The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle.
The man declares, I am weary, O God;
I am weary, O God, and worn out.
Surely I am too stupid to be a man.
I have not the understanding of a man.
I have not learned wisdom,
nor have I knowledge of the Holy One.
Who has ascended to heaven and come down?
Who has gathered the wind in his fists?
Who has wrapped up 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?
Surely you know!
All of us who read Proverbs are invited to sit at the feet of the Holy One and wise one. We are invited to learn from God what it means to live skillful, godly lives. That’s what wisdom is. It is the supernatural ability to live a God-honoring life in our present, day-to-day realities. It informs how we think, perceive the world at large, perceive our specific circumstances and situations, and make decisions. It’s completely foreign to our culture which appears to value knowledge above everything else.
Wisdom is necessary because it guides us in those areas of life that are not explicitly mentioned in Scripture. Like, what are the right words to say to a family member, friend, or coworker who has lost a loved one? Or should I leave my job for another one? Or what topic or passage should I choose for a blog post? Wisdom involves critical thinking, observation and perception, discernment (godly intuition), and decision making that leads to God glorifying behavior.
There a few things that we can learn from these few verses in Proverbs 30 that I hope will encourage us all to pursue wisdom and to treasure the God of all wisdom.
First, Augur points out his deplorable condition. In fact, Proverbs 30:1-9 can be considered his autobiography. He recognizes his utter lack of wisdom and his inherent inability to acquire the wisdom necessary to live a satisfying existence.
By the way, this comes 30 chapters into the book. We’re right near the end of Proverbs, and if anyone should know wisdom by now, it’s someone whose read the preceding 29 chapters. Right? Not necessarily. What we can learn from this is that reading God’s word is fruitless if it doesn’t lead you into relationship with the God of the word. (More on that in a bit.)
Agur’s weariness indicates that he’s worked hard to attain wisdom on his own effort. He’s tried and failed, and it’s worn him out. And he’s not the only one who has experienced this.
Notice that he calls himself, “the man” in verse 1. By doing that, he’s essentially speaking for every man, for all of humanity. The point is, we the readers (even thousands of years later) are meant to insert ourselves in this description. Kind of like the headless mannequins in department store windows, which are intentionally left headless and faceless so that you can imagine yourself in their clothing. We are meant to imagine ourselves in Agur’s situation, precisely because we are in his situation.
It’s a common human experience to stare at ourselves after a failure and think, “I’m an idiot.” But Agur’s words are different, because they don’t simply refer to yet another mistake or mess up. He recognizes and acknowledges the deep moral deficiency at his core. By nature, we are all unsuccessful at learning wisdom because we lack “knowledge of the Holy One” (Proverbs 30:3). We are completely incapable of living rightly.
He even goes as far as to say, “I have not the understanding of a man” (Proverbs 30:2). He’s essentially admitting that something fundamental to his personhood missing. And it’s wisdom. It’s having wisdom locked into his head and heart which leads to a life lived for the good of others and the glory of God.
Ironically, although Agur complains about having no wisdom and refers to himself in subhuman terms, he is actually teaching us wisdom. He humbly acknowledges that wisdom is not an innate human trait. It is characteristic of the Divine. It’s sole source is God. Knowledge of the Holy One is unattainable and untamable. It can’t be grasped by human effort. It must be granted to us by God himself.
In verse 4, we see a list of “whos” stacked atop two “whats”.
It sounds a lot like that time God showed up and asked Job a litany of rhetorical questions (Job 38-40:2). Questions that all pointed back to God’ sovereignty over the universe. Agur is asking similar questions. And the purpose of these questions is to highlight the sovereign power of God and to direct us to this fact: only God can give us the rest that our weary hearts long for.
Unless God acts, unless he bridges the gap between rebellious humanity and himself, there’s no knowing wisdom. There’s no experiencing a life of purpose, meaning, and joy. The good news is, by grace, God has taken care of the problem. The one who gathers the wind in his fists, wraps the waters in his garment, and established the ends of the earth has come down from heaven to redeem sinful humanity. We who are marred by sin and willfully reject godly wisdom are restored to proper humanity when God reconciles us to himself through Jesus Christ.
And that’s the point of Agur’s “what” questions. He shifts from who, who, who, who to “What is his name, and what is his son’s name?” His name is YHWH. Every Jewish person reading this would have known that. That’s why he states, “Surely you know!” YHWH is the the personal name of God that he first disclosed to Moses at the burning bush. It’s the name of the one true and living God who made a covenant with Abraham, rescued his people from Egypt, gave them the law, and led them to the promise land (Exodus 3:13-15).
Why does Agur find it important to reference the personal name of God? As commentator J. Pauls put it, he’s shifting the description from a crisis of knowing to a crisis of relationship. Agur is underscoring the necessity of a relationship with God. Wisdom can only be found in relationship with the the living God. Living a Godward life can only happen in the context of relationship with God. Not a relationship of acquaintance, but family relationship. Sonship, in fact.
The identity of the Holy One in verse 4 is YHWH, and the immediate context of the “son” is Israel. God called Israel his son. Unlike the other nations of the world, God chose Israel and bestowed on him godly wisdom for the purpose of displaying God’s glory to the world. But the application extends further than Old Testament Israel.
These words are for us today. They point to the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ, seen as foolish in the eyes fo the world, but which is saving all those who believe. Left to ourselves we worn out, broken, God-haters who don’t even recognize our own stupidity. Instead we continue our daily diet of sin and live wasted and foolish lives until we are swallowed up by death. But Jesus is the Holy One who left his divine prerogatives and descended to earth. He took on flesh and lived a perfect life. He fulfilled God’s law perfectly, he lived in sync with godly wisdom to the degree that no human could. That’s why Jesus is called the wisdom and power of God (1 Corinthians 1:21).
Day after day, Jesus lived according to the Father will, and he never tired of it. Even knowing that it meant going to the cross. The cross is why he came. It’s the only way to bridge the gap between God and us. And through Jesus’ atoning work on the cross, we can find true rest (Matthew 28:28-30).
Do you know Jesus Christ in a relational sense? Can you call him by name? Have you come to a humble recognition and acknowledgement that you are a sinner in need of his grace? Maybe you are worn out from poor decisions. Or maybe you have abandoned godly wisdom and are relying on your own brand of wisdom. Where is it leading you? In a God glorifying direction? In a love-your-neighbor direction?
Remember the gospel and turn to Jesus, the one who loved you and gave himself for you. He grants wisdom to all who ask (James 1:5), and he provides the rest that your soul longs for.