Proverbs
30 reminds me that even a knucklehead can be taught, once they come
to a place of humility. Humility is simply an awareness that God is
above His creation and standing in opposition to Him is like
resisting the tide. Brilliant men have debated the authorship of
this chapter for centuries, but I am certain it was a man, much like
me. He was a hard nut that was broken and then healed by God’s
Holy Word and Holy Spirit. The writer is not speaking from the
pulpit, but rather, the lunch table. He speaks of his experience in,
“an
inspired utterance“.
He begins, “I
am weary, God, but I can prevail“.
And he gives his qualifications, “I
am only a brute… I have not learned wisdom, nor have I attained to
the knowledge of the Holy One“.
He is not a scholar; his understanding has been forged after
attending the school of hard knocks. He asks hard questions that he
himself struggled through. “Who
has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has established all the
ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is the name of His
Son?” He does not
lecture; he leaves the question for his friends to ponder. He
continues, to those who want answers, “Every
word of God is flawless… take refuge in Him“.
Then very concisely, he reminds himself and warns others, “Do
not add to His words… and prove yourself a liar“.
He is not a role model because of his preaching, but rather preaches
because he has become a role model to his friends.
For
the rest of the chapter with dirty hands and a sweaty brow, he makes
week day observations. There is a clear sense that his speech and
manner are the same at work, at home and at worship. “Two
things I ask of you, LORD… Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread“.
Too much and I might, “disown
You“, too little and I
might “steal,
and so dishonor the Name of my God“.
He adds, to keep harmony at work, don’t run down your coworkers
“Do not
slander a servant to their master”
or “you
will pay for it“. He
warns not to be naive, “There
are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their
mothers… pure
in their own eyes and yet are not cleansed of their filth… haughty…
disdainful… whose teeth are swords“.
He is saying, be aware that these folks are all around us; but you
don’t have to be one of them.
Finally
his observations turn to the home. I have learned that you can’t
hold a parent responsible for the actions of their kids, but you can
note
their reactions
to their kids’ actions. “The
leech has two daughters. ‘Give!
Give!’ they cry“.
Parents must learn to say “Enough!”
for children to learn contentment. He cautions about the one that
“mocks
a father, that scorns an aged mother“,
saying they “will
be eaten by the vultures“.
My
mother once said that the way a woman speaks about her father is the
way she will one day speak of her husband. The sad truth is, people
that abuse those closest to them will end up with no one to care for
them. Next he makes a keen observation about creatures on the hunt,
comparing “an
eagle…a snake…a ship”
to “an
adulterous woman“.
The young man never sees the danger until his heart is broken. The
chapter concludes with a note of things “stately
in their stride“.
These are confident and sure, “a
lion… a strutting rooster… a
he-goat,
and a king secure
against
revolt“.
Nothing makes a man more confident, then a faithful, loving wife who
builds him up. It is a smart chick that purrs enough to make her
prince want to slay dragons for her. Finally he says not to “exalt
yourself“.
If you have to, “clap
your hand over your mouth“.
Noting that, “churning
cream produces butter“,
but churning people “produces
strife“.
Friend, are you ready to
learn the lessons of humility? “The
message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but
to us who are being saved it is the power of God”
(1 Corinthians 1:18).