September 18th
Proverbs, 30
C
The Proverbs of Agur
Agur’s
sayings
1: The words of Agur the son of Jakeh,
even the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal, 2: Surely I am more brutish than any
man, and have not the understanding of a man. 3: I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy.
4: Who hath ascended up into
heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound
the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what
is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell? 5: Every word of God is pure: he is a
shield unto them that put their trust in him. 6: Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou
be found a liar. 7: Two things
have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die: 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 thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or
lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain. 10: Accuse not a servant unto his
master, lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty. 11: There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth
not bless their mother. 12:
There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed
from their filthiness. 13:
There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted
up. 14: There is a generation,
whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor
from off the earth, and the needy from among men. 15: The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There
are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is
enough: 16: The grave; and the
barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith
not, It is enough. 17: The eye
that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the
valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it. 18: There be three things which are
too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not: 19: The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a
rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a
maid. 20: Such is the way of an
adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no
wickedness. 21: For three
things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear: 22: For a servant when he reigneth;
and a fool when he is filled with meat; 23:
For an odious woman when she is married; and an handmaid that is heir to her
mistress. 24: There be four
things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise: 25: The ants are a people not strong,
yet they prepare their meat in the summer; 26: The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses
in the rocks; 27: The locusts
have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands; 28: The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings'
palaces. 29: There be three
things which go well, yea, four are comely in going: 30: A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away
for any; 31: A greyhound; an he
goat also; and a king, against whom there is no rising up. 32: If thou hast done foolishly in
lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy
mouth. 33: Surely the churning
of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth
blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.
Proverbs, 31
D
The Proverbs of a Mother to Lemuel
Lemuel’s
sayings from his mother
1: The words of king Lemuel, the
prophecy that his mother taught him. 2:
What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows? 3: Give not thy strength unto women,
nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings. 4: It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink
wine; nor for princes strong drink: 5:
Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the
afflicted. 6: Give strong drink
unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. 7: Let him drink, and forget his
poverty, and remember his misery no more. 8: Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are
appointed to destruction. 9:
Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.
A
good woman...far above rubies
10: Who can find a virtuous woman? for
her price is far above rubies. 11:
The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no
need of spoil. 12: She will do
him good and not evil all the days of her life. 13: She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her
hands. 14: She is like the
merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar. 15: She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to
her household, and a portion to her maidens. 16: She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of
her hands she planteth a vineyard. 17:
She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. 18: She perceiveth that her
merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night. 19: She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the
distaff. 20: She stretcheth out
her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. 21: She is not afraid of the snow for
her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet. 22: She maketh herself coverings of
tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple. 23: Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the
elders of the land. 24: She
maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant. 25: Strength and honour are her
clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. 26: She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the
law of kindness. 27: She
looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of
idleness. 28: Her children
arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. 29: Many daughters have done
virtuously, but thou excellest them all. 30:
Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she
shall be praised. 31: Give her
of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.
Today we are reading the very last two chapters of Proverbs Ch 30 & 31. these two chapters are the words of Agur and Lemuel. Wise men who give advice to Solomon. Ch 30 are the words of Agur.
God
A.
Confession - himself v1-3
B. Address v4
C. Declaration v5
B. Address v6
Man
A.
Prayer - himself v7-9
B. Address v10
C. Declaration v11-31
B. Address v32-33
Agur begins with his confession.
He says I am more brutish than any man and I know so little. This is a
statement of true humility. He confesses that he is not wise nor has he any
knowledge of the Lord. Then he asks a series of six searching questions. He
asks who has gone up into heaven or gone down to hell? Who can hold onto the
wind? Who can hold all the seas in his coat? Who has established all the earth?
What is his name or his son’s name? Of course the only answer is that no man
can do any of these things. These are the things of God alone. (This is
probably the only place in the OT that declares God has a son.) He then
declares that every single word that comes from the Lord is pure and that God
is a protector of all who put their trust in him. (He is not talking about the
salvation of the spirit but the salvation of the body.) Then he gives a serious
warning saying do not add to Gods words because he will surely reprove you and
you will be found a liar. (He is not talking about honest translation of the
scriptures but the sanctity of prophetic word.)
Then Agur prays to the Lord saying I want you to do two things for me.
He says do not deny me these things before I die. (Its interesting that his
religion consisted of his mortal life) The first request is remove me far away
from vanity and lies. He never wants to be a hypocrite before God. False
religion even self deluded religion is something he hates. Secondly he asks the
Lord that he might not be in poverty or riches. He just asks for just enough.
