God, there are two things I’m asking you for before I die, only two: Empty out of my heart everything that is false—every lie, and every crooked thing. And give me neither undue poverty nor undue wealth—but rather, feed my soul with the measure of prosperity that pleases you. May my satisfaction be found in you. Don’t let me be so rich that I don’t need you or so poor that I have to resort to dishonesty just to make ends meet. Then my life will never detract from bringing glory to your name. Proverbs 30:7-9 (TPT)
O God, I beg two favors from you; let me have them before I die. First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name. Proverbs 30:7-9 (NLT)
This rather ‘invisible’ prayer, invisible because it can be passed over, does contain sufficient substance for it to command our attention! Now note the following important messages locked in the names in the first verse of this prayer:
- The name Agur means ‘gather a harvest’,
- Jakeh means ‘blameless or obedient’
- The name Ithiel is said to mean ‘God is with me or God has arrived’ and
- Ukal means ‘I am able or I am strong and mighty’
Put together in the meaning of the Hebrew name, it becomes a significant prophetic utterance, that ‘Gather the harvest of sons who are blameless and obedient. They will have God with them and will be strong and mighty’! Doesn’t this read like 1 John 3:2,3 (MSG)—But friends, that’s exactly who we are: children of God. And that’s only the beginning. Who knows how we’ll end up! What we know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we’ll see him—and in seeing him, become like him. All of us who look forward to his Coming stay ready, with the glistening purity of Jesus’ life as a model for our own.
It is for this reason that we must take cognisance of the things written in the only recorded prayer in Proverbs and pay attention to the verses as they speak to things regarding the conduct of those waiting for the promised redemption. He asked the Lord for two specific things: integrity and contentment.
Agur wanted to live a life of integrity before his God, and he characterizes this life as one without falsehood and lies. The word used for falsehood means emptiness or vanity. The word for lies means falsehood or deception. These two words capture the very character of this world with all its empty promises and its deceptive nature. Agur does not pray for help to tell the truth; he prays to be kept from the lure of everything that is false, and everything that is not of the truth!
It has often been said that, “Reputation is what people think you are; integrity is what we are when no one else is around!” This world will seek to draw our affection away from following the Lord with false promises, false hopes, and false pleasures. But the Word of Truth, the Bible, points us to the One who is the Truth, the Lord Jesus Christ. Agur did not trust himself and he put no confidence in his flesh!
James warns us, “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4). David would say, “Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things” (Psa. 119:37). Do we have the wisdom and devotion of Agur? May we “turn our eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of the earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.” – Tim Hadley Snr.
Shalom
Pastor Afolabi Oladele