FOUR THINGS THAT PERTURB THE WORLD

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on May 22, 2022 under 2022 |

Bethany Bible Church Sermon Message; May 22, 2022 from Proverbs 30:21-23

Theme: We must beware of four things that bring an oppressive impact upon life in this world.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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Here’s a trivia question for you. Can you name the Seven Wonders of the World? Can you even name a couple of them? Most people would identify the Great Wall of China as one of them. That one’s easy. But it’s hard for most of us to go on from there.

I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of such a list. But the problem is that, over the centuries, the list has changed. The earliest known list—what historians today often called the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World—was made around the Second Century B.C. It was developed as a guide for sight-seers in ancient times. Of the things that were on that ancient ‘must-see’ list, only one remains today; and that’s the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt.  The others—such as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon or the Colossus of Rhodes—are long since gone. Some historians doubt that a few of those ancient ‘wonders’ ever even really existed at all.

About twenty years ago, a new list was made. Would you like to hear what’s on it? You’ll recognize some of the things on it. It might even help you to plan your summer vacation. It mentions the Great Wall of China (no surprise there), Petra in Jordan, Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Machu Picchu in Peru, Chichén Itzá in Mexico, the Colosseum in Rome, and the Taj Mahal in India. And it turns out that the Great Pyramid in Giza, Egypt—the only wonder of the ancient world that’s still around—has been stuck on at the end of the modern list for honorary mention. (I even found one modern list that includes the Internet as one of the wonders of the modern world; but I’m not convinced that future generations will agree with that.)

Well; today, I ask you to turn with me to Proverbs 30. It’s there that we find a fascinating list. But it’s not what we would call a list of ‘wonders’ in this world. It could, in fact, be considered the opposite of such a list. I think we might be able to call this list the Four Things that Perturb the World.

It was a list that was made for us by a wise man named Agur—inspired and preserved for us by the Holy Spirit. You find it in verses 21-23. He wrote;

For three things the earth is perturbed,
Yes, for four it cannot bear up:
For a servant when he reigns,
A fool when he is filled with food,
A hateful woman when she is married,
And a maidservant who succeeds her mistress (Proverbs 30:21-23).

These are definitely not the kind of things that you would want to include on your sight-seeing list—although they’re things that you and I have encountered quite often in life. They are things that may possibly inspire a sense of wonder—but not at all in a positive way. In fact, in all seriousness, these are four things that have been the cause of tremendous grief and oppression in the world; and that have often made life on earth seem unbearable.

* * * * * * * * * *

Now; we’ve been learning from the words of this man Agur for several weeks. And you may have noticed that he frequently used a remarkable poetic structure in expressing the things that he had to say. It was a poetic device in which he would name a certain number of things; and then add an additional thing for emphasis—much like the modern list of the Seven Wonders of the World that then added an eighth for good measure. In presenting these things in this way, Agur was basically saying, “Here are three things that ‘perturb’ the world—that is, that make the world an unsettled and troubled place to live; three things that cause the earth, figuratively speaking, to ‘quake’ and ‘tremble’ with anxiety and sorrow; three things that throw this world out of kilter, and that knock it out of the proper order of things. And to bring emphasis to my point, I’ll add another item to the list. Yes; there are even four things that are too heavy for this world to carry; four things that are a dreadful burden too great for it to bear.”

With an introduction like that, he certainly gets our attention.

And there’s something about this list in the original language that I need to point out to you. It isn’t represented in all of the English translations—not even in the translation I’m using now. But it’s something that is definitely there in Agur’s original words—and that really sets the tone for what Agur is telling us. It’s the repeated use of a Hebrew preposition that’s translated as “under”. It’s found four times in this passage. Let me read to you from the New American Standard; which translates this passage very accurately:

Under three things the earth quakes,
And under four, it cannot endure:
Under a slave when he becomes king,
And a fool when he is satisfied with food,
Under an unloved woman when she gets a husband,
And a female servant when she dispossesses her mistress (NASB).

In the original language, the word “under” is used as a figure of speech to convey the idea of a kind of oppressiveness. These are four things ‘under which’ the world is made to quake … ‘under which’ it cannot bear up. They are four things ‘under which’ the world is ‘perturbed’.

