Proverbs: The Wisdom of Agur [Proverbs 30]

Proverbs: The Wisdom of Agur []

We continue our series through Proverbs with yet another difficult Proverb

Stand for the reading of the word of God []

Have you ever bought something, a piece of furniture, a toy, or something and when you recieved it there was that infamous label, “some assembly required?” And you and I know all too well, it’s usually never just some assembly, often it’s a lot of assembly. If you are anything like me, you get out the parts, toss the instructions aside, look at the picture, and put it together.

This works for me most of the time, but last fall I bought a new deer stand, one I had never had before, and I dumped out all the parts and just started assembling it. Well, I should have paid attention to the instructions because when I thought I was done assembling it, I noticed I had a pile of extra parts, so when I looked at the instructions I realized, I had messed up and it didn’t work out right because I didn’t follow the way it was supposed to go together and I did it my way, and come to find out, there was a method to the way the stand was assembled…so I had to take it all apart and start over. No one else has ever done anything like that have they???

This was a good lesson for me because had I started out the right way, I wouldn’t have had to go back and redo everything. There was a reason for the way the instructions took you through the assembly process. That’s kind of what gets at…there is a grand scheme of life when it comes to wisdom and your way in the world. There is a pattern to the world according to God. There is a certain way it works, and you need to live according to the pattern because that’s wise.

Wisdom is the skill to live according to that pattern. To understand what that skill is, you have to go to the maker-the one who created the world-to see how the world works best. That is what is all about, and it shows us three important truths about where to look in this world for wisdom.

Look to Christ for wisdom []

The author of this passage is Agur the son of Jakeh [v.1]. We don’t know who Agur is because this is the only place he is mentioned in the Bible. Some do not take this as a proper name but rather interpret the meaning of the names as “I am a sojourner [Agur] and son of Yahweh the Holy [Jakeh] since Jakeh is short hand for “Yahweh the Holy”. This is a possible interpretation. Regardless, the author is a follower of the one true God. We also don’t know who the Agur is writing to as well, Ithiel and Ucal. What we do know is that the Holy Spirit of God breathed out these words for us.

Agur confesses in verse 2-3 that he is limited when it comes to wisdom. The proverbs repeatedly indicate that humility is the first step to wisdom. To become wise, you need to recognize that you are not wise and look to God for wisdom.

Just as Solomon recognized that wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord, Agur recognizes that wisdom begins with God-with the knowledge of the Holy One. Not only does wisdom reside with God, but it also resides with God’s Son. Agur asks a series of rhetorical questions in verse 4 to indicate humanity’s finitude and to point out that wisdom belongs to the Almighty Creator and His Son. He says...

No human has gone up to heaven and come back down. No human can gather the wind in his hands. No human created the world. We read this from a different vantage point than Agur. Agur asks the name of the son, because he doesn’t know it. We do know it however-Jesus Christ! We know the God-man who came down from heaven as wisdom for us. One commentator pointed out that… “Agur’s question in verse 4 is answered directly in Jesus’s reply to Nicodemus in , “no one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven-the Son of Man.

The point is that God’s Son is the one who has access to God’s wisdom because he came from heaven, so look to God and His son for wisdom. How do you do that??? Verse 5-6. [the verse we read]

God reveals this unknowable wisdom to us in his word, so we must submit to it. For us to know wisdom, God must reveal it to us, and he has in his word! His word is true, a shield to those who trust in him, and sufficient. Do not add to it. There is a warning to those who do. Don’t sit in judgment on God’s word as if it’s lacking something. That was the problem for humanity in . They didn’t see God’s word as sufficient for their lives, and we do the same thing.

We know what the bible says, but we think our ideas in certain situations are better. We often come to the Scripture and act like God forgot to put the exception clause in there for our case. We think our case is the exception that somehow just got left out of the bible. Proverbs warns that God will rebuke you and prove you to be a liar if you act like the Word is not enough for you. In fact, Revelation threatens a curse to those who do this []

Agur looks to the Lord for wisdom, he humbly depends on God for wisdom by asking for it in prayer. says that if we lack wisdom, we should ask God for it in prayer and he will give it to us generously. Agur prays for wisdom in verses 7-9, He asks two things for his life that he knows he can’t produce in his own power. He is saying in his own power he cannot be honest or content. He says he will depend on God to grant those things, he recognizes our human effort can’t save us from deception and greed.

