A STUPID MAN’S WISDOM
Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on February 6, 2022 under 2022 |
Bethany Bible Church Sunday message; February 6, 2022 from Proverbs 30:1-6
Theme: A suffering church family can experience God’s gracious healing if it puts certain things into practice.
(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
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This morning, I’d like to share the words of a man in the Bible who you might not recognize. His name is Agur. And though you may not recall his name, he has an unusual distinction in the Bible. He introduced himself as a stupid man.
Now; you may be thinking, “Why would I want to hear the words of a stupid man?” Well, hang on. Though he confessed that he considered himself stupid, I believe you’ll find that—as we look carefully together at his words—he actually proved himself to be profoundly wise.
You find his words in Proverbs 30:1-4. It’s there that we read;
The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, his utterance. This man declared to Ithiel—to Ithiel and Ucal:
Surely I am more stupid than any man,
And do not have the understanding of a man.
I neither learned wisdom
Nor have knowledge of the Holy One.
Who has ascended into heaven, or descended?
Who has gathered the wind in His fists?
Who has bound the waters in a garment?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is His name, and what is His Son’s name,
If you know? (Proverbs 30:1-4).
Those are strong words of a personal sense of ignorance. But in verses 5-6, he then spoke great words of wisdom:
Every word of God is pure;
He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.
Do not add to His words,
Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar (vv. 5-6).
Now; the whole book of Proverbs is God’s divine book of wisdom—chiefly given through the sayings of King Solomon. And the words of this man Agur were added on to the book as part of a supplement—a kind of appendix. But if you think about it carefully, you can see that Agur served as a living illustration of the main thesis of the rest of the book as it’s expressed to us in Proverbs 1:7; “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge …” Agur started off admitting that, in terms of true wisdom, he was stupid. And in that respect, dear folks, we are all like him. But after having looked carefully at the works of God, and after humbly bowing his heart to the self-revelation of God through His word, Agur became very wise indeed.
Agur, then, serves as an example for us to follow in how we—stupid people that we are when it comes to true wisdom from God—may become wise. He shows us that, if we genuinely seek wisdom with a humble heart, we will ultimately be led to God’s revelation of Himself—a revelation that He gives us faintly through His creation; and then, more clearly through the Scriptures; and finally, most clearly of all through His Son Jesus Christ.
Agur shows us the stupid man’s pathway to true wisdom from God.
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Now; what can we know about the background of this man Agur? Not very much, really. We know that his name means “gatherer”; and that reflects how the whole 30th chapter of Proverbs shows us some of the insights of wisdom that he gathered. We can know that he is the son of a man named Jakeh. But beyond that, there’s not much more we can say about his story.
But there’s one very important thing we can know for sure. And that is that he was someone that had been given a ‘burden’—that is, an important ‘message’ or an ‘oracle’ from God. In verse 1, when it says that these words are “his utterance”, a Hebrew word is used that refers to a very important and weighty word of great importance. His words are being marked off to us as something we need to listen to; something that the Holy Spirit has chosen to preserve for us in the pages of Scripture. Several of his insights have been kept for us in Chapter 30; and they are all given for our edification and spiritual enrichment. That may be all that we can know for certain about him; but it’s certainly all that we truly need to know.
He is presented to us as speaking to a couple of other people. We’re told in verse 1, “This man declared to Ithiel—to Ithiel and Ucal …” Some Bible scholars believe that these may have been two students that came to Agur for insight. Others think that they may possibly have been two of his sons whom he sought to instruct. It might be that Ithiel’s name is mentioned twice because he’s the primary student or chief son to whom these words were directed; and that Ucal was listening in and learning too.
But there’s something else that you need to know about the words in which these two names are mentioned. Some scholars of the ancient Hebrew language believe these words are meant to be read as a phrase—a kind of declaration. When the Hebrew consonants of the original language are re-vocalized, they come out the way that the English Standard Version translates this part of verse 1: “I am weary, O God; I am weary, O God, and worn out.”
