Proverbs 30:1–4

PROVERBS CHAPTER 30.

The Maxims of Agur, the Son of Jakeh.

GOD’S WORD AS THE SOURCE AND DISPENSER OF ALL WISDOM. — V. 1. The words of Agur, the son of Jakeh, a wise man, otherwise unknown, some of whose maxims were added to the proverbs of Solomon as the first supplement, even the prophecy, the prophetic utterance: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Uchal, literally, according to the best texts: “I have steadfastly endeavored, I have constantly vexed myself, O God,” v. 2. surely I am more brutish than any man, or, “for a man I am lacking in sense,” for which reason he finds himself unable to fathom the divine nature, and have not the understanding of a man, that which a man should possess in order to have an insight into the attributes of the Lord. V. 3. I neither learned wisdom nor have the knowledge of the Holy, since to know God is the center of all true wisdom. It is impossible for mere man to fathom the mysteries of the divine essence.

V. 4. Who hath ascended up into heaven or descended? Who hath gathered the wind in his fists? Who hath bound the waters in a garment? Who hath established all the ends of the earth? All these great acts of creation and preservation are fully understood by the Creator alone. What is His name, and what is His Son’s name, if thou canst tell? It is a most emphatic way of saying that no human being is able to uncover the secrets of God’s essence. Instead, therefore, of foolishly and vainly puzzling over the incomprehensible nature of God, the believers should turn to Him in simple trust of faith.