Proverbs 30:24-28. 24Four things on earth are small, but they are exceedingly wise: 25the ants are a people not strong, yet they provide their food in the summer; 26the rock badgers are a people not mighty, yet they make their homes in the cliffs; 27the locusts have no king, yet all of them march in rank; 28the lizard you can take in your hands, yet it is in kings’ palaces.
I’ve been to a lot of different zoos. The Bronx Zoo. The Toledo Zoo. The San Diego Zoo. I live relatively near to the National Zoo in Washington DC. Most people go to the zoo to see the large animals. Elephants, hippos, lions, panda bears, the great apes. But whenever I go to the zoo I make sure to visit the small mammals house too. You haven’t experienced the glory of God’s creation until you’ve watched 20-30 naked mole rats running through a series of underground tubes at lightning speed. The large animals sit still or even sleep all day. But the small animals? They are the ones that are on the move.
I’m pretty sure Agur would appreciate the small mammals house too. He doesn’t talk about naked mole rats in Proverbs 30, but he does talk about four other small animals. Ants, rock badgers, locusts, and lizards. Agur wants us to look at these small animals as wise. Not necessarily strong and powerful, but smart. They don’t just survive, they thrive. He doesn’t give us a specific application for each of his zoological examples, but we can make some good guesses. In general, it is safe to say that Agur, as throughout the whole chapter, is teaching us to be humble and to not despise the weak things, for God chooses the weak things to shame the strong (1 Cor. 1:27). With that in mind let’s look at each of Agur’s examples with our union with Christ in mind too.
Ants wisely store up food for the coming winter. In Christ, we store up the knowledge of his gracious salvation for the coming winter of the soul, seasons of discouragement and spiritual darkness. By remembering who we are in Christ, we can partake of his heavenly life throughout our earthly life.
Rock badgers are weak and defenseless against predators so they make their homes in places where they are untouchable, in strong cliffs. In Christ, we too are weak and defenseless on our own. We too must find our strength in God and in our Rock, Jesus, and in the assurance of his eternal salvation.
Locusts don’t have a king, but somehow they all know how to fly together as one. Instinctively there is no individualism among the locust swarm. No single locust does whatever they want. They all stay in their ranks devouring everything in the swarm’s path, destroying entire fields in seconds. In Christ, no single Christian is a one-man or one-woman army for Jesus. We are called to part of a gospel swarm, moving as one by the control of the Spirit of Christ in us. Imagine what we could do if we all worked together for Christ’s kingdom.
The lizard is easy to catch in your hand, but it lives with kings. Such audacity. The lizard has no fangs, claws, poison barbs, or stingers. In fact, you could grab it and squash it at any time. Yet, the lizard boldly enters into the palace of the king, the throne room of royalty. It has no business being there, but it doesn’t seem to know that. We too, defenseless yet audacious in Christ, enter the throne room of our king where we find grace in his presence. He could squash us in his fingers, but he never will. We could live somewhere else, outside of his presence, but who would want to?
You: Which of these four small creatures do you relate to the most?
You in Christ: How does focusing on our union with Christ remind us that we are weak yet wise?
Christ in you: What small animals live near you? In your presence? What spiritual lessons can you learn from them today?
Prayer: Father, I may be weak and foolish in the natural, but in Christ you can use me to shame the worldly wise and strong. Keep me aware of my place in you today and every day. Amen.
To Live is Christ 