 So let's look into our study today. We're in the book of Proverbs. We're in chapter 30. Let's begin reading at verse 1 I'll read to verse 3. We'll get into our study Proverbs chapter 30 beginning at verse 1 reading to verse 3 The words of Agra the son of Yaquem his utterance This man declared to Ithiel to Ithiel and Uchal now, how would you like to be named that by the way I? Know I'm just massacring these names, but unless you're Jewish, you don't know that Surely I am more stupid than any man and do not have the understanding of a man I neither learned wisdom nor have knowledge of the Holy One now That's an interesting way to begin his words the words that are recorded here the words of Agra the son of Yaquem The last two chapters of Proverbs chapters 30 and 31 are attributed to different writers It would seem that Solomon did not write chapter 30 or 31 Because you see in verse 30 how it begins the words of Agur Now some identify Agur with Solomon, but that's unsub unsubstantiated. So the simple Interpretation that is basically accepted by the commentators that I that I use in my preparation of studies is that Agur has words that he's sharing with two other men one named Ithiel the other is Uchal So it says in verse verse one that this man declared to Ithiel so when it says This man declared to Ithiel the word declared it's interesting because the word declared speaks of a prophetic word or this is a word of deep importance and so what he's saying here is that He is giving a revelation of God because God gave revelation to prophets He is the one who gives inspired words and so he's basically simply saying this is a declaration or inspired words and These are words of revelation that he's giving but he begins with humility when you see in verse 2 surely I'm more stupid than any man That is a way of speaking with humility So he says I don't have the understanding of a man. I neither learned wisdom. I haven't been rabbinically trained Haven't gone through the seminaries and all I neither learned wisdom nor have knowledge of the holy one I'm simply beginning this with a confession of ignorance of the things that please the Lord the most And so as mentioned, this is an expression of humility He simply doesn't want to appear prideful in the words that he's about to communicate You see that kind of attitude when you look at other men who are inspired by God to write for example There was a man by the name of Amos and in Amos chapter 7 verses 14 and 15 It says there that Amos answered Amaziah I was neither a prophet nor a prophet's son, but I was a shepherd and I also took care of Sycamore fig trees But the Lord took me from tending the flock said to me go prophesy to my people Israel It's another way of saying I had a humble occupation I don't present myself of having deep wisdom and deep learning But God chose to use me to take and declare his message Jesus in Matthew 11 verse 25 is recorded as saying I praise you father Lord of heaven and earth Because you've hidden these things from the wise and learned it reveal them to little children And so basically that's a word of humility that's coming from verses two and three. He's simply saying I'm more stupid I have less knowledge and understanding. I don't have the understanding of a man I'm not I don't even have the understanding of the most common people. I didn't go to rabbinic school I've neither learned wisdom nor have I knowledge of the Holy One that not that he doesn't know him But he's saying I don't have the kind of depth of knowledge that would make me somebody special So it's all humility and now he begins to ask some questions verse 4 Who has ascended into heaven or descended? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name and what is his son's name if you know? So interestingly he began by saying I'm stupid then he makes all of us look stupid by asking a series of questions Who has ascended into heaven? well Lest others elevate themselves and ignore his words He begins to ask a series of questions and the questions are intended to magnify the majesty of God And so his point here as we look at this is it's ridiculous for a man to think that he can explain God and It's ridiculous for a man to pretend that he can understand God completely You might want to remember that always Because today there are quite a number of people in universities and outside universities who seem to think that they're smarter than God And so he's making it very plain that that obviously that man is is infinitely less than God This is revealing nothing the nothingness of man, and it's it's revealing how how much nothingness we really possess in contrast to the majesty of our creator Isaiah asked a question if you take notes. It's found in chapter 40 verse 13. Who has understood the mind of the Lord? Instructed him as his counselor In Isaiah would be saying in modern terms as God sends you a text message asking for advice Who has understood the mind of the Lord and has God ever asked you please counsel me? I have some problems and Job 37 verse 5 God's voice thunders in marvelous ways. He does great things beyond our understanding Psalm 145 verse 3 great is the Lord and most worthy of praise His greatness no one can fathom Job 11 verses 7 through 9 asks the question Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than the heavens. What