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Day 324 Proverbs 30:1 Proverbs 30:1 The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy: the man spoke 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 curses 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 horse leach 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 says not, It is enough. 17 The eye that mocks at his father, and despises 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 eats, and wipes her mouth, and says, 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 reigns; and a fool when he is filled with meat; 23 For an odious woman when she is married; and a 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 takes 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 turns not away for any; 31 A greyhound; a 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 brings forth butter, and the wringing of the nose brings forth blood: so the forcing of wrath brings forth strife. Agur was a prophet who spoke to Solomon, not about what would become of his life, but brought his attention to God’s creation and God himself. He wanted to make certain Solomon paid attention to what God had done in the earth, and warned against the position of poverty and riches. Poverty causes a person to reflect on their position and their stomach. Riches causes a person to become prideful and not give God the glory for what he did in their lives. In both poverty and wealth, God is left out, a state Satan employs so people blame God for their lack of substance, or bless the god of wealth for their position among the people. Satan draws you away from God’s goodness in your lives and focuses on the here and now. Agur wanted Solomon to focus on God’s creation, not self. He provided several lists that show God’s power, power over the elements, power over nature, power over the people he created. Each list shows the awesome nature of God. Agur then points to the past, present, and future in his testimony about the generation who would fall far from God. Not only have we seen these behaviors in the past, we see these behaviors now. People are interested only in what benefits them. They will do anything, even cursing everyone around them, bringing shame to those who know them, and promoting their own agendas. We call them power hungry. They care nothing about anyone but themselves. God does not want you to forget who gave you the breath in your body, the ability for the work you do, and your intellect. He doesn’t want you going around lifting yourself up and forgetting all those around you. He wants you to remember it is he who gives you life. When you focus your attention on God and not self, you will be the kind of person God wants you to be: compassionate, loving, forgiving, merciful, just. You will display the gifts and fruit of the Holy Spirit in your lives. You will promote God’s agenda, not your own. And you will pray the prayer found among these verses - Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die: Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: 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. Let God guide your life. Examine your motivations, and ask God to purify your life and make it his. David said: Psalm 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (KJV) Let that be your prayer today as you put God first in everything you do. Let’s pray: Father, I do not want to forget you and all you did for me. Remind me daily of your goodness when I feel the wind blow, feel the beat of my heart, and hear a newborn baby’s cry. I do not want to lift myself up in pride, but I want to lift you up. Let me be motivated by what motivates you. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. Copyright © 30 July 2017 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay