Let us turn in our Bibles this
evening to Proverbs chapter 30. Proverbs chapter 30, and this
evening, We are going to look at the first nine verses in this
chapter, and I do pray that God will bless and make the word
of God quick and powerful and a blessing to each one of us
this evening. The book of Proverbs is one of
the wisdom books. Most people, I believe, divide
the books of the Old Testament into five divisions. The First
Division, the Law, the Pentitude. And then from Judges on to Esther,
through Esther, the Historical Books. And then with Job, through
the Canticle, the Song of Solomon, the Wisdom Books. And then comes
the next five books, the Major Prophets, beginning with Isaiah
through Ezekiel. And then the last division, the
fifth division, the minor prophets, 12 prophets. And they're only
referred to as being minor, not in the sense that their prophecy
is not equal with the major prophets, but their prophecies are much
shorter. The length of their books, their
writings, much shorter. But the book of Proverbs is the
book of wisdom. Before we read the scripture,
if you keep your place here, but turn back with me to 1 Kings. 1 Kings chapter 4. And we read
here concerning Solomon, who was the writer of most of the
Proverbs. Most of the Proverbs in this
book were written by him. And in 1 Kings chapter 4, and
beginning with verse 29, we read, And God gave Solomon wisdom and
understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart. even as the sand that is on the
seashore. And Solomon's wisdom excelled
the wisdom of all the children of the East country and all the
wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men,
than Ethan, the Ezerite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda,
the sons of Makol. And his fame was in all nations
round about. Remember the Queen of Sheba,
she traveled a long way to search out the wisdom of Solomon. And she wasn't disappointed.
In fact, she said, everything I've heard, you've excelled,
you've exceeded greatly. And he spake, notice verse 32,
and he spake 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005. So this book of Proverbs tonight
contains these 3,000 Proverbs of Solomon, but not all, not
all of the Proverbs were written by Solomon. This chapter that
we are looking at tonight, chapter 30, is an exception, because
these words, as we read, the words of Agur, the son of Jacob. These words were the words of
this man by the name of Agur. And all that I can say with certainty
tonight about this man, Agur, is that he was a holy man. And I say that from the Apostle
Peter's words in the New Testament, where he said the prophecy came
not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God. That is, men who were sanctified
by God, set apart by God, spake as they were moved by the Holy
Ghost. And here's one of them. And so
that's all really I can say about this man, Hagar. He was a holy
man. I know that. He was sanctified
by God, the Holy Spirit. He was set apart as a saint of
God, and He was accepted in the Beloved. The only way any fallen
son of Adam may be accepted by God is to be found in Christ. We are accepted in Him and only
in Him. The Lord Jesus Christ told some
religious Jews of His day when He was here in the flesh He told
them this truth about another Old Testament believer. He said,
your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. And he saw it
and was glad. Now we usually believe that that
is specially referred to when Abraham took Isaac up on the
mount to sacrifice as God had commanded him. And he looked
and behold, there was a ram caught in the bush. Abraham saw my day
and he rejoiced and was glad in it. But all of the Old Testament
saints, all of the believers from the very beginning to the
time of our Lord coming into this world, they all by faith
saw Christ. They saw his day by faith, able. When he offered unto God a more
excellent sacrifice than Cain, it was so because he was looking
to Christ. He was looking to the Messiah.
