Agur has a wonderful capacity for observation. He sees with the wide-eyed wonder of a child, yet his observations are mature and insightful. He is a keen observer of life, and invites us to reflect with him. Today, we look at some of Agur’s ″lists″ in Proverbs 30.
Who is Agur? Who is Ithiel? We know very little about these two people in Proverbs 30:1. Agur, son of Jakeh, is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible, while Ithiel features only one other time, in Nehemiah 11:7. What we do know, however, is that Agur is a humble man, as evidenced by what he says to Ithiel in Proverbs 30:2-3.
In Proverbs 29, we see the difference in lifestyle, actions, and attitude between those who choose wisdom and those who do not, and the results of their choice.
Proverbs 29 is the last group of proverbs compiled by King Hezekiah’s scribes (see day 37). Today, I want to highlight two pairs of proverbs and two individual proverbs.
The poor, along with those who are weak and vulnerable, have always had a special place in God’s heart. In the Bible, they are also often compared to the rich. Proverbs 28 makes six observations of the poor:
While the last chapter largely contained practical insights and common-sense teachings, this chapter gives greater focus on the deeds of God’s righteous people and how they will live in a covenant relationship with Him. Proverbs 28:1 tells us that the wicked flee-no doubt because of their sinful deeds-but the righteous are secure because of their relationship with God.
We can make three observations about today’s passage.
In his play Othello, Shakespeare called envy ″the green-eyed monster″. The Puritan Richard Baxter also warned about envying God’s gifts in others-that a man would rather the gospel not be shared and people remain unconverted, than see God work through someone else.
There are three major characters in Proverbs 26: the fool (vv. 1-12), the sluggard (vv. 13-16), and the troublemaker (vv. 17-28).