# 484 The Proverbs – ‘A manual for living’ (MSG). Proverbs 30:18-31. From the sublime to the ridiculous!

In English we have many interesting idioms and one of them is that something can range from “the sublime to the ridiculous!” Well, Proverbs 30 contains more of the “numerical form” mentioned in my last Post, and it could be said that they have the sort of range mentioned above.

In vv. 18-19 Agur talks about “There are three things that are too amazing for me,
    four that I do not understand.

In vv. 21-23 he moves onto “Under three things the earth trembles,
    under four it cannot bear up.

In vv. 24-28 it concerns “Four things on earth are small,
    yet they are extremely wise.

And finally, vv. 29-31, “There are three things that are stately in their stride,
    four that move with stately bearing.

So, let’s look at what he finds “amazing” or wonderful:

¹⁹ the way of an eagle in the sky,
    the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
    and the way of a man with a young woman.

Nielson comments: “Waltke suggests that the numerical sayings in general aim for the preserving of social order through the renouncing of pride and greed (The Book of Proverbs Chapters 15-31, page 482). Indeed, the self-exaltation – the reaching for more and more – does break down order… And verses 18-20 celebrate order – with everything beautiful in its place.” (# 55)

Then, what he finds somewhat ‘ridiculous’ and to be avoided if possible:

²² a servant who becomes king,
    a godless fool who gets plenty to eat,
²³ a contemptible woman who gets married,
    and a servant who displaces her mistress.

“Preserving social order” comes to mind here, but it is also “important to remember that the history of Israel is a history of the lowly being raised: of slaves being freed and becoming a great nation; of a prostitute named Rahab and a poor widow named Ruth joining the family line of a king; of fishermen leading a church built on the foundation of a carpenter’s son from Nazareth. The recurring pattern of God’s working is that humility comes before honor.”      (# 55)

And so, we move onto the things that are seemingly insignificant but extremely wise:

 ²⁵ Ants are creatures of little strength,
    yet they store up their food in the summer;
²⁶ hyraxes are creatures of little power,
    yet they make their home in the crags;
²⁷ locusts have no king,
    yet they advance together in ranks;
²⁸ a lizard can be caught with the hand,
    yet it is found in kings’ palaces.

Wow, what a remarkable list of small but wise creatures – and did you notice, no human beings are mentioned!

“These ‘wise’ small creatures are living with the grain of the created order, not against the grain. They are like the eagle and the snake [v. 19] living productively according to what is given them – living, we might say, in submission to their Creator…Agur is speaking into human experience; he is recommending the lowly way, the way of humility – which is the way of wisdom, grounded in the fear of the Lord.” (# 55)

Finally, Agur speaks of things that are ‘stately’:

³⁰ a lion, mighty among beasts,
    who retreats before nothing;
³¹ a strutting rooster, a he-goat,
    and a king secure against revolt.

So here we are given examples of things created by God that walk with confidence. “These creatures seem to have been given a kind of innate ‘highness’…” (# 55)

In all this there is “a call to humility… a call to fear the Lord, listening to his word and walking humbly in his ways.” (# 55)

Jesus taught the same truths in a number of places in the four Gospels. For example, in Matthew 23:12 when he said: For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.