Turn with me in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 30. I've looked at before. One that I think does hold great practical benefit for the Church of Jesus Christ. Our focus will be on verses 24 to 28.

But I did want to read beginning in verse 15 to the end of the chapter. So Proverbs chapter 30 beginning in verse 15. The leech has two daughters, Give and Give. There are three things that are never satisfied.

Four never say enough. The grave, the barren woman, the earth that is not satisfied with water, and the fire never says enough. The eye that mocks his father and scorns obedience to his mother, the ravens of the valley will pick it out, and the young eagles will eat it. There are three things which are too wonderful for me.

Yes, four, 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 the way of a man with a virgin. This is the way of an adulterous woman. She eats and wipes her mouth and says, I have done no wickedness. 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 is married, and a maid servant who succeeds her mistress. There are four things which are little on the earth, but they are exceedingly wise. The answer of 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 have no king, yet they all advance in ranks. The spider skillfully grasps with its hands, and it is in king's palaces. There are three things which are majestic in pace.

Yes, four which are stately and walk. A lion which is mighty among beasts and does not turn away from any, a greyhound, a male goat also, and a king whose troops are with him. If you have been foolish in exalting yourself, or if you have devised evil, put your hand on your mouth. For as the churning of milk produces butter, and wringing the nose produces blood, so the forcing of wrath produces strife.

Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the wisdom of Solomon and for this man, Agur.

We pray now that you would give us wisdom to receive, with thanksgiving, your blessed word. Forgive us for all of our sin and unrighteousness. We ask for the ministry and the presence of the Holy Spirit. And God, may these things affect and impact our lives.

And may you grant us grace to live in a manner consistent with the written revelation of God Most High. And we ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Well,

Introduction

as we consider the book of Proverbs, most of them are ascribed to Solomon. Chapter 30 is ascribed to a man named Agur, but Agur is consistent with Solomon in what we would call philosophy. If you look at 1 Kings chapter 4, I can just read it concerning Solomon and his glory. It says he spoke 3,000 proverbs and his songs were 1,005.

Also he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall. He also spoke of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish. And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom, came to hear the wisdom of Solomon. So Solomon would point to things that persons understood in everyday life, and he would oftentimes illustrate with spiritual principle.

Now, Agur, as I said, follows in the same train. The greater than Solomon does the exact same thing in the Sermon on the Mount. When Jesus wants to call his or caution his disciples against carnal anxiety, he tells them to look at the birds of the air and he tells them to look at the lilies of the field. He tells them not to worry, not to fret, not to be afraid that God isn't gonna provide for them.

God provides for the birds, God provides for the lilies, therefore God will provide for his redeemed image bearers. Now, when we look specifically at Proverbs chapter 30, verses 24 to 28, you see something similar in structure. If you look at verses 15 and 16, the leech has two daughters, Give and Give. And then it says, there are three things that are never satisfied.

Look at verse 18, there are three things which are too wonderful for me. Yes, four, which I do not understand. Again, in verses 21 to 23, for three things, the earth is perturbed. Yes, for four, it cannot bear up.

And then again, following our passage in verses 29 to 31, there are three things which are majestic in pace. So it's a common theme that Edgar is employing. to use the created order to teach lessons to the people of God. So we're going to move through each of these four little things, and we're going to see in terms of their weakness, and then their wisdom, and then make application to our own situation. So when it says that there are four little things, if you look at verse 24, it sort of functions as a title line.

There are four things which are little on the earth, but they are exceedingly wise." And then the next few verses follow that structure, follow that pattern. Their weakness is given, and then their compensatory wisdom. In other words, they have a challenge in their lives, so they have to overcome that by wisdom. They have something that holds them back, so instead of being held back, they figure out how to deal.

They figure out how to navigate. When it says that they are little, it highlights their insignificance, their weakness, and the severe limitation that each of them face. There is an obvious contrast between the little things of verses 24 to 28 and the majestic things in verses 29 to 31. Notice in 29, there are three things which are majestic in pace.

Yes, four which are stately in walk. That's not true of the little things. They have intrinsic, inherent weakness. Therefore, they have to overcome that weakness by wisdom.

