Agur’s Animals

1. Agur’s Animals Lessons from Proverbs 30

2. Agur’s Animals • Agur looks around at those who devour and exploit (Prov 30: 14, 15). He likens them to leeches. He also pictures harsh judgement by carrion-feeding birds (ravens & vultures) on those who look on their parents with mockery and scorn (v.17) (cf. 5th Commandment, Exodus 20: 12) • He looks up and marvels at the eagle’ effortless flight – seemingly soaring above life’s problems (v.19) • He then looks down and marvels at how a snake, confined to the ground, moves on a rock (v.19) • He then concentrates on four small creatures that he considers to be wise (vs 24-28) • He finally considers three creatures he regards as behaving with stately bearing (vs 30, 31) • 12 animals illustrate Agur’s account which is divided into stanzas with a poetic literary structure. We will consider these animals

3. Leech • ‘The leech [horse leech] has two daughters “Give! Give!” They cry’ (Prov 30: 15) • This follows a section about those who devour the poor and needy (v.14) • The implication of the leeches’ cry is that they are never satisfied, continuously exploiting (feeding on) others. The following section (Prov 30: 15, 16) deals with examples of those never satisfied • ‘Devouring’ and exploiting others is the opposite of the Christian ideal. Are we satisfied? Horse leeches

4. Ravens & vultures • In Prov 30: 17, Agur, with unpleasant imagery, sees these birds as executing judgement on those who treat their parents shamefully in defiance of the 5th Commandment ‘Honour your father and your mother’ (Ex 20:12). Agur’s thinking seems to be that if they can’t look on their parents honourably, they shouldn’t see at all • The family is the bedrock of society, greatly valued in Hebrew culture. It should be greatly valued in our culture also • Paul knew the importance of this in NT times and gave instruction to both children and parents to treat each other well (Eph 6: 1-4; Col 3: 20, 21)

5. Eagle • The flight of an eagle was amongst those things ‘too amazing’ for Agur. He could not understand its seemingly effortless flight (Prov 30, 18, 19) • Biblical references to ‘eagles’ are either to one of 4 species of eagle, of which the commonest in the region is the imperial eagle, or to the massive griffon vulture • Agur was not alone in using these magnificent birds to illustrate their statements Imperial eagle Griffon vulture

6. Eagle – renewal • ‘Those who hope on the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles’ (Isa 40: 31) • ‘Praise the LORD .... Who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s’ (Ps 103: 1, 5) Golden eagle Lesser spotted eagle

7. Snake on rock • Agur was puzzled about ‘the way of a snake on a rock’ (v.19). This presumably refers to how the snake is able to move on a surface seeming to give little purchase. • Sometimes there are situations where it seems difficult for us to make progress, when it seems we are just hanging on. However, if we are founded on The Rock - Jesus (1 Cor 3: 10; 1 Pet 2: 4), there is help at hand

8. Snake - shrewdness • Jesus said to his disciples “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (Mtt 10: 16) • Snakes are portrayed in many ways in Scripture (evil, punishment, healing) – here it is cunning, shrewdness, wisdom that is depicted. They needed to be alert: so do we. • It is interesting that ‘innocent as doves’ follows ‘shrewd as snakes’. We can be shrewd without being deceitful. Innocence and purity (another dove symbol) must be maintained. The dove is also a symbol of the Holy Spirit (left) horned desert viper (right) saw-scaled viper Palestinian viper

9. Ants - provision • Agur wrote about creatures he thought to be ‘small, yet extremely wise’ (Prov 30: 24; cf. Prov 6: 6-8) • He observed ‘ants are of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer’ (Prov 30: 25) • In other words, they make provision for the future • What about us? (Mtt 6: 19-20) • Earlier in Prov (6:6) Solomon urges the ‘sluggard’ to follow the example of the ant and be wise

10. Rock hyrax - security • Agur, included them in those he thought ‘small, yet extremely wise’ (Prov 30: 24) • ‘Conies [=rock hyraxes] are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags’ (Prov 30: 26) • ‘The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer’ (Psa 18: 2 cf. Mtt 7: 24, 1 Cor 3: 11) Rock hyraxes

11. Gecko – royal resident • Agur saw the gecko as ‘small, yet extremely wise’ (Prov 30: 24) • ‘A lizard [probably a gecko] can be caught with the hand, yet it is found in king’s palaces’ (Prov 30: 28) • “In my Father’s house are many rooms .... I am going there to prepare a place for you” (Jn 14: 2) House geckos

12. Desert locust – advancing? • Agur also thought these were ‘small, yet extremely wise’ (Prov 30: 24) • He wrote ‘locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks’ (Prov 30: 27) • There was apparent cooperation and order • This was puzzling to Agur – the effect was destructive Desert locusts

13. Desert locust – destruction • The effect of the leaderless swarm was desolation and destruction (cf. Joel 1: 4) • Leadership is important, which is why Jesus said “Follow Me” (e.g. Jn 1: 43). “I am the way” (Jn 14: 6) • The result of ‘everyone doing right in his own eyes’ is anarchy and confusion

14. Lion • One of thee animals described as ‘stately in their stride, that move with stately bearing’ (Prov 30: 29) • ‘a lion, mighty among beasts, retreats before nothing’ (v.30) Asiatic lion

15. Strutting cock and he-goat • These are also seen as stately in their stride and bearing • Fighting cocks are known from archaeology to be present in Israel from at least the 7thC BC. Agur indicates even earlier • Goats were herded in Israel from ancient times and the spectacular Nubian ibex was the wild goat of the mountains Domestic he-goat male Nubian ibex Strutting rooster

16. Stately bearing • Male lions, roosters and he-goats defend their territories and families (pride, flock, herd). Agur sees their stance not as arrogant, but as regal (he compares them with a king, v.31) • It is not surprising that the lion is used as a picture of Jesus, but it is paired with another picture, that of a lamb – strength and dignity combined with gentleness and sacrifice • ‘See, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. ... Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the centre of the throne. (Rev 5: 5,6) • ‘Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise’ (Rev 5: 12)

17. Belonging to a king • Our bearing, as Christians, should be dignified. Strength of character should be evident, but combined with gentleness and self control (Eph 6: 10; Mtt 5: 5; Gal 5: 22) • Agur said that the lion is ‘mighty among beasts who retreats before nothing’. Jesus was mighty in word and deed (Lk 24: 19): He retreated before nothing (Mtt 26: 42; Phil 2: 8) • What about us?

18. Hen - security • Jesus likened Himself to a different picture of a domestic fowl – not a rooster, but a hen • “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings but you were not willing.” (Jesus’ words in Matt 23: 37) • Are we willing to come to Him, learn from Him and follow Him? • And to learn from the many examples given to us in the Bible, often taken from nature as in the case of Agur, to illustrate principles of how we should live?