I have been thinking, “What can I possibly say to readers here that might help them in the living out of their faith?” Since I have not come up with an answer, with the inspiration of Haddon Robinson, I have decided to borrow from the wisdom of someone else. And ‘No’, I am not thinking Solomon. Actually, the man's name is Agur and he lived a long, long time ago. I think if you had ever had the opportunity to meet him, you would have liked him. I know I do.
We can hazard a guess as to who this person is, but it would be mere speculation since God is silent on the matter. In the Jewish Midrash (Midrash Mishle), Rashi maintains Agur is simply a pseudonym for Solomon – ‘bin Jakeh,’ the son of the one who “spits it out” (30:10).
I like Agur because he is a wise man and heaven knows that finding wise men can be a challenge. ‘Wise guys’ are everywhere. Wise people – not so much. This guy was so wise that the Spirit of God included his reflections in the Scriptures for all of us to benefit from. So back step with me into time as we return to an ancient book – the Book of Proverbs . . . and hear the good counsel of a guy who knows what he is talking about.
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 conies 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.
Book of Proverbs 30:24-28
These words are the inspired utterance of Agur, as Chapter 30, verse one reminds us (‘an oracle’) and his opening thoughts (vv. 2-3) are surprisingly candid: “Surely I am more stupid than any man.” I don’t think so! After all, it seems clear from verses 5-6 that he indeed does have a knowledge of God, suggesting that literary hyperbole is really the intent here. Agur’s difficulty is not unique since most of us are often stumped ... at a loss ... or struggle to come to an understanding of truth. Only God has full truth! Nevertheless, Agur does speak from the mouth of God, and here he calls his readers and by default – you and me to “Look at our natural world and consider life itself.”
Agur’s numerical sayings call us to reframe how
we see our world, reminding us that true wisdom is also
within the orbit of littleness.
Earlier Agur had listed 4 things that seemed great, but were in fact, despicable (30:21-23), for they can have earth-shaking ramifications. Two are connected to men; two with women. Next, Agur mentions, 4 things on the earth that are little, yet their instincts demonstrate a God who has made them exceedingly wise (30:24-28) . . . and it is to these four ‘little’ creatures I turn my attention and their possible application to our lives.
# 1. The ‘Way’ of the Ant (v. 25)
Ants are creatures of little strength,
yet they store up their food in the summer;
Ants are an import-ant part of the insect world. Ants and picnics go together. I mean, while I go on picnics to chill out and dine in the great outdoors, cozy up on a blanket, while munching on bacon-wrapped burgers, my wife’s home-made potato salad and drinking ice-cold cranberry ginger-ale . . . ants are out enjoying themselves as well, taking advantage of my good nature. Carrying off sugar one grain at a time, if you do not watch them, they will be back later with their criminal friends for those sticky cinnamon buns too.
I have never met a lazy ant. Ever! They are always at it, working, straining, carrying the load. Why such business? Because instinctively they know they must use the summer to prepare for the winter that is coming. Though the ant has little strength, it uses what energy it does have to prepare for the days ahead.
When the Jews were unhappy with Jesus for healing on the Sabbath, Jesus’ response (John 5:17) was “My Father is always at work to this very day, and I too am working.”
Every morning’s painted sky and every evening’s magnificent lightshow testifies to God’s creative work and how he providentially upholds it. Even now God is working all things for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28).
The ant works for tomorrow because it knows
the season of life it is in. Out of the past it has developed
an instinct to prepare itself for the future.
When measured up against the activity of the ant, how are we doing? No, I am not thinking about those mundane, secular responsibilities we all have like working 9 to 5, taking the kids to figure skating, mowing the grass, shoveling snow from the driveway (brrrr!), changing the kitty litter, or throwing a birthday party for your wife’s Fiftieth to escape bodily harm. I have in mind those things that are more eternal ... things that bring lasting spiritual benefit.
After all, winter is coming!
In our personal lives it might manifest itself in being diagnosed with a disease you thought belonged to someone else ... a child that you brought into your world with joy and hope, who rejects you and your value system or a ministry that turns sour. Of course, you can add to this list, but one thing is certain; for all of us, winter is coming.
On a public level, if we aspire that the knowledge of God and the transformative work of Christ be a real and present force within our culture, then believers will need to be active agents. But there is little evidence that the salt is affecting our nation. Make no mistake, we are called to be ‘in’ the world, but we appear to have blended into culture, creating our own cultural ghetto by becoming like those we are seeking to win, instead of influencing it. Winter’s grip has already started to set in, manifested in the increasing broken lives and homes . . . rising depression and nongender-affirming nonsense . . . politically motivated attacks through state actions ... and the religion-like fervor of Wokeness that discriminates on the basis of alternative views. Winds colder than a witch’s navel are blowing across our Canadian landscape and their intensity will increase.
