There are four [things] little upon the earth, and they are exceeding wise
Agur points to four creatures anyone could crush underfoot and calls them exceedingly wise. So where does that wisdom come from, and what can they teach people who measure worth by size and strength?
We expect wisdom to come in big packages. One writer points out that the Bible sends us to little things instead, and that the Lord Jesus taught the same way.
It is natural to us to connect wisdom with greatness. But in Proverbs 30:24-28 God tells us to learn lessons from little things. The Lord Jesus also told His disciples to learn from lilies, sparrows, and even from the hairs of their head. Proverbs 30 calls these four little things "exceedingly wise." Who among us would not want to be exceedingly wise, especially in spiritual and eternal matters?
The four creatures are not clever in themselves. God put that skill in them, and that is why the lesson passes to us.
The fifth section of the chapter (verses 24-28) is a much brighter picture. It follows the subject of man's ways in weakness and failure. It speaks of the soul exercised under responsibility. Here there will be progress, because it brings God into the scene — God with man, enabling him for his responsibilities. Each of the four cases in this section shows that despite creature limits, there is blessing to find. It is God Himself who gives the ants, conies, locusts, and spiders (or lizards) the fine instincts they show. He is also their preserver. So this is meant as direct teaching with the same purpose for man.
The list sits inside a larger pattern. This chapter, given as the words of Agur, contains "six sets of four things", and these four small creatures are the set called "weak, yet wise" (Morrish Bible Dictionary).
The first creature is not strong, yet it gathers food through the summer. Its wisdom is in seeing ahead: the good weather will end.
These little insects know that summer is not eternal. In the same way people's opportunities are fleeting. In the brief span of life here we settle our everlasting destiny. Scripture holds up two men as a warning to us, men who lived only for the present. Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of stew, and Scripture calls him a profane person for doing it. The rich farmer of Luke 12 looked over his possessions with quiet satisfaction and thought nothing of the life beyond, and Scripture calls him a fool.
The second creature is the cony, a small animal with no defence of its own. Its wisdom is in where it shelters.
If its condition is extremely feeble, its position is still strong. What a fitting picture of the sinner saved by the grace of God. Weak as water in himself, yet "in Christ" he has a position that cannot be stormed: "the Rock was Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:4). The weakness of the little creature does not discourage him, but drives him to the safety of a strong refuge. So if the ant teaches preparation, the cony just as clearly teaches preservation, or security.
The third creature has no commander, yet it moves in formation. One writer applies this to the church.
They need no king, no great intellectual leader who is an expert organiser. Yet the order of their camp is more precise and more unified than the world's most carefully organised army. It is God who has given them this wise instinct. Alone, the little locust is virtually helpless; in bands they are practically unstoppable... Christ, the Head of the body, the church, is in glory today, the only Head. But if He is not seen, is He any less able to direct His saints in godly unity?
You can catch the fourth creature in your hand, yet it lives in royal houses. Commentators differ on which animal it is. Some read "spider," others "lizard" (Arno Clemens Gaebelein). Either way, being small does not shut it out of the finest rooms.
Every blood-washed soul is marked for heavenly glory. God has called us by the gospel to gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. The feeblest and most insignificant believer will not miss this magnificent outcome. Neither the violence nor the cunning of the enemy can prevent it.
- Little, yet wise — God does not tie wisdom to size: "Oh, to be 'little' yet 'wise' with God's own wisdom! God has chosen the foolish, the weak, the low, and the despised" (Fereday).
- Given, not achieved — their instinct is God's gift, so their example carries weight for us.
- The ant prepares — summer ends; use the short season you have for what lasts.
- The cony hides — feeble condition, strong position: safety is in the rock, not in yourself.
- Locust and lizard — the locusts keep order under an unseen Head; the lizard, small enough to catch, is at home in the King's palace.
The ants, a people not strong, yet they provide their food in the summer;
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.