Maybe we will read a few verses. First, Proverbs in the Old Testament.
These also are proverbs of Solomon,
which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.
—Proverbs 25:1
The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the oracle.
The man saith unto Ithiel, unto Ithiel and Ucal:
—Proverbs 30:1
The words of king Lemuel, the oracle which his mother taught him.
—Proverbs 31:1
We have been fellowshipping together for some time on the book of Proverbs, and probably this will be the last message on Proverbs for the time being. So, let us have a little review first to bring us to the point that we want to share this morning.
The book of Proverbs can be roughly divided into three parts. From Chapter 1 to Chapter 9, we would say that wisdom is called forth—wisdom is personified. Wisdom is our Lord Jesus. He is the wisdom of God, and He is calling us to Himself, that He might be wisdom unto us. He is gathering a people to Himself to make them children of wisdom. That is the first part.
The second part is from Chapter 10 through Chapter 24. It is wisdom instructing, or wisdom dealing. And we remember our Lord Jesus: as wisdom, He is building something. He is building His church. He is building His house.
Wisdom builds her house with seven pillars. So we have been sharing together on these seven pillars.
Then the third part of Proverbs is from Chapter 25 through Chapter 31. This is wisdom continuing, overflowing, and responding.
Now, in this last portion of Proverbs, from Chapter 25 through Chapter 31, you will find that it begins with:
These also are proverbs of Solomon,
which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.
—Proverbs 25:1
Now, of course, we know that from Chapter 10 through Chapter 24, we are told that these are the proverbs of Solomon. Solomon spoke three thousand proverbs, and out of the three thousand, we find a great number of them in the middle part of the book of Proverbs. There were many other proverbs of Solomon that were not recorded.
But about three hundred years after Solomon, in the reign of King Hezekiah—King Hezekiah reigned over the nation of Judah about three hundred years after Solomon—and during his reign there was a great spiritual awakening.
There were men of Hezekiah, wise men, and they transcribed more of the proverbs of Solomon. In other words, Solomon spoke three thousand proverbs, but up to that time many of them were not transcribed or recorded. They were known among the people, passed on orally from generation to generation, but they were not put down in writing.
So the men of Hezekiah began to collect these things, gather them together, and arrange them in order. That is the meaning of transcribing. They took what was being passed on among the people orally, gathered it together, set it in order, and transcribed it. That is how we find these proverbs also of Solomon, but transcribed by the men of Hezekiah.
But in transcribing them, it was more than just gathering them together, collecting them, arranging them, and setting them in order. That is mechanical; that is technical. But when the men of Hezekiah transcribed them, it was more than just a technical thing.
Why? Because there was a spiritual awakening at that time. They were awakened before the Lord. They took these proverbs to heart—these admonitions, these warnings, that Solomon spoke three hundred years ago. They took these into their hearts. These words became their words.
So, in transcribing them, it was more than just a mechanical thing; it was a spiritual thing. Solomon’s proverbs became their proverbs. You got the words Solomon spoke in them and through them. This is the way these proverbs were being transcribed.
Now, brothers and sisters, Christ as wisdom builds His house with seven pillars, and these seven pillars represent the sevenfold character of our Lord Jesus. He builds Himself into us, and then with us He builds His house—that is, His church.
But after the house is built, what do you find in the house? You find in the house a reproduction of Himself. In other words, Christ is wisdom, and now, after He has built Himself into His church, His church begins to reflect His wisdom and to manifest His wisdom.
What Christ is, so shall be His church, because His church is none other than Christ Himself being expressed in His people. That is the reason why, in the third part of the book of Proverbs, you find that reproduction of wisdom. You find that reflection of Christ in the church.
So, in the third section, as you read through these chapters, you will find that they are almost repetitions of what you find in the second part. But these are repetitions with variations—not word for word exactly, but you find the thought is the same, and yet it is put in slightly different ways. It gives a kind of variation.
Brothers and sisters, this is what the church is. This is what we are. We are here to represent Christ. We are here to reproduce, as it were; we are here to express Christ. As you see Christ, that is what you should see in the church.
It is none other, and yet it is different. There are variations: Christ in you, Christ in me, Christ in the different members of the body. Every member is expressing Christ in a slightly different way.
There are variations, like the members of the body. There are various members; not all the members of the body are the same. You have various members, and yet it is one body. The one body is to express the fullness of the Head. As Christ is the fullness of God, so the church is the fullness of Christ.
Here you find, in the church, Christ being reproduced—Christ being expressed in His fullness, in great variety. This is what you find in the third part of the book of Proverbs.
I do not think we should go over these in detail, but for the sake of some who would like to make a study of it, let me give you these verses to show how the third part is a reproduction of the second part with variations.
We mentioned the seven pillars. The first one is righteousness. Here you will find, in the third part—that is, from Chapter 25 through Chapter 29—verses on righteousness: Proverbs 25:5, 25:26, 28:6, 28:12, 28:28, 29:2, 29:6, 29:7, and 29:27.
Take away the wicked from before the king,
and his throne shall be established in righteousness.