Because he sees in both poverty and riches in this life great danger to his
soul. He says I don’t want to be rich and forget God and I don’t want to be
poor and steal his food. And take Gods name in vain. (What he means is that he
will be honouring God with his mouth and denying God in his actions) Then he addresses men saying do not accuse a
servant to his master because he may curse you and later you might sin too.
Then from v11-31 he declares what he sees as wrong in the life of Israel.
A.
Parents - cursed
B. Impurity
B. Pride
B. Violence
B. Insatiableness
A.
Parents – mocking
B. 4 things – inscrutable
B. 4 things – disquieting
B. 4 things – little but wise
B. 4 things – graceful
He says that this generation does
not honour their parents. They say that they are pure in their own eyes yet
they are not cleansed from filthiness. It’s a false profession and its self
deluded. It’s a generation who are so proud thinking that they are right with
God, but their teeth are like swords that eat the poor and needy. They are like
horse leaches that suck the blood crying give me, give me. he says there are
three things that are never satisfied and four things that never say we have
had enough. The Grave is never full. The barren womb is never satisfied. The
earth is never full no matter how much water is poured onto it. And lastly fire
not has had enough. He warns that the eye that mocks his father and refuses to
obey his mother will face ravens who will pick them out and the eagles will eat
his body. Then he says there are three things that are too wonderful for me and
four that I just cannot understand. He says I cannot understand 1. the flight
of an eagle, 2. the motion of a serpent on a rock, 3. the path of a ship in the
sea, and 4. the relationship between a man and a girl. Then he says that an adulterous woman eats
her food saying I have done nothing wrong. Then he lists three things that
bring trouble. And four that are unbearable. The first is when a servant is
king. The second is a fool who is fat with food. The third is a vile woman who
is married. The fourth is a servant girl that is heir to her mistress. Then he
lists four things that are little on the earth, yet very wise. 1. Ants are very
week yet they prepare their food for the drought. 2. The rabbits are small and
very weak yet they make their dens among the rocks. 3. The locusts have no
leader yet they move in groups. 4. the spider holds onto the things defying
gravity and they are even found in the kings palace. Lastly he says there are
three things that go well and four that are beautiful in movement. 1. A lion –
the king of beasts that never runs away. 2. a grey hound 3. a male goat that
runs across rocks without fear and 4. a king that has no enemies. Lastly Agur
speaks to men regarding really foolish things. He says if a man has been such a
fool as planned to be elevated in life or that he has planned to do an evil
thing, then he must never speak of it. Again he says that as surely as the
churning of milk produces butter and as sure as the wringing of the nose brings
forth blood so just as surely the forcing of men in dispute brings forth
strife. In ch 31 we have the wisdom of
Lemuel. In fact it’s the wisdom of his mother which was passed on to her son
who wrote it for Solomon. V1-9 is a series of warnings concerning women and
wine. But from v10-31 we have the description of ‘the model woman’ – a fitting compliment to the king of Israel. So from
v1-9 he tells Solomon not to become addicted to either sex or alcohol. He says
do not give the strength (of your seed) to women. Notice it is in the plural.
It is the very thing that destroys kings. Then he gives a strong warning to
strong drink. He says drunkenness is totally out of place in the life of a king
whose whole life is devoted to justice toward the afflicted. He says that wine
is ok for those who are about to be executed or to those who are sad. They can
drink to forget their poverty. He says you are to speak up for the cause of the
condemned. And he as king is to speak up for the cause of the righteous and the
poor and needy. While this was written under law it seems that it is an honour
to all in authority to speak up and defend the poor. From v10 to the end he speaks of the virtuous
woman.
A.
Her husband
B. Her occupation
C. Her Character
D. Her household
E. Herself - without
A.
Her husband
B. Her occupation
C. Her Character
D. Her household
E. Herself - within
He begins asking who can find a woman of virtue? Because she
is much more precious that the rarest of stones. Her husband trusts her so that
he is not looking for anything outside of the home. She will do good to him all
her life. She works hard and she brings food home. She gets up early to provide
food for the whole family. She is a good business woman buying and planning a
vineyard. She makes herself strong to do the tasks of the day. She makes things
to a high standard and works day and night. She works at her spindle. She gives
to the poor and needy. She is not afraid of cold weather and provides good
clothing for her household. Her husband is respected in the city in commerce
and law. She is always ready to give good advice and she always utters kind
words. She looks after her family and feeds them from hard work. From an early
age her children love her and her husband praises her. She excels the women of
her acquaintance. She fears the LORD first all.
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