1
Back on the first Sunday of April, we started a series in the book of Proverbs. And over the past few months, we’ve seen that Proverbs gives practical advice about a wide range of subjects. But even though Proverbs covers a wide range of subjects, all of its advice is tied together by one common theme: Wisdom. Over and over and over, Proverbs tells us, “Get wisdom. Get wisdom. You need wisdom. Get wisdom.” And Proverbs also tells us exactly where to find wisdom. Proverbs 2:6 says, “For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Wisdom comes from God. God is the source of all wisdom, and the only way we will ever be wise is if we know God and we’re in relationship with God and we listen to God. And Proverbs tells us that one of the main places where we see God’s wisdom is in creation. Proverbs 3:19-20 says, “By wisdom the Lord laid the earth’s foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place; by his knowledge the deeps were divided, and the clouds let drop their dew.” Psalm 104:24 tells us the same thing, “How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.” God’s wisdom is seen in the diversity of all His creatures. In fact, God has done some really fascinating stuff with some of his creatures. For example, did you know that60 cows are capable of producing a ton of milk in less than a day? A single cow will give nearly 200,000 glasses of milk in her lifetime? Did you know that a chameleon’s tongue is twice as long as its body? (That would have been a good illustration when we were talking about gossip a few weeks ago, wouldn’t it?) Did you know that woodpeckers can peck 20 times per second? Hummingbirds beat their wings up to 80 times per second? A single elephant tooth can weigh as much as 9 pounds? But then the tongue of a blue whale weighs more than an entire elephant? This one is really interesting: Did you know that only half of a dolphin’s brain sleeps at a time? The other half stays awake to make sure the dolphin comes up for air and doesn’t drown. Or if you’re in to creepy-crawlies, did you know that on average there are 50,000 spiders per acre of green grass? A tarantula can survive for more than two years without food? You’ll really like this one: 10% of the weight of a 6-year-old pillow is from the waste and dead remains of bed mites? (Sleep tight tonight.) Did you know that snails produce a colorless, sticky substance that forms a protective carpet under them as they travel along? The substance is so effective that they can crawl along the edge of a razor without cutting themselves. Did you know that an alligator’s jaws are powerful enough to crush cow bones, but once its mouth is closed, you can hold it shut with your bare hands? I don’t recommend you try it, but it’s true. All its muscles are made for chomping down, not for opening its mouth.
God has built all sorts of odd, intriguing, fascinating stuff into His creation. And today, I want us to wrap up our series in Proverbs by looking at four of the strangest places in the world to find God’s wisdom. Turn in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 30. We’re going to read verses 24-28. Proverbs 30:24-28, “Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise: Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer; coneys are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags; locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks; a lizard can be caught with the hand, yet it is found in kings’ palaces.”
This section of Proverbs is written by Agur, and he tells us that we can learn wisdom from ants, coneys, locusts, and lizards. So let’s see what God teaches us with these four creatures, and let’s start with the ant. Verse 25 says, “Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer.” The wisdom lesson God teaches us with the ant is the wisdom of preparation. Ants store food in the summer so that they’ll be prepared for the winter. They work today so they’ll be ready tomorrow. And that is a great lesson for us. Too many of us get into the habit of putting off until tomorrow what we ought to be doing today. Instead of preparing, we procrastinate. Is anybody here willing to admit that you’re a procrastinator? Any of you going to wait and raise your hand tomorrow?
At the heart of procrastination is this foolish assumption that there’s always going to be another day… Another day to study… Another day to get in shape… Another day to say “I love you”… Another day to say “I’m sorry”… Another day to say “I forgive you”… Another day to spend time with your kids… Another day to give your life to Jesus… Another day to get serious about following God. Listen, we aren’t promised another day. And the “another day syndrome” is how you waste your life. You keep losing this day, and you squander opportunities and never live life to the fullest, and you end up with a wasted life full of regret.
Don’t let that be you. Let God teach you a lesson with His ants. Live today. Prepare today. Make the most out of today… because you aren’t promised tomorrow. Tomorrow may never come. And if it does come, make sure you’re ready for it, because you were wise enough to prepare today.