—Proverbs 25:5
The second pillar is diligence. You will find Proverbs 26:13-16, and also Proverbs 28:19.
The sluggard saith, There is a lion in the way;
a lion is in the streets.
As the door turneth upon its hinges,
so doth the sluggard upon his bed.
The sluggard burieth his hand in the dish;
it wearieth him to bring it again to his mouth.
The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes
than seven men that can render a reason.
—Proverbs 26:13-16
The third pillar is love. You will find these verses in Proverbs 25:21-22, and also Proverbs 26:24-26.
If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat;
and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:
For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head,
and the Lord shall reward thee.
—Proverbs 25:21-22
The fourth pillar is lowliness—humbleness, humility. You will find Proverbs 25:6-7, Proverbs 27:1 and 27:21, Proverbs 28:25, and Proverbs 29:23.
Put not thyself forward in the presence of the king,
and stand not in the place of great men:
For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither,
than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince,
whom thine eyes have seen.
—Proverbs 25:6-7
The fifth pillar is graciousness. You find that in Proverbs 25:15, Proverbs 28:8, and Proverbs 28:27.
By long forbearing is a ruler persuaded,
and a soft tongue breaketh the bone.
—Proverbs 25:15
The sixth pillar is discipline—a disciplined life. You find Proverbs 25:28, Proverbs 26:3, Proverbs 27:13, Proverbs 28:14 and 28:19, and Proverbs 29:1, 29:15, and 29:17.
He whose spirit is without restraint
is a city that is broken down and without walls.
—Proverbs 25:28
The seventh pillar is truthfulness. You find Proverbs 25:14, Proverbs 26:28, Proverbs 27:5-6, Proverbs 28:23, and Proverbs 29:5 and 29:12.
As clouds and wind without rain,
so is he that boasteth himself of his gifts falsely.
—Proverbs 25:14
So you will find in these verses a counterpart of what you find in the second part of the book of Proverbs. It is reproduction. Dear brothers and sisters, this is what the Lord is doing: He is working Himself into us, His own character into us. When we are being built up together, then we reflect Him in His beauty and in His character, that the world may see Him in us and through us.
But here you find, before the book of Proverbs comes to a close, two more chapters: Chapter 30 and Chapter 31. These two chapters are very unique.
You find in the beginning of Chapter 30:
The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the oracle.
The man saith unto Ithiel, unto Ithiel and Ucal:
—Proverbs 30:1
And in Chapter 31:
The words of king Lemuel, the oracle which his mother taught him.
—Proverbs 31:1
Now, we do not know who these two men are. Who is Agur? Who is Lemuel? We do not know. Some people think that these are pseudonyms of Solomon, but we do not see the need for such an interpretation.
Who are these two men? The words of Agur, the son of Jakeh—who is Jakeh? The oracle uttered by the man unto Ithiel—who is Ithiel? Even unto Ithiel and Ucal—who is Ucal? Here you find a number of names that are completely unknown to us.
Because of this, some people, after studying the matter, think that probably these are not proper names. Probably these are words from which you have to take their meanings, instead of treating them as proper names.
So here you find that Proverbs 30:1 can be translated in this way: “The words of Agur, the son of the princess of Massa; the man’s saying: I have wearied myself about God, I have wearied myself about God, and then did I withdraw.”
And Proverbs 31:1 can be translated this way: “The words of Lemuel, king of Massa, which his mother instructed him.”
Now, in the old American Standard Version, you will find in the footnote, “The words of Agur of Massa,” and also in Chapter 31, “The words of Lemuel, king of Massa.”
So here you find a place called Massa in both instances. Agur is of Massa; Lemuel is king of Massa. Agur is the son of the princess of Massa. So probably the princess of Massa is the queen mother of Massa in Chapter 31. Probably Agur and Lemuel were brothers. They were both sons of the princess of Massa.
Now, what is Massa? Where is Massa? You will find it mentioned in Genesis 25:14. Massa is at the southeastern border of Palestine. Palestine is the promised land God gave to the children of Israel, but beyond the border of Palestine, on the southeastern side, you have a district called Massa.
It was inhabited by the Ishmaelites. You know, Abraham had a son called Ishmael, and the Ishmaelites inhabited that area.
Now, if this is the case, then you will find that the queen mother of Massa, Agur, and Lemuel probably were Ishmaelites. They probably were not Israelites; they were Ishmaelites.
And yet you find the proverbs, the wise sayings—especially those of the queen mother. Actually, the two sons spoke what their mother had instructed them. So these wise sayings, all these proverbs, came from the queen mother of Massa, a Gentile woman. Out of the mouth of the Gentile woman came these wise sayings, and they were collected into the book of Proverbs. Now, is that not marvelous?
You know, the first book chronologically speaking in the Holy Bible was not written by a Jew or an Israelite. The book of Job—Job was not a Hebrew; he was not a Jew. Yet you find the book of Job was the first book, chronologically speaking, in the Bible.
Here you find in Proverbs not only the proverbs of Solomon, king of the Israelites, but even in that collection you find the wise sayings of the queen mother of Massa, an Ishmaelite.