can you do? They are deeper than the depths of the grave What can you know their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea And so the point he's making is very simple. God is great And we are not what's interesting as he asked these questions who has ascended into heaven or descended Speaks of the gathering of wind in his fist Binding the waters in a garment establishing all the ends of the earth He asked the question. What is his name and what is his son's name? If you know And so in these questions that we see here Christians have seen a prophetic picture of jesus christ Who has ascended into heaven or descended? What is his son's name? Well ascended and descended is a prophetic picture of the incarnation of the lord jesus christ Who has gathered the wind in his fist who has bound the waters in a garment? This is a picture of his his all power his omnipotence Man cannot control the wind The wind determines on its own in a natural sense it like jesus said the wind blows where it desires Man doesn't say where it's going to go It it blows where it wills and and he's saying that you cannot bind up water in clouds And so he's speaking of the omnipotence of god the greatness of god in verse 4 He speaks concerning the fact that uh, he has established all the ends of the earth And so he's established the foundations of the earth. He's determined its boundaries Again speaking of the sovereignty of god In job in chapter 38. I was mentioning job in one of our recent bible studies how that In the first 37 chapters of the book of job job has gone through And quite a quite a bit chapters 1 and 2 especially you see So much bad happening in the life of job so many things from from losing his possessions losing his children And ultimately losing his own his own health and his wife turning to him and saying How long will you hold on to your integrity? Just curse god and die You see how he goes through so much pain in all and and then when you read through the book of job You see that he has a a number of friends who are there beside him Who uh for the first few days are the wisest counselors they could possibly be because they don't say anything They they they show that they're really The better counselors who in their quiet than when they open their mouths Because when they begin to open their mouths they begin to condemn him and before you know it There's an argument a running argument that's going on Between job and his miserable counselors as he calls them And and and on more than one occasion he says oh how I wish I had an attorney Who could stand before me and the lord and plead my case I could prove myself to be guiltless before him And and he goes on and on and on to speak concerning the fact that he he hadn't done anything wrong He hasn't done something to deserve what he's gone through and all and he begins to question any questions and questions throughout Chobhut and if you've read the book you know that you see a series of questions arguments going on and on to chapter 37 and then in chapter 38 god says okay Um the king james quit yourself like a man. I'm going to give you some questions and now you answer me Now can you imagine that for a minute? I you know you you want to complete who is this that you want you want to argue with me? Okay Where were you and then god begins? It's just amazing how simple these questions are that we don't understand the answers for And he goes on and on and on and he begins you can see it like a jope 38 verse forward God says where were you when I laid the earth's foundations? Tell me if you understand Where were you when I determined that the sea would go so far and go no further jove did I ask you for advice? Did I tell you I was do you please explain to me how to create things and lay the foundations of the earth and And the borders can you do that for me? Well, that's what you're seeing here In uh in the book of proverbs chapter 30 verse 4 when the question is asked who has established all the ends of the earth What is his name and what is his son's name? If you know Well, what is his son's name? Well, we know that name. It's been revealed to us. His son's name is jesus He's saying if you think a human being determined these things identify him to me Now obviously christians see this question as being answered in jesus christ You see that I could give you so many scriptures. Let me give you a few Uh, who established all the ends of the earth in john chapter 1 verses 1 through 3 In the beginning was the word the word was with god the word was the word was god He was in the beginning with god All things were made through him And without him nothing was made that was made Colossians 1 15 and 16 He is the image of the invisible god The firstborn over all creation for by him all things were created that are in heaven that are on earth Visible and invisible whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers All things were created through him And for him Hebrews chapter 1 verse 3 speaking of jesus Who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person And upholding all things by the word of his power When he had made himself when he had by himself purged our sins sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high And so he begins by saying i am stupid I do not have understanding I didn't learn wisdom I don't