Honesty and contentment are the two things he asks for from the Lord, the emphasis being on finances because money can lie to you. Two things he asks {v.8} (1) don’t give me poverty and (2) don’t give me wealth. Poverty lies to you: “God can’t help you. God won’t provide for you. You need to help yourself.” Riches lie to you “You don’t need God because everything is good in your life. You’re doing a great job by yourself. Depend on you not God.”

Agur asks for God to give him daily bread. Let me have just enough for my needs to be met. Help me be content and not greedy for more. Why? If he has too much he will deny the Lord [v.9]. After all the reason God gave Israel daily manna from heaven in the wilderness was to teach them to depend on him and not on financial provision. God wanted them to learn that man lives by the word of God, not bread alone.

In God says that the purpose of the manna in the wilderness should also serve as a warning to Israel. Israel was about to enter a land of abundance and they would forget God and think they did it on their own. That’s the warning of , if you have too much you won’t depend on God. It’s not to say all rich people are greedy and profane, but it’s saying that wealth has a way of deceiving you to not recognize you need to depend on God. And by the way…everyone in here is rich in the scoop of the world.

Second, if he has too little, he will be tempted to steal [v.9]. If he is poor, he will be tempted to cheat on his taxes, misuse cash, be stingy, take money from his mom’s dresser. He actually makes a strange request for American ears…he wants the middle ground…not too much and not too little. The point is both riches and poverty can lead to a lack of dependence on God. So he asks for honesty and contentment from the Lord. Most important! The motivation for his prayer is not his own needs…the motivation for his prayer is the name of God! [v.9] That should be our motivation in prayer, “God, glorify yourself by teaching me to lean wholly upon you!”

Look to Christ for salvation from sin []

Verses 15-33 gives a list of numerical sayings. The verses before that list [v.10-14] help us understand the meaning of the numerical sayings. He starts by talking about immorality in verses 10-14 to set it up. He says don’t slander a servant to his master or he’ll curse you and you will become guilty [v.10]. i.e. don’t ruin an employee’s reputation by slandering them to the boss, making fun of them, telling lies, stabbing them in the back, or being overly critical. You’re being foolish and wicked when you slander and gossip and in doing so incur God’s judgment on yourself.

This whole section [v.10-14] is governed by judgment. This section is behaviors that deserve condemnation and God’s judgment. He gives four generations or types of sinners God will condemn.

1. There is a generation that curses parents instead of blessing parents [v.11]. These are the Bart Simpsons of the world who are smart-alecks to their parents; angry and yell at their parents; or grown children who refuse to provide care for aging parents.

2. there is a generation that is pure in its own eyes but is not washed from its filth [v.12]. This presents a disgusting image of self-righteousness and hypocrisy. The word for “filth” in the Hebrew is literally the word for dung. The picture is of someone who is unaware they stepped in dog doo, and now it’s smeared on their clothes. They think everything if fine with their lives morally, yet it’s a nasty filthy mess. That’s what self-righteousness looks like to God. Those who think they are not sinners, look down on others, yet don’t see that they are covered in dung.

The proverbs are clear, the bible is clear, you cannot come to God unless you first know that you are filthy and need cleansing. We are all in danger of thinking to highly of ourselves. That keeps us from Christ. Christ must cleanses us because we cannot cleans ourselves.

3. There is a generation that is prideful [v.13]. Similar to verse 12, you can see it in prideful people, they think more highly of themselves than they should. This is the essence of pride, thinking too highly of yourself, and pride is the essence of foolishness. Proverbs says pride is the pathway to death. The pride of life, or this world, says “believe in yourself” the bible says “deny yourself, and believe in Christ.”

4. There is a generation that devours the poor and needy [v.14]. Some are stingy toward the needy, some take advantage of the poor. This is appalling to the Lord. The proverbs brings up the poor many times and condemns the mistreatment of them and honors those who are generous toward them.

These generations or types of sinners will incur God’s judgment on themselves [v.17] gives us an unpleasant picture of this judgment as being eaten by birds…this mirrors God’s judgment described in .

The good news is that Jesus took this curse for us [] The entire curse that we deserve for not honoring our parents, for our self-righteousness, for our arrogance, and for our indifference to the poor crushed Jesus on the cross in our place. He was taken outside the camp, executed under the judgment of God, and then raised from the dead in vindication so all who believe in him will be declared right before God! So look to Jesus for salvation from your sins.