Like C. S. Lewis’ Land of Narnia, this culture in which we presently live seems always winter; never Christmas.
Winter is coming and only whatever we bring into that winter will be what we have, says Agur. If we have the wisdom of an ant, we will know what season we are in for Followers know the time of opportunity and make the most of it, faithfully using the present for the future.
God is callings us to minister in a culture where winter lies ahead. Christ’s church needs to get busy!
When the apostle Paul spoke of “becom[ing] all things”
he was not talking behavioral, but abandoning himself
to the purposes of Christ. We can do no worse!
# 2. The ‘Way’ of the Coney (v. 26)
Conies [Rock Hyrax] are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags
The coney is a Rock Badger. A bit larger than Gertie your guinea pig or the groundhogs that populate the fields of Central Ontario . . . conies are gray, the colour of the rocks they inhabit, making it a challenge for its predators to locate. More importantly, when grazing, they seldom stray far from their rocky refuges they call home, because they know they are vulnerable to attack. Should a predator appear, the coney runs into a hole, a crag in the rock. Conies know where their security lies and it is only when it leaves the sanctuary of the rocks, does it become vulnerable. Wander from the rock and the badger becomes someone’s lunch pail meal.
Biblical writers have taken that truth and applied it to our relationship with God. Notice, I said ‘relationship’, because our knowledge about God is not the same as having a personal knowledge of God. This distinction should not be confused, because having more information about God so that we can reinforce our doctrinal perspective against those who hold a different view, is far different from a soul that is engaged with Him through worship, relying on His grace and plugged into His power.
It is easy to conclude that because we know theology,
we know God.
This intended engagement with the divine is reflected in the Exodus 6:7a statement where God promises to bring His people into relationship with Him. This promise was so strong, says Walter Kaiser, a former prof of mine, that “Each of these verbs are in the Hebrew past (i.e., perfect) tense instead of the future tense, for so certain was God of their accomplishment that they were viewed as having been completed.”
With Egyptian servitude and bondage as its backdrop, God promises seven ‘I wills’ to Moses for the benefit of Israel as a whole. However, what makes the pericope unique is that in the midst of the ‘I – You’ order, comes an unexpected, sudden reversal to ‘You – I’ which has the affect of highlighting that the expected activity of Israel is to know God.
“I will bring you out”
“I will rescue you from”
“I will redeem you with”
“I will take you as”
“I will be your God”
“Then YOU shall know that I am your God”
“I will bring you into”
“I will give it to you”
Think of theology as a road sign that points to a city located 20 kilometers down the road. Hanging around the road sign however should not be confused with being in the city. The rock badger by experience knows precisely where his security lies ̶ it is in the Rock! The significance for believers could not be any plainer, for Moses and David frequently used the metaphor to describe God as a place of shelter and safety, especially when life was under serious threat.
Moses – “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just.” (Deuteronomy 32:4); also verses 15, 30-31.
David – “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” (Psalm 18:2); “The Lord lives! Praise to my Rock!” (18:46)
Those who heed the wisdom of a rock badger know where their security lies and Followers, acknowledging their areas of strength and weakness, are wise to choose to place their security and confidence in something that is immoveable.
# 3. The ‘Way’ of the Locust (v. 27)
Locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks
The grasshopper and the locust are often confused with one another and most of us will use the terms interchangeably – not a wrong thing. Still, while there are over 11,000 known grasshopper species, there are only 19 species of locusts. So, while technically a locust is a type of grasshopper, all grasshoppers are not locust. The desert locust seems to be what Agur has in mind.
On its own, this insect is not particularly formidable. Should you find one in your kitchen, and it jumps suddenly, sure it might startle you, but it is not much of a threat unless you have Orthopterophobia – a fear of grasshoppers and crickets! One locust is to be laughed at. However, under optimum environmental conditions, these insects will develop gregarious behaviour and join a league of other locust and should that happen, well that’s a different story. Together, they make nations tremble. Their ability to fly (grasshoppers only hop) in menacing swarms at a top speed of 32 kilometers per hour and cover 120 km a day, makes them particularly frightening.
