The Puzzles of Agur and Lemuel (Proverbs 30:1 to Proverbs 31:9)
These passages are by Agur (Proverbs 30) and King Lemuel (Proverbs 31:1-9). We do not know anything about these men. The Bible does not mention them elsewhere. But we learn some things about them from these passages. And we learn many things about wisdom from their words.
Solomon was not the only teacher of wisdom. The Bible mentions other wise men who lived at the same time as him (1 Kings 4:30-31). Many people studied wisdom at this time.
Proverbs Chapter 30
Verses 1-6
v1 These are the words of Agur (son of Jakeh). Agur said:
God, I am tired. Oh God, I am tired and weak.
v2 I am so stupid!
I do not even know the things that a man should know.
v3 I have not studied wisdom.
I know nothing about God.
v4 Perhaps someone went up to heaven. And perhaps he came down to earth.
Perhaps he controls the winds, as if the winds are in his hands.
Perhaps he controls the seas, as if the seas are in his coat.
Perhaps he even established the north and the south.
But I do not know him
I do not know his name, nor his son’s name.
Tell me, if you know him.
v5 God’s words are always perfect.
He protects everyone that trusts him.
v6 Do not change what God has said.
He will correct you. And he will prove that you are lying.
Commentary
Agur had been studying hard. He had seen many wonderful things that he could not explain. He had tried to understand God. And he had tried to understand the world. But God is so great (1 Corinthians 1:25). And the world is too difficult to explain (Job 38). Now Agur was tired (Ecclesiastes 12:12).
In verses 2 and 3, Agur was using irony. That is, he was using words in a special way. He was not really a stupid man who knew nothing. In fact, he knew many things about God (verse 4). But his own knowledge seemed like nothing when he thought about God. Wisdom is so wonderful that Agur’s own thoughts seemed foolish. And the world is so complex that Agur felt stupid.
Agur wanted someone to teach him. He so wanted to learn about God. Agur’s ideas in this verse are like God’s questions in Job 38.
Agur knew that somebody must have created the world. But he did not realize that God created the world.
Agur knew that somebody must control the wind and the seas. But he did not realize that God controls these things.
Verse 4 is an important verse. The verse shows that God guided the Bible writers (see 2 Timothy 3:16). Verse 4 is about Jesus, who is God’s son. But Agur knew nothing about Jesus. Agur lived over 1000 years before Jesus was born. Nobody knew about Jesus then. But Agur mentioned subjects that nobody knew before Jesus.
The people of Agur’s time did not know that Jesus is God’s son. They did not even think that God had a son. (See John 10:30-36.) But Agur wanted to know about God’s son. And Jesus is God’s son (John 3:16).
The people of Agur’s time believed that God was in heaven. They did not think that God would come to earth. But Agur thought that God would come to earth. And Jesus came to earth to save us (Philippians 2:5-8).
Agur knew few things (verse 2). But God guided Agur, so that Agur wrote great words in the Bible.
Agur wanted someone to teach him. But Agur already knew some things. He knew that God’s word is perfect. And Agur was right. The Bible is perfect.
Agur also knew that we must teach the Bible accurately. This is also right.
Agur knew that God will punish our evil actions. This is also right. But Agur did not explain some important principles. He did not say that God loves us. He did not say that God wants to forgive us. Agur was afraid of God because he did not know about God’s love.
Verses 7-14
v7 Oh, God, I pray for two things.
Do not refuse me! I shall soon die.
v8 Protect me from all lies!
Do not make me rich or poor!
Give me today’s bread, only!
v9 Otherwise, I might become rich. Then I would forget you. I would say, ‘There is no God.’
Or I might become poor. Then I might steal. And I might fail to respect God.
v10 When you speak to a master, do not insult his servant!
When the master insults you, then you will suffer.
v11 Some people insult their fathers.
And they do not bless their mothers.
v12 Some people think that they themselves are innocent.
But they are guilty.
v13 Some people are proud.
They think that other people are hopeless.
v14 And some people, with their swords and knives, are like animals that attack.
They want to kill poor people.
They want to kill weak people.
God punishes all evil behavior.
Commentary
Agur had a special prayer. But it was a strange prayer.
Agur had a particular reason why he did not want to become rich. He thought that he would forget God. But money does not cause people to forget God. Many rich people serve God. And they use their money wisely. They are generous and they help poor people.
There was also a particular reason why Agur did not want to become poor. He thought that he might steal. But if someone is poor, this does not cause him to steal. Many poor people serve God, and they do not steal. These people need many things, but they are still honest. And there are many rich people who are evil. Some rich people even steal from poor people.
Whether you are rich or poor, you should still serve God.
This is sensible advice. But perhaps Agur was afraid. Agur did not mention that you could apologize. And Agur did not mention that the servant might forgive you. Agur also explained his fears in verses 11-14.
Another translation of the second line is: ‘When the servant insults you, then you will suffer.’
These people do not respect their parents. See Deuteronomy 5:16 and Deuteronomy 27:16.
Everyone has done evil things. We all must ask God to forgive us. See Romans 3:9-12.
God opposes proud people. We should be humble. See James 4:6.
These people are murderers.
Verses 15-23
v15 A leech (animal) has a double tongue that constantly demands blood.
There are 3 things that you can never satisfy.
4 things will never say, ‘I have enough.’
These things are:
v16 hell;
a woman who has no children;
the soil; (The soil always wants rain.)
fire. (Fire always tries to burn more things.)
v17 If a son insults his parents, he deserves to die.
His dead body does not deserve a proper grave.
Vultures and ravens (birds) will eat his body.
v18 There are 3 wonderful things.
There are 4 things that I cannot explain.
