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.
the rock-badgers are but a feeble folk, yet they make their house in the cliff;
The rock badger of this proverb is small and defenceless, yet Scripture calls it wise. Its wisdom has nothing to do with size or strength — everything turns on where it lives.
Older translations call this animal the cony. It is not the rabbit. One reference work describes its habits and links them to the wisdom Scripture credits it with:
The rabbit, which is only another name for Coney, is not known in Palestine. The Hebrew word shaphan probably means the Syrian Hyrax, an animal about the size of the rabbit... It fits exactly the other notes about the shaphan. It lives among the rocks, which it does constantly, and it is very quick at leaping from rock to rock (Ps. 104:18). It is also very hard to catch. One of them keeps watch while the others feed. When an enemy comes near, that one gives a signal, and they all disappear. This agrees with the name Scripture gives it: "exceedingly wise."
The creature cannot dig a burrow and has no defences of its own. What it has is an address. One writer contrasts its condition with its position, and sets it beside the ant:
The cony of verse 26 is rightly the hyrax, a small, defenceless animal of the marmot type. It is not of the rabbit family, and it is not built to burrow. It depends on the holes and clefts of the rock for its protection. If its condition is extremely feeble, yet its position is strong. How apt a picture of the sinner saved by the grace of God. Weak as water himself, yet "in Christ" he has an impregnable position: "the Rock was Christ" (1 Cor. 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.
Why call a defenceless animal wise? Because it has measured itself correctly. Even its Hebrew name carries the lesson:
The name Shaphan means "one who is hidden" — it is the name of the hyrax, or cony. The book of Proverbs speaks of it as one of the things on earth that are small, "but they are exceedingly wise." This is their wisdom: they know their weakness and hide themselves in their stronghold.
Faith takes shelter before the danger arrives. One writer traces this through people who acted on God's warning, and one who ignored it:
Faith seeks a place of refuge. The conies illustrate this... The animal here is the Syrian hyrax, a timid, cautious creature always alert for danger. Noah by faith recognised that wrath was coming, and he used the shelter of the ark. On that night of judgement in Egypt, the Israelites believed God and sprinkled the blood of the lamb on their houses. Ahab, on the contrary, defiantly ignored God's warning, and died a miserable death at Ramoth-Gilead. The wise man has said: "The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it" (Prov. 22:3). Men are living in peril at the present hour. The day of judgement is hurrying on. Those who have fled to Christ for refuge are the truly prudent; those who ignore Him and His great salvation are the simple, however wise they think themselves.
Several writers apply the verse to believers at their lowest moments rather than their strongest. The point is not to grow out of feebleness but to move house:
The conies are brought before us to warn us, when we are most conscious of our own feebleness, to place all our confidence, and find all our strength, in the Rock — Christ Jesus. "The conies are but a feeble folk, yet they make their houses in the rocks."
The same image is used of a company of believers who are told they have "a little strength," and are promised keeping on that basis:
The Lord says, If I own you as keeping "the word of my patience," and not as having any strength, but as in connection with Myself, then "I will keep you"... So He connects us with Himself, a poor feeble folk though we may be, like the conies who were but a feeble folk, yet made their nest in the rock... It was not a question of strength at all, but of being kept from a terrible time that was coming.
- Weak — the rock badger has no strength, no power to burrow, no defence. Scripture calls it "a people not mighty."
- Wise — its wisdom is that it knows its weakness and hides itself in its stronghold; its name even means "one who is hidden."
- Rock — condition and position are two different things. Feeble in itself, it is safe because of where it lives, and "the Rock was Christ."
- Refuge — faith takes shelter before the danger comes, as Noah did in the ark and Israel did with the blood of the lamb. "The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it."
- Kept — the promise rests not on our strength but on our connection with Christ: "It was not a question of strength at all."
the locusts have no king, yet they go forth all of them by bands;
This is the third of four small creatures Proverbs 30 calls wise. On its own a locust is nothing, yet a swarm crosses the land like a trained army. There is no commander in sight, and still the order is perfect. So who directs them, and what should we learn from it?
We expect to find wisdom in great things. One writer shows where God tells us to look instead:
We naturally 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?
Older translations say the locusts go out "by bands." One writer explains what that phrase pictures:
"The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands"; the margin gives "are gathered together." So we get the idea of an orderly procession.
Nobody drills them and nobody gives orders. One writer reads this as a picture of the church, whose Head is out of sight:
But the locusts are marvellous in their spontaneous unity and order. What a lesson for the church of God! They need no king. They need no great intellectual leader who is an expert organiser. Yet the order of their camp is more precise and more thoroughly 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 invincible... 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?
Their discipline points past the insect to the One who marshals it. Scripture even calls a locust swarm God's own army:
Man may have departed from God and become hostile to Him, but nature in its whole framework is obedient, and still serves Him. So the sinner finds himself in a stream of hostile forces, the hosts of the Lord, which the army of locusts vividly pictures for us... A recent observer says: "Nothing in their habits is more striking than the persistence with which they all keep to the same line of march, like a disciplined army." This instinctive discipline, with an invisible king, shows whose hosts they are and who marshals them. "His army," the Lord calls them (Joel 2:11). The same observer says that at every stage of their life these locusts give a most impressive view of God's power to punish a wicked world. To fight them is hopeless, and the destruction they cause is complete.