So this word little, again, it simply means something that is insignificant. So the unifying feature of these four creatures, they are insignificant, they have sort of built-in challenges because of their physical stature or their insignificance, but they have a wisdom that helps them to overcome the various challenges that they have in their lives. So

The Industrious Ants

we'll look first of all at the industrious ants. So you've got ants, you've got conys, you've got locusts, and you've got spider slash lizard. The translation is a bit difficult. If it's a spider or a lizard, it doesn't change the meaning of the text.

But these four little creatures that we observe in the natural world, these four little creatures that we see, not perhaps on a day-to-day basis, I can't remember the last time I saw a cony, but with reference to the wise men appealing to the natural order, to underscore spiritual truth, first look at the industrious ant. Verse 25, the ants are a people not strong. Now, Edgar knows that ants are not people, but he shows that he wants the natural order to function as a pattern. He wants the natural order to function in such a way that image bearers will be able to see the industry of the ant and rightly conclude, we should do likewise.

In other words, if the ant has an intrinsic weakness but is able to overcome it, the idea ought to be that the image bearer has a little bit more on the ball and should be able to do likewise. So the ant is limited by virtue of the fact that he is insignificant, but as well, he is limited by the fact that he's tiny. He's not like the stately lion. If the lion wants to eat in the wintertime, all the lion has to do is go out and kill a gazelle.

The ant can't do that. The ant has to plan. The ant has to plot. The ant has to express industry and diligence if the ant wants to sustain itself during wintertime.

Turn back to Proverbs chapter 6, where Solomon does point to the ant in terms of its industry to encourage the people of God not to be sluggards, Not to be lazy, not to be the sort of person that just sort of lays around all day hoping for handouts and hoping that everybody else is going to look after them. Notice in Proverbs 6 at verse 6, it says, go to the end, you sluggard. Consider her ways and be wise, which having no captain, overseer, or ruler, provides her supplies in the summer and gathers her food in the harvest. The same thing back in chapter 30 at verse 25.

The weakness is given in the first part. The ants are a people not strong. The wisdom is seen in the latter part of verse 25. Yet they prepare their food in the summer.

Waltke says their exceptional achievement, which is out of proportion to their seemingly inadequate size and power, provides a model for God's people to exercise prudent foresight, discipline, and industry in a timely manner. So Heger's saying, if you've got challenges in your life, you can lie down and whine and cry and complain about it, you can grumble and have that kind of a tenor or an attitude, or you can learn from the ant and get out there and get busy. Now the obvious temporal application of this is get out there and get busy. The fourth commandment demands, or prohibits rather, cessation of labor on the Sabbath day.

But it calls us to industry on the other six days of the week. Now, we don't want to overwork in order to become rich. If we have to work overtime, certainly that's the thing we ought to do. We don't want to overwork to the point where we don't come to church, we neglect our family, and all that sort of thing.

But nevertheless, we must be industrious people. We must be earnest people. You see that emphasis again in the book of Proverbs. Turn back to chapter 27.

Chapter 27. Industry on the part of the people of God. Similar to what we find with reference to the ants. Proverbs 27 at verse 23.

It says, be diligent to know the state of your flocks and attend to your herds. For riches are not forever, nor does a crown endure to all generations. When the hay is removed and the tender grass shows itself and the herbs of the mountains are gathered in, the lambs will provide your clothing and the goats the price of a field. You shall have enough goat's milk for your food, for the food of your household and the nourishment of your maidservants.

Lazy men didn't don't survive in an agrarian society. Lazy men don't prosper in an agrarian society. As Solomon appeals to his readership, specifically and primarily his sons, he wants them to be hard workers. He wants them to be faithful.

He wants them to be able to see down the road that there are potential challenges in my life. Therefore, I need, by God's grace, to overcome those challenges through industry. I need to imitate this little thing and get into gear. 2 Thessalonians chapter 3, what does the Apostle Paul say there? He says, if a man doesn't work, neither shall he eat.

And most likely in the context, in the Thessalonian situation, was eschatology. They thought Jesus was going to return any time. Well, they thought because Jesus is going to return any time, I'll quit my job, I'll sit on my roof, and I'll chant or sing hymns until he comes again. The Apostle says, if a man does not work, neither let him eat.

The Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy chapter 5 says if a man does not provide for his family, he's worse than an infidel. He's worse than an unbeliever. So the lesson of Edgar here is very important. The ant has a built-in inherent weakness, but the ant doesn't whine, grumble, or complain about it.