And that lamb, that lamb which he offered, pictured to him Christ. All of the Old Testament saints,
we could say the same about each and every one of them that our
Lord said about Abraham. They all rejoiced to see his
day. The message of Christ is good
tidings of great joy always has been and always will be for fallen
sinful man. The message of the Redeemer of
Christ who came into this world to save sinners. Hagar, this
man that wrote these words, Hagar. He rejoiced to see our Lord's
day, and he saw it, and he was glad. Now I want to point five
things out to us from these nine verses, and I trust and pray
that God will bless it, bless these words and these thoughts
to all of us. First of all, in verse one, Agur,
his prophecy. the words of Agur, the son of
Jacob, even the prophecy. The prophecy. Now when we read,
I think I can speak for most all of us, maybe not, but I think
many of us have grown up under the assumption that prophecy
always means predicting some future event. Now many times
it does, there's no question about that. But it doesn't always
mean that. The word prophecy doesn't always
mean foretelling something that's yet in the future. This word,
this Hebrew word which is here translated prophecy, is actually
or literally means a burden. A burden. The words of Agor,
the son of Jacob, even the burden. Now, a burden is something that
is carried. When we think of a burden, it's
something that's received and many times on your back, and
then it's carried and placed somewhere else. And these prophets
of old, many times they began their prophecy by saying, the
burden of the Lord. The burden of the Lord. In other
words, a prophet receives a message from God delivering to the people. The priest takes the people and
goes to God for them. But the prophet, he comes with
a burden. A burden that is a message that
the Lord has given him. That's the reason I read that
passage just a few minutes ago in 1 Corinthians 14, where the
apostle, he speaks of prophesying as something to be desired above
any of the other spiritual gifts. And the reason for that, because
prophesying there, is preaching. And preaching is more useful
to everyone. Preaching is useful, as that
verse, I pointed it out as we read it there just a moment ago
in 1 Corinthians 14. Preaching is for edification.
That is for building up, for edifying the believers. We are
edified, we're built up as we sit under the preaching of the
gospel and we hear more of Christ and hear the Word of God expounded. And it's for exhortation. We
all need exhortation from time to time about various things
and it is also there said to be for comfort. Remember that
verse in Isaiah 40 where God told the prophet, comfort ye,
comfort ye my people. God's people need comfort, we
all do. We're in a world that's antagonistic
to us and to what we believe. And sometimes we feel like we're
all alone. Sometimes we feel like it's useless. Sometimes we feel like we just
want to give up, just throw in the towel. We need to be comforted. We need to be comforted. It's
all okay. There's a verse, I believe it is in the Gospel of Mark,
which speaks about Christ and the people testified that he
hath done all things well. And that's the testimony of God. When history's last period is
placed and time shall be no more, that will be the testimony of
all of God's people. He hath done all things well. We can't understand many things
now. But by faith we know this is true. Now notice it says in
our text, the man spake unto Ithiel, even
unto Ithiel and Eucl. Who does this mean? Who is he
preaching about? Or what does his preaching concern? Well, I'm convinced for at least
two reasons that his preaching concerned the Messiah. It concerned
the Lord Jesus Christ. I said I'm convinced of that
for two reasons. The first reason has to do with
the meaning of these two names. Notice the man spake unto Ithiel. Now, Ithiel means God God with us. I'm sorry, doesn't
mean that. It means God with me. God with me. In Matthew chapter
one, remember at the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, we're
told there that fulfilled a prophecy, behold, a virgin shall be with
child and shall bring forth a son and shall call his name Immanuel,
which being interpreted is God with us. But this name is God
with me. That is Ager. He confesses Christ
to be with him. He confesses his faith in him,
calls him his God, God with me. He loved me. This is what every
child of God confesses. He loved me. You say, well, he
loved the whole world. Well, he loved me. He loved me. That's why Paul said, he loved