have deep knowledge But before you start thinking of yourself as being special Answer these questions And that's intended to bring humility to the reader And so as he goes on he goes into verse 5 and he says Every word of god is pure He is a shield to those who put their trust in him Do not add to his words lest he rebuke you And you be found a liar That's powerful Every word of god is pure What this does is it just declares the infallibility of the word of god He says every word of god is pure that word pure speaks of it being trustworthy and flawless By trusting his word Salvation is secured And not only is salvation secured But we also now tap into or receive wisdom from the lord In psalm 119 verses 41 and 42 Let your mercies come also to me, oh lord Your salvation according to your word So shall I have an answer for him who reproaches me for I trust in your word There's a reason why ministers like like me and others Point the church to the word Because every word of god is pure And man's word is not God's word is flawless But ours is flawed And so we have simply taken the wise route to trust the lord I figure that if there is a god and there is and he's all powerful and he is Then he most certainly be able to he must most certainly be able to preserve his word for us and he has And so I can trust his word I can trust it and this this bible tells me about itself every word of god is pure It also tells me because god's word is flawless that god is my protector He is a shield to those who put their trust in him And so the warning comes in verse 6 do not add to his words Let's rebuke you and you'll be found a liar. Do not add You see adding or taking from his word will dilute it We'll pollute it and will gut it of its power If you try and dumb down god's word so it's not offensive It it reduces it you have to give it as it is There are quite a number of pastors in our day unfortunately in many on tv Or over the airwaves who refuse to give the whole counsel of god for fear of offending sensitive hearers And that's a that's a tragedy in the church Because ultimately we need to understand that it's god's word that we need to embrace It's it's the gospel of salvation that we're supposed to proclaim It's a word of god that provides a defense for us. It's through god's word that we increase we grow in understanding and learning It's by god's word that we're blessed and and it's through god's word that people are actually saved That's what paul said. I'm not ashamed of the gospel of jesus christ It's the power of god unto salvation to everyone who believes to the jew first and also to the greek I'm not ashamed of it. It's god's power What you do is you release it you proclaim it and watch what god does in people's lives And so he says don't add to his word. Let's rebuke you and you be found a liar When you dilute god's word, it's like taking a recipe Changing it to suit your taste and then after eating what you've made saying the recipe was bad No, you changed the recipe You changed the recipe if you take it as it is It'll give you what it's intended to do And the bible tells us within itself not to be taken away from the word of god and and not to be adding to it In deuteronomy chapter four verse two Do not add to what I command you do not subtract from it But keep the commands of the lord your god that I give you In deuteronomy deuteronomy 12 32 Whatever I command you be careful to observe it. You shall not add to it nor take away from it And then we have a promise found in in josh with chapter one verse seven Where where we read only be strong very courageous That you may observe to do according to all the law which moses my servant commanded you do not turn From it to the right hand or to the left. Why well that you may prosper wherever you go So hold fast the word of god and and that's what he's saying do not add to his words Let's rebuke you and you be found a liar So that's what motivates us to approach god's word verse by verse And teachers and preachers of the word of god should be warned by these verses But many are not Now he goes on and he starts changing a little bit in the way that he approaches things notice verse seven Through nine two things I request of you Deprive me not before I die Remove falsehood and lies far from me give me neither poverty poverty nor riches Feed me with the food allotted to me Lest I be full and deny you and say who is the lord or lest I be poor and steel And profane the name of my god. So he makes requests here and notice he says two things first And he says deprive me not First I want to have integrity God helped me to live as an honest person God I would like to have a pure heart Psalm 51 verse 6 behold you desire truth in the inward parts And in the hidden part you will make me to know wisdom god. I want to have integrity I want to have a wholeness like jesus said let your yes be yes and your no. Well, let it be no You should have the kind of character and reputation So that those who know you know you're a person of your word is what he's saying And here he's simply saying these things I request of you Deprive me not before I die one remove falsehood and lies far from me I want to be a person of integrity. I want to speak the truth And then he says and give me neither poverty nor riches Feed me with the food allotted to me lest I be