Day 551 – There are Three Things that Amaze Me – Proverbs 30:18-33

Wisdom-Trek

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy Welcome to Day 551 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. I am Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom There are Three Things that Amaze Me - Proverbs 30:18-33 Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. Today is Day 551 of our trek, and it is Wisdom Wednesday. Every Wednesday along life’s trails we dig for the nuggets of wisdom that are found within the book of Proverbs. Today we will explore the 2nd half of Chapter 30. We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. After nearly three weeks of constant travel, I am in our office most of this week before heading to Charlotte for three days. After that, I should be in for two weeks before heading to Arizona towards the end of March. Last week in our study of Proverbs, we switched focus from King Solomon who wrote most of Proverbs to a man we know little of whose name was Agur. In some translations it indicates that Agur was writing “to Ithiel and Ucal,” men who could have been disciples or friends of Agur, although some Bibles translate the meaning of the two names with the assumption that they do not refer to actual people. Most commentators believe Agur lived in the same era as Solomon. We don’t know much about Agur except what we can glean from this one chapter. This is one of my favorite chapters in Proverbs because of its rich imagery and contrasting statements. The name Agur comes from a Hebrew word meaning “collector.” Agur and his father Jakeh are only mentioned here in the Bible and are otherwise unknown. As we start with verse 18 today, Agur’s talent for relating to the obvious shines through. It is a Hebrew poetic style comparing similar statements for impact. This section starts out with… There Are Three Things That Amaze Me Let’s dig for the nuggets of wisdom today that Agur shares in verses 18-33. 18 There are three things that amaze me— no, four things that I don’t understand: 19 how an eagle glides through the sky, how a snake slithers on a rock, how a ship navigates the ocean, how a man loves a woman. While we have made significant advancements in our scientific knowledge of the first three items that are listed, they still are an amazement to us. To witness the eagle in flight floating on the winds, the snake slithering on a rock at angles we could never achieve, and a large ship navigating the largest oceans, leaves us in awe. A greater mystery in life is what causes the attraction between a man and a woman. Many times the physical and emotional differences between couples are so different that we wonder what chemistry caused the attraction in the first place. All four of these references leave us standing in amazement. 20 An adulterous woman consumes a man, then wipes her mouth and says, “What’s wrong with that?” Another one of life’s mysteries that can leave us pondering is an illicit affair between people who are married to others. Those that are involved in such activity appear oblivious to the dangers. It is a situation that will never end well and causes such hurt and grief to all that are involved. 21 There are three things that make the earth tremble— no, four it cannot endure: 22 a slave who becomes a king, an overbearing fool who prospers, 23 a bitter woman who finally gets a husband, a servant girl who supplants her mistress. Here is another analogy that compares, contrasts, and then adds a fourth element for emphasis. Three things that shake our very paradigm of our world…A slave who rises to the position of king is an unusual occurrence but has happened on occasion. A person who is obnoxious and treats others unkindly and yet seems to prosper in life. A person with a bitter and unhealthy attitude, who still seems to find a mate in spite of it. The fourth element for emphasis is a servant girl rising through the ranks and becomes a lover to one who is in authority.