Look at the world through the lens of Christ []

We must observe the way the world works; that will help us navigate skillfully through life. Only through Christ can we perceive and follow this proper pattern of the world. Agur observes nature and gives principles on how the world works best. Wisdom is living according to the pattern of the world as God intended it, not through how we perceive it. So we must look at the world through the lens of Christ. Two things from this section: a warning about uncontrolled appetites and instruction in wisdom.

Warnings about uncontrolled appetites [15-23] Agur observes that the way the world works warns us about uncontrolled appetites for money, sex, and status. For example, verse 15-16 deal with uncontrolled appetite for money. A leech is a literal blood-sucker that attaches to a host and drains resources and energy. Metaphorically, a leech is someone who consumes and doesn’t produce, they’re never satisfied only consumes more and more and more. A greedy person is like a leech, they will drain your time, money, and energy constantly craving more and more.

verses 18-20 Agur warns about uncontrolled appetites for sex. Verses 18-19 he mentions three things, the way of he eagle in the air, the serpent on the rock, and the ship in the sea. The point is these three things move on and leave no trace behind them or no damage behind. finally he mentions the way of a man with a virgin i.e. referencing the proper context for sexual relationship between a man and a women in marriage. Tying them together the point is there is a way of movement that is graceful and leaves no damage or scar behind.

Unlike that of verse 20, the way of the adulterous women which leaves behind damaged goods and scars. There are consequences for uncontrolled appetites. God has given us a proper way in which to enjoy the sexual relationship and that is in the context of one man one women in marriage, outside of that is outside of God’s design.

Agur warns of uncontrolled appetites for status or pride in verse 21-23. He uses the illustration of the danger of uncontrolled appetites in charge…it’s foolish for a servant to be king, he’s not ready to rule. An excellent example of this comes from the animated movie “The Lion King”.

When Scar becomes king of Pride Rock. His appetite is out of control, so he consumes without producing and Pride Rock becomes a wilderness. He wants to be king, but he has no business being king. Pride Rock-like us-needs a king who can control his appetites so that the world works the way it should [the point of the book of Judges]. Mufasa-like Solomon with his son in proverbs-tries to instill this in Simba by telling him that he can’t just do anything he wants. There is a circle of life-a way the world works-that you must rule by and by which Simba restores order. and they all lived happily ever after.

There is a way the world works best and God’s word tells how that is. Agur ends his writings not with warnings but with instructions in wisdom he observes from four small but wise animals in verse 24-28. Note again, wisdom is not an IQ test, none of these animals could take an IQ test yet, they instruct us in wisdom because they have the ability to navigate through life despite the limitations they have.

The ant survives because it provides. The ant is wise to store up during good times so it can be prepared for the bad times. This is a nice contrast to uncontrolled appetites. We should, like the ant, work hard, save, and plan for difficult times.

The rock badger [Hyrax] is a very small animal that makes it’s home in the cliffs so it’s safe from predators. The point is to learn how to live a life that is secure. We need to learn how to resist peer pressure so we don’t make stupid decisions or resist temptation that might harm us.

The locust have no king but march in ranks. This shows the need for community, you need to be in a group that takes care of each other. This is why it’s so important to be plugged into the church family.

The spider or some say lizard are small vulnerable creatures that live in the kings’s palace. Then contrasted by three large majestic animals, the lion, grey hound, and goat.

Here’s the point…You observe the tiny ants and lizards because they are humble, limited creatures that despite their limitations, even because of their limitations, develop wisdom and competency. Go and do likewise.

You learn your weaknesses, your limits, your drawbacks, and then you humble yourself before God and you will be made wise. Just as our Lord and Savior Jesus humbled Himself, we too must humble ourselves before God and depend upon him to be wise in this world.

What we see in the Proverbs is that it’s all centered on Christ. If you have a problem with uncontrolled appetites, if you not honoring your parents, if you mistreat the poor, or if you can’t see how the world works best it’s because you have a problem with Jesus. So humble yourself and seek forgiveness and transformation that only Jesus can give.

There is a way the world works, there is an order to the world that is proper. That order is Christ-centered. Christ is the one who made the world, Christ is the one who upholds the world, and Christ is the one who will make the world brand new again. That’s the gospel in a nutshell, Christ is creator, upholder, and restorer. King Jesus sets the world right, and you can only navigate through this world, and can only be made wise for this world, through Jesus Christ.