Day #174

Sermon - Audio
Proverbs 30-31 - Audio
Proverbs 30-31 - Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment

30

2-4 = Interesting way to open up, "I am too stupid to be a man." Agur confesses that he is not wise. He quickly points to the fact that only God can comprehend certain things. This is much like Job in Job 38-39.

4 = The rhetorical question, What is his name, and what is his son’s name? is remarkable since the obvious answer is that God is the only one who moves between heaven and earth and who controls the wind and the waters. What, then, does the text mean by asking about his son? The Christian reader naturally thinks of the Son of God, but the purpose of the words here is simply to say that no mere human being (whether father or son) has done these things, and that God is “the Holy One” (v. 3) whose ways are high and exalted, infinitely greater than “the understanding of man” (v. 2). -ESVSB-

5 = "This God—his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him." 2 Sam 22:31

6 = Reminds me of Rev 22:18 - "I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book"

7-9 = This is the only prayer in Proverbs. 2 things are requested: 1. remove lying and falsehood, 2. give me my daily bread. Makes me think of the Lord's prayer.

9 = This shows us that Agur's reasoning for having anything is so that He can focus on God. He doesn't want too much, because it may take his eyes off of God.

10 = Slander is "speaking lies about someone to others." This is a HUGE problem in our politics today. Our call as Christians, and wise people, is to join in the conversations with discernment while proclaiming truth.

People that God does not look kindly upon:

11 - Those who show no respect to their parents

12 - Those who are outright immoral and show no concern for God's ways

13 - Those who are arrogant, prideful

14 - Those who take advantage of the poor

*This shows us that God's heart is for obedience, humility, and a healthy concern for the broken.

Q. Does our heartbeat match His?

15-16 = This text contains two sayings involving numbers (v. 15a and vv. 15b–16). Both concern insatiable things, and together they give the number sequence 2, 3, 4. The first (v. 15a) indicates that the leech has two daughters named Give. The saying probably alludes to the two suckers on a leech’s body, and it may have been a common byword used to describe a selfish or demanding person. A frustrated mother may have said this when her children were clamoring for something. It is easy to see in what sense the four things of vv. 15b–16 are insatiable, but it is harder to guess at the point of the list. It may be that this was simply a byword used of any situation or task that has no end, and that it is here simply to say that life is full of such situations and tasks; in that case, Eccles. 1:3–7 is comparable. -ESVSB-

17 = Again, Agur is discussing the importance of respect for our parents.

18-19 = Four amazing “ways.” The word translated how is literally “the way of.” The wonder of the “ways” or movement of the eagle, the snake, and the ship may lie in the fact that they do not leave traces or that they are smooth and graceful. As for the way of a man with a maiden, love is a mystery, but just how it is mysterious is left to the imagination.

20 = The additional wonder. This verse seems mechanically tacked on and inappropriate, but it might be intended as a shocking climax. The four “ways” are mysterious and graceful and leave no trace. The way that is, behavior of the adulteress too is amazing: She is unbelievably smug. She thinks she can wipe her sin away as if wiping the crumbs off her face. -JSB-

21 = Four things the earth can't bear - seen as unnatural:

1. Slave becoming king - It violates the social order, which Agur believes is the way things should be.

2. Disobedient slave being rewarded

3. A loathsome or "hated woman" getting a husband

4. A slave-girl supplanting her mistress. ie...Sarah and Hagar

24-28 = We see here some small, but very clever creatures. Ants, Rock Badgers, Locusts, Lizard. This shows us that much wisdom can be found in even the small things in God's creation.

29-31 = Four animals that move in "majestic fashion" - Lion, Rooster, Goat, and the one that is a little out of place..."The King whose army is following Him."

32-33 = If you're not pointing to God in everything that you do, then keep your mouth shut.

31

*Proverbs concludes with a poem describing a wise woman. This is an ideal woman of God.

1 = Good mother, teach your son well.

3 = This is not referring to monogamous marriage.

4-5 = A king's judgment should never be clouded by wine and strong drink (beer).

6-7 = wine and strong drink are approved for merriment and misery in this proverb.

8-9 = King Lemuel, like us, should speak for those without a voice and be concerned for the broken and needy.

10 = seen in other proverbs as well (12:4, 18:22, 19:14). Another reason to take time and discern this rather important decision.

If you pick a good wife:

11 - Trust

12 - Does him good...not just for himself, but the entire household

13 - Skilled in working with textiles to provide for needs of family

14 - She goes out of her way to secure food and things for her family

15 - She plans and is holds a very effective household

16 - She discerns wise purchases and is engaged in business dealings

17 - She is able to work

18 - able to discern economic gain / diligent

19 - A distaff is a staff with a fork at the end that holds flax or wool that has yet to be spun, from which thread is drawn when a person is spinning thread or yarn on a spinning wheel. A spindle is a rod with tapered ends on which thread is wound once it has been spun by hand. The point of this and several other verses is the remarkable range of manual, commercial, administrative, and interpersonal skills at which this woman demonstrates excellence. -ESVSB-

20 - Active concern for the poor

21 - Always prepared

22 - Does everything with excellence

23 - A godly spouse is something we can boast in, that we will be known for.

25 - She is not concerned/worry about the future

26 - Her words are wise

30***

"Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised!"