur.
It would move at will and seemingly feast on everything in its path.
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.
The
word “mocketh” means to ridicule and the phrase “dispiseth to obey” means to hold as insignificant. If this were literally done today the ravens
and young eagles would be the focus of everyone who may have been brought into
this world by their parents. Notice this
verse does not say anything about the age of the person who mocks or despises
their parents. That is important to
note. My feeling is that the news
channels would have their cameras focused on any grouping of birds to see where
the next attack would take place. Then
they would follow them around and when there was an attack they would go to the
parents and interview them to find out what exactly their children had
done. Because of the condition of our
society I can imagine those out in the open, going to work or shopping wearing
some sort of fashionable eye protection.
The principle here is this; if your parents are alive honor them!
18 There
be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not:
The
word “wonderful” means marvelous or extraordinary to the extent of being hard
to understand. The end of this verse,
“know not” means, do not understand. Its
not that they are unknown but not understood.
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.
The
eagle and other high-flying birds like the vulture and condor seem to float in
the air. By virtue of the fact they ride
the currents of the air they seldom have to use their
wings to gain altitude. The casual
observer might be in awe of the appearance.
The
word “serpent” means snake. I am not
sure what was not understood about the snake other than possibly the fact that
they would bath in the sunlight. Being
reptiles, they regulate their body temperature by either listing in the sun or
hiding in the shade. Another possibility
is the shedding process that snakes go through in order to grow and clean
themselves. The shedding process starts
on the rocks by rubbing their nose on the rock to create the initial tare. I am sure a snake slipping out of its skin
would bring many questions to the observer.
A ship
at sea goes in the direction it wants to no matter what direction the wind is
from. By positioning the sails and
controlling the rudder a large ship can make its way to where it desires. James 3:4 "Behold also the ships,
which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they
turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth."
The
word “maid” means young married woman.
20 Such
is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.
First,
we have to make note of the little word “way” in this
verse. For being such
a small word it takes on the meaning of a life as it depicts a path or
march through life. In the military
sense there is little deviation in their “way” if you will.
When
she “eateth” or practices her way she “wipeth” or cleans herself off and pretends to be
innocent. As long as her acts are held
in secrecy she is justified to continue her
march. This is true with any sin. The focus of the sinner is always their inner
sanctum until they are given the gift of repentance. 2 Timothy 2:25 "In
meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will
give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;" We need
desperately to always pray that God would bless us with repentance and
understand that our “way” may not seem like “wickedness” until we see our sin
as it actually is, sin!
21 For
three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear:
We have to understand that the entire earth is in pain due to
the curse of Adam’s sin and the continuous sin of mankind. Romans 8:22 "For we know that the
whole creation groaneth and travaileth
in pain together until now."
The word “disquieted” means to tremble or quake and to be disturbed.
22 For
a servant when he reigneth; and a fool when he is
filled with meat;
There
are two of the four things in this verse.
First, the servant that “reigneth.” The servant is one under the rule of another
and subject to the laws of his master.
We are all servants to varying degrees no matter how far we make it in
life. Even the CEO of a large
corporation is a servant to his or her customers and even those under them to
lead and guide the company to success.
The servant in this context however is referring to the more base meaning where the servant is the type held under
strict guidance. The disquieting aspect
is when they make themselves ruler.
There is normally pride and more importantly the lack of understanding
with respect of all that is involved with making decisions.
Here
is an example: let’s say the president of sales meets with a customer who is in need of blue widgets.
The president of sales makes a commitment to the customer to have those
blue widgets shipped out immediately.
The servant in charge of making widgets says no, we are not making blue
widgets because we are almost out of red widgets. As you can imagine the president of sales
would most likely be a little bit more than disquieted.
Secondly,
“the fool when he is filled” where filled means to be satisfied, has
substantiated his foolishness. This
would certainly motivate the fool to continue his foolish ways. We must always guard against foolish desires
because once they are fulfilled we may become even
more foolish. I can picture myself in a
shiny new car with the top down an my nose stuck up in
the air as I pass by onlookers marveling at my success just as a big June Bug
becomes lodged in my left nostril. (I
hate June Bugs in my nose.) The moral to
the story is to keep your nose down and focus on what you should be doing.
