Greetings everyone. Let’s continue in our Bible Study through the book of Proverbs. I’ll remind you that the book of Proverbs is divided into five parts according to titles. It’s a good thing to know as we study the book of Proverbs. It helps us see the organization layout of the book. Chapters 1 through 9 is the first part. You can see the title if you turn there to Chapter 1. And then Chapter 10 through 24 is the second part. You’ll see the title there if you read Chapter 10. Chapter 25 through 29 is the third part, and then Chapter 30 is the fourth part, and Chapter 31 is the fifth part. So that’s how it’s laid out and we’re reading the fourth part of the book of Proverbs and studying it here today.
Let’s turn to Proverbs 30:1. It says here in Chapter 30 and verse 1:
1 The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal,
Who are these people? Well, we don’t know for sure. But Agur is a figurative name and it actually means “collector”. And Ithiel, the name Ithiel, means “God is with me”, and Ucal means “I am strong”. Most of the studies that I’ve done on this indicate that Agur means collector. So if you really think about how God inspires the Bible and how He has inspired this book of Proverbs and how He has used Solomon to record all of these wonderful scriptures here, then it stands to reason that this is a figurative name for Solomon and that these other two men are his students or his disciples. Now, we can’t prove that. I don’t know that, but in my opinion, that is what it is. But that’s only my opinion.
We know that God inspired Proverbs 30. We know that He put it into the canon of the Bible. We know it is scripture. And so why would He inspire Solomon to write down 29 chapters of the Bible and not inspire him to do Chapter 30? If He inspired him to record 29 chapters, it stands to reason He inspired him to record Chapter 30. It’s just an opinion, but that’s what it appears to be. And as I said, we cannot absolutely prove who these people are, but in the studies I’ve done, I believe that these are just figurative names of Solomon—Agur, and two of his disciples or students—Ithiel and Ucal. He says:
2 Surely I am more brutish—
or stupid
2 —than any man, and have not the understanding of a man.
This man, probably Solomon, is saying, “You know, when I really consider who I am and I consider who God is, by comparison, I’m pathetic because God is so great and so perfect, and I’m so flawed and fragile as a human being.” Now, we can be too hard on ourselves—we want to be careful about that—but we also want to make sure that we are realistic in looking at who we are. We’re just human beings, and without God, we are worthless and we cannot do anything.
If you read the book of Ecclesiastes, also written by Solomon, you will see how he starts off by saying, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” And that’s true if you leave God out of the picture. Apart from Him, we’re nothing, and less than nothing, and vanity. And so I think it’s good for us sometime to take a realistic look at ourselves and a realistic look at God, on a regular basis actually. And when we do, compared to God, we are just really nothing, and that’s what he’s saying here.
3 I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy.
Now we know Solomon did have wisdom and he did have knowledge of the holy, but perhaps he’s saying here, “I haven’t really learned as much as I should have learned, and I don’t have as much knowledge as I should have. And therefore I’m really nothing, and the only way I’m ever able to do anything worthwhile is through the power of God.” That would be a good attitude if that’s the attitude he had, and that does appear to be what this is all about here in the first few verses of this chapter.
Then he asks this question—and it’s something for us to consider. When we really get to thinking a little too highly of ourselves, and we get to being a bit too independent, a bit too self–sufficient—if we’ll really think about the vast expanse of the universe and the unlimited power of Almighty God and how puny and pathetic we are on our own, then it kind of reorients and redirects and refocuses us. And we begin to think more soundly instead of having our minds cluttered and distorted by vanity and by pride.
He asked this question:
4 Who has ascended up into heaven, or descended?—
Certainly I have not. Certainly he has not. So who are we to strut and think we’re so great? God is great, and Jesus Christ is great.
4 Who has ascended up into heaven, or descended? who has gathered the wind in his fists?—
And God can do that. He has that power.
4 —who has bound the waters in a garment?—
He’s using analogies here. You know, in his day in the Middle East, they would take water in bags and garments. It could even be done today depending on the garment. But the waters over the whole earth to God would be no harder to bind in a garment than it is for us to put a gallon of water in a jug. He’s God.