full and deny you and say where's who is the lord or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my lord So he says one I want to have integrity and two I want to live In moderation. I want to have a balanced life I I want to remain in the place that I am dependent upon you You see if I if I have too much I might cease trusting you for my daily bread But on the other hand if I have little I might steal And in doing so bring shame to your name The fact is wealth tends to prideful self-sufficiency And poverty to dishonesty and lying So his desire is to learn to live in moderation. And so two things I request of you I was in uh, San Luis Obispo the other day when it says two things I thought of something that said three things it was on a it was on a poster And it said uh three things that do not lie a child a drunk And yoga pants and that's probably true That was so dumb I just did that laughing Three things that don't lie a child a drunken yoga pants, but anyway, so I'll move on that's not here in proverbs. That's in That's in my version of proverbs Let's see where are we verse 10 Do not malign a servant to his master lest he curse you And you be found guilty This the literal application of this is don't meddle in the affairs of other people. Don't put yourself in between Individuals who are having difficulties don't meddle in their affairs just to get involved It's interesting how he puts it here When he says do not malign a servant to his master lest he curse you and you he found guilty In the book of romans in chapter 14 The question is asked in verse four. Who are you to judge another man's servant? To his own mastery stands or falls indeed. He will be made to stand for god is able to make him to stand So he's simply saying don't meddle in other people's affairs Unasked for leave it alone and let them deal with it themselves Verse 11 there is a generation that curses its father and doesn't bless its mother There's a generation that is pure in its own eyes yet is not washed from its filthiness There's a generation. Oh, how lofty are their eyes their eyelids are lifted up There's a generation whose teeth are like swords whose fangs are like knives to devour the poor from off the earth and the needy from among men So it's interesting how He speaks of this generation this generation that is pure in its own eyes and yet not washed from its filthiness When observers stated that this is very interestingly Similar to what you find in the new testament prophetic award related to the conditions of the earth prior to the return of jesus christ And and for many years When you can see this i've seen this when it says there's a generation that curses his father doesn't bless its mother I believe very very deeply that we're in that generation That we're in we're in that generation in these last days The amount of disrespect That you see in families even in christian families sadly sometimes The amount of disrespect that a child will have for a father for a mother grandfather or grandmother And uh, they're despising they're they're disregarding them. They're they're they're They're not blessing their family. So you see that even right now And so it speaks concerning the fact that they curse their father and don't bless their mother You see in exodus in chapter 20 verse 12 There's a command honor your father and your mother that your days may be long upon the land which the lord your god is giving you Those are commands of the lord. This is the first command that is given with a blessing And so god says no you honor your parents and and i will bless you Now when it speaks concerning honoring your parent honoring your parent includes refraining from language that might lessen them In the eyes of other people or or treating parents with with terrible language or treating them poorly You know, we're living again in an odd time And i'm not going to make this the the crux of my message tonight, but it's true We're living in a time when when when older children Will call their aged parents the parents could be in their 70s or 80s And they get a a phone call from a kid who's still mad at them because he didn't get a pony You know and and and i'm blaming you for my whole life Because you didn't hold me or you didn't let me play in little league And and they keep these sinks and they blame their parents and and we see that all the time Now when when was when did it become okay to call your old old dad? And tell him how bad he raised you when did that become okay, but it's okay now It's all right people do it They get mad at their dad. They go to the psych and they'll tell the psycho They didn't get the things that they wanted And and they blame their parents. They don't honor their father and they don't honor their mother They're not valuing them and he's saying this an evil generation doesn't love or honor their parents He says in verse 12. It's pure in its own eyes Yet is not washed from its filthiness It's a generation of people who think that they're morally pure, but they're in sin That there's they're in sin, but they think they're you know, it's okay the way that they're living But they're in sin Proverbs 20 verse 9 asks the question who can say I've made my heart clean. I'm pure for my sin And there are people who are like that people and I see that in an odd way today pure in their