The ant uses compensatory wisdom and gets its act together by storing up its food for the winter. Now, in terms of spiritual, the diligent preparation involved in readying oneself for the day of judgment. J.C. Ryle has a series of sermons addressed to young people, and he makes this observation.

He says, Dear children, the best time for seeking pardon, grace, and the friendship of God is the time of youth. Remember your Creator in your youth. That's what Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes in chapter 12 at verse 1. So Ryle says youth and childhood are your summer.

Now you are strong and well. Now you have plenty of time. Now you have few cares and troubles to distract you. Now is the best time for laying up food for your souls.

That's a great spiritual application that flows from the observation that the ants are people that are not strong, yet they prepare their food in the summer. Preparation, industry. Charles Bridges in his commentary says, a quickening sermon do these little insects preach to us. They make preparation for the coming winter.

What must be the thoughtlessness of making no provision for the coming eternity? Brethren, you see that all around you. You see people that have no time, no interest whatsoever in spiritual things. This is a materialistic, hedonistic, godless age.

And it reflects in the reality that people just don't care what happens beyond the grave. They conclude that there's going to be a dreamless sleep. They conclude that once they go into that box, everything is over. But that's not what the Bible teaches.

It's appointed unto men once to die, and then comes judgment. So he goes on to say, he says, they make preparation for the coming winter. What must be the thoughtlessness of making no provision for the coming eternity? wiling away life and inactivity, as if there was no work for God, for the soul, or for eternity. Shall not we learn to be wise betimes, to improve the present moment of salvation, not to wait for the winter, the verge of life, when that grace offered now shall be offered no more?

Sinner, if all be lost by your indolence, will you not be the great loser? What else have you to do but to prepare for eternity? That's a great point. What else do we have to do but to prepare for eternity?

It is amazing. We get caught up in planning our weeks carefully, planning next month carefully, planning where we'll go to school, planning who we'll marry, planning where we'll work, but we take no thought to a coming eternity. planning for that particular situation by coming to the Lord Jesus Christ? He says, what hope can you have of heaven at the last if you have never seriously thought of heaven before? Oh, before it be too late, throw yourself at his feet whose heart overflows with love.

So the industrious ants, they overcome their lack of strength in the preparation of their food in the summer. So take heed, brethren, and be industrious and prepare.

The Cautious Conies

Secondly, you have these things in verse 26. The old King James renders it the Cones. The Cones are a feeble folk, yet they make their homes in the crags. Now, these colonies are probably rock badgers or rock hydraxes, and they're indicated in the list of unclean foods, Leviticus chapter 11, and then again in Deuteronomy chapter 14.

So likely the Syrian rock hyrax, I put a D in there, sorry, they live together in colonies from six to 50, and often sun themselves on the rocks. They are difficult to catch because they post guards that make a high pitch while a high-pitched whistle at the approach of any enemies. They have those in Idaho. They're called whistle pigs.

They're a similar type of a thing, a high-pitched whistle. So they live in colonies of 6 to 50. They're prey animals. This is wise.

They hang out together. They sun themselves on the rocks, but they're available, or they have the crags of the rocks to be able to hide in. They have guards around their perimeter watching for predators. And when Nekoni sees the predator, he makes the high-pitched whistle.

That signifies to his fellow Cones, it's time to beat feet, it's time to find your safety, it's time to find your refuge. So the point is, is that the Cones, though they are a feeble folk, nevertheless they exercise caution. They don't live in a world as a prey animal, as if there were no predators around them. They take heed to their serious limitation, they take heed to their littleness, and as a result, they realize if they're going to function well in this present world, they're going to have to function with a great big dose of caution.

Again, when you look at verse 30, a lion which is mighty among beasts and does not turn away from any. He doesn't have the same weakness. He's not a feeble folk. The lion is stately.

The lion is majestic. The lion is the king of the forest, so the lion doesn't fear anything. Whereas the Coney fears everything and takes a rational engagement of their resources to be able to guard themselves against intruding predators. Now, with reference to the temporal imitation, we need to defend ourselves.

We need to defend others. Self-defense. That is a basic thing that God has wired into us. The Bible deals with it.

In Exodus chapter 22, 2 and 3, we learn that a man is able to defend his house. And if, in the exchange, the thief is killed, then the man defending his house, provided it was nighttime, is not held liable for that man's death. It's an instance of justifiable homicide. Jesus teaches that if the man who owned the house knew at what hour the thief would come, he'd be ready for him, and he would defend his family against him.