4 —who has established all the ends of the earth?—
Who has created the earth? Who has created the oceans? Who has put a bound on the oceans so that they don’t just roll over the entire land area? Who has set in motion all the laws that govern the rotation of the earth and the position of the sun and moon and stars?
4 —who has established all the ends of the earth?—
The mountains, the rivers, the waterways, the plains, the trees, the oceans, the soil, the topsoil from which we get our food? God has.
4 —what is his name, and what is his son's name, if you can tell?
Or if you know it, if you’re so smart, if you’re so brilliant, if you’re so talented, if you’re so intelligent, can you answer these questions?
You know, we have people who have very high IQs in various places and universities. We have people who are very, very intelligent and smart and can remember facts and have incredible memories. And yet they don’t even know the purpose to life. And they don’t even acknowledge that God exists. And they don’t even face who created everything. So really when you get down to it, how really smart and intelligent are they in terms of the things that really count?
There’s a scripture in the Bible over in Psalms that says: “Only a fool says in his heart there is no God.” It doesn’t matter how intelligent a person might be in terms of academics. If they discount the existence of God, then in God’s eyes, they are fools.
So these are some of the stimulating and interesting questions that God is inspiring to be asked and written here, And we need to give some thought to it. And when you start asking each one of them, it’s a humbling thing. You begin to realize that really we are so puny, and we are so helpless and we are so fragile on our own and of and by ourselves and apart from God.
He’s the Great One. He’s the mighty one. He’s the intelligent one. He’s the talented one. He’s the unlimited one. And so we need to turn our lives over to Him and stand in awe of Him and worship Him and look to Him for everything. And then He’ll respond to that and He’ll provide our needs—every single one of them—as we submit to Him and look to Him in faith and try to do what He says, and we follow His son, Jesus Christ right down the path that He lays down for us to follow.
4 —what is his name,—
Verse 4, last part.
4 —and what is his son's name,—
Who did all these things? Well, we know God did and Jesus Christ, His Son did. You know, quite often in the Bible, you will see that a man is known not just for his name but by the name of his relatives. And that’s kind of a Hebrew tradition throughout history. You were not known just by your own name, but you’re also known by the name of your relatives. Your name might be Joe, and somebody else’s name might be Joe. But if you were Joe, the son of George, and you were the Joe, the son of Frank, then you know which Joe was which Joe, if you know what I’m saying. That also factors in here when it says:
4 —what is his name, and what is his son's name, if you can tell?
God and Jesus Christ go together. They’re two separate beings. They have definite form and shape. They’re in one place at one time. They have two separate personalities. And yet they’re totally unified and at one in terms of character and mind and thought process, and everything they do. You can identify one by the other, and you can identify the other by the one.
Jesus Christ said, “If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father.” He reflects the Father. And He’s the one who created everything under the supervision of the Father—Jesus Christ did.
5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
Just like you take silver and you purify it, you refine it and you get rid of the slag and the dross from it and it becomes a thing of pure beauty. Well, every word of God is purified. It’s refined. Jesus Christ and God the Father have inspired it, and they have refined it, and they have preserved it, and they have canonized it. And now we have it before us and it’s inspired truth. It is the truth. It is pure. It is right. It is sound. It stands up. It does not fade. It does not go away. It does not break down because God inspired it, and therefore it stands. It is pure. Every word of God is pure.
5 —he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
When we walk with God and we follow Jesus Christ and we trust them, that’s much, much more security and much greater protection than nuclear weapons and than large armies and than bulletproof vests. They are the only real sure and true shield and protection, both physically and spiritually, even though we need to use common sense and take proper precautions like locking our doors and wearing our seatbelts. And faith and works must go together. Still we’re in God’s hands. No matter what we do, we’re still in His hands and that’s where real security and a real shield come from.
6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove you, and you be found a liar.