When I began to understand these four things in that way, this list took on a very serious tone. I don’t believe we’re meant to understand this as a complete list, of course. This certainly isn’t a list of all the things that can cause oppression, or that the people of this world might suffer under. But if we look around us carefully, and if we think about the experiences that we or that other people around us have had—and if we consider also that these things have been multiplied in countless life experiences and human stories all around the world—we can see that these four things have truly been the cause of tremendous heartache and sorrow as humanity has suffered ‘under’ them.

There are three things, then—yea, even four things—that bring an oppressive impact upon life in this world. And we must beware of them.

* * * * * * * * * *

So then; what are these things? In the Hebrew language, the first two are presented to us in the masculine gender and speak of a kind of man and his conduct; and the last two are presented to us in the feminine gender and speak of a kind of woman and her conduct. Together, they describe to us an ‘equal-opportunity’ kind of oppressiveness.

The first oppressive thing is …

1. A SERVANT WHEN HE REIGNS.

The word that Agur uses is one that speaks of a male servant—a man who is subject to the authority of a master or a chief. Some Bible translations have it as ‘a slave’.

People nowadays cringe a bit when they hear the word “servant” or “slave”. That’s understandable; because we have a very terrible period of history in our nation that causes us to react to that word in a certain way. Praise God that those days are over. But in ancient times, such ‘servant/master’ relationships were a normal way of life—and they were not always exercised in the inhumane way that we often think. And Agur is speaking here of a servant or slave who became a king or someone who has obtained the power to reign over others.

There are a couple of examples in the Bible of men who started off as mere servants or slaves; but who—because of their remarkable character and holiness—were raised by God to positions of great power and authority. You could think of Joseph, for example. He was a captured Jewish slave who—by fulfilling his tasks with wisdom and integrity; and through the remarkable sovereignty of God—was raised to the position of ‘second-in-command’ under the Pharaoh of Egypt. God used his position of authority to preserve the people of Egypt during a terrible famine … and also to preserve the future of the Jewish people. As another example, you could think of Daniel. He and his three friends were Jewish young men taken captive by the Babylonian king. But Daniel’s great wisdom, and outstanding character, and careful respect for the king, resulted in him being elevated to a position of great authority—and in not just one world empire, but two in a row! These were men who proved their fitness to rule by their godly character. They may have been servants in name and position, but they were definitely ‘ruler-material’ in character—and they proved it when they were placed by God in positions of authority.

But what Agur is speaking of is a slave or a servant who—by moral character and practical disposition—is definitely not ‘ruler material’. Such men are slaves at heart. And when such a person as that comes into a position of power and authority—however it may happen—it becomes an oppressive thing for everyone who is under them. They don’t leave their ‘slave mentality’ behind but bring it with them; and perhaps allow it to motivate them into great acts of brutality and cruelty to all who are under their influence and rule.

You can probably think of small examples of this in your own life. There are always those stories of bosses’ nephews or sons-in-law who are elevated to places of authority that they didn’t deserve and didn’t earn. Their character did not rise with their power; and they ended up making life miserable for everyone else in the corporation. But on a much larger scale, you can think of men from history who went from lowly circumstances of servitude to become kings, or chancellors, or political leaders—positions of great power for which they were utterly unsuited—and who ended up becoming brutal dictators and tyrants. Some of them murdered hundreds of millions of their own people.

We have an example from the Bible of such a man. His name was Haman the Agagite. The book of Esther tells of how the king of Persia had elevated this man Haman to a position of power over all his servants. Haman was a slave who ruled; and he used his authority to cause perplexity and confusion throughout the capital city of the Persian empire. Because he was of the lineage of the Agagites—the enemies of the Jews—he deeply hated the Jewish people within the Persian empire. His hatred and resentment caused him to craft a plan to wipe out the Jewish people in a one-day bloody massacre. And he would have succeeded if it hadn’t been that God stopped him and turned the tables on him.

The Bible teaches us that one of the ways that God judges a nation is by allowing such people to fall into positions of power. In Isaiah 3:4-5, God warned disobedient Israel;

“I will give children to be their princes,
And babes shall rule over them.
The people will be oppressed,
Every one by another and every one by his neighbor;
The child will be insolent toward the elder,
And the base toward the honorable” (Isaiah 3:4-5).

I suspect that this first oppressive thing—’a servant when he reigns’—might be the cause for most of the misery that has plagued and perturbed the world throughout human history.

