Proverbs 30:21-23. 21Under three things the earth trembles; under four it cannot bear up: 22a slave when he becomes king, and a fool when he is filled with food; 23an unloved woman when she gets a husband, and a maidservant when she displaces her mistress.
Everybody loves a good “rags to riches” story, a reversal of fortunes, but nobody can stand it when the upstart becomes too big for their britches. That’s what Agur is almost whimsically pointing out in this next quatrain. The earth itself cannot handle these people, much less the others around them. They are truly insufferable. They have forgotten where they came from. Success has gone to their head.
Do you know anyone like this? Are you like this?
A slave when he becomes king – like the servant Zimri who killed his king, Asa, took the throne for himself and then proceeded to murder all of his opposition, including his own family (1 Kings 16).
A fool when he is filled with food – like Nabal who refused to “give my bread and meat” to David and his men, the fool here is not the simple or ignorant, but the obstinate and rebellious. He doesn’t give thanks for his bounty or share it, but sees his prosperity as only the result of his own efforts.
An unloved woman when she gets a husband – like Leah who was unloved and unchosen by Jacob yet married to him through deceit. Did she lord it over her sister wife, Rachel? You know she did.
A maidservant when she displaces her mistress – like Hagar the slave woman bearing a son for Abraham thus elevated in honor even above her mistress Sarah. It almost doesn’t matter how she treated Sarah after that, it would all be interpreted as unbearable.
I wonder what Agur might list as unbearable to us in our day. The co-worker that gets promoted from nepotism and is now your boss, even though they’ve been in the company not nearly as long. The woman who flirts with your husband slowly stealing his affections, the affections you deserve. The foolish preacher whose church is exploding with growth while you struggle each week just to get through to the few in your ministry.
So often it can seem like the Lord just isn’t paying attention. Why do the wrong people make it to the top, while the right people spend their entire life struggling? And why is it that when people experience a reversal of fortune they so quickly become the very thing they once hated? How quickly we can move from humility to pride.
This is where the Christian is forced to decide if they really trust the Lord or not. Yes, God will exalt the lowly, as is described in this quatrain, but he has no time for the lowly who become the proud. But it is God’s job to deal with them, not ours. All of this is earthly, which is why the earth is trembling, not Heaven. Those with a heavenly mindset need not tremble over these things either.
Christ has and will exalt us in him. And he has done it in such a way that leaves no room for our pride. Why not? Because our exaltation is through the cross. We are all the slave turned king, the full fools, the beloved shrew, and the simple handmaiden now given hope. When we remember that we all came from the cross, there is no room for self-important posturing anymore.
You: Are you easily bothered by other’s pride and self-importance, especially if they have humble roots?
You in Christ: How does our union with Christ keep us humble no matter how high God exalts us?
Christ in you: Where do you need to let God be God and stop worrying about the show-offs?
Pray: Father, I want to stay humble before you and never get too big for my boots. Keep the cross as my origin story. Amen.
To Live is Christ 