It's amazing to me how much of this sort of anabaptist or pacifistic mindset has crept into the church today. God's not against us defending ourselves or defending our families. I'm not saying go out and be a vigilante. I'm saying go out and take justice in your own hand. you know, bring it on as you walk down the street like John Rambo.

That's not what I'm suggesting, but there needs to be on the part of all of us this defense of self. The Bible sees it, the Konies exhibit it, and we ought to learn from them. But as well in terms of the spiritual imitation. How many times are we told in the Scripture that there are a multitude of dangers facing the people of God in the spiritual realm?

Turn to Proverbs chapter 5 for one illustration. Proverbs chapter 5, the wise man is enjoining upon his sons sexual fidelity. And in Proverbs chapter 5 at verse 7 he says, Therefore hear me now, my children, do not depart from the words of my mouth. Remove your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house, lest you give your honor to others and your years to the cruel one.

Avoid her. Remove your way far from her. Be on guard. Be a cautious coney.

Don't wander near the door to her house because eventually you'll be in her bed. Don't even get near that entranceway. Notice he doesn't say, don't go lie with her. No, it starts way before that.

Don't go anywhere near her. You see the folly of a man that does not heed in Proverbs chapter seven. Look at how Solomon describes it in verse six. For at the window of my house, I looked through my lattice and saw among the simple.

I perceived among the youths a man devoid of understanding passing along the street near her corner. And he took the path to her house in the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night. Why doesn't he go during the daytime? Because he's a knucklehead and he knows it.

Because he's a rebel sinner and he knows it. He goes there at night so that he can pass detection by persons watching. Verse 10, and there a woman met him with the attire of a harlot and a crafty heart. She was loud and rebellious.

Her feet would not stay at home. At times she was outside, at times in the open square, lurking at every corner. So she caught him and kissed him. With an impudent face, she said to him, I have peace offerings with me.

Today I paid my vows. So I came out to meet you diligently to seek your face, and I have found you." Isn't she righteous? Isn't she godly? Isn't she wonderful?

I have done my duty to Yahweh. Now it's time to engage in illicit conjugal relations. Notice, verse 15, so I came out to meet you diligently to seek your face and I have found you. I have spread my bed with tapestry colored coverings of Egyptian linen.

I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon. Come, let us take our fill of love until morning. Let us delight ourselves with love. For my husband is not at home.

He has gone on a long journey. He has taken a bag of money with him and will come home on the appointed day. Do you see what Solomon is saying? Be cautious, guard your heart, don't go near her.

Verse 21, with her enticing speech, she caused him to yield. She doesn't even have to be that attractive. As long as she says the right things, as long as she gives him the right sort of overture, It says, with her flattering lips, she seduced him. Immediately he went after her as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks.

Till an arrow struck his liver as a bird hastens to the snare. He did not know it would cost his life. Now, therefore, listen to me, my children. Pay attention to the words of my mouth.

Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways. Do not stray into her paths, for she has cast down many wounded, and all who were slain by her were strong men. Her house is the way to hell, descending to the chambers of death. Be cautious, this is a world filled with temptation.

Our Lord teaches us to pray, lead us not into temptation. Why do you think Jesus teaches us to pray that? Because he wants us to function like the Coney, who even though they're a feeble folk, are smart enough to overcome that feebleness by exercising caution. by looking up, looking toward the danger ahead and hiding oneself. You see that in the Proverbs 22, 3.

Look at Proverbs chapter 22 at verse 3. It says, a prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished. Back in Proverbs chapter six, he upbraids the man who thinks that he can take fire into his bosom and not get burned. It's amazing.

And young people, listen, the internet is a good thing. It's a blessing. You can learn about what's going on in Ottawa right now. Not right now, please don't do that.

You can watch cat videos. You can see all kinds of things. We have fixed our washing, not our washing machine, I think that'd be a little bit more, but our dryer and our oven at YouTube University. I mean, there's a lot of good things.

There's a lot of helpful things on there. But oh, there's a lot of things on there to beware of and to guard your hearts against. And the fact that it is so easily accessible, the fact that probably most of us have a phone in our pocket at any given time that gives us access to just about anything. We need to function like the Konies, brethren.

We need to exercise caution. We need to watch our hearts. We need to foresee evil. And instead of walking on and being punished, we need to hide ourselves.

