Wisdom of riddles

Close out the book of wisdom

What a journey we have been on over last few months. This afternoon we will close this out and look to see where we will go next.

Turn to Proverbs chapter 1 as we start today, and we will stay strictly in Proverbs today. I may mention a couple of others, but we will turn only in Proverbs.

Reason for the proverbs to it understand a proverb and an enigma and their riddles

Proverbs 1:6 NKJV

6 To understand a proverb and an enigma, The words of the wise and their riddles.

The preachers commentary says “Proverbs that begin with clusters of questions may be classified as riddles or their offspring.

Consider an example

Pr23:29-30 “29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? 30 Those who linger long over wine, Those who go to taste mixed wine.”

So with your bible or bible app open to proverbs we will look at some of the sayings of King Agur who speaks many of them in the form of riddle.

Four classes of evil doers

Q: When you think of evil doers what, who, do your think of?

Q: Does all evil look evil?

Did you know that in Proverbs there are four types, classes of evil doers? We will be looking at them scriptually.

Those that despise their parents

Q: How do you think one may despise or show despise toward their parents?

They are ones who curse fathers, and look at this.

Pro30:11 “11 There is a kind of man who curses his father And does not bless his mother.”

Now, look down a little further and see how it ends

Pro30:17 “17 The eye that mocks a father And scorns a mother, The ravens of the valley will pick it out, And the young eagles will eat it.”

Those who are even blind to their own faults

Q: Do you know, notice your own faults, or are you quick to notice others?

Q: If you see a fault in yourself what do you do about it, if anything?

Look at what Agur has to say

Pro30:12 “12 There is a kind who is pure in his own eyes, Yet is not washed from his filthiness.”

or flip back to

Pro21:2 “2 Every man’s way is right in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the hearts.”

Q: How does the Lord weigh the heart?

Those who are arrogant

Arrogant (adj) having or revealing an exaggerated sense of one's own importance or abilities.

Q: Can anyone things of an example of arrogance?

Well how about a couple of Proverbial examples

Pro30:13 “13 There is a kind—oh how lofty are his eyes! And his eyelids are raised in arrogance.”

These are the one’s condemned in other places in Proverbs

Pro6:17 “17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood,”

Or

Pro21:4 “4 Haughty eyes and a proud heart, The lamp of the wicked, is sin.”

Those who consume the poor

Q: it maybe a basic word, basic questions but what does consume mean?

Consume (V): eat, drink, to ingest, to use up something

Consider

Pro30:14 “14 There is a kind of man whose teeth are like swords And his jaw teeth like knives, To devour the afflicted from the earth And the needy from among men.”

Q Who does this kind of man devour?

Now look at this and see how it will end for this kind of man

Pro22:16 “16 He who oppresses the poor to make more for himself Or who gives to the rich, will only come to poverty.”

I think we can all agree that we live in times when evil is becoming even more and more evident. Times like Paul mentions to Timothy

2Tim3:1-3 “1 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,”

2Tim3:4-5 “4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.”

What things are never satisfied

The leach

Here is a biblical example

Pro30:15 “15 The leech has two daughters, “Give,” “Give.” There are three things that will not be satisfied, Four that will not say, “Enough”:”

Solomon gave another one, I will just read it

Ecc5:10 “10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity.”

The leach is insatiable, is never satisfied.

The grave

The grave can never be filled

Pro30:16 “16 Sheol, and the barren womb, Earth that is never satisfied with water, And fire that never says, “Enough.””

The covetousness is never satisfied and look what it leads to

Pro27:20 “20 Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, Nor are the eyes of man ever satisfied.”

In case you are wondering Sheol is the resting place for spirits

Abaddon means: Bottomless pit

We mentioned this one a minute ago

The barren womb

Women, this woman well, see what we can learn from this, I will read it. It can go along with Pro30:16 that we looked at a moment ago too

Gen30:1 “1 Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she became jealous of her sister; and she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die.””

insatiable: The barren womb wanting a child, the dry earth wanting more rain/water. A consuming fire that wants more fuel for the fire, greed that there is never enough

Consider things that are a wonder to behold

Remember we are look at wise sayings from King Agur, they don’t all flow together.

The eagle in the air

Pro30:18-19 “18 There are three things which are too wonderful for me, Four which I do not understand: 19 The way of an eagle in the sky, The way of a serpent on a rock, The way of a ship in the middle of the sea, And the way of a man with a maid.”

You see it, you admire the beauty but when it goes out of sight you have no evidence it was even there except in your memory

The serpent on a rock

Who leaves tracks everywhere else except on a rock where this is no evidence is has slithered there.

The ship in the sea

It sails (tacks) back and forth so to progress, but the waves from it will soon disappear

The way of a man with a maid (virgin)

This is the mystery of a courtship

The exchange of affection from attraction between them

Then, finally the adulterous woman, man is she ever going to go away from Proverbs?

