The Words of Agur
“The words of Agur son of Jakeh—the burden that this man declared to Ithiel: “I am weary, O God, and worn out. Surely I am the most ignorant of men, and I lack the understanding of a man. I have not learned wisdom, and I have no knowledge of the Holy One. Who has ascended to heaven and come down?
Who has gathered the wind in His hands? Who has bound up the waters in His cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is the name of His Son—surely you know!
Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you and prove you a liar.
Two things I ask of You—do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the bread that is my portion. Otherwise, I may have too much and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, profaning the name of my God.
Do not slander a servant to his master, or he will curse you, and you will bear the guilt.
There is a generation of those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers. There is a generation of those who are pure in their own eyes and yet unwashed of their filth. There is a generation—how haughty are their eyes and pretentious are their glances—there is a generation whose teeth are swords and whose jaws are knives, devouring the oppressed from the earth and the needy from among men.”
“The words of Agur son of Jakeh—the burden that this man declared to Ithiel: “I am weary, O God, and worn out. Surely I am the most ignorant of men, and I lack the understanding of a man. I have not learned wisdom, and I have no knowledge of the Holy One.” Ever deal with a know-it-all? No matter what the subject, this fellow is an expert, just ask him and he’ll tell you! We don’t know who Agur son of Jakeh is, but he is obviously a person of insight and perspicacity who has been driven beyond all tolerance of foolishness. Someone has gotten on Agur’s last nerve and he is reacting.
Look at the questions Agur asks: “Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His hands? Who has bound up the waters in His cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is the name of His Son—surely you know!” Agur knows that God is the only One who can do these things, but look at the question about the name of God’s Son. Somehow Jesus has revealed himself to Agur, whether or not Agur knows Jesus by that name.
It’s a big mistake to assume that Jesus doesn’t appear in the Scriptures until the New Testament. There is Abraham’s contact with Melchizedek, King of Salem-where has Melchizedek come from? When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are thrown into the fiery furnace, a fourth figure joins them and King Nebuchadnezzar himself says, “the form of that fourth man is like that of a Son of God.” Throughout the rest of the Old Testament, there are examples of Jesus appearing to various prophets.
“Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you and prove you a liar.” Some scholars want to criticize the Bible, claiming inaccuracies and cultural inconsistencies; yet, the Bible has stood the test of time while much of this scholarship has not. God has a way of revealing the foolishness of people! I Corinthians 13 tells us that “our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect, but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will fade away.” One day, Jesus will reveal Himself in all His glory, and all our assumptions and theories will evaporate-poof!
“Two things I ask of You—do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the bread that is my portion. Otherwise, I may have too much and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, profaning the name of my God.” This is a prayer that all of us should be praying daily. Either we will be seeking God’s will for our lives or we will be chasing wealth;We can only focus on one thing at a time.
“Do not slander a servant to his master, or he will curse you, and you will bear the guilt.” Few things are nastier than a tattle-tale. How can you be sure you have gotten the correct information? Why inform on someone in the first place? True, if a servant is really a criminal, you need to warn the master or mistress; however, otherwise, leave things alone. There’s a lot to be said for MYOB. (Mind Your Own Business)
“There is a generation of those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers. There is a generation of those who are pure in their own eyes and yet unwashed of their filth. There is a generation—how haughty are their eyes and pretentious are their glances—there is a generation whose teeth are swords and whose jaws are knives, devouring the oppressed from the earth and the needy from among men.” Watch out for anyone who will abuse animals because it’s only a short shot from there to abusing children, women, and vulnerable people of both sexes. Those willing to mistreat their parents also fall into this category. Amazingly enough, such monsters will pretend to be righteous people.
Currently, we are watching an evolving situation. An acquaintance had a beloved cat that was as dear to her as a child. Suddenly, this lady’s boyfriend became annoyed with the cat and killed it. Now this lady has not only lost a beloved pet, but she has realized that a man she might have married is vicious and dangerous. We are horrified at this loss and are urging this lady to get out of that relationship immediately before this man chooses to attack her.
APPLICATION: I am blown away every time I read the verses that say, “What is His name, and what is the name of His Son—surely you know!” I want to shout out, “HIS NAME IS JESUS! FOR HE WILL SAVE HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS!” Until the end of time, we will never know exactly what these ancient writers were seeing as they recorded these gems of wisdom.
“Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.” I cannot count the number of times we have taken refuge in God, begging Him to protect us and to deliver us. I have done some remarkably stupid things in my life, exposing myself to danger unnecessarily; God has always protected me. But what happens if God does not protect us physically? We live in an area that might easily be overrun by attackers. We must trust that the same God who has called us to be here will take care of us, even if we are forced to lay down our lives for our faith.
My advice as you read these verses: Ask God to quicken the verses He has for you today. You will know because suddenly those verses will make sense while everything else will recede into the background. And you can always pray the prayer from Psalm 119:18 “Open my eyes, that I might behold wonderful things out of Your Law.” You have a Heavenly Father who wants to give you His wisdom.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to see wonderful things in Your Word. Thank You that You always have something special for each of us every day. We praise You! We bless Your glorious Name! We laud and magnify You! For You are holy and Your Word is Holy! In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus! Amen.
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