Jesus teaches the lesson in the Sermon on the Mount. He tells them, the multitude that drew near to hear him, along with his disciples, as he's expounding the law, he gets to the seventh commandment. And he says the seventh commandment isn't simply breach when you actually enter in to your neighbor's wife. The seventh commandment is breached when you have lustful thoughts about her in your heart, or when you have lustful thoughts about him in your heart.

When there is that, there is sin. Now, Jesus says the way to deal with that is to cut off your hand and to gouge out your eye. Now, he is speaking metaphorically, that is not actually what he wants you to do. If you got a problem with internet porn, cut your hand off.

No, the emphasis is upon deal radically with it. You could get rid of your phone, you could get rid of your computer, you could get rid of whatever it is that you utilize to engage in that particular function. The idea is that you need to be cautious. You need to exercise caution relative to the various sins that we find ourselves confronted with.

Romans 13, 14, the apostle says, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts. 2 Corinthians 7.1, Paul says we're supposed to perfect holiness in the fear of God, having these promises. It's not just law-keeping, it's not just the application of, you know, sort of a pull-up-your-bootstraps kind of a thing, but it's based on the promises that God has afforded in terms of Him being our God and we being His people, having those promises, we perfect holiness in the fear of God. So we've got the industrious ants, we've got the cautious conies,

The United Locusts

notice thirdly, the united locusts. The united locusts, back in chapter 30, specifically at verse 27. It says, the locusts have no king, yet they all advance in ranks. So their weakness, they have no king.

Now, while anarchy may be a bit sort of attractive to some of us, especially in light of the last two years, anarchy is not God's way. The way of God is to appoint civil government. Romans 13, let every soul be subject to the governing authority, for there is no authority except from God. And those which exist are established by God.

Jesus speaking his wisdom in Proverbs chapter 8, he says, by me kings reign. Paul the Apostle in 1 Timothy chapter 2 tells us to pray for kings and for all who are in authority, that we may lead peaceable and quiet lives in all godliness. So again, while anarchy may be attractive in some sense, it is God's way to have some sort of civil government, and that provides leadership. Look back at the text, verse 27.

The locusts have no king. They have no unifying influence. They have no leader. They have no alpha male.

They have no alpha dog. They have no one to lead them. That is a weakness, brethren. God has designed it in such a way that you have leaders and then you have followers.

Whatever your particular lot in life, do it unto the glory of God Most High. So leadership in a society of people is a blessing and a good thing. But with reference to the locusts, they don't have that. That is a weakness that does face them.

If you want to see something symptomatic of anarchy, look at Judges 17 to 21. It shows us life in Israel when there was no king in Israel and everyone did what was right in their own eyes. It's not given as an idealized vision of civil society. It is seen as a bane.

It is seen as a curse. It is seen as something that is not good. So we've got these locusts who have no king, but notice their strength. How do they compensate for that weakness?

Yet they all advance in ranks. They cooperate. They are unified. They understand that if we want to eat, we're going to have to band together, with or without a king.

If we want to feed our little locust belly, then we need to get a camaraderie one with another. Now, the Bible speaks of locusts in a whole host of ways. Probably the most obvious is the plague of locusts in Exodus chapter 10, but you have in Joel, you have this plague of locusts that affected the children of Israel in such a way that it sort of demonstrates or serves in the hand of the prophet to illustrate the coming day of God's wrath and judgment. Now, if you've never known what locusts can do, let me just read this to you.

A desert locust swarm can be 460 square miles in size and pack between 40 and 80 million locusts into less than half a square mile. Each locust can eat its weight in plants each day. So a swarm of such size would eat 423 million pounds of plants every day. Like the individual animals within them, locust swarms are typically in motion and can cover vast distances.

In 1954, a swarm flew from Northwest Africa to Great Britain. In 1988, another made the lengthy trek from West Africa to the Caribbean. So they have no king, but they compensate. They all advance in ranks.

They cooperate with one another. They are unified with one another. As I said, one locust cannot descend upon a farmer's field and ravage it. But millions upon millions upon millions of locusts gathered together in swarming can put a lot of farmers out of business irreparably.

Not that that's a good thing. I'm just simply saying that is their cooperative power when they form one with another. Now, in terms of the temporal imitation, we ought to praise God for the structure that he institutes in the family. There is a commandment that speaks specifically to that.