me and gave himself for me. It's a personal matter, isn't
it? Ithiel, God with me. And this word, Eucl means the
mighty one. He's speaking about Christ, God
with me, God incarnate, the mighty one. And one of the Psalms, Psalm
89 and verse 19, God said, I have laid help upon one that is mighty. You know, for Christ to bear
the wrath the judgment of Almighty God for the sins of his people,
he must be mighty. He must be the mighty one. No one else could have done this,
not all the angels together in heaven. could have bore the justice
of God for the sins of His people. Look with me in Isaiah 63. We'll
come right back here, but turn over to Isaiah 63. Who is this? Who is this that
cometh from Edom with dyed garments from Bosra? This that is glorious in his
apparel, traveling, notice this, in the greatness of his strength. I that speak in righteousness,
mighty to say, Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and
thy garments like him that treadeth the wine vat? Here's the reason. I have trodden the winepress
alone. That is, the winepress of God's
wrath. the Lord Jesus Christ, I have
trodden the winepress alone. And of the people, there was
none with me. All the glory, all the glory
for man's salvation belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ, because
He's the Savior. We don't help in our salvation. If anything, we hinder. if that
were possible. All the glory belongs to Him,
the Lamb who bore the brunt of the wrath of God, the judgment
of God for our sins. This is, as Edgar in our text
says, this is God with us, the Mighty One. Now I said I believe
he was speaking of Christ for two reasons. First of all, because
of those two words, the meaning of those two words, God with
us, or God with me, and the mighty one. But also, a second reason,
the Apostle Peter's words in Acts 10 and verse 43. To him,
give all the prophets witness, that through his name, Whosoever
believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. Sometime look
at that verse of scripture and just be blessed if you are a
child of God. Just be blessed. Whosoever believeth
in him, that through his name whosoever believeth in him is
justified. Whosoever believeth in him is
sealed with God the Holy Spirit. Whosoever believeth in him is
an adopted child of God. Whosoever believeth in him is
sanctified. Whosoever believeth in him hath
or shall receive remission of sins. Oh, there's a wealth of
blessing in that one verse, isn't there? To Him give all the prophets
witness, to Jesus Christ our Lord, that through His name,
through Him, through His person, through His work, whosoever,
and we do love that big word, don't we? Whosoever believeth
in Him shall receive remission of sins. Now go back to the text. I said I have five things I want
to bring to us. First of all, preaching his prophecy. Now,
2nd Acres Confession in verses 2 and 3. Surely I am more brutish
than any man and have not the understanding of a man. I neither
learn wisdom nor have the knowledge of the holy. Matthew Henry made a comment
on these two verses, something like this. He said, before he
speaks concerning the Savior, he speaks of himself as needing
a Savior and as nothing without Him. Notice, first of all, he
says, I am more brutish than any man. Have you ever felt that
way about yourself? Have you ever thought that about
yourself? I am more brutish than any man. The reason a child of
God makes a confession like that and feels like that and thinks
like that is simply because we know our own heart better than
we know anyone else's heart. We don't really know our own
heart that well, but we know enough of it to recognize that
our heart is desperately wicked and deceitful above all things.
I am more brutish than any man. No man, no one could be worse
than I am. You ever feel like that? You
ever think like that? I know you do, if you're one
of his children. And it's not because you are
necessarily, but you just know yourself better than you know
anyone else. How do you think I feel up here
preaching when I look out upon the people that I preach to? I think surely these are the
best people in the world. And here I am up here talking
about how wicked we are, more brutish than any man. Our heart, my heart, your heart,
is described like a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. That's the way God describes
us. This heart, evil thoughts. Out of the heart proceed evil
thoughts. Envy, jealousy, malice, hatred,
variance. out of the heart, the lust of
the heart. This man, he confessed his sin. He confessed his need of a savior.
