Thursday, 30 April 2020
Proverbs 30:1-6
How does it feel like when we challenge someone to do something which they are an expert at? As a sensible person, we dare not even imagine it. It would be foolish to do so. But when it comes to God, all of us are, at one point of life, are guilty of “challenging” God. We all know ourselves, and we have done it one way or another (or maybe even still at it). We do so frequently by indirectly saying we know better than Him. But that is a rather unwise thing to do.
In this passage, we read that the man declares that he is weary and worn out (v 1). He continues to lament about his stupidity and lack of understanding (v 2). He goes on to tell us he has no wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One. It is interesting to point out that wisdom comes through fear and knowledge of our God. If we want wisdom, we must go to Him. This theme is repeated over and over throughout the book. Wisdom comes through fearing God and it is for everyone.
But what is this wisdom? Here we see Agur asking rhetorical questions (v 4). The answers to these questions are easy, God is the one who does all these things. He is the only who has ascended and descended from heaven. He was the only one who is in control of all nature. Because He was the one who established all the ends of the earth! He ends the remark by asking us if we know this person (who can know these things) and his son! “Surely you know!” But we don’t know. All this is to help us see our inability to grasp things beyond ourselves. What more when it comes to all that God is doing around the world! We are unable to grasp it and we will never be able to.
Finally, Agur reminds us that all of God’s word proves true and that He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him (v 5a)! We are being reminded that God is true to Himself because of who He is. He does all that He says and all that He says He will do. Because of this, God can be trusted and He is reliable. Because of all these, He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him (v 5b) and He will always be! Agur also reminds us not to add to God’s word, lest He rebukes us and we be found as a liar (v 6) This friendly advice is a rather fierce one because if we add unto God’s Word we would be rebuked by the living God and become a liar! In other words, we become a liar if we are to add unto all that God has said and all that He did not say!
As we conclude, let us go back to the question that was raised at us earlier. How does it feel like to challenge God? As sinful human beings, we fall into this trap, especially when things do not go our way or as we expected. In light of all these, especially when things don’t go our way, here are some few pointers for us to reflect upon our lives:
- Are we weary, worn out and in need of God’s wisdom in our lives today? If we do, let us come before God in humility and in fearful reverence and ask Him to give us the wisdom we need. God’s wisdom is not only for those who are “worthy.” Rather, it is for all of us who are weary, worn out and in need of wisdom, especially in trusting God for all situations in life.
- Have you challenged (or you are still challenging) God about certain things that did not work out in your life? As this passage reminds us, how much do we know about all that God is doing in this world? Let us come to God in prayer with humble hearts, asking Him for forgiveness for challenging Him.
- Even as we come to God in genuine questioning, may we ask in humility. Most importantly, may we not add unto all that God has said and not said. We tend to insert words into God’s word, and it is unwise. May God give us the wisdom we need as we direct some of our questions towards God and go to Him in humility.
Let us be assured that we can find our wisdom, forgiveness and refuge in Christ. Our plans might not go the way we planned or imagined, especially in this season. But we can always find our refuge in Christ, trusting and knowing He is all that we ever need in our lives. We can always go to Christ for wisdom in navigating all of these because He is the wisdom of God made manifested.
Hon Sir Neng
xxx
每日灵粮
30/4/20星期四
箴言 30:1-6
当我们挑战某人去做他们擅长的事情时，感觉如何？作为一个明智的人，我们什至不敢想象。这样做是愚蠢的。但是当涉及到上帝时，我们所有人在人生的某一时刻都对“挑战”上帝有罪。我们都了解自己，我们已经以一种或另一种方式做到（或什至仍在）。我们这样做是说我们比他更了解。但这是一件相当不明智的事情。
在这段经文中，我们读到该人宣称他感到疲倦和疲惫（第1节）。他继续为自己的愚蠢和缺乏理解而感叹（第2节）。他继续告诉我们，他对圣者一无所知和没有智慧。有趣的是，智慧来自对我们神的敬畏和知识。如果我们要智慧，就必须去找他。在整个书中，这个主题反复出现。智慧来自所有敬畏上帝的人。
但是，这是什么智慧呢？在这里，我们看到亚古珥问了一些反问（第4节）。这些问题的答案很简单，上帝是做所有这些事情的人。他是唯一从天上升下来的人。他是唯一控制一切自然的。因为他是那个立定地的四极的。接近尾声，他通过询问我们是否认识这个人（他能知道这些事情）和他的儿子！”你知道”！但是我们不知道。所有这些都是为了帮助我们看到我们无法掌握超越自己的事物。关于神在世界各地所做的一切，还有什么呢！我们无法掌握它，我们将永远不能。
最后，亚古珥提到:神的言语，句句都是炼净的，投靠他的，他便作他们的盾牌（第5节）。我们被提醒说，上帝是真实的，因为他是上帝。他做了他说的一切以及他说他会做的一切。因此，上帝是可以信赖的，他是可靠的。因此，投靠他的，他便作他们的盾牌（第5节）。他将永远是！亚古珥也提到“他的言语，你不可加添。恐怕他责备你，你就显为说谎言的。” （第6节）。这种友好的建议是相当猛烈的，因为如果我们在神的话语上加上我们，我们就会被永生的神斥责，成为骗子！换句话说，如果我们要加添上帝所说的一切和祂没有说的一切，我们就成了骗子！
最后，让我们回到前面提出的问题。挑战上帝感觉如何？作为有人，我们总是陷入这个陷阱，尤其是当事情没有按照我们的预期或我们期望的那样进行时。尤其是当事情进展不顺利时，以下是我们反思生活的一些提示：
- 我们今天的生活中是否感到疲倦，并需要上帝的智慧？如果是这样，就让我们谦卑谦卑地敬畏上帝，并求他赐给我们我们所需要的智慧。上帝的智慧不仅是配的的人。相反，这是给我们所有人的疲倦，疲惫和需要智慧的，尤其是在生活中所有情况下信靠上帝。
- 您是否曾就某些人生中无法解决的事情向上帝挑战（或仍在挑战）？正如这段经文提醒我们的那样，我们对神在这个世界上所做的一切了解多少？让我们来神在祷告中与谦卑的心，请求他的原谅。
- 即使我们是在真正的询问中来到上帝面前，让我们谦卑地提问。最重要的是，让我们不要添加上帝所说的和没有说的。我们倾向于在上帝的话语中插入文字，这是不明智的。当我们将一些问题引向上帝并谦卑地去寻求上帝时，愿上帝赐给我们我们所需要的智慧。
让我们放心，我们可以在基督里找到我们的智慧，宽恕和庇护。我们的计划可能不会去，我们计划的或想象的方式，尤其是在这个季节。但是我们总能在基督里找到自己的避难所，相信并知道他是我们生命中所需要的。我们在航行所有这些方面时总是可以向基督寻求智慧，因为祂是上帝所彰显的智慧。
韩思能 上