The verse speaks of the swarm, never of a lone locust. One writer makes that a lesson about faith:
Third, faith values fellowship. "The locusts have no king, yet all of them march in rank." A child may crush a single locust; but an army of them is irresistible. Desolation follows wherever they go. There is no individualism in Christianity... One of our choicest privileges here is Christian fellowship. After Peter and John came out of prison, "they went to their own company." In the gathering of the saints they found their comfort and strength.
The same writer sets this verse against the one before it, and finds a rebuke in the locust's order:
But the locust surely rebukes the shame of our many sad divisions. It also rebukes the painful unbelief behind man's organisation. Man brings human authority, clergy, church boards and denominational distinctions into the church, and these ruin all unity rather than securing it. Notice too that verse 26 speaks of taking refuge in the rock, while verse 27 is the "going forth," carrying the battle into enemy country. Defence is necessary, but we must also learn a proper offensive character, and true unity is a wonderful strength for this.
- Little. Wisdom is not measured by size. God sets four small creatures before us and calls them exceedingly wise.
- Ranked. The older wording "by bands" means gathered together in orderly procession — an army on the march, not a scattered cloud.
- Unseen. The swarm has no king in sight, yet keeps perfect line. Its discipline shows whose hosts they are. Christ, unseen in glory, directs His people just as surely.
- Together. A child can crush one locust; a swarm is unstoppable. There is no individualism in Christianity, and our divisions and man-made structures run the other way.
- Forward. Verse 26 is refuge in the rock; verse 27 is the going forth — unity is not only shelter but strength for advance.
thou takest hold of the lizard with the hands, yet is she in kings' palaces.
Agur, the writer of Proverbs 30, ends his list of four small creatures with one that is easy to catch and yet lives where kings live. The picture raises two questions: which creature is meant, and what a weak thing is doing in a palace.
Translations differ here. The Hebrew word behind the older rendering "spider" points to something with feet like hands:
semamith. This is thought to refer to a lizard, which has wide feet like hands, by which it holds fast to the wall while pursuing its prey. The Revised Version translates it 'lizard', but others prefer some species of spider. Prov. 30:28.
Another writer names the species and describes how it holds on:
Translators agree that the spider of verse 28 is actually the lizard, a small creature called the gecko, quite common in Israel. It seems to have a special liking for luxurious buildings. Its feet have cup-like toes that produce a sticky substance. With them it can cling in any position to the smoothest surfaces, and it is hard to dislodge.
We assume wisdom belongs to big, impressive things. This verse and the three beside it say otherwise:
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 its four little things "exceeding wise." Who among us would not want to be exceeding wise, above all in spiritual and eternal matters?
The lesson is aimed at people:
Here are lessons for man. The shrewdness of these little things puts to shame the sluggard, the fool, the evil man, and the other characters Proverbs describes.
The creature's cleverness is not its own achievement:
Each of the four cases in this section shows that blessing can be found despite the limits of the creature. God Himself gives the ants, conies, locusts, and spiders (or lizards) the fine instincts they show, and He Himself keeps them alive. So this is meant as direct teaching for man in the same way.
The lizard's grip pictures how faith takes hold of what God has already given:
What a precious lesson in the firm dependence of faith! Such faith is satisfied with nothing less than dwelling in the house of the Lord. It takes hold of the privileges and blessings that belong by grace to the redeemed child of God. God told Joshua, "Every place that the sole of your foot treads upon I have given to you" (Josh. 1:3). In the same way, God encourages His child to take hold of the possessions that His grace has provided for him. So let us, like the lizard, take hold in the King's palace and take hold of every blessing He provides.
Anyone can pick it up by hand, yet it lives in the finest rooms in the land. One writer sees in that contrast a picture of where faith ends up:
Fourth, faith leads to glory. The spider (or more correctly the lizard) suggests this. "The lizard you can take in your hands, yet it is in kings' palaces." In tropical countries these little creatures are everywhere. You can see them crawling up the walls of huts and mansions alike. Every blood-washed soul is marked for heavenly glory. God has called us by the gospel to obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. The feeblest and most insignificant believer will not miss this magnificent outcome. Neither the violence nor the craft of the enemy can hinder it.
If God teaches through small things, the response is not to work at looking large:
Is it not worth noticing that the next verses in Proverbs 30 refer to "things which are little"? Let us be content to be small, having no high thoughts of self and seeking no position of greatness. Then the wisdom and grace needed for the path of verses 29 to 31 will be ours. We shall move through this scene of moral ruin with a "stately step" that honours God and bears witness to Him before men.
- Little. The creature is easy to catch and easy to miss. God still calls it "exceeding wise," and uses it to shame the confident.
- Given. Its skill is instinct God gave it, and God preserves it; the wisdom on display is His before it is the creature's.
- Grip. Its cup-like feet cling to the smoothest wall. Faith holds on the same way, taking the blessings grace has already provided.
- Palace. Weakness does not keep it out of the finest house in the land. In the same way, one writer says, the feeblest believer is marked for glory that no enemy can block.
- Content. The response is not to grow impressive but to stay small. Then we walk through a ruined world with a step that honours God.