December 30, 2022 -- Proverbs 30:1-5 -- The Journey to Christmas through Proverbs and Luke: the destination is the Father's great love
/People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!
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.
2 Surely I am too stupid to be a man.
I have not the understanding of a man.
3 I have not learned wisdom,
nor have I knowledge of the Holy One.
4 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!
5 Every word of God proves true;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
Proverbs 30:1-5 ESV
Can you relate? We’ve spent a month traveling through the Gospel of Luke and Proverbs. Now, at the second to last chapter of Proverbs, Agur, the learned and godly man, who was inspired by the Holy Spirit to pen these words, realizes his own stupidity. All his efforts seem vain. He cannot reach up to heaven. He cannot keep the commandments as he ought to do. Is this all vanity and an empty chasing after the wind? Verse 4 is such a deep prophetic longing. Who is God’s Son. It is the answer New Testament believers know full well. God showed His unstoppable love in Jesus.
Verse 5 shows the kind-hearted love of God which gave reassurance Agur. In faith Agur held onto God. In faith he declared God to be the shield covering every believer who takes refuge in Him. From the vantage point of the New Testament, we as believers know He is the shield of protection and love. What glorious words.
John Owen wrote “So long as the Father is seen as harsh, judging and condemning, the soul is filled with fear and dread every time it comes to Him. So in Scripture we read of sinners fleeing and hiding from Him. But when God, who is the Father, is seen as a father, filled with love, the soul is filled with love to God in return. This is, in faith, the ground of all acceptable obedience (Deut. 5:10; 10:12; 11:1, 13; 13:3; Exod. 20:6)^. You can see how this is the answer to Agur’s exhaustion.
The Father is One Who disciplines over a life-time. He patiently teaches the child the way to go. He knows the weakness of human flesh and in His great love has given the Spirit to overcome such weakness. In His great love, He has given Jesus Christ, so that by His grace, believers have access to this marvelous, fatherly love. In His great love, the Father has given the Holy Spirit, so that the Father's love will be a never-ending stream of love gushing and rushing into every part of the life of the believer, overcoming every doubt, refreshing the soul so that exhaustion abates and the flood of His love lifts our hearts to respond to Him in love.
^John Owen. Abridged “Communion with God”, reprinted 2018, page 18.
Prayer
Our Father in heaven. What a beautiful title with a glorious meaning it is to call You “Our Father in heaven”. Thank You for Your love for Your people which was kindled before the foundation of the world. Thank You that Your love is unstoppable. We confess this day, how tired we are. How easily we reach the end of our endurance in serving You and at that place realize how feeble our strength is and how puny the results are. With Your servant Agur we hold on to You in faith, trusting in Your Son, Who is full of grace and truth. With Your servant Agur, we believe and know You to be a shield to all who take refuge in You—realizing more fully than did Agur, that Your shield is the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. In the coming year, help us to know Your love more completely and to know it through the grace of Jesus Christ and by the power of Your Spirit Who You have given and therefore is living within us. Honour, love, praise and blessing are Yours, Three-in-One, God of Mercy and Power. Amen.
https://youtu.be/k7KyJGeNoco
Chris Tomlin "Holy Forever"
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