I'm more brutish than any man. Number two, I have not the understanding,
and I notice here, if you look, it says, I have not the understanding
of a man, but this word which is translated man is Adam. I have not the understanding
of Adam. He's confessing the truth that
he's a fallen creature. He's not like Adam was when Adam
came from the hands of his maker. When Adam was created sinless
and holy and perfect before God Almighty, Agur is confessing, I have not
the understanding of Adam. As I said in a message, I think,
here recently, we'll never know, I guess, until we come to heaven,
just how knowledgeable and wise Adam was before he fell into
sin. But we come into this world with
original sin, the theologians call it. Original sin. We go astray from the womb, speaking
lies. We inherit a sinful nature from
our father, Adam. And three, I have not the understanding
of Adam. I neither learn wisdom nor have
the knowledge of the holy. This means, he confessed, I do
not have the inherent power in myself The ability, the free
will to know God. I don't have that in my, I was
not born, I did not come into this world with this ability. Remember that the knowledge of
God comes by revelation. Let me read you these verses,
these words of the Lord. You may want to turn in Matthew
chapter 11. And remember, this is one of
the things that is so offensive about the true gospel. The true gospel. The gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew chapter 11. Our Lord
said this. Well, let me begin reading in
verse 25. At that time, Jesus answered
and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, Because
thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast
revealed them unto babes. Even so, father, for so it seemed
good in thy sight. And remember this, for God to
hide anything, he just doesn't reveal it. We're already in darkness. We're coming to this world in
darkness. dead in trespasses and sins. For God to hide anything,
He just doesn't reveal it to everyone. All things are delivered unto
me of my Father. And no man, notice, no man knoweth
the Son, but the Father, neither knoweth any man the Father, save
the Son. Now notice, and he to whomsoever
the Son will reveal him. God must do for me what I have
no will, no power, no ability to do for myself. He confesses
what every child of God knows. Every child of God knows this
beyond any doubt. I am what I am by the grace of
God. That's it. We love Him. You say, I love Christ. I do too. But we love Him because
He first loved us. Here's the third thing, Agur's
profession in verse 4. Who hath ascended up into heaven,
or descended? Who hath gathered the wind in
his fist? Or who hath bound the waters
in a garment? Who hath established all the
ends of the earth? What is his name? What is his
son's name? If thou canst tell me. There
are five questions in that verse. I want to reduce them down to
three. First of all, who has been in
heaven and upon earth? Who was in heaven while he was
on earth? There's only one. The Mediator, the Lord Jesus
Christ. The umpire, isn't that the word
that Job, in the book of Job? Oh, that there was an umpire,
if there was a dageman between us, one who could lay his hand
upon God and lay his hand upon me. Who? Who? He asked, who hath ascended up
to heaven and descended? The Lord Jesus Christ, he's the
only one. The second question, who is the
creator and sustainer of all things? Paul tells us, by him
were all things created that are in heaven, that are in earth,
visible and invisible, and by him all things consist. He bringeth
the wind out of his treasuries. He commanded the wind and the
waves. Remember that night on that ship
when the disciples thought they were going down for sure. And
the Lord just stood up and said, be still, be still. And there was a great bonanza,
a great peace. The winds obeyed his voice. He
bringeth the wind out of his treasuries. He forms the clouds,
He binds the waters in a garment, and commands it to rain here
and not rain there. Who does all these things? And notice, He establisheth the
earth. Remember in the book of Job,
when God asked His servant Job, Job, Where were you when I laid
the foundations of the earth? Where were you at? You had no literal existence
at that time, Job. God has fastened this world. Don't ask me how. I just know
this. This is God's universe, and we
live on God's world. and drink God's water, and breathe
God's air, that this is all His. He created all things. He sustains
all things by Him. All things consist. Notice that
last question. What is His name? You know, Moses
asked that at the burning bush, didn't he? He asked the Lord.
He said, when I go into Egypt and tell the Israelites that
God has commanded me to bring you out, they're going to ask,
well, what's his name? God said, you tell them I am
that I am has sent you. That's his name, I am. Not I was or not I will be, I
am. The eternal one and that's his
son's name. That's his son's name, because
they are one. And how many times, especially
in the book of John, did the Lord Jesus Christ say, I am the
bread of life. I am the light of the world. I am the way, the truth, and
the life, and no man cometh unto the Father but by me. I am the
resurrection and the life. Turn with me again to John chapter
17 in our Lord's Prayer. In John chapter 17, our Lord confessed two times
here. Verse six, I have manifested thy name unto
the men which thou gavest me out of the world. He manifested
God's name. Verse 26 also. And I have declared
unto them thy name, and will declare it, that the love wherewith
thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. The apostle Paul tells us that
after our Lord had completed his work coming into this world,
the work of the cross, that God has given him a name which is
above every name. And one day every knee shall
bow. Men may clench their fist in
the face of God today and say, I will not bow. I will not have
this man to reign over me. But let every man know there's
coming a time when every knee shall bow. And every tongue shall
confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of the Father. Back in our text, here's the
fourth thing, Edgar's testimony. I like this, I like all of this,
but in verses five and six, he testifies to the word of God
and God's constant protection. The Word of God is pure. Not
most of it. Not the majority. Every word
of God is pure. Not 99.9% is pure. It is 100% pure. When I was a
boy there, listening to the radio, there was a soap, a bar of soap
that used to advertise 99% pure. Some of you may be old enough
to remember some of that stuff. 99, no, this is not 99, this
is 100% pure. The blessed holy word of God. It's pure because it's given
by inspiration of God. And notice that he warned. Every
word of God is pure. And then in verse six, he said,
add thou not unto his words. lest he reprove thee, and thou
be found a liar." To add to God's Word is to say, that's not enough. That's not sufficient. We need
more. No, no, don't add to God's Word. Sometimes I'm sure you, like
myself, we hear these advertisements of people who've written a book
and claimed that they've died and been dead for so long and
went to heaven. Now they come back with a message.