Now we see several places in the Bible where we’re not to add to scripture or take away from scripture. We’re not to try to improve on scripture. We’re not to try to tailor scripture to fit what we think. We’re not to try to overlook scripture and only emphasize certain scriptures so that we feel comfortable in making the scriptures say what we want it to say, and we fit the scriptures to our lifestyle rather than fitting our lifestyle to the scriptures. There is a way that God has laid out for us to live, and it’s here in His word. And we must not add to His words from Genesis to Revelation, and we must not take away from His words.
We must submit to and obey His words. We must get our lives and our conduct in line with His words. Not change His words so that we can continue being the way we are and feel okay about it. And yet you see people do that all the time. You see people adding to the Bible—telling us it says what it does not say, or taking away from the Bible—telling us it does not say what it does say. And God says you’ll be found a liar if you do that.
We are the ones that change. God’s word does not change. It stands firm and it stands permanently. And we are to come to it, not bring it to us. If we do bring it to us and change it and diminish from it or alter it in any way, we are in big trouble with God and we must not do that.
You see various churches and religions throughout history having other writings that are added to the Bible, other books that are added to the Bible, latter day revelations that overrule the Bible. All of that is against what God’s word says. We don’t need any other books to add to the Bible. We don’t need any latter day revelations to contradict the Bible. We don’t need any utterances of the holy fathers to override the Bible.
We just simply need to understand God’s word more and more thoroughly and follow it more and more diligently. And then God will bless us. And that’s what He wants us to do. And that’s what He requires of all Christians if we’re going to really be true disciples of Jesus Christ.
7 Two things have I required of you; deny me them not before I die
He’s simply going to God and saying, “Please, I’m asking for these two things.”
8 Remove far from me vanity—
or falsehood
8 —and lies:—
And that’s a good thing to root out of our lives. You know, sometimes we categorize sin. We talk about some horrible, terrible sin—and sin is horrible and terrible—but we go light on other sins which are equally horrible and terrible, just like lying.
Lying has become a way of life. It’s viewed in a very casual manner nowadays by millions of people—but not in the eyes of God. Lying and falsehood and vanity are despicable and disgusting and repugnant in God’s eyes. In fact, He says in the Bible, No liar will be in the Kingdom of God. All liars will be put in the Lake of Fire. That’s how serious it is. The wages of sin is death.
So he’s saying here, “Please…”
8 Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:
Or with what I need. “Give me my needs. I’m not interested in being wealthy and rich and getting all caught up in that and then forgetting you. And I certainly hope that I don’t have to live out my life in grinding poverty, which will be painful and will be a distraction and I can’t concentrate on you. I would just like to have what you’ve got in mind for me. I would like to have my needs met, and maybe a little bit more, so that I can fully give myself to you.” I’m paraphrasing here, but if you read this whole passage and get the context and the meaning of what is being given here, you’ll see that’s basically it. Let’s notice:
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 you, and say, Who is the Lord?—
“I’ve got all these things; I’ve got so much security, who needs God? I’m rich.” Not all rich people say that, but that’s the temptation, that’s the pitfall.
9 —or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.
In other words, “I need food, I need clothing, I need a better house, and so it doesn’t seem like that’s happening. I’m just in grinding poverty. I may be tempted to take matters in my own hands and get those things that are not mine and do those things that I shouldn’t do.” And so he’s simply saying, “Help me to obey you and serve you, and please give me what I need so that I can follow you fully and not be tempted to stray away from you either with the attitude of ‘Well, I’m rich. I don’t need you.’ Or with the attitude, ‘I’m poor and I’m going to do things my way instead of your way.’”
And we can pray to God and talk to Him with deep respect and honor like that because He is our Father. And He will provide our needs and He will give us blessings on top of that and benefits so much so that we’ll be shocked as we yield more and more into His hands. He loves blessing us and daily loading us with benefits. He gives us what we need and what is good for us. And then if we use it properly, He gives us more and more. And this will enable us to live the abundant life, both physically and spiritually. And as we use that abundance properly, we can serve Him more and more. And that’s what it’s all about. And we can serve others as well.