These things are:
v19 an eagle (bird) that moves in the sky;
a snake that moves on a rock;
a ship that moves on the sea;
and a man with a woman.
v20 A woman has sex with a man who is not her husband.
She acts as if she has only eaten.
Innocently, she says, ‘I did nothing wrong.’
v21 There are 3 things that upset everyone.
4 things disturb everything.
These things are:
v22 a slave who becomes the king;
a greedy fool;
v23 a hateful woman who marries;
a servant girl who takes the place of the master’s wife.
Commentary
A leech is a small animal that drinks blood. The leech bites a person. Then the leech holds that person’s skin. Then the leech drinks the person’s blood. The person cannot remove the leech while the leech drinks blood.
Some people behave like leeches. These people are always causing trouble. They desire many things. So they try to obtain other people’s possessions. And, like the leeches, such people make constant demands.
Agur used several lists in this chapter. The numbers at the start of each list are a type of poetry. These numbers are not important.
This is a list of things that make constant demands, like the leech:
-- Hell is never full. This is because hell is always claiming more lives. We must tell people about God. If they invite God into their lives, God will protect them from hell’s punishment.
-- A woman who has no children always wants children. This is sad. But perhaps she can adopt a child. And perhaps she would like to help with children’s activities at church. She has no children, but she can love other people’s children. And we can encourage her.
--The soil always needs more rain. Solomon lived in a dry country. Without rain, there would be no harvest.
-- Fire always tries to burn more things. You must control fire carefully. Otherwise, it will burn your possessions and your home.
See also verse 11. Agur again warns that we must respect our parents. The behavior of a son who insults his parents is terrible. Agur describes a terrible fate for that son. The son did not respect his parents. And nobody will respect the son, even after his death. Nobody will care enough even to bury his body. This fate would upset everybody in Israel. They thought that proper graves were very important.
Agur did not know how these things move. They move smoothly in places where it is difficult to move. And these things leave no trace as they move. So Agur considered that they were great mysteries.
-- He did not know how a bird flies through the air.
-- He did not know how a snake could move without legs on a smooth rock.
-- He did not know how a ship sails on the sea.
-- And he did not know how a man loves a woman. This is not like the other things in this list. But love between a man and a woman is also a strange mystery.
Agur heard what this woman said. But Agur knew what she had done. She thought that it did not matter. But God also knew and he will punish this woman.
People often act as if their evil deeds are innocent. Often they even manage to confuse their own minds. Their behavior was evil. But they may actually think that they are innocent. God knows the truth about what we have done.
Each person in this list has suddenly become powerful. But they lack the skills that they need for their new situations. They may become proud. Their characters do not match their new situations. These events may disturb us. We do not expect such events to happen.
-- The slave does not know how to lead anyone. He has obeyed other people’s instructions for his whole life. But now he is the king, and he must lead the entire nation.
-- The fool is an evil man. He does not deserve a good meal. But this fool eats plenty. And he is still greedy. He has no sense. He is proud. He does not know when he should stop.
-- A hateful woman has just married a man. But after she marries, she is still hateful. Her attitudes are wrong. She is a bad wife for her husband. And she will be a poor mother to her children.
-- The master’s original wife deserves her husband’s love. But he does not care about her. This is very sad. We soon discover why her husband does not love her. The woman’s own servant girl has become the master’s new wife. The husband chooses his servant girl, instead of his wife. This is terrible. The two women will hate each other. (Compare Genesis 16:1-6.)
Verses 24-33
v24 There are 4 types of animals that are very small.
But they are also very wise.
These animals are:
v25 ants, which are tiny insects. But they store food during the summer.
v26 conies, which are small animals. But they make their home between rocks.
v27 locusts, which are insects. They have no leader. But they advance like an army.
v28 lizards, which are small animals. You can easily catch lizards in your hand. But lizards can even live in kings’ palaces.
29 There are 3 things that are impressive.
There are 4 things that are really powerful.
These things are:
v30 the lion, called ‘the king of animals’.
Lions are afraid of nothing.
v31 a mating cock (male bird);
a male goat;
a king, who has his army to protect him.
v32 Perhaps you have been proud, like a fool.
Perhaps you have plotted an evil plan.
Then put your hand on your mouth! (That is, be silent.)
v33 If you stir milk, you get butter.
If you hurt the nose, you get blood.
So, if you cause anger, you get trouble.
Commentary
Here are 4 types of animals. Each is both small and wise. So we can learn a lesson about wisdom from these animals.
-- Ants store food for the winter. And we should prepare for the future, too. See Proverbs 6:6-8.
-- Conies are weak animals. But they still have a home. They live together in small groups. And they appoint one animal as a guard to watch for the large birds that may attack the conies. We should look after our homes too. We need homes where we can bring up our families in safety.
-- Locusts march like an army but without a commander. Locusts work together. And we too should work with other people. See Hebrews 10:25.
---Lizards are clever. They can even avoid the guards and live in palaces. And we need to be clever, too. See Matthew 10:16.
These animals are impressive because they are bold.
-- A lion is very strong. It is bold. And everybody respects a lion.
-- A mating cock (bird) might not be strong. But the cock is still bold because it wants to impress a female bird.
-- A male goat will attack anything. But a goat is not a wise animal. A goat attacks even when it does not need to attack. And even when the danger is great, the goat still attacks. The goat does not realize that it should try to escape!
--A king’s words and actions are bold. But really, a king is very weak. He would not be bold if he did not have an army. Another man might have one or two guards to protect him. But a king needs a whole army.
Agur advised this evil man to say nothing. Mere words cannot save an evil man from his punishment. So Agur told the evil man to put his hand on his mouth. (That is, to be silent.) If the evil man spoke, he would cause more anger. Then the evil man would suffer even more trouble (verse 33).
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