What a lie! What a lie! To add to the Word
of God. Paul was taken up into heaven
and he heard words that were unlawful for a man to utter. And these people tell us that
they've got a word, a message. No, they're adding to the pure
word of God. And God's not going to hold them
guiltless. Notice the second thing he confesses,
not only every word of God is pure, but he's a shield. He's
a shield unto them that put their trust in him. A shield, if we were soldiers
at that time, we might have a shield that we would hold in front of
us, and it might do a good job. It might shield us from any oncoming
arrows or spears or soldiers. But what about behind us? What
about over here on the right? What about over here on the left?
No, he's a shield. that shields his people all around. Satan admitted this when he was
speaking to God there in the book of Job. He said, you have
hedged him about. You put a fence around him and
not only him, but listen, you put a hedge about him, his house
and all that he hath on every side. He's a shield to his people. They that put their trust in
him. Now the last thing, Edgar's prayer in verses seven through
nine. Two things have I required of
thee. Deny me them not before I die. Remove far from me vanity and
lies. Give me neither poverty nor riches. feed me with food convenient
for me. Lest I be full and deny thee
and say, who is the Lord? Or lest I be poor and still and
take the name of my God in vain. These verses really would serve
for a message by themselves. They're so interesting on so
many levels. But we notice, first of all,
in verse 7, he knew, he tells what he's going
to ask the Lord. In other words, he didn't just
start praying and as words came to him, petitions came to him,
nothing wrong with that, I'm sure, but this man, he thought
about what he was going to ask. He thought about his prayer,
what he was going to ask of the Lord. You know, our Lord said,
the heathen think by their much speaking, they will be heard. He thought about what he would
ask before he actually asked. I'm going to prayer. I'm going
to pray. I'm going to my father. I'm going
to speak to him. And this is what I want to say
to him before he ever began to speak. And then in verse eight, he presents
his two petitions. And then in verse nine, he gives
the reasons why he had asked what he asked. His petitions,
first of all, remove far from me vanity. We all remember the
words of Solomon when he said, vanity of vanities, all is vanity. What does Solomon mean when he
says all is vanity? What does he have reference to
when he speaks of vanity? He's speaking of the things of
this world, the things which occupy men's thoughts, occupy
their time, occupy their attention. may be fame, may be riches, may
be power, but anything and everything that takes a person away from
the most important, and that is our relationship to God. Remove far from me vanity. That's what this world is. It's
vain. It's empty. Everything that we
can see with these physical eyes is temporary. That which is eternal
is unseen. And then his second petition
was, give me neither poverty nor riches. Now, there's nothing
sinful about either one of these things. Unless, of course, a
person became poor through his laziness, or a person became
rich through thievery or something like that. But there's nothing
inherently wrong with either of these, poverty or riches. But both of them, both poverty
and riches, they both have their peculiar temptations. And Edgar
saw what some of the writers call a middle state, a middle
state. Not real rich, not real poor,
a middle state. a state in which we can best
serve the Lord. I pray that God would bless His
word to all of us here tonight. Aren't you thankful you know
His name? Amen.