own sight And yet not washed from filthiness And I do think that and I don't know how to say this properly. I'll say it and hopefully it'll make some sense But I I believe that we're living in a time when people are not thinking issues through very clearly And so you'll say one thing and then someone will a person can say one thing And then say something that directly contradicts it and yet nobody calls them out on it because they Either they don't notice the contradiction or somebody says I don't believe in capital punishment. That's a common thing that people say I don't believe in capital punishment And they will march and they will argue and they will say capital punishment is wrong You shouldn't take the life of another human being and the same person can march for a pro-choice Same person a person who says that you shouldn't execute a criminal Says you can execute a baby And I've often wondered why they don't see the contradiction If you're pro-life Why aren't you completely pro-life but we see that today and so there's a generation that doesn't consider itself Sinful it's a generation that is pure in its own eyes yet is not washed from its filthiness He says in verse 13. There's a generation how lofty are their eyes their eyelids are lifted up There's a generation whose teeth are like swords whose fangs are like knives to devour the poor from off the earth and the needy from among men And so This generation is one that exploits the poor and he says that these who are exploiting the poor are like beasts There are those who hire day laborers and then refuse to pay them There are supervisors who use women And threaten them the loss of their job If they don't sleep with them. I know that because I've had women come and speak to me about Finding themselves in that situation Where they said, you know what I needed money. I'm a single mom And my my supervisor was saying if I didn't yield to him I was going to lose my job And they come in and speak and their hearts are broken and there's this that's this evil It's a generation whose teeth are like swords fangs are like knives. They devour the poor And the needy and that's true taking advantage Taking advantage of people in that way In proverbs 22 16 he who oppresses the poor to increase his riches And he who gives to the rich will surely come to poverty That's always pointing out to the evil The evil that takes place and indeed it still does to this day Moving on verse 15 The leech has two daughters give and give That's the name of the daughters by the way And he goes on to say there are three things that are never satisfied for never say enough the grave the barren womb The earth that is not satisfied with water And the fire never says enough And so these are illustrations of unfulfilled desire Things that appear insatiable He speaks of greed a barren womb the barren womb is the unfulfilled desire to have a baby He speaks of the grave. He speaks of dry ground and he speaks of a fire And all of those never seem to be satisfied The fire never says that's enough. I mean we've been going through fires here in california, haven't we? And it is the point is that it just keeps burning as long as there's something to burn It continues to burn and so he's basically just pointing out that there are things that are Unfulfilled and these are illustrations of unfulfilled desires verse 17 The eye that mocks his father and scorns obedience to his mother The ravens of the valley will pick it out the young eagles will eat it. Isn't that nice? What is he quite a gross image, but what what is he saying? Disrespect warrants severe punishment Verses 18 and 19 There are three things Which are too wonderful for me. Yes for which I do not understand The way of an eagle in the air The way of a serpent on a rock The way of a ship in the midst of the sea And then he adds this the way of a man with a virgin Now I can figure out the other three What are you talking about? Well, these things are all propelled in a way that can't be seen And each one is propelled according to its own purpose So he's speaking of a smooth beauty of an eagle in flight And if you've ever seen an eagle in flight, then you can say that is absolutely majestic He speaks of an interesting way that a snake can move And that's true He speaks of a ship being propelled through the ocean through currents And then he speaks of the inner motives of a man As he pursues A woman the way of a man with a virgin His motives are not clear We could probably spend some time looking at that we're not going to but as I was thinking about that There are unseen motivations There are some men who see the purity of a woman as being a prize for himself that he wants to take from her So he could say he gained it And there are others who have a proper righteous sense that this woman This unmarried woman in this case, she's referred to as a virgin this unmarried woman The motivation of his heart is one of purity Where he loves her desires her but waits for the right moment after marriage to consummate his heart's desire with her So he's speaking about hidden motives There are things that you can't see There are things that you you don't know what is propelling them And in the case of a relationship The greatest thing that we as men could do Is we could see that God has given to us the role of protecting