When wisdom builds her house, He builds in both the Jews and the Gentiles. What is the church that Christ is building? All through this earth, you will find in the church there are Jews and there are Gentiles; and yet there is neither Jew nor Gentile. Why? It is Christ Himself.
So even in Proverbs, in the wise sayings of God, you find not only those that came from Solomon, but also those that came from the queen mother of Massa.
In the history of Solomon, there is an analogy there. After God gave Solomon great wisdom and his fame began to spread through the world, you remember the queen—the Queen of Sheba, of Africa. The Queen of Sheba in Africa heard of the wisdom of Solomon, so she came to Solomon to prove his wisdom by enigmas.
She came to Solomon, questioned Solomon, and poured out her heart—all the problems. She poured out her heart to Solomon, and Solomon answered her in every point to her satisfaction.
Now, for a woman to come to Solomon and to prove his wisdom, she herself must be very intelligent. Yet how much she received from Solomon! Tradition says she was married to Solomon. When she went back, actually she made a replica of the whole temple, the things, all the holy vessels in the temple.
Even today, we are told that you may find a replica of the holy vessels in the temple in Ethiopia. The king of Ethiopia, even today, is called the Lion of David. They try to trace it back to Sheba and Solomon.
So here you find there is an analogy. As the Queen of Sheba is united to Solomon, so the church is united to Christ. In this union, you find the wisdom of Christ being manifested.
The queen mother of Massa can represent the church responding to Christ with great wisdom, because it is the wisdom of God; it is Christ Himself.
Now these two chapters are very interesting. Chapter 30 contains the words of Agur. Agur begins in such a way. He says, “I have wearied myself about God,” and he repeats it, “Wearied myself about God,” and then, “I gave up; I withdrew.”
Surely I am more brutish than any man,
and have not the understanding of a man;
And I have not learned wisdom,
neither have I the knowledge of the Holy One.
—Proverbs 30:2-3
In other words, here you find Agur trying to know God. He wanted to know God. He was seeking, he was searching, and he wearied himself with searching.
He found that he just could not fathom God. God is infinite, and for a finite mind trying to penetrate the very secret of God, he found that he just wearied himself out. He was exhausted, and he said, “I withdrew. I acknowledge that I am just foolish. I do not have the intelligence to fathom God. God is way beyond me. Oh, He is the Infinite.”
And yet he did thank God. You find that he prayed to God. His prayer was neither for vanity nor for lying, neither for wealth nor for poverty. His prayer was just one thing: that he might be close to God and that he might glorify God in his life.
He did not ask for wealth, lest he be rich and forget God. He asked God to keep him away from poverty, lest he steal and put shame upon God. He just wanted to be close to God and to glorify God’s name.
Now, that is his attitude. Is it not true that the attitude of the church—the attitude of us believers—should always be like this? Our attitude should be a humble attitude. We seek after God. Oh, we want to know Him, and yet the more we want to know Him, the more we find that He is beyond us. No matter how much you know Him, you still do not know Him.
God is a great mystery. We know Him, and yet we do not know Him. It takes eternity for us to know Him, and yet we still have to know Him. Now, this is a paradox, but this is the truth.
And yet, even though we acknowledge that we do not know Him, we are close to Him. We can glorify Him in our lives. Out of such a relationship with God comes great wisdom.
If you read Chapter 30, you find Agur puts down lots of things which even now are a mystery. I do not pretend that I can interpret Chapter 30. There are many things mentioned by Agur that are a mystery to me. Great wisdom—even today, we cannot fathom what Agur has spoken, because he knew God. Therefore, he had such wisdom that even today we still do not understand.
Is that not true of the church?
Then in Chapter 31, you find that the mother of Lemuel, king of Massa, instructed him. When you read the whole chapter, what did she instruct him? Two things: what a king should be, and second, what a queen should be; what a man should be, and what a woman should be; what you should expect of a husband, and what you should expect of a wife.
Now, that is Chapter 31. A king should be just. A king should not drink early in the morning. A king should be merciful. He is the symbol of justice and mercy.
And what about the woman, the queen? Oh, the woman is to be diligent. The woman is to be kind—a kindness that extends even beyond her own household. A woman is to be wise.
It is a perfect picture of Christ and His church: Christ as the King, the Man, the Husband. He is the very symbol of justice and mercy. The woman, as a symbol, is a type of the church—diligent, gracious, kind, and wise.
This is the perfect union that God is after. Dear brothers and sisters, what is the eternal purpose of God? The union of Christ and His church. There is such suitability of the woman to the man that together they fulfill the work of God. That is the conclusion of Proverbs.
So, dear brothers and sisters, we hope that our meditations on Proverbs will be a real help to us.
Our heavenly Father, how we praise and thank Thee for Thy word. Thy words are pure. Oh, how we praise and thank Thee for Thy word, because by Thy word Thou dost give us Thy Christ.
Oh, we do praise and thank Thee. Lord, we do ask Thee that what Thou hast given to us through Thy word may become reality to all of us, that truly we may be characterized by the character of Christ; that in our union with Him, we may manifest His wisdom to the glory of God.
We ask in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.