Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

“Four things on earth are small,
    yet they are extremely wise:
Ants are creatures of little strength,
    yet they store up their food in the summer;
hyraxes are creatures of little power,
    yet they make their home in the crags;
locusts have no king,
    yet they advance together in ranks;
a lizard can be caught with the hand,
    yet it is found in kings’ palaces.
“There are three things that are stately in their stride,
    four that move with stately bearing:
a lion, mighty among beasts,
    who retreats before nothing;
a strutting rooster, a he-goat,
    and a king secure against revolt.
“If you play the fool and exalt yourself,
    or if you plan evil,
    clap your hand over your mouth!
For as churning cream produces butter,
    and as twisting the nose produces blood,
    so stirring up anger produces strife.”

• Proverbs 30:24-33

Proverbs 30:21-23  ‘produces’ ” The verb is the same (pressing or squeezing) in all 3 instances. These are natural causes and effects to show that anger pressed beyond certain limits produces conflict.”

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

The Message

First, we have the small and wise: ants, hyraxes, locusts, and lizards.  I think we know what they mean in using ants and locusts.  A hyrax is also called a coney or rock badger.  It builds its home in the cracks or rocks or a pile of rocks, a cairn.  It is a herbivore.

Lizard in the NIV is probably translated from the Hebrew word for a small insignificant animal that might live in a palace.  The KJV uses spider, as do a few other English translations, but either of the images, a lizard or a spider, are small creatures that can be captured, but they can be seen in royal palaces.

The ant is one of the strongest creatures, pound for pound, on the earth.  In knowing that, it almost does not fit.  But the ant works hard to store enough for the lean months of the year.  The fable of the ant and the grasshopper comes to mind.

As for the locust, its strength is in its number.  The locusts invade and devour everything in their path, just to reproduce and the next invasion is long afterward.

We are puny creatures in many respects.  We cannot get out of our way when it comes to sin.  Yet, God is strong, and we can rely upon Him.  But the key is to know that we are weak and small.  We are not insignificant because God loves us.

There are four things that have a stately stride: the lion, a rooster, a he-goat, and a king that is secure against revolt.

There is a certain hint of royalty, at least in their domain, in each of these stately striding beasts.  The lion, being the king of beasts, knows his position in the pecking order.  A word for arrogant is “cocky”.  This is derived from someone who struts around like a cock (rooster).  Their instinct is to protect their hens, and they take that job seriously.  They step down to no one.  I have been around goats, but not enough to know that a he-goat has similar instinct to the rooster.  But a king that is not secure against revolt or attacks by warring neighbors should not strut in such a fashion.  If so, he is a fool.  But if you treat your own people fairly, they will be a good defense.

And finally, Agur finishes his chapter of Proverbs with a person who is a fool, or exalts himself, or is up to no good (planning evil)…  All those people should keep their mouths shut.  Other than the one planning evil, the fool and the braggart have no problem in talking about how wonderful they are, proving the opposite.

But if you speak about evil, foolishness, or simply brag, others get tired quickly.  But trying to be polite, they hold their tongue while you make them even more angry.  And like churned butter or a twisted nose, that anger builds until it cannot be held any longer.

Like Abraham Lincoln said, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt.”  Mark Twain and others have said similar things.  But all are paraphrasing Proverbs 17:28. “Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues.”  But the tricky part is Can They Stay Silent?

And now let us sing.

The following song is O the love of My Lord (as gentle as silence).  This is sung by Emmaus Music.

Closing Prayer

Dear Lord,
We need Your wisdom.  Help us to value wisdom.  Lord, we are weak.  We need You for our strength.  But we often act foolish, brag about things that You did for us, and we stray our eyes from You.  When that happens, we often end up doing things the wrong way.  Lord, we need help in staying away from our own selves at times.  And a lot of our trouble comes when we open our mouths.  Help us to think first.  In thy Name we pray.
Amen

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.