Women now some women women don't want to hear that today. I understand that There are a lot of women who say, you know, I don't need some man to protect me and I get it. That's all right and uh, if that's the way you feel but Men were created to protect women We were created to do that and a man who doesn't protect a woman If you don't mind isn't a man A man has been created to protect a woman. That's what we do And if someone's going to harm a woman, we should stand up and take harm upon ourselves if necessary And a woman who doesn't appreciate that just doesn't understand. That's how God made us God made us to protect every little boy is born with a little hero in his heart That's a fact. Am I wrong? I mean when you I don't know about you guys. I'll talk to men women ignore this but men Every one of us is a superhero I mean even when we were kids when we were growing up and it was you know, yeah before I got saved I got saved at 21. I was a little boy. Yeah, I went trick-or-treating and and and you know, and I put on costumes Yeah, and you know what? I was never a ballerina No No, you go dress the Superman Green Lantern Some superhero and and and that isn't pretend We saw those as options. That's what we were going to be when we were older There's a hero in every heart of every male There's a hero in there. Now this may sound old-fashioned, but God created us that way He created us that way. That's why we're supposed to protect our wives and not hurt them That's why we're supposed to honor and cherish our wives because we were created to do that We were created for that and even a teeny little mouse Little male mouse will go after a cat who's going after his his his girl. That's the way it is. That's a fact It's true. You're the little mighty mouse. Yeah, I heard that I heard that Me I was speedy Gonzalez But it's true It's true so motives Are unseen There are some men who act as the gentleman But he's not being a gentleman What he's being is a con In order that he might take something And there's the man who values It's all unseen And so that becomes almost mysterious in relationship because Some men aren't pure And some women have experienced Men who are not pure And that's why it can be for her difficult to trust because she doesn't know if this guy's sincere Or if he's just using words To try and take her And so these are unseen things And so he speaks about it in that way. He speaks about an eagle in the air He's gliding but you don't see what he's gliding on the serpent on a rock. It moves, but you didn't have little feet So that's interesting The way of a ship in the midst of the sea there are currents And then there's a motivation of a man with a woman and he says they're wonderful and things. I don't understand verse 20 This is the way of an adulterous woman She eats and wipes her mouth and says I've done no wickedness Haven't done anything wrong And uh, you know This this adulterous woman I have done no wickedness um Sometimes women who have done wrong have no shame is the point he's making No remorse over her actions And there are quite a number of people by the way today that we reward Who are exactly this way They're making movies or making music. They're in plays And we reward her and she says things and does things sometimes marches sometimes speaks at rallies And we reward her And so he's saying she is somebody who does wrong and has no sense of shame For doing that and that's absolutely true. We see that all the time in american culture Verse 21 for three things the earth is perturbed. Yes for four it cannot bear up For a servant when he reigns a fool when he is filled with food A hateful woman when she's married And A maid servant who succeeds her mistress and so This speaks of abuses of power and position He's saying a servant when he reigns can be unbearable, especially when he lords it over other servants Have you ever had a job that you've taken and you're the new hire and somebody who's making the exact same wage You're making has no position of authority on that job site Comes walking up and says i'll show you the ropes and tries to bully you into following his orders I have had that You know and he's saying it. This is this is an abuse of power. This is a servant When he reigns while the servant can be unbearable. He's lording it over the other people He speaks of a fool when he's filled with food and well When when he is he's filled with food that means that he's made enough money to become wealthy So a fool when filled with food is an interesting way of saying This is somebody who's made some money, but has no class um Years ago ancient history time some of you may have seen this In reruns that are almost 100 years old, but they had the beaverly hillbillies Do you remember anybody remember the beaverly hillbillies beaverly hillbillies? He was very rich because they had 15 million dollars I think and at that time that was huge money back then You know, but they were classless You know granny and jade and ellie may and the rest of them. Yes, I did watch it and yes And I can still sing the song which I won't But that was the whole joke of the thing is that these were nouveau rich These were people who had just gotten money but didn't know how to do anything with it They didn't know how to use it. They weren't raised in in certain prep schools They