Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

“There are three things that are too amazing for me,
    four that I do not understand:
the way of an eagle in the sky,
    the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
    and the way of a man with a young woman.
“This is the way of an adulterous woman:
    She eats and wipes her mouth
    and says, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.’
“Under three things the earth trembles,
    under four it cannot bear up:
a servant who becomes king,
    a godless fool who gets plenty to eat,
a contemptible woman who gets married,
    and a servant who displaces her mistress.

• Proverbs 30:18-23

Proverbs 30:21-23  ‘the earth is perturbed’ ”Society is greatly agitated when normal roles are overturned, e.g., servants reigning, fools made rich, hated women married, and maidservants becoming wives (cf. Gen. 16:1–6).”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

The Message

According to Rev. MacArthur, verses 18-19 set up verse 20.  The eagle, the snake, and the ship leave no trail behind them.  Thus, a man and a young woman (possibly a virgin) who are careful, leave no evidence of their love making.  Thus, Agur is not saying understanding as much as he is speaking that there is not any actionable proof.

And in verse 20, the adulterous woman can use that lack of actionable truth and go about her merry way.  Maybe people suspect, but are there any witnesses?  A man saying that he slept with her would incur the same penalty, thus, as long as she is careful, she goes about her daily business.  This is a tale of hypocrisy.

In the next three verses, we have another group of four things.  This time, the earth trembles.  These things are upside down, in a way.  The servant that becomes king raises the question of whether he is equipped to make decisions that affect all the people of the kingdom.  Mark Twain illustrated this problem in his book, The Prince and the Pauper.  There have been other tales written on the subject, but at some point, the servant who becomes king can get in over his head.

The godless fool that has plenty to eat is not a problem until others starve while watching the fool eat what they deserved to have.  The contemptible woman and the servant becoming married are along that same vein.  Was there someone more deserving?  Will the marriage last?  In being married “above your station” (to reference an old, outdated term), is the new wife prepared to act as the servant who became king?  Can they make good decisions for the family?  Can they be courteous and wise in their dealings with others for the promotion of their husbands?

Most of these comments are questions.  There could easily be a servant who could be a better king than the king himself, but in the history of the northern tribes of Israel, when someone kills the king and takes over as king, the conditions stay the same or they get worse.

You might think that a democracy is better, but it takes a great deal of money to run for office.  You do not see poor people in those positions.  And term limits are a good thing, but in changing the person in charge, you change the agenda and projects go half finished.  But another problem arises, a new president wants to make a lasting mark and he or she does not have but a short time to do it.  This leads to a short-range decision having long-range ill effects.

And now let us sing.

The following song is Make Me a Servant.  This is sung by the Maranatha Singers.  While we might like to be a king, there is something noble about being a servant in God’s service.

Closing Prayer

Dear Lord,
We need Your wisdom.  Help us to value wisdom.  Life in this broken world does not make sense, Lord.  When people sneak around in the shadows, we might not see them, but You do.  When we sneak around, You see us.  And many times, businesses and nations choose the wrong person to be the leader.  Tyranny abounds for they only know how to be a brute.  Lord, give us wisdom so that we can avoid oppression.  Raise up good leaders who can judge fairly and justly.  In thy Name we pray.
Amen

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.