23 For
an odious woman when she is married; and an handmaid
that is heir to her mistress.
Here
are the other two from verse 21: The word “odious” means hateful or hated. It is understandable why there is distress
and trembling in the home of a hateful woman.
Hatefulness can be carried out in many fashions. Some of them are very subtle and others may
be openly obvious. In either case the
basic outcome is destruction because the hated thing is the focus of the hatred. Destruction in relationships or destruction
of the physical, they both result in calamity.
We have to understand that if the mistress has the ability to
appoint one of her servants as heir it is highly likely she has more that one
servant. With that said, the one that is
designated as heir would also have more responsibility and with that
responsibility more privileges. It is
true as well in some cases the handmaid would bear children by the husband of
the mistress if the mistress was unable to bear children. As history has shown, the combination of
hatred and jealousy among the women of the household has brought about great
trepidation.
24 There
be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise:
25 The
ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;
The
ant is small and always busy and never seems to tire. Another aspect of the ant is their focus and
purpose. They seem to be highly
organized. We have all seen what happens
when their nest is disturbed; they immediately begin to rebuild with a keener
focus and fervor.
26 The
conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks;
Conies
are fury animals that live in the rocks along the coastline and in the
mountainous areas of southern Mediterranean.
They are considered very agile in darting from the safety of one cleft
to another when the waves roll in or predators arrive. The are much like rabbits without tails.
27 The
locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands;
A
single locust can be simply thumped from a leaf. It is of no consequence to the farmer or
anyone for that matter. However, the
swarm can seem like legions with a destructive purpose.
28 The
spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces.
In
Biblical times for a man to even be in the king’s palace meant he was either
important or he was a hand selected servant.
This observation consist of how well the spider stays out of the way by
living in what may have been the busiest building in town. I am sure the thoughts of the observer may
have even pondered what all has the spider seen or heard.
29 There
be three things which go well, yea, four are comely in going:
The
word “go” means to step or stride and the word “comely” means, pleasing or
pleasant. In this case the verse means
pleasant to look at or watch as they walk.
I am sure this is here not only to praise the LORD and his creation but
also to remind us of our own walk.
30 A
lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not
away for any;
It
goes without saying; the lion is an amazing creation. Even the shortest study reveals its power and
adaptation. To watch the lion walk in his kingdom with little regard is mesmerizing.
31 A
greyhound; an he goat also; and a king, against whom there is no rising up.
The
greyhound being a long and tall animal was able to run with the wind and leap
over long stretches of brush. It was
common for the owner of greyhounds to have several so the sight of them would
have been amazing. Interestingly the
word used here for “greyhound” in the Hebrew may have referred to a deerhound,
which was more common in ancient times.
This does not diminish the astounding speed and agility of the animal.
The
“he goat” has been known to live a lifetime without tripping. They are the most sure-footed of
creatures. They can scale the sharpest
of inclines on the narrowest of clefts.
Some
kings ruled in such a way that those they ruled over were loyal and of a single
purpose and mindset. This made going
against the king nearly impossible because it meant going against his entire
kingdom.
32 If
thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if
thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth.
The
phrase “lifting up thyself” is referring to bragging about thyself or saying
something about yourself that simply is not true. Often when we lift ourselves up we are really trying to make sure we get the respect we
think we deserve. It is from the root of
pride. There is nothing wrong with being
proud of ourselves but when we have to tell everyone
then it becomes a problem.
The
phrase “Thought Evil” is not a fleeting thought here but instead a plot or
fixation of our mind on evil. I am
struck by the instruction here to physically place our hand over our mouth. Maybe that is to ensure those evil thoughts
are never spoken.
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.
The
word “forcing” is from the Hebrew root word meaning; oppressor or extortioner
but in this case it is in the sense of forcing (i.e. “wringing the nose brings
on a nosebleed.”) It is the only time
this word is used in the entire Bible.
The NIV says it like this: “so stirring up anger produces strife.” Another example of what is going on here is
this, if we swat a hornet’s nest long enough, eventually we are going to be
stung.” Intentionally making someone angry
on a regular basis is going to cause strife.
That strife may not only affect the person who is being attacked but
also the attacker. We often get that
“I’ll show you” attitude. This warning
is telling us to let it go or else eventually we too may have a bloody nose.