Honor your father and your mother. There is a king in your home. There is a queen in your home. And that's a blessed provision from our great God.

We ought to praise God for ecclesiastical leadership, that there are elders and deacons to function in that capacity to lead the church of the Lord Jesus Christ in our mission, to preach the word, to give the sacraments, and to exercise discipline. And we ought to be thankful, in principle, for civil government. Now, that does not justify or exonerate vileness on their part, but the institution in and of itself is given by God for the good of His people. For the good of not just His people, but of people in general.

Now, in terms of the spiritual imitation, the Church of Jesus Christ does have a King. The church of Jesus Christ does have a head. The church of Jesus Christ does have a commander, a champion, one who governs us, one who rules us, one who commands us, and one who calls us to a specific function. We see that kingship conferred upon him as mediator in Matthew 28.

You see it in Ephesians 1. You see it in Revelation 1. Jesus is the ruler over the kings of the earth. He defends us.

He protects us. He disciplines us. He commands us. And so we have a king.

Our task is to be unified. Our task is to be cooperative, one with another, as we march with reference to our king's commands. You see that emphasis in scripture. Turn to Ephesians chapter 4.

The idea being cooperation or unity. In Ephesians chapter 4, the apostle in verse 1 gives us this admonition. the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you." Notice the language. Why is he doing this? Because a church that is not unified, a church that is not cooperating one with another, is betraying her fidelity to the king.

But as well, it just makes for a miserable situation. So I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love. And then notice, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. That language of endeavoring argues for some action on our part.

It's not gonna just happen. It's not just gonna be there. It's not just gonna occur. We have to pursue it.

We have to endeavor, in this case, to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. That needs to be crucial among God's people. And then the rationale for that are the several ones that he gives in verses four and five. Notice, there is one body. one Spirit, just as you were called in, one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in you all.

So we are to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Waltke again says, how much more should God's people under God's king advance God's kingdom by fighting in unison against the enemy? Not themselves, each one doing his part within his own rank of peers with the strictest discipline. Great observation.

J. Adams, in his helpful little book, Christian Living in the Home, makes the observation that husbands and wives typically, not typically, sometimes, have this tendency to fight with each other. And I don't think he means, you know, fists and all that. verbal altercations. They're going against one another.

J. Adams says, no, you need to harmonize, you need to unify, you need to cooperate, you need to deal with each other the way Paul says to in Ephesians 5. Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her. Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord.

Do that, and then instead of doing this, you work together to deal with the issue. You work together to deal with the problem. You work together to bring a solution to whatever it is you were originally fighting over. Well, the church finds herself in that place as well.

We oftentimes fight each other instead of our common enemy. We oftentimes get so caught up in all of our preferences and in all of the little details and in all of the jots and the tittles that make us just a little bit different. We hone in on that, we focus in on that, and we fight with each other about that. I mean, take the Christian church and just think in your own experience.

They can fight about just about anything. I mean, over the color of hymn books. They can actually fight over the color of hymn books. They can fight over, you know, what kind of piano, what kind of carpet, what kind of pews.

Why would we do that? Why in the world would we waste all that time doing this when the focus is there? So we learn from the locusts that unifying and cooperation and endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace is absolutely crucial. And then

The Persistent Spider or Lizard

notice lastly, the fourth animal, the persistent spider or lizard. It's persistence, it's endurance, it's going forward. That's the emphasis here. So the translation is difficult.

It's either spider or lizard. I think it's the King James tradition that has spider and the non-King James has lizard. It's also difficult to know whether it's the spider skillfully grasping with its hands or the ease with which a spider or lizard can be grasped by the hands of another. I think that's probably the emphasis.

The ESV captures it well. The lizard you can take in your hands, yet it is in king's palaces. So whether you're a lizard or a spider, you're pretty small. You're a tiny thing.

Anybody and everybody can come along and pick you up. That has to be a severe limitation in one's existence, right? You're just minding your own business, chomping on a leaf, and somebody picks you up and puts you in a jar. Maybe pokes holes in it so you don't die, but that's probably no way to live.

How do you plan? How do you deal? How do you sort of make any arrangements for life in a world where you can be so easily picked up and disposed of by just about anyone or anything? So the spider skillfully grasps with its hands or can be easily grasped by the hand.