* * * * * * * * * *

A second oppressive thing is …

2. A FOOL WHEN HE IS FILLED WITH FOOD.

When Agur speaks of a ‘fool’, he’s not talking about someone who is of low intelligence—someone that we might respectfully call ‘a simple person’. There is no moral evil in being ‘simple’ in that way. Rather, what Agur is speaking about is someone who knows the right thing to do, but who refuses to do it—someone who knows what he should avoid, but who partakes of such destructive things anyway—someone who knows that God exists and that He has given us His commandments, but who refuses to acknowledge God or obey Him. That’s the Bible’s definition of a fool.

Now; ordinarily—in God’s moral order of things—a fool suffers under the limitations brought about by his own foolishness. God has designed things in that way so that a fool can learn to cease being foolish. The Bible, for example, says in 2 Thessalonians 3:10, “If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat”—not if he ‘cannot work’, but rather if he intentionally ‘will not work’. A foolish man knows he should work with his own hands and provide for himself—but he refuses to do so. And if he goes hungry, it’s not a matter of cruelty. Rather, it’s a matter of mercy—a principle of life that God has ordained—so that a foolish man can feel the pain of foolishness, repent of his stubborn ways, and become a God-fearing and obedient man instead.

But Agur is talking about a complete disruption to that whole moral order. The world cannot bear up under a fool when he is filled with food. When a foolish man—someone who knows right from wrong, and yet continually chooses the wrong—someone who knows what God commands, and yet continually rebels against God and disobeys Him—when such a man ends up becoming wealthy and satisfied with food and clothing and the comforts of life, it becomes an oppressive thing to everyone else around him. Such a man ends up taking away from those who live wisely. He becomes arrogant, and prideful, and egotistical, and self-serving. He becomes motivated toward deeper levels of disobedience and rebellion. I hate to say this; but hasn’t this been the story of a lot of movie stars and sports figures and entertainers in our time?

We have an example of this in the Bible. There was a man named Nabal. The word for “fool” in Hebrew is nabal; and that just happened to be the name this man was known by. During a time of great distress in the land of Israel—at a time before David was king—David and his roaming band of soldiers protected the farmland and flocks of this wealthy and prosperous man named Nabal. And at a time when David and his men were hungry and in need, David sent to Nabal and requested food. But Nabal—fool that he was—pridefully and arrogantly refused to give David anything, and sent David away with insults and scorn. He knew the right and just thing to do—but he arrogantly refused to do it. Abigail—Nabal’s wise wife—just barely managed to stop David and his men from coming down upon Nabal and completely destroying him for this. But David restrained himself and left the matter in God’s hands. And God brought judgment upon Nabal for it; causing him to be struck with paralysis and dying only a few days later.

Jesus told a parable once. He said;

“The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:16-21).

A fool who is filled with food and wealth and the pleasures of life—a fool who, because of his comforts and wealth, becomes arrogant and hard-hearted in his foolishness—is a greatly burdensome thing to this world. Just think of how much misery and disorder result when such fools fill the land and dominate the culture!

* * * * * * * * * *

Now Agur goes on to tell us of another couple of things. The third is …

3. A HATEFUL WOMAN WHEN SHE IS MARRIED.

It’s hard to know exactly what kind of woman Agur is talking about. In the original language, it’s possible to understand him to be speaking of a woman who is ‘hated’—that is, a woman who is not loved as she should be. But it’s also possible to translate his words as speaking of a woman who is ‘hateful’—that is, a woman who does not love others as she should. And given the context, it seems most likely that it’s speaking of a woman who conducts herself in a hateful way. One translation has it that she is a ‘contemptible’ woman. Another has it that she is a ‘bitter’ woman. The King James Version has it that she is an ‘odious’ woman.

Now; I have been greatly blessed. I have a good, godly, lovely woman as my wife and as the mother of our children. God gave her to be a godly influence in my life. She has made me a better man—a more faithful follower of Jesus—and, I hope, a good pastor. I can say from personal experience that a good wife is a mighty force in the life and character of a man. She has far more power and influence for good than even she herself may realize. Praise God for such women. The men who are privileged to marry them are blessed of God. But the remarkable influence and power that God has given women can also be used in a bad way. And I say this carefully but honestly, and by the authority of God’s word: When a hateful, bitter, contemptible woman marries a man and becomes the matron of a household—it’s a terrible burden to be under.

I don’t dare cite any close-to-home, contemporary examples. But there’s one example in the Bible that will stand out for all time. It was the wife of a very foolish king of Israel named Ahab. He knowingly married a wicked, hateful, ungodly woman; and she led him down the path of utter destruction. Her name will always go down in infamy. As it says in 1 Kings 21:25;

But there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the Lord, because Jezebel his wife stirred him up (1 Kings 21:25).