Verse 10, a very important point and principle. Do not malign or
10 Accuse not a servant unto his master, lest he curse you, and you be found guilty.
You know, we can’t be meddling in other people’s business. We can’t be crossing the lines and meddling between a boss and an employee, a supervisor and a worker. We cannot be attacking somebody else’s employee. We cannot be attacking somebody else’s servant. We cannot be attacking somebody else’s duty or responsibility to their supervisor or it’ll backfire on us.
Now, that doesn’t mean that if that person is doing something wrong, or something needs to be said so that others won’t be injured or whatever, we can’t speak up. There’s a way to do it if we do it humbly and we take it through the proper channels.
But you better be careful about maligning someone else’s relative, someone else’s worker, someone else’s employee. You better be careful. To bring out a legitimate point or need or problem in the right way at the right time to the right person is one thing. But to malign and attack a relative, or to malign and attack a worker or an employee to others, and in particular to their supervisor, their boss, or their leading family member, you can be in for a big pile of trouble.
The person you’re attacking can come back on you and the one that you took it to can come back on you and defend his worker, defend his employee, defend his relative against you. And now you’ve got both of them that are going to cause you a lot of misery. So the best thing to do is mind your own business, and for me to mind my own business. And we take care of our area of responsibility, and we take care of our employees, and leave the other fellow and his employees alone. That all works out much better if we’ll do that. And that’s what verse 10 is telling us.
Mind your own business is what it’s saying. It really works. We like for others to mind their business. We can share and give and help and serve, that’s fine, that’s Christianity. What this is warning us against is meddling and maligning and attacking and stirring up trouble with other people’s responsibility, other people’s employees, other people’s relatives—instead of minding our own business with our employees and our relatives and our workers.
11 There is a generation that curses their father, and does not bless their mother.
There’s always been a generation like that. Look what happened to Adam and Eve and Cain. And you follow it right through history and you’ll see that there’s always been this carnal tendency and this breakdown in families where children break the fifth commandment and begin to disobey and dishonor their father and mother. And it’s always been wrong. But it’s worse now at the end of 6,000 years of human history than it’s ever been.
One of the characteristics of our modern–day society is the breakdown of family and the disrespect toward older people, and in particular the disrespect of children toward parents. And God does not look upon that lightly. He feels very strongly about that. And it’s very, very, very wrong, and it will exact very, very tough penalties. And so He’s pointing that out here. There is that attitude where people curse their father and they don’t respect or bless their mother. We want to make sure that we’re not that way and we want to make sure that we’re training and teaching our children not to be that way.
12 There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.
That’s right. They think too highly of themselves. They are stuck on themselves. They put other people down. They make fun of other people. They’re sarcastic and cutting. And they are disparaging toward others and critical toward others. They don’t see themselves. As Jesus Christ said, they need to get the beam out of their own eye before they attempt to take the little splinter out of the other fellow’s eye.
And so we can take warnings from this. However, the only way it’s going to change, as far as all of humanity all over the world, is for Jesus Christ to come back to this earth as King of kings and Lord of lords and establish the Kingdom of God and the laws of God which will start to turn around the attitudes that we’re reading about here.
So we need to pray fervently that that day will come soon. In the meantime, in our own lives, in our own family and with our own attitudes, we need to really make sure that we are progressing and overcoming the things that are mentioned here and not succumbing to these because it isn’t God’s way.
12 —pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.
They can spot other people’s problems, but they don’t seem to be able to see their own problems. And we need to ask God to help us to be the opposite to that, and to make sure that we can see what we need to overcome and get rid of and to be merciful toward others.
13 There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up.
They’re so full of pride and they priss and prance, and they think they’re better than others and they draw attention to themselves. And they have all the answers, and they’re the elite and they’re the higher echelon, and everyone else is lower than them—in many cases much, much, much lower. But that isn’t the way a Christian thinks, and that isn’t the way God wants us to think, or that isn’t the way He thinks. So let’s be on guard against that attitude.
We’ll stop there in Proverbs 30:13 and pick it up with our next Bible Study.
This is Charles Bryce with the Enduring Church of God.