And it is in king's palaces. So despite its limitation, the spider or the lizard is in a place where you and I aren't. Despite its limitation, it is overcome by that wisdom of persistence, endurance, faithfulness. I don't have it so much now where we live, but before we lived out in the country on Armstrong Road, and you all know that have lived in this land for any amount of time, you can actually blast a spider's web with a hose and come out the next day and it's still there, right?

That happens. They're persistent little creatures. You can cut the tail off of a lizard. What happens?

Does it die? No, the tail keeps wiggling while the lizard runs off. Why? Because it's persistent.

It is a small thing. It has insignificance. It has a multitude of limitations and many, many challenges. Very easy for anybody to pick it up, and yet it is in king's palaces.

There is not only persistence, Sam Waldron says that the identifying trait here is ambition. It's ambition. You blast that spider with the hose, it's going to be back the next day. You pick that spider up and throw it outside of the door, it's going to be back in the king's palace the next day.

So persistence, John Gill says, yet such is her constancy and assiduity and her unwearied application to business that as fast as they are destroyed, the webs, she attempts to restore them. Right? You destroy the web, it doesn't just say, oh, that's too bad. It starts building again.

We are so not like that. We'd have to have a period of, you know, crying and whining and grumbling and Facebooking what happened. The spider just gets back to it. The spider just does what it's supposed to do.

Now, in terms of the temporal imitation, We all ought to have that kind of persistence. You've probably heard the story of Robert the Bruce. He was the King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. He was in a battle in 1305 and he was on the run.

They weren't doing well. So Bruce hid in a cave where he observed a spider spinning a web, trying to make a connection from one area of the cave's roof to another. It tried and failed twice, but began again and succeeded on the third attempt. Inspired by this, Bruce returned to inflict a series of defeats on the English, thus winning him more supporters and eventual victory.

What happened? He looked at the spider and he thought, I'm going back to the battlefield and I'm gonna win. So he goes back to the battlefield and he wins. Do you know that WD-40 is called WD-40?

Not because the man who invented it had as his favorite number 40. It means that there were 39 previous attempts that failed. So what does he do? He gets to 18 and says, you know, I don't think I'm ever gonna get this worked out, I'm done.

Thankfully, he got to 40 because we all have profited from that man's persistence to provide the world with WD-40. Now, in terms of the spiritual, it ought to be obvious. Perseverance, endurance, faithfulness, persistence. Waltke again, this conclusion points to wisdom's reward of living in a luxurious royal palace.

If the son, whom wicked men and women want to capture, exercises caution, though as vulnerable as a lizard or a spider, he too will live in the chief residence of the realm. Paradoxically, the people of God who are foolish by the world's standards live in heavenly places. We see that in Ephesians chapter 2. So persistence, endurance, faithfulness.

Turn to Matthew 24. We looked at the context of Matthew 25 when we looked at Matthew 25 a couple of weeks ago. But at the end of the Olivet Discourse, the Lord Jesus tells his people, in light of judgment to come, there is a particular way you're supposed to live. And it's not laying on the couch and just waiting until God decimates all things.

No, you're to exercise watchfulness. You're to exercise faithfulness. So watchfulness at the end of chapter 24 in verses 36 to 44. Faithfulness, chapter 24, verses 45 to 51.

And then preparedness, those ten virgins with their lamps. We see that in chapter 25 at verses one to 13. And then diligence in the parable of the talents. You see the Lord Jesus tells us the very same lesson that the lizard or the spider displays for us.

He's easily grasped, he's easily placed in a jar, he's easily neutralized, but he doesn't stop, he's persistent. He'll continue to build his webs, he'll continue to scurry about, he'll continue to be in King's palaces and enjoy the benefits there in. So,

Application: Self-Awareness and Wisdom

in conclusion, you can turn back to Proverbs chapter 30. Not only do those obvious lessons present themselves, industry, caution, unity, and persistence, but I would suggest as well, in terms of practical application, first of all, the need for self-awareness. The need for self-awareness. I think that this is a symptomatic problem of a narcissistic age.

There are a lot of people out there that have absolute zero self-awareness. Learn from these little things. They're self-aware. The ant knows it cannot go out and kill an animal and eat in the winter.

The ant is aware enough that if I don't go busy myself now and prepare my food for the winter, I'm going to be a dead ant. Self-awareness is another lesson that these four little things communicate to us. We need to recognize our own limitations. If the ant thinks it is a lion, it won't eat in the wintertime.

