“Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die:
Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, 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.”

Proverbs 30:7-9

Agur, the son of Jakeh, offers some wisdom that is very helpful to “those who have ears to hear.” In this proverb he ask for two things before he dies.

First, he asks that falsehood and lying be removed far from him. The alert reader will notice that integrity is a recurring theme in Proverbs. The wise person will take note and accept the instruction (Proverbs 19:20), and begin to eliminate falsehood from his life.

Second, Agur asks that he be supplied with the right amount for his needs. He recognizes that should he have more than enough, he may think he doesn’t need the Lord, thus denying the Lord. And, should he have too little, he may resort to his own ways to provide, thus profaning the Lord’s name.

Agur is wise. He recognizes his own need for God and shapes his thoughts around how he can maintain a good relationship with his God. In other words, he is thoughtful to keep himself in the right place, under God and dependent upon God.

Lord, help me to be wise like Agur.

“He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck,

    will suddenly be broken beyond healing.”

Proverbs 29:1 ESV

This proverb provides the visual imagery of Proverbs 13:1, “A wise son hears his father’s instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.”

Thinking of a potter has helped me understand the imagery in this proverb. Most of us have probably seen a potter take a blob of clay, plop it onto a wheel, and begin to shape it. Round and round the piece goes as the potter presses his thumb to move the clay. Think of his thumb as the reproof or correction. As the clay receives the corrective thumb of the potter, it begins to take shape into something usable. To the degree that the clay does not receive the potter’s shaping, to that degree it remains a blob of clay.

If you’ve seen a potter working on a wheel, you’ve probably seen him put a bit of water on the clay to keep it moist and malleable. In other words, as long as the clay is moist, it can be shaped. Though it naturally resists being shaped, it can still be shaped. However, as the clay dries it becomes more risky to make changes. But, at a certain point, the clay is too dry and hardened to be changed at all. Any effort to shape the dry, hardened clay, will break it. Each time a fool resists correction, he dries a bit and becomes more susceptible to breaking.

I don’t think the potter and clay imagery is perfect, but it has helped me to visualize the danger of being a fool, one who does not listen to rebuke.

Lord, soften my heart that I may not only receive correction, but be shaped into a vessel fit for your use.

“Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity

    than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.”

Proverbs 28:6 ESV

Many have seen this proverb represented through two characters in the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Probably that is enough information to make many readers immediately think, “Oh, yeah!” Of course, Old Man Potter represents the rich man who is crooked in his ways. Jimmy Stewart’s character George Bailey represents the poor man who walks in integrity.

I don’t know that the author of the original short story nor those who turned that story into a screenplay intended to flesh out this proverb, but they certainly did, nevertheless. The irony between rich and poor is presented so well in the movie because it is easy to see that Mr. Potter, who is rich in wealth, is poor in spirit. Likewise, George Bailey, who is poor in wealth is rich in spirit.

If you were writing this movie script based on your life, which character would best portray you?

“A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,

  and a rod for the back of fools.”

Proverbs 26:3

The whip, the bridle, and the rod are three things used to control or guide something. I find it interesting that the fool is mentioned in the same illustration as two animals with no note of distinction.

This is particularly interesting to me because in Genesis much is made of the distinction between man and all other created beings. For example, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Gen 1:27). Man is made in the image of God.

I’m confident that God doesn’t look at fools as animals, but I wonder if in this verse he is suggesting that the fool behaves as an animal rather than living on the level of a human who has been made in God’s image.