Could it be that the Holy Spirit led the words of verse 1 to be recorded for us in this remarkable way in order to convey both impressions to us? Could it be that two men—Ithiel and Ucal—came to this God-fearing man named Agur to seek wisdom from him; only for him to then admit that he had thought and studied and sought to obtain wisdom in the power of his own flesh … and only came up empty and worn out from the search?
If that’s the case, then Agur’s words remind us of what it says at the end of another book of wisdom—Ecclesiastes. There, at the end of a long search for meaning ‘under the sun’, King Solomon finally concluded;
Of making many books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God and keep His commandments,
For this is man’s all.
For God will bring every work into judgment,
Including every secret thing,
Whether good or evil (Ecclesiastes 12:12b-14).
Agur may have declared himself to be stupid; but if we will listen to what he has to say to us—and if we will follow the path that the Holy Spirit lays out for us through him—we would save ourselves a whole lot of foolish and frustrating searches for truth and meaning, and will end up instead turning to where we should have turned all along—that is, to our Creator who alone gives us true and satisfying wisdom.
* * * * * * * * * *
So then; what does this man Agur teach us? In verses 2-3, he says;
Surely I am more stupid than any man,
And do not have the understanding of a man.
I neither learned wisdom
Nor have knowledge of the Holy One (vv. 2-3).
And these words show us that in order to discover true wisdom …
1. WE MUST BEGIN WITH HUMILITY BEFORE GOD.
Most four-year colleges have a recognizable division of classes. First, there are what are called ‘freshmen’—new to the process of higher education. Then, after a year, they become what are called ‘sophomores’. In their second-to-the-last year, they are ‘juniors’. And finally, they graduate as ‘seniors’.
My college experience, however, was just a little bit different. After getting some basic college credits out of the way in a junior college, I attended a three-year undergraduate Bible college. The order of their classes was only three in number: freshman, junior, and senior. They didn’t have a class that was designated ‘sophomore’. And although I was never told the reason for that, I suspected that I knew why. The college I attended required a year of New Testament Greek; and too many of the students would have known what that the word ‘sophomore’ actually meant—and they might have felt a little insulted by it. It’s a name that’s composed of two Greek words put together: sophos, which means ‘wise’; and mōros, which … Well, you don’t really need to know very much Greek to get the point; do you?
Sadly, it’s an apt description. Students after just one year of college—or one year of high school for that matter—tend to think that they already know everything; not realizing how ignorant they really still are. It’s very hard to teach a student that is already convinced that he or she is wise—when in reality, he or she is only a wise fool. But a true student—a life-long learner—is someone who, after sufficient exposure to things, has the humility to be teachable once again. Educators know that there are four discernible stages of teachability in any student: (1) when they don’t know that they don’t ‘know’; (2) when they know that they don’t ‘know’; (3) when they don’t know that they ‘know’; and (4) when they finally know that they ‘know’. It’s only when someone begins to enter into that second stage—knowing that they don’t truly ‘know’—that they can really begin to be taught.
Agur was a man who called himself ‘stupid’, because—before God—he had the humility to admit that he truly didn’t know the great things of wisdom that he needed to know. It may be that he was an educated man in many other ways. It’s almost certain that he was—humanly speaking—outstandingly intelligent. But he realized that he only knew some facts and figures. He didn’t have true wisdom and true knowledge. He didn’t know the deeper things about God; and therefore didn’t have the true wisdom to apply things in a right way. He was a man who was made in the image of God; but he didn’t yet have the kind of knowledge that conformed to the nature of his being. He didn’t yet know the God in Whose image he was made. And the realization of his lack of knowledge made him aware of how far he still was from true wisdom. He felt that he was more stupid than any man, and that he didn’t have the knowledge of a man.
The prophet Isaiah really hit the nail on the head when, in Isaiah 5, he said;
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,
And prudent in their own sight! (Isaiah 5:20-21).