If the coney thinks it is a predator rather than a prey animal, it will always be bested. It will not hide in the crags, it will not post its guards, it will not hear the whistle and then run off when the predator comes. If the locust thinks that kings are necessary for a unified expedition, then they will starve to death. If they wait around until such time as there is a king, they're not going to eat.

So you see, each of these creatures have this awareness of their own limitations. As a result of identifying that particular limitation, they don't whine. They don't grumble, they don't complain, but rather they overcome it. They seek by God's grace to do what they can to navigate in this world with the various challenges that present themselves to them.

And if the spider or the lizard thinks it's a lion or a greyhound, if the lizard or the spider thinks that it's something far more majestic than it is, it's gonna end up in a jar in the king's palace versus running freely around there. We need to capitalize on our wisdom. We need to be informed by the Word of God. We need to take these lessons from these little things and put them into practice such that we don't engage in the sort of foolishness and folly that we see conducted all around us.

The realization of one's limitations ought not to lead to laziness or retreat. I mean, face it, brethren, we've all got our challenges. We all have our limitations. We all have the difficult issues in our lives.

What is the answer? Lay on the couch and wait till Jesus comes? No. Get up off the couch, figure out what your issue is, and deal with it in a way that honors God most high.

He's not called us to indolence. He's not called us to laziness. And He has certainly not called us to murmuring and whining and complaining. We need to get about the business of life.

We need to cultivate those things by which one can compensate for their limitations. You see it, brethren, in the created order, not just with these things. You see people that have serious physical handicap. serious challenges, and what do they do? They overcome that.

They have those limitations that are inherent in their own lives, and they don't just sit around and whine, but they compensate. Bridges says, weakness then is no excuse for indolence, no occasion of despondency. And then in terms of the imitation of these things, definitely, and when I say temporally, I mean on the physical plane. I mean with reference to, you know, you as an individual, you as a person in a family, you as a person in a church, you as a person in civil society.

Just good horse sense on how to navigate through life. But with reference to spiritual, each of these things translate over into that particular arena, into that particular realm. And we need to exercise the sorts of things we find in the passage. Spiritual industry.

We need to exercise caution. We need to exercise unity and cooperation. And we need to exercise persistence and endurance. And that mindset of Hebrews chapter 12, to run with endurance the race that is set before us. looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.

That's the emphasis that these little things bring to the people of God in our day and age. May God help us to apply these things such that we're not obnoxious to one another, but such that we're actually helpful and loving and faithful in terms of our relationships to one another and in terms of our relationship to God. And of course, all of these animals would preach to us the blessed gospel of salvation. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Why does Eger take pen to paper and highlight the wisdom of these little things? because he wants ultimately men, women, and boys and girls to believe the gospel of the Son of God such that they pass from death into life and that they exercise these qualities, these characteristics, these things in their daily lives as God's blood-bought children.

Closing Prayer

Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for these lessons that these little things set before us. Give us wisdom, God, to appropriate this. Give us wisdom to be right in our assessment of our own limitations.

And God, help us with wisdom to seek to overcome these things and to function in a way that is consistent with your holy word. I do pray for our children. I pray they would take heed to these things, that they would understand the necessity of preparation for that day of judgment, and the only way being, fleeing to the Lord Jesus Christ, believing on Him, and looking to Him alone. We ask that you would go with us now, watch over us in this coming week, bless all of our brothers and sisters in our local church, and we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

We'll close with a brief time of meditation.

Scripture References

• Exodus 10; 22:2-3
• Leviticus 11
• Deuteronomy 14
• Judges 17-21
• 1 Kings 4
• Proverbs 5:7; 6:6; 7:6; 7:10; 7:15; 7:21; 8; 22:3; 27:23; 30:15-16; 30:18; 30:21-23; 30:24-28; 30:27; 30:29-31
• Ecclesiastes 12:1
• Joel 1
• Matthew 24:36-44; 24:45-51; 25:1-13; 25:14-30; 28:18
• Romans 13:1; 13:14
• 2 Corinthians 7:1
• Ephesians 1:20-22; 2:6; 4:1; 4:4-5; 5:22; 5:25
• 1 Timothy 2:1-2; 5
• 2 Thessalonians 3
• Hebrews 12:1-2
• Revelation 1:5