When I think of locust, the next word that pops into my head is a plague of locust, because like many, I have seen images from the National Geographic channel of black, thick swarms descending on African or Middle Eastern crops and decimating them within hours. Did you know that that a swarm covering 2,000 square miles crossed the Red Sea in 1989 that was estimated to weigh 500,000 tons and hold 250 billion individual locust? I didn’t! They did not have a king to get them organized. They did not have a draft board to call them into ranks. Yet, by instinct, they understand that what they cannot do alone, they can achieve in community with others.
“You can have a personal faith, but you do have an individual faith. You cannot be a Christian alone.”
Haddon Robinson
When Jesus sent out His disciples, He sent them 2 x 2. It is God's approved strategy to help each other in times of loneliness, testing, discouragement . . . to lift one another in defeat and balance each other in times of success . . . share the rewards of labour and prosperity . . . to provide unity in prayer (cf. Matthew 18:19) and protection in the event of an attack . . . and offer confirmation in the preaching of God’s Word. PLUS, their abilities are synergistic, resulting in much greater productivity and success.
Think of the impact the Apostle Paul made in the 1st century. He did not achieve it alone! Remember his fellow labourers Barnabas, Timothy, Titus, Onesimus, Silas and Epaphroditus? And how about that long list of men and women that appear in Romans 16.?
Later, in the closing hours of Paul's life, confined to the Mamortime prison in the city of Rome and facing execution, he writes a final letter to Timothy, saying, “Demas has left me and . . . Only Luke is with me. Get Mark . . . he’s profitable.” The apostle understood the awesome power of community and a shared commitment to a common cause
I do not believe that God calls us to ministry that
we do by ourselves. Many is better than one.
Locust understands intuitively that it cannot go it alone; that it presents a more formidable force when working together. I hope you see the purpose of the local church from the locust. How about we modify our individual tendencies to serve the needs of the group? Followers understand that the secret to their success lies in their co-operative efforts and if we do not understand this, says Agur, then we do not have the good sense of a locust.
# 4. The ‘Way’ of the Lizard (v. 28)
A lizard can be caught with the hand, yet it is found in kings’ palaces.
Picture the Geico commercial, with that little green guy hanging out in the king’s palace with his hands (?) on his hips, making clever comments. Well, not actually – but Agur certainly might have had a gecko in mind, even if it was not a talking version.
At first reading, there seems to be an incongruity to what the wise man says: “A lizard [Spider – Targum] can be caught with the hand yet shows up in the king’s palace and by default in the king’s presence! How is that possible? I mean, if the ugly little creature shows up, grab it by the tail and toss it out the palace window, right? Problem solved!
But wait a minute! There is a subtlety to the proverb that bears consideration, for what could be more incongruous than an image of grace . . . where something (or better still, some person) puny, blemished, insignificant, unattractive, without virtue or value, finds itself in the King’s palace and his presence. Really? Is this even possible? Apparently, because there is no denying that the lizard is IN the king’s palace! Take about upside down!
Grace does not concern itself with our background, surroundings, abilities, appearance, or future potential.
It cares only that we be restored!
Are we surprised that ordinary, common, run-of-the-mill, even outcasts, find their way into the king’s palace and enjoy fellowship with him as sons and daughters? Not if you are a believer! No, we bear the weight of glory! Sorry, but the Gatlin Brothers were wrong when they sang, “all the gold in California is in the bank in the middle of Beverly Hills in somebody else’s name.” In His grace, God invaded a dark land (Isaiah 9:2) and brings hope that exceeds our expectations . . . and grace that surpasses our merit. The simplicity and profundity of the Gospel is that ‘God is with us’ and has a plan for us. If we will persist and persevere in our relationship with Jesus, we are destined for greatness ̶ the King’s Palace. And we will not be out of place. How does that happen? Grace!
Despites its ease of capture, the lizard has learned to compensate for its defenselessness by holding on through patient endurance . . . and surefooted tenacity ̶ And it pays off with glorious success.
Here is ‘Lizard Wisdom’: Followers, through persistence and patience, are destined to live in the presence of the King of Heaven, in His eternal Palace. Sounds like nobility to me!
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us ...” (Hebrews 12:1)
Ever notice how we like to model up-wards? Sacrifice ... Strength ... Success ... and a little Stubbornness bring acclaim. We like to set before our congregations and our ministerial conferences people of God who have made an impact - people who have touched their times and influenced people - a kind of Christianized version of Time’s ‘Person of the Year’. Not Agur – He models down . . . down . . . down!
“Four things on earth are very small,” says Agur. If we could sit at their feet – assuming we could find their feet -- we would learn some valuable lessons that will give us strength in the living of our faith. Such delightful wisdom from such small creatures. “OnlySaying...”
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