Proverbs 30 – Fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Wisdom 箴言 29 – 敬畏耶和華是智慧的開端
Thursday, 29th June 2023
Sister Emily Huang
Section One V1-10 Humble to Know the Holy One 謙卑得以認識至聖者
V1 ‘The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, his utterance. This man declared to Ithiel—to Ithiel and Ucal:’ The Book of Proverbs is full of wisdom, but it’s very difficult to comprehend. God knows our hearts, He knows we are weary and tired, and through reading Proverbs 29, He will guide us to understand.
V2-4 ‘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?’
We can never fully understand everything in this world, just like what the author wrote, comparing with God, we are nothing. When we humble ourselves and admit our weaknesses, then the wisdom of God will come upon us. The attitude and the words of humility of this author were recorded down in the Bible, even before Jesus’ coming. A lot of things that we may not understand right now, we may have a lot of questions about God and about life, but one day God will reveal His wisdom to us. Can we trust in God? Can we really believe that one day all things will be made clear? As long as we continue to seek God and follow God? We don’t need to have the answers to all our questions, we don’t need to fully accomplish every task that comes to us, but we must follow God and let Him be the guide. From God’s perspective, we can see things much differently.
V5-6 ‘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.’
What can boast about? Our ability, our finance, our property, our children, our career…? What do we use to make it shield for ourselves? Only God’s Word is the strongest shield for us, as we read the Bible chapter by chapter, even before we can fully understand everything, God’s wisdom has already become our shield, our protection, and our guide, so that we may walk in His way every day. Furthermore, we must truthfully share the Word of God, not to show people how knowledgeable we are, but be simple and be truth, let the Word of God guide others as it guides us. When we share the Word of God truthfully, He will be responsible for His Word until the end.
V7-10 ‘Two things I request of You (Deprive me not before I die): Remove falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches— Feed me with the food allotted to me; 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. Do not malign a servant to his master, lest he curse you, and you be found guilty.’
It may be a short prayer but it’s a powerful prayer, to pray for the lies to be far away from us and to feed us with the food. There are also many lies in our lives, we have so much self-accusations and the falsehood from others, when we ask God to remove them and to overcome them, then we will no longer be influenced by these words. When we ask God to feed us, we put our faith in Him, we know we are in lacking and we know that everything we have is from God.
Section Two V11-33 Receive True Knowledge from the Creations從受造物中得真知識
V11-14 ‘There is a generation that curses its father, and does not bless its mother. There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, yet is not washed from its filthiness. There is a generation—oh, how lofty are their eyes! And their eyelids are lifted up. There is a generation whose teeth are like swords, and whose fangs are like knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.’
Every little thing we come across in life can help us to know God and to learn about God. Jesus also used parables to teach people, so it’s easier for them to understand. The author started to name the things and people he noticed that were sinful. These things were not only happening during that time but also in our generation today. Sins are always there in this world, and we must be aware of our actions, our words, our decisions… do not think we are holy, do not think these sins listed are only for the old days, but they are also happening in our lives right now. When we realise this, then we can hold the authority and privilege we have to pray and intercede for this generation.
V18-20 ‘There are three things which are too wonderful for me, yes, four which I do not understand: The way of an eagle in the air, the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship in the midst of the sea, and the way of a man with a virgin. This is the way of an adulterous woman: she eats and wipes her mouth, and says, “I have done no wickedness.”’
There are so many things in this world that we may not understand, but the more we observe, the more we meditate, the more we interact with God, then we can see that everything in this world has something we can learn about and discover about. God is talking to us in every way, but do we have this vigilance and attentiveness to notice them?
V32-33 ‘If you have been foolish in exalting yourself, or if you have devised evil, put your hand on your mouth. For as the churning of milk produces butter, and wringing the nose produces blood, so the forcing of wrath produces strife.’
We are always learning new things, there are so much knowledge in this world that we can learn from. What does God want to tell us today? Let us have a heart fear in the Lord, let us have an attitude hunger for this world, God will definitely let us find His Way and revelations. Jesus is our answer, when we rely on Him, we can receive true wisdom and true knowledge.