How can anyone who is like that learn anything from God? Woe to them! May God help us poor, dependent creatures to know—and admit the truth—that no matter how much we think we know, we don’t yet really know what we need to know. It’s only then that we can learn true wisdom from Him.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Now; like Agur, we must begin with humility before God. That makes us teachable. And then, as Agur’s example goes on to show us …
2. WE MUST LOOK WONDERINGLY AT GOD’S WORKS.
In verse 4, he began by admitting his own human limitations. He asked, “Who has ascended into heaven, or descended?” We might be able to come up with theological speculations about spiritual things; but that would be all that they were. None of us—no matter how intelligent—have ascended up above. None of us have first gone up, and then made the return trip down to earth again, in order to give an accurate, trustworthy report of what we learned.
But perhaps, when you hear those words, you recognize that there was Someone who first came down to make the report, and then went back up again. The Bible tells us that Jesus—the Son of God—is that Someone. In John 3:13, we’re told;
No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven (John 3:13).
Jesus is the one who has transcended our limitations for us, and has given us an accurate report of heaven—and how to get there. But Agur—still looking at things from the standpoint of earth—still frustrated by his limitations—asked some questions. He looked at this created realm below and asked,
Who has gathered the wind in His fists?
Who has bound the waters in a garment?
Who has established all the ends of the earth? (v. 4).
These aren’t mere poetic queries. These are serious questions that come from carefully observing the evidence of the natural world. They came from an investigation of the three things that make life on earth possible: the air, the water, and the land. As he looked at it all, he could clearly see the “what”. That’s what science shows us. But he could tell that there was also a “who’ behind it all … and he just couldn’t grasp the “who.”
Now; think of what he saw.1 He would have looked at the earth—the land. That’s the place where life is made possible for human beings; and for many other living things. It’s upon the expanse of the land upon which we walk and work and live. It’s from the land that our food grows and our provisions for life are enjoyed. What a beautifully designed expanse it is! The varieties of shapes that the land takes—the mountains, the valleys, the hills, the plains—all make possible such things as farming, building, traveling, and living. Agur’s question was, “Who laid this all out? How is it that it is solid and habitable? Who drew out its limits? Who has established the ends of the earth?”
But he would have noted that the land itself was not enough to make life possible. In order for living things to survive, there would also need to be water. The land itself is limited and comes to an end; and then there is water. But that water has to be brought to the interior of the land in some way. And it can’t simply be that the ocean—every once in a while—overflows the land and waters it. If that would happen, it would destroy all life on the land. And besides; the saline from the ocean would completely contaminate and poison the land so that no life on land would be possible—and nothing could grow. In order for the land to be watered in a life-sustaining way, the water must be purified and must come to land in small portions—just enough to water the land in a way that the land could bear it and process it. The water has to flow through the land in ripples and streams, and irrigate it with purity and cleanness. It has to fill rivers and lakes; and eventually make its way back to the ocean. And so; how does it do this? How does water get to the land in a life-sustaining way? It comes by a process of evaporation, in which the water is “gathered up in garments”
Here in the Pacific Northwest, we see those garments floating above us almost all the time—and we also feel them releasing their water. Those clouds seem beautiful and weightless. But did you know that the average cumulus cloud—of which we have plenty—contains a little over 1 million pounds of water? That works out to about 550 tons—or 132,000 gallons! And knowing that fact, we can then be very thankful that it doesn’t come falling down all at once—destroying everything below it. Instead, those amazing ‘garments’ shed their load gradually—through rain which immediately refreshes, or snow which keeps the water in store for later. When Agur looked at it all, and saw the perfection of it, he knew that there had to be a “who” behind it all. He wondered, “Who designed this amazing hydrospheric system? Who made it so that it provides the land with clean, reusable water so wonderfully well? Who has bound the waters in a garment?”