didn't have class and that was the whole comedy of it But there's a fact to it when when somebody gets a whole lot of money And has not been raised in a way to know how to handle it. Well, they definitely can become very difficult He speaks of a hateful woman when she's married Well, what is wrong with that? Well a hateful woman a woman filled with hate when she's married Has a tendency of making a husband miserable. That's the point he's making she can make her husband miserable Because she's filled with hate and then you have a maid servant who succeeds her mistress and The maid servant who succeeds her mistress can make the job site into a battleground and that's the point he's making there Verse 24 There are four things which are little on the earth, but they are exceedingly wise The ants are a people not strong Yet they prepare their food in the summer The rock badgers are a feeble folk yet they make their homes in the crags The locusts has no king Yet they all advance in ranks the spider skillfully grasped with its hands It's in king's palaces. Now. This is interesting as I was looking at this and saying, okay What is this supposed to mean? Well, he speaks in a variety of ways. He's not saying that they're wise in themselves It's not saying that ants have wisdom hidden in that big ant head Or rock badgers for that matter He's saying ants are demonstrating wisdom and this this is very practical because the ant prepares for future needs Mark that down that is so important. We're living in a time where People are living on money that they haven't yet made We're we're using our cards and and and all Extending ourselves with credit To such a degree that it's It's oppressing people they're Unwise and and I'm going to tell you that generation my father came from Influenced my generation In a way that the newer generation hasn't really been influenced My father's generation came out of the depression So his attitude was save don't spend By cash Be careful. That was my dad So my dad Was very frugal. My dad was was someone who didn't go out and get himself in debt my dad taught me that That credit was to be used sparingly And that the most important thing that I have Is my reputation and that my credit ought to be solid And my dad said son, I still remember my dad saying this son And he didn't lecture me very often. That's why I remember things he tried to teach me He said son, there are two things Two things that you're going to sign your name on a contract for that are going to cost you that are very expensive He said your house and your car He said so make sure you take care of your house and make sure you take care of your car That's how my dad was and so he gave to me very practical advice And so as I got older and it was time Marie and I my my girlfriend who became my wife It was time for us to get married. We didn't spend a lot of money on a on a wedding Our wedding was in a backyard We didn't we didn't You know going to debt to get married. We didn't I mean we we we what's the word? We spoiled our guests by giving them colonel sanders You know, I mean that was their dinner, you know, and then I spoiled her by taking her to was a jack in the box That's the truth. I'm not even kidding But I did buy shrimp because that was expensive on that menu at that time I bought some shrimp and french fries. It was good, huh? We didn't get married and go into debt We just didn't do it There are people who spend 10,000. I'm not knocking. I'm making an observation $10,000 on a wedding ring 10,000 bucks. Just the other day one of my staff members had gone to hawaii to do a filming for a surprise proposal and the proposal was taken on a ledge 30 over over a 30 foot cliff a 30 foot cliff and And my friend was hiding inside of some bushes Filming the surprise proposal and so The guy gets on his knee They're right on the ledge He pulls out the ring the little girl he's proposing to just freaks out And he she puts it on they put it on And then he says well, there's something written on the inside of the band So she takes it off and drops it It falls 30 feet into water beneath And he's got this on tape The guy's freaking out like and So they hired divers To try and find the ring and they were there for some time that ring was very expensive And some fish is wearing it right now No, I'm not laughing at his disaster But that's how fast it goes Don't forget it That's as fast as it goes She had it on her hand less than a minute So be very careful with the things you go into hawk for I've I've had and I've advised a young Soon to be married to one half extravagant wedding. It's again if that's what you want You want the princess, you know bride kind of thing and all of that you want to come out with You know The big train and this and that that's up to you. I mean, it's your dream But I've told the guys I've said, you know, just remember if it were me and I had that kind of money Probably wouldn't get married but two If it were me, uh, I would I would I would not have the big extravaganza with all the lights in the tent and all of the the Peacocks and you name it, you know, I wouldn't do that I'd have a cheap wedding probably have Elvis do it and I'd have an inexpensive one the way Marie and I did And if I had that kind of money, I'd invest it towards my future And uh, probably take her on a very nice