So look at the ant and learn the wisdom of preparation.
The second creature Agur draws our attention to is the coney, which is also called the rock badger. Verse 26 says, “Coneys are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags.” And I figured that most of us aren’t as familiar with the rock badger as we are with the ant, so I’ve got a picture for you this morning. There he is. Rock badgers are usually a grayish-brown color, and they blend in with the rocks where they live. When the badger’s on the rock, he’s almost impossible to see. For example, look at this next picture. See how well that guy blends in with the rocks. Their camouflage keeps them safe from predators. And if a predator does manage to spot them, they dart into a hole in the rock. That’s what verse 26 is pointing out. They’re “creatures of little power, but they make their in the crags.” They’re wise enough to find the safety and the protection they need in the rocks. So the wisdom lesson God teaches us with the rock badger is the wisdom of refuge. It’s the wisdom of knowing that you aren’t strong enough on your own, and it’s the wisdom of knowing where to run for protection and help and safety and sanctuary and refuge. And the Bible is really, really clear on where we find refuge. Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” 2 Samuel 22:3 says, “My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior…” Nahum 1:7 says, “The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.” And Psalm62:5-8 says, “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress. I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.” In fact, the Old Testament calls God our refuge nearly 60 different times. And then the New Testament tells us exactly how God becomes our refuge. Colossians 3:3 says, “Your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” When you are trusting in Jesus, your life is hidden with Christ in God. You are covered in Christ. You are protected in Christ. You are secure in Christ. God is our refuge and our sanctuary and our salvation in Christ.
And I want us to really dig in to what the rock badger teaches us about finding refuge in Jesus. First of all, remember that the reason the rock badger needs to take refuge in the rocks is because it’s a creature of little power. It can’t protect itself. But it’s wise enough to know that it can find protection in the rocks. It’s wise enough to go to the rocks for protection. And it’s wise enough to stay close to the rocks.
If you’ve got a badger who thinks he’s strong enough to protect himself, he’s not going to last very long. You know what kind of stuff kills the rock badger? Leopards, cobras, wild dogs, eagles. If the badger doesn’t take protection in the rocks, he doesn’t stand a chance against those kinds of predators. And if the badger wanders too far away from the rocks, you can forget about it. He’s a goner.
Church, I pray that this application drives home to the depths of your soul. We are rock badgers. We are creatures of little power. We can’t save ourselves. We can’t protect ourselves. We aren’t big enough or strong enough to take care of ourselves. And we have to know that truth. We have to be humble enough to admit how weak and needy and insufficient we are. And have to know that God is big enough to take care of us, and God has offered us refuge in Jesus. And we need to be wise enough to run to Jesus and to find our protection in Him. And then we also need to be wise enough to stay close to Him.
If you try to do this on your own, you’re not going to last very long. The devil is a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. You don’t stand a chance against a predator like that on your own. But Jesus is more than enough to be your covering and your protection and your strength and your refuge. He already triumphed over Satan on the cross. And you can take refuge in Him. So Church, I urge you run to Jesus. Stay close to Jesus. Hide in Jesus. Take refuge in Jesus. Trust in Jesus.
And then I even want to push the rock badger illustration a little further. I was thinking about the badger taking refuge in the rocks, and I realized that not only does the badger take refuge in the rocks by hiding in the rocks, he also takes refuge in the rocks by looking like the rocks. When your life is hidden with Christ, you should look like Christ. When you’re covered with the righteousness of Jesus, you should look like Jesus. If you are really taking refuge in Jesus, then your faith in Jesus should make you more and more like Jesus.
So look at the rock badger and learn the wisdom of refuge. And take refuge in Jesus.
The third creature Agur draws our attention to is the locust. Verse 27 says, “Locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks.” The wisdom lesson God teaches us with the locust is the wisdom of community. The power of locusts is found in the sheer number of locusts that come together. A few years ago a plague of locusts hit Australia, and they had to spend $50 million to control it. And it was estimated that if they hadn’t done that, the locusts would have done $2 billion worth of damage. It is incredible the impact that locusts are able to have because they come together in community.
