December 30, 2008

Today's Reading - Proverbs 30
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Following Scripture Verses

1. The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal,
2. Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man.
3. I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy.
4. Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?
5. Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
6. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
7. Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die:
8. Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:
9. Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.
10. Accuse not a servant unto his master, lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty.
11. There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.
12. There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.
13. There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up.
14. There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.
15. The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough:
16. The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough.
17. The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.
18. There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not:
19. The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.
20. Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.
21. For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear:
22. For a servant when he reigneth; and a fool when he is filled with meat;
23. For an odious woman when she is married; and an handmaid that is heir to her mistress.
24. There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise:
25. The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;
26. The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks;
27. The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands;
28. The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces.
29. There be three things which go well, yea, four are comely in going:
30. A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any;
31. A greyhound; an he goat also; and a king, against whom there is no rising up.
32. If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth.
33. Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.

Today's Pathway:
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"There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men. The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never - Proverbs 30:14

There are two different principles that I want us to notice in this passage. The first concerns a covetous generation. Verse 14 tells us that there is a generation of people whose only concern is what they can acquire. It says that they use their mouths to devour the poor and the needy. He then speaks of the horseleach and her daughters in verse 15. Most of us are familiar with the blood-sucking leach. This is the picture given of the covetous generation. These people want more and more, and they are constantly crying out for others to give something to them. Certainly we see this in our American society, where it seems like everyone has his hand out asking the government to take more money away from the average taxpayer and give it to them instead. These people are never satisfied, because they are selfish and covetous by nature. Their only concern is their own prosperity, and they care not at all about who they rob or hurt in order to achieve it.

Agur uses this attitude to lead into his next point. He shows four things that are never satisfied, just like the selfish man is never satisfied. He mentions the parched earth and the fire. Certainly we know that if ground has received no water, when the rains finally do come the earth soaks it all in. The same is true of fire, for as long as there is something that will burn, the fire will continue to feed. He also mentions the barren womb. It is normally the desire of women to have children, and if a lady wants children and can not have them, she desires them greatly (Gen 30:1; I Sam. 1). It is the first item he mentions in the list that I want to focus on. This is the grave. The grave is always ready to take someone else. The cemetery is never full. There will never be a time when men are not dying. In fact, we will die someday ourselves unless Jesus returns before that time, for it is appointed unto men once to die (Heb. 9:27). This fact ought to remind us that we need to be preparing ourselves for our appointment with God, and also that we must get busy proclaiming the truths of the Bible to those who will also be in the grave soon. Death doesn't take a vacation just because we are not ready for it.

Are you dissatisfied? So is the grave.

Pastor Mark J Montgomery