Honeymoon, that's what I would do. See I didn't take you on a very nice honeymoon. Did I? No, I took her to the mountains We borrowed we borrowed a friend of mine's cabin And we had one great meal that that hamburger and the shrimp and And the next day she was cooking she hasn't stopped. I mean that she says she still complains to me. Don't you You didn't even take me out to eat dinner I was cooking for the day we got married as god intended Because I'm your hero I protect you anyway I'm in trouble. You know that I I don't care. I ain't afraid So one ants prepare they prepare their food in the summer always remember You know things happen sometimes to upset the apple cart It's good to be able if you're able to it's always good to put something away and to be prepared Secondly, he speaks of rock badgers rock badgers when you go to israel, you'll see rock badgers all over We go into a place called in Getty. They're also called conys and the rock badgers He speaks concerning the rock badgers notice. He says they're a feeble folk. They're very small They're a rodent. They're not really that large. They're feeble and weak Yet they make their homes in the crags They realize that they're weak, but their protection isn't of themselves They're actually as strong as the as the rocks that they climb into See you could have a huge animal chasing a rock badger And that rock badger is unable to protect itself But it becomes strong by hiding in something that provides strength for it, which is the rock And so this big animal can't reach it because it's being protected by the rock which Psalm 62 verse 6 says speaking of god. He only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense I shall not be moved. So there's wisdom in being sheltered in the rock And that's the point he's making here because they can't get to you. He protects you He speaks of the locus a locus has no no king yet. They all advance in ranks Locusts have organization. It's what he's pointing to they have cooperation And because they're organized as a group and and and all they're very formidable I I found that interesting because I've heard so many times of swarms of locus So I looked up one incident. It's called an incident referring to albert swarm Albert swarm speaks of locus that in 1875 Overran an area of the united states throughout the west and into canada That was estimated to cover 198,000 square miles Greater than the area of california and that whole swarm weighed 27.5 million tons And was made up of 12.5 trillion insects And so he's speaking of these locus. They have no king, but they advance and that's a point and they do And then he speaks of the spider the word spider there if you were to take some time to look it up In a bible dictionary for hebrew the word spider actually isn't speaking Of a spider so much as a lizard and perhaps some of your your bibles may say lizard or a gecko Because that's the that's the picture here and it's speaking about it's guiltfully grasped with its hands I don't know if you know this but even right now in modern warfare the united states is working on Um certain kinds of Gear for your hands and your feet that are modeled after geckos and there they have a lot of like fibers on the hands and on the on the the feet the portion like socks and The soldiers can actually climb up glass with it and they're using that From the gecko and so he's saying that this is a a small lizard if you will that can climb and it finds itself in king's palaces and so Um, it's elusive, but it's bold enough to live in a king's home. What's the point? Well, they're all small But they illustrate a wisdom that people can learn from And then finally verse 29 There are three things which are majestic in pace Yes, four which are stately in walk a lion Which is mighty among beasts Doesn't turn away from any a gray hound a male goat also And a king whose troops are with him Now that's interesting. It's picturing leadership here three things which are majestic in pace. It's a picture of a leader And so leadership is revealed as having majesty and courage leadership can be stately And by using that that male goat I thought now Why a male goat? Well the male goat walks in front and it's a picture of confidence And so leadership is majestic courageous stately and confident And that illustrates how those who lead should conduct themselves With to god that our leaders even here in the united states would learn from this passage And and have more stateliness in the way that they lead because if there's anything that irritates me It's when somebody's in a position of leadership and they don't seem to honor the reality of what that means And then verse 32 if you have been foolish and exalting yourself or if you have devised evil put your hand on your mouth For as the churning of milk produces butter and ringing the nose produces blood So the forcing of wrath produces strife This is an exhortation and he closes this portion with an exhortation to self-control He's saying don't exalt yourself plan honorably and without deception exercise self-control Strive for peace through unity righteousness and humility Don't exalt yourself Don't be saying things put your hand over your mouth Don't be provoking people. Don't force wrath If you lead then do so through unity do so through righteousness and do so with humility