Now; King Ahab wasn’t exactly anything to boast about either. He was a weak and unprincipled man. He once came home weeping like a baby because a certain neighbor wouldn’t sell him his vineyard—which, by the way, would have been in complete disobedience to God’s command not to sell such inherited property. But Jezebel told him to stop whining. She’d take care of it. She sat down and wrote letters to invite everyone to a great feast in the vineyard owner’s honor; and then hired a couple of scoundrels to rise up in the dinner and accuse the man of blasphemy. They took him out immediately and stoned him to death on the basis of this false accusation; and then Jezebel told her husband to rise up and take the vineyard. God removed Ahab and his descendants from the throne over Israel; and that was chiefly because he submitted to the wicked influence of his wife Jezebel.

As it says in Proverbs 14:1;

The wise woman builds her house,
But the foolish pulls it down with her hands (Proverbs 14:1).

Great suffering and oppression can be brought about by the hand of ‘a hateful woman when she marries’.

* * * * * * * * * *

And there’s one more burdensome thing that Agur mentions; and that’s from …

4. A MAIDSERVANT WHO SUCCEEDS HER MISTRESS.

This may be a little bit like the first oppressive thing—when a servant rules. When Agur speaks of a maidservant, he’s speaking of a young woman who renders domestic service to a mistress or to a matron of the household. She is supposed to be supportive of her mistress; and when she faithfully does so, she helps to bring order and peace to the home. But something horrible happens to that peace and order when the maidservant manages to succeed her mistress in position and authority—when she, somehow, dispossesses her mistress; or takes possession of her mistress’s role or inheritance.

We have an example of this in the Bible also. It’s the story of old childless Abraham and his childless old wife Sarah. God had promised a son to Abraham through Sarah. But Sarah became impatient with God’s timing. So, she told Abraham to give a child to her through her Egyptian handmaiden Hagar. It was a foolish idea on Sarah’s part; and it was also foolish for Abraham to have gone along with it. Hagar became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham named Ishmael. Genesis 16:4 says;

And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes (Genesis 16:4).

That’s a great way of describing the disorder of the home, isn’t it? The maidservant had succeeded her mistress, and ended up despising her. She obtained power and authority in the household that was not really hers to have. As a result, Sarah made Abraham kick Hagar out of the household—along with her son Ishmael. God had mercy on Hagar and on Ishmael. But she became a disturber of the peace and order of Abraham’s house. And the descendants of Ishmael became the bitter enemies of the people of Israel in the centuries that followed.

* * * * * * * * * *

So; here we have four things that perturb the world—for things under which the earth trembles and life becomes unbearable: when a servant becomes a king, when a fool is filled with food, when a hateful woman becomes a wife, and when a maidservant takes over the place of her mistress. And it’s interesting that Agur doesn’t tell us what to do about these things. He just seems to simply lay them out in front of us, and says that the world suffers under the oppression of them. Agur is a man who tells it like it is.

But perhaps the Holy Spirit led him to declare these things in this way as a means of warning us about them. They have always troubled the world; and it seems that they always will until the time when the Lord Jesus returns. The Bible promises that there will be a new heaven and a new earth one day; and there won’t be any of these things making life burdensome anymore. But until that time, we need to watch out for them and be on the alert to their damaging influence.

But let me add one more thought. Perhaps the Holy Spirit also declares these things to us in order to warn us not to ever become any of them ourselves. As followers of our Lord Jesus, we’re not to aspire to positions of power that do not belong to us, and for which we are not gifted and suited by Him to occupy. We’re to be like Him—who left the glory of heaven for us; and who didn’t come to be served, but to serve; and to give His life a ransom for many. We’re not to be overcome by the love of the things of this world—riches and comforts that may, in the end, be destructive to our souls; but rather, to be content with what He has given us. We’re not to use our place in life in selfish and harmful ways; but rather to—like Jesus—love sacrificially and seek the good of others. We’re to learn to serve others in the humble places of ministry that the Lord Jesus has placed us in—and to do all that we do, in His name, to the glory of God.

Let’s draw closer in our love and devotion to the Lord Jesus; and let’s allow Him to be the Lord of our lives. As we do so more and more, we will become less and less likely to end up on the list of things that perturb the world.

AE