But it doesn’t even stop there! Having land that is capable of growing life-sustaining things at one spot, and having enormous amounts of water gathered up into garments into the air at another spot of the earth, isn’t a situation that will—by itself—sustain life. The gathered water has to be gotten to the land in a timely and regular way. If the land and the water were kept separate from each other, or if it was somehow necessary for the living creatures on earth to themselves go and bring them together sufficiently, no life would be possible. And so, Agur noticed—as a third element—the air. The specific flows and currents of the wind—made possible by ebb and flow of heat and cooling on the ocean, and by the formation of the land itself—delivers those water-filled ‘garments’ up into the air and over the very places where they need to pour out their contents. And looking at it carefully, he perceived a “who” behind it all. “Who designed the flow of air so that it brings water the earth in just the right way? Who created this marvelous delivery system? Who has gathered the wind in His fists?”
Each one of these marvels of creation—the land, the water, and the air—are wondrous to consider in their own right. But they are all three integrated in such a way that the simultaneous existence of them all is essential. They couldn’t just happen one after another separately. They had to be brought into being together in an interdependent way. The land has to be separate from the water; and yet provide a flooring in order for the water to be sufficiently above ground to experience evaporation. The water has to be able to rise in evaporation from the ocean and other water sources to the land in a purified way through the agency of the wind, and yet be able to flow back down from the land again into the ocean. And the wind, in rising the water from the ocean and delivering it to the land, had to be dependent on both the ocean and the land for its movement and currents. Who made this integration of systems all work together? Who is the wise Designer; who would have to be greater than it all in order to create and sustain it all?
And that’s what leads him to ask, in verse 4, “What is His name …?”; that is, “What is His essential nature? How can He be described so that we can know Him?” Isn’t this like what Paul said in Romans 2? No one can ever say that they didn’t know about the “Who”; because …
what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse (Romans 2:19-20).
And isn’t it remarkable that this man Agur then went on to ask, “and what is His Son’s name, if you know?” Is there Someone who can be sent to us from this Creator?—Someone who has perfect knowledge of Him?—Someone who is then able to then communicate Him perfectly to ignorant mankind, in a language that we can understand, so that we can know Him?
This man Agur may have thought of himself as stupid. But I certainly hope I may look at God’s handiwork with the kind of humble awe that he had. Then, I could become wise!
* * * * * * * * * *
Now; that leads us to a final thing. If we are humble enough to know what we do not know about God; and if we are willing—from the standpoint of that humility—to look in wonder at His handiwork and perceive His wisdom and goodness …
3. WE WILL THEN BE LED TO GOD’S SELF-REVELATION.
We cannot sufficiently know God by looking at His creation alone. Creation, by itself, cannot tell us what we need to know in order to have a relationship with Him. But God the Creator has not remained silent. He has, in love, revealed Himself to us. And that’s when Agur—in an expression of very profound wisdom—tells us in verses 5-6;
Every word of God is pure;
He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.
Do not add to His words,
Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar (vv. 5-6).
God has revealed Himself to humankind in the Scriptures. The human heart that is truly teachable before God won’t ever try to add to His written self-revelation, or try to alter it, or turn away from it to find an alternative source of wisdom. The truly teachable heart will bow to the word of God as pure—tested and tried and found reliable.
And through it, God Himself will be learned about, and trusted, and loved, and obeyed.
* * * * * * * * * * *
So then; this self-proclaimed ‘stupid’ man shows us the path to true wisdom. It’s a path that goes from a humble recognition of our limitations to know God in our own power, to a sincere wonder at the handiwork of God in creation, to a humble reception of God’s self-revelation in His word.
And do you know where that word leads us? It leads us right to God’s Son—Jesus Christ. In answer to Agur’s question, “Who is His Son?”, we know the answer. He is the great ‘theme’ of God’s written word. He is the living Word. As God’s written word tells us in John 1;
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it (John 1:1-5).
… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (v. 14).
… No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him (v. 18).
Do you know Him? Have you trusted Him? Have you believed the story of how He came to this earth, and took our sins upon Himself, and died in our place? Have you become truly ‘wise’ by faith in Him?
May we have the humble wisdom of this man Agur … and thus be led to truly know God by believing on and receiving His Son Jesus.
1I’m borrowing here from the insights of William Arnot, Studies in Proverbs (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1978), pp. 563-6.
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