Pro30:20 “20 This is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth, And says, “I have done no wrong.””

she sees no wrong in what she does, claims has done nothing wrong.

She like the other things leaves nothing behind, the eagle in the air, the serpent on a rock, a ship at sea, a man with a virgin (mystery of courtship); she too leaves nothing of any substance behind.

Another riddle to consider from Agur

What causes turmoil

Q: What does turmoil mean?

Turmoil (n): a state of great disturbance, confusion, or uncertainty.

Q: Anyone had turmoil in their life before? Just asking not asking for examples on this one.

Here are some biblical examples

A servant ruler

Pro30:21-22 “21 Under three things the earth quakes, And under four, it cannot bear up: 22 Under a slave when he becomes king, And a fool when he is satisfied with food,”

Turn to

Pro19:10 “10 Luxury is not fitting for a fool; Much less for a slave to rule over princes.”

Q: why is it not good for a slave or a fool to rule?

Believers bible dictionary says “He becomes arrogant and overbearing, drunk with his new position. Drunk in power.

A fool when he is filled with food and no desire for more (Pro30:22)

Again turning to BBD “His prosperity causes him to be more insolent than ever.”

A hateful woman when she is married

She desired to get married, is married now look

Pro30:23 “23 Under an unloved woman when she gets a husband, And a maidservant when she supplants her mistress.”

That is the set up

Pro21:9 “9 It is better to live in a corner of a roof Than in a house shared with a contentious woman.”

Or

Pro21:19 “19 It is better to live in a desert land Than with a contentious and vexing woman.”

Well, she desired to get married and did eventhough had unhealthy qualities like being contentious and vexing

A maidservant who succeeds her mistress, or consider supplants

Again this goes back to Pro30:23; once a servant now an equal

BBC “She doesn’t know how to act with refinement and grace, but is coarse, rude, and vulgar.”

Well, lots of words of wisdom on some negative things, but how about some wise things now?

The ant who always prepares

Pro30:24-25 “24 Four things are small on the earth, But they are exceedingly wise: 25 The ants are not a strong people, But they prepare their food in the summer;”

Something that the sluggard can learn from

Pro6:6-8 “6 Go to the ant, O sluggard, Observe her ways and be wise, 7 Which, having no chief, Officer or ruler, 8 Prepares her food in the summer And gathers her provision in the harvest.”

The rock badger

Eventhough they feeble, weak, they still make homes in cliffs

Proverbs 30:26 NKJV

26 The rock badgers are a feeble folk, Yet they make their homes in the crags;

Animals know how to protect themselves and do to escape harm even from humans

Psalm 104:18 NKJV

18 The high hills are for the wild goats; The cliffs are a refuge for the rock badgers.

So, may we learn make wise choices

How about them locusts?

No king but fall in ranks

Pro30:27 “27 The locusts have no king, Yet all of them go out in ranks;”

they work in unison and bring much destruction like an army, you could look at the devastation in (Joel2:7-11)

The lizard (some versions say spider), and not talking about spider man

Proverbs 30:28 NKJV

28 The spider skillfully grasps with its hands, And it is in kings’ palaces.

One commentary said the lizard would be like the Gecko who grasps with his hands and can be found even in the high, lofty places like a palace.

The ants, badgers, locusts, spider, lizard all work to skillfully preserve. We can learn from that too.

What things are majestic

Q: When you think of things that are majestic, what are some of those things?

Here are some things again from Agur as we get ready to close this, and the series out.

A lion, mighty, majestic and turning from none.

Pro30:29-30 “29 There are three things which are stately in their march, Even four which are stately when they walk: 30 The lion which is mighty among beasts And does not retreat before any,”

A greyhound (strutting rooster) - both stately in their walk

Pro30:31 “31 The strutting rooster, the male goat also, And a king when his army is with him.”

The male goat same verse

Commentator Poole says this: “(the male goat) which marches in the head of the flock in grave and stately manner, conducting them with great courage and resolution, and being ready to fight for them, either with beasts or men that oppose him.”

Finally, a king with his troops

against which there is no rising up (again v.31) but now add

Pro30:32-33 “32 If you have been foolish in exalting yourself Or if you have plotted evil, put your hand on your mouth. 33 For the churning of milk produces butter, And pressing the nose brings forth blood; So the churning of anger produces strife.”

the foolish exalts self, to think evil, churning anger and produces strife

Closing

Not all riddles are easy, or are plain to understand. some are considered “dark sayings” according to the KJV.

Scholars vary quite a bit in interpretation and the lessons providing wisdom.

And to close

2tim3:16-17 “16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

I hope you have enjoyed our journey

(Prayer)