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Proverbs 30 (ESV)
1 The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle…
5 Every word of God proves true;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
6 Do not add to his words,
lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.
7 Two things I ask of you;
deny them not to me before I die:
8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is needful for me,
9 lest I be full and deny you
and say, “Who is the Lord?”
or lest I be poor and steal
and profane the name of my God.
REFLECTION:
The source of the proverb verses in this chapter is not clear, and we don’t know much about Agur, except that he is a wise teacher, and he may be a citizen of the kingdom of King Lemuel mentioned in the next chapter. We don’t know much about King Lemuel either. We only know that King Lemuel received wisdom from his mother, and his name means “offering to God”. “Neither poverty nor wealth” advocated by Agur here has profound wisdom. Too rich can make people indulge, lazy, or greedy and arrogant, and fall into many dangerous trials and snares. The Lord Jesus pointed out that it is more difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God than it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle (see Matthew 19:23-24). But too poor is the same. Poverty will damage the health of the spirit and the body, and it will also make people fall into many sins and temptations. We must know how to be brought low, and how to abound as Paul taught (cf. Philippians 4:12). If we are “neither poor nor rich” and have no worries about the needs of life, we will focus on spiritual enrichment and spiritual growth, more actively rely on God, and bear a good testimony for God in all aspects.
PRAYER:
Ask God to give you the wisdom to “neither be poor nor rich”. If you are prosperous, ask God to protect your heart from being filled with many material desires, but to return the wealth you gained to God’s work and pursue spiritual growth with gratitude. If you are worried about the economy, ask God to provide for your needs, remove many unnecessary worries in your heart, learn to entrust everything to God, and rely on Him.
HYMN:
Give Thanks – youtu.be/iGSR1-nGsLI
