“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!”
Proverbs 30:4 ESV
The English word advent comes to us from the Greek by way of Latin. Adventus is the Latin translation of the Greek word parousia (παρουσία), which means arrival or presence.
In Christian theology advent has at least three referents: Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, his second coming, and his presence in the heart of every believer.
In this proverb of Agur, the first and last questions frame the idea for me calling this the Advent Proverb: Who has ascended to heaven and come down? What is his name, and what is his son’s name?
As we move toward the celebration of Christmas, let’s remember the humility of Jesus coming as a babe in the manger. But let us not forget that he is the one who gathered the wind in his fist, wrapped up the waters in a garment, and established all the ends of the earth? Finally, let us not forget that the one who did all that is also the one who humbled himself to die on a cross for our redemption (Philippians 2:8, 1 Corinthians 1:18, 1 Timothy 2:5-6, Hebrews 9:12, 1 Peter 2:24)
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