The Wisdom of Agur
Proverbs 30:1-9
1 The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, his
utterance. This man declared to Ithiel—to Ithiel and Ucal:
2 Surely I am more stupid than any man,
And do not have the understanding of a man.
3 I neither learned wisdom
Nor have knowledge of the Holy One.
4 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?
5 Every word of God is pure;
He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.
6 Do not add to His words,
Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.
7 Two things I request of You
(Deprive me not before I die):
8 Remove falsehood and lies far from me;
Give me neither poverty nor riches—
Feed me with the food allotted to me;
9 Lest I be full and deny You,
And say, “Who is the LORD?”
Or lest I be poor and steal,
And profane the name of my God.
These wise sayings and insights were written by Agur son of
Jakeh. He was writing to Ithiel and Ucal, probably his sons or
disciples or friends.
The name Agur came from a Hebrew word, which meant “collector.” His
name was only mentioned here in Proverbs 30, and not anywhere else
in the Bible.
The proverbs of Agur offer us some great insights about his own
life. Agur was probably weary and worn out. He considered himself to
be the most stupid person on earth, having no understanding. He did
not claim that he was wise as he did not know much about God, the
Holy One.
There were a few questions that remained unanswered in his heart.
Who has gone up to heaven and come back down? Who can hold the wind
in His hand? Who can gather up the waters in His coat? Who has
decided where the ends of the earth will be? What is His name? And
what is His Son’s name? He didn’t know, and he was asking if anyone
knew.
But He knew that every word of God could be trusted. The Lord would
protect those who came to Him for safety. He warned Ithiel and Ucal
against adding to the words of the Lord. If they did so, the Lord
would correct them, and would prove that they were liars.
In verses 7 to 9, Agur made a prayer request that the Lord would
remove lying and dishonesty from him, and give him neither riches
nor poverty. In simple words, his prayer request is:
I ask two things from you, Lord.
Don’t refuse me before I die.
Keep me from lying and being dishonest.
And don’t make me either rich or poor.
Just give me enough food for each day.
If I have too much, I might reject you.
I might say, ‘I don’t know the Lord.’
If I am poor, I might steal.
Then I would disgrace the name of my God.
Looking closely, this request corresponded to obeying the 8th to
10th commandments.
Exodus 20:15-17
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not bear false witness against your
neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you
shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his
female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is
your neighbor’s.”
Agur knew and understood the temptations of lusting after the things of
the world, which would often result in falsehoods, lies, stealing
and coveting what others had. He was not promoting a life of living
in poverty or depriving oneself of the necessities in life. He was
sharing on how life should be lived with what was necessary and not
with what was not. Eliminating greed and covetousness, and focusing
on the essentials, and finding true happiness, fulfillment and
freedom.
1 Timothy 6:6-10
6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain.
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain
we can carry nothing out.
8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be
content.
9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a
snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown
men in destruction and perdition.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil,
for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and
pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
When we are godly and contented, we will be truly rich. We will
be lacking nothing when we are satisfied with what we have, and when
we are thankful to the Lord for everything He has provided.
When we came into the world, we brought nothing. And when we die, we
can take nothing out. So, if we have sufficient food and clothes, we should be
contented and satisfied.
But those who want to become rich bring temptation to themselves.
They are caught in a trap. They begin to pursue many foolish things
that will hurt themselves and others, things that ruin and destroy people.
The love of money causes all kinds of evil. Some people have left
the true faith because they want to get more and more money. But
they have caused themselves much sorrow.
May we learn how to be godly and contented, and to stay far away from
falsehoods, lies, untruths, covetousness and stealing.
Written on 19 November 2022