And God intends for us to learn the value and the power of community from locusts. We need to be together. We need to encourage each other. We need to sharpen each other. We need to hold each other accountable. God intends for us to impact the world with the gospel. And God has designed the church to be a place of unity and community and relationship where we accomplish way more together than we will ever accomplish if we’re divided.
This is the biggest reason why I’m glad that our church is part of the Southern Baptist Convention. The Southern Baptist Convention is a partnership of 46,000 churches working together to send missionaries and church planters all over the world to reach the nations with the gospel. And we accomplish more together than we would ever accomplish on our own.
On a smaller scale, this is also why we encourage every person in this church to be part of a small group Bible study. We call them Sunday School classes. And the hope is that the small group setting allows you to get to know people and build relationships and live in community with one another.
And then on a church-wide scale, we’re reminded once again of how important unity is. There is great power in unity. Just like we saw last week, our ability to impact the world with the gospel increases massively when we are united. That’s why we have to guard against all the things that can destroy unity and cause division… things like gossip and grumbling and complaining and backbiting and favoritism and prejudice and cliques. Those things destroy unity and devastate our impact for the gospel. For us to have the maximum impact for the gospel, we have to love one another and pray for one another and serve one another and defer to one another and forgive one another and be kind to one another. We have to live out all those “one another” commands as we strive to protect unity and promote unity among God’s people.
I also want to apply the wisdom of the locust to us as the church in another way. Look at verse 27 again, “Locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks.” Notice that the power of locusts is not in a single leader… not in a king… but in all of them working together. The power of the church is not just in your leaders… it’s certainly not in me as your pastor. The power of the church is when the whole church works together for the gospel and for the glory of God. Sometimes people get this idea that the role of the pastors is to do the ministry to the members. That’s not biblical. The role of the pastors is to equip the members to do ministry. God intends for all of us to be doing ministry. A big part of my ministry is to feed you spiritually… to teach you… to lead you… to empower you and equip you to do all sorts of ministry. For example, your view of evangelism should not be that you invite somebody to church so that the pastor will tell them about Jesus. No, your view of evangelism should be that you go out and do the ministry of telling people about Jesus. And part of the reason why you’re able to do that is because I have fed you and taught you and opened up the truth of God’s Word so that you know the gospel and you love the gospel and you desire to share the gospel and you’re able to share the gospel. Another example is that your view of worship should not be that you come here and Pastor Phillip does worship for you. No, your view of worship should be that you worship, and he leads you in worship. You’re not here to observe him or evaluate him or be entertained by him. And he’s not here to perform for you. You’re here to worship God. It is your responsibility. And he’s here to lead you in worship as he worships. The same thing goes for Bible study. Your view of Bible study should not be that your teacher does all the work and tells you everything you need to know. No, your view of Bible study should be that you study the Bible. And your teacher helps equip you… helps answer questions… gets you resources, so that you can study better. The same thing goes for meeting practical needs in the church… visiting people in the hospital, taking meals to people who’ve had surgery or couples who’ve had children, doing yard work or repair work for people who aren’t able. Those aren’t things that just your pastors do. In fact, with a church this size, your pastors can’t do that. And we’ve organized our deacons to lead in those types of ministry, but you also have to realize those aren’t things that just your deacons do, either. Every member in the church should be doing that type of ministry. The deacons help lead out in it and get it organized, but then we should all be involved in ministry and working together to accomplish more than any of us can do on our own.
Listen, if the only ministry that happens in this church is the ministry that your pastors and your deacons do, then we’re going to be an anemic church. We’re going to be an 8-cylinder church running on about 2 cylinders.
God has brought us together in this church. 1 Corinthians tells us that He has arranged the members in His body as He chose, and He gives spiritual gifts to every member for the purpose of doing ministry and building up the whole body. The only way that this church will be as strong as God intends for it to be is if we are all working together, doing the ministry that God has gifted us to do. There is great power when the church works together.