Proverbs 30:16-20

 

Prov 30:16 (KJB)

The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough.

 

The Grave - Since the fall of man, death has been a part of the creation and as millions have died since creation, the grave is never full. This basically speaks about death being an ongoing thing until the last day when it is finally over.

 

The Barren womb - (Gen 30:1-2 KJV) And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. {2} And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? Rachel saw that she was barren and she chided Jacob to give her children not realizing that creation in the womb is God’s act and not ours.

 

The earth that is not filled with water - Around the world at any given time, there is always going to be rain and as much rain that has fallen, it never fills up the valleys or the canyons or the whole earth. The last time the earth was filled with water was the flood in Noah’s day and after it served its purpose, then God had the waters recede and the earth was once again livable.

 

And the fire that saith not, it is enough - For fire to continue burning it needs a continual source of fuel. This is why the fire states that it is not enough because if the source of fuel ends, so does the burning fire.

 

These four elements of this verse have one basic theme in common and that is insatiable make up. None of them will ever be satisfied and that is why they need a continuous input of what is needed to keep them going. That is why they are associated with the two daughters who cry, give, give, because of their insatiable greed.

 

Prov 30:17 (KJB)

The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.

 

This verse is speaking about the portion of the covenant which concerns itself with disobedient children. (Deu 21:18-21 KJV) If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: {19} Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; {20} And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. {21} And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear. If a son is rebellious and despises his mother and father to the point of acting out that rebellion, then his parents can bring him to the elders of the city and they will take him out and stone him to death as the penalty. The birds of prey mentioned in Proverbs 30:17 will pick at the body after it is dead. Since the rebellious child had a rebellious eye, the raven will pluck out that eye as a judgment sent from God.

 

Prov 30:18 (KJB)

There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not:

 

Too wonderful - More extraordinary

Agur now goes to mention some more things which he is unable to understand and would really like to understand them but as with many things in the creation, we can see them but learning the intricate details sometimes eludes us as humans.

 

Prov 30:19 (KJB)

The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.

 

The way of an eagle in the air - The eagle is one of the most magnificent birds in God’s creation. They have been spotted soaring as high as 20,000 feet by airplane pilots. They can fly fast and turn quickly.

 

The way of a serpent upon a rock - A serpent can quietly crawl on to a smooth rock and will leave no prints behind and will not be heard and if it is tracking prey, has the ability to surprise it.

 

The way of a ship in the midst of the sea - Just as the serpent, the ship in the seas leaves no print of where it was and where it is going. It weighs many tons, yet it does not sink because of the way it is made. It is tossed around by the sea and many times they do not sink.

 

The way of a man with a maid - You can take the toughest man on the street and when he starts dating a woman, he begins to start doing things that he would never do with his friends. A woman can throw a dish at him and he will not throw anything back but if one of his male friends did that, he would probably throw something back. A woman’s demeanor does have the traits to control a man’s ways.

 

Prov 30:20 (KJB)

Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.

 

Agur now takes the illustrations which he has asked about and likens them to the adulterous woman. When she eats her food, afterwards she wipes her mouth, cleaning up every vestige of food she ate, so that not even a crumb is on her clothes. This means that she can say, see how clean I am, not a crumb on me. Just as in the previous verse as those illustrations do not leave evidence that they were in those places, likewise the adulterous woman will attempt to leave no trace of her evil activities. As much as she tries, she can never clean up totally because she also leaves emotions and lust behind unlike the illustrations of verse 19. Her sins have also been seen by God and both participants will be judged on the last day for their covert adultery. (Heb 13:4 KJV) Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. God will not judge a ship for being on the ocean or a snake for being on a rock or an eagle in the air but He will judge those who sin and try to hide it. Everything will become open on the last day.

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