September 18th
Proverbs, 30
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
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. 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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