THINGS (PART 5)

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise:  Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer; hyraxes are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags; locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks; a lizard can be caught with the hand, yet it is found in kings’ palaces.”

Proverbs 30:24-28

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

We all were created in special ways by a special God. So unique is every single creature that no two people are exactly alike. Even people we refer to as twins still have nuances about them that separate, even if their looks are strikingly similar.

Friends, we should marvel at this and give praises to such an incredible Architect who so amazingly and intricately constructed us and made us special, each in our own way.

Of course, human beings are not the only created things to marvel over. For as we find in today’s fifth installment of the “things” devotions, devotions based on the “things” statements of Agur found in the 30th chapter of Proverbs, there are plenty of examples within the insect and animal world we can be in awe of, “things” we typically take for granted.

Take ants for example. Who really likes them? I know we don’t because at this time of year when spring is in its advent, the ants decide to invade our home. You’ve probably experienced this yourself once or twice as you have entered your kitchen finding that you’re not alone in the quest to find something to eat. Ants are very industrious creatures and pay little attention to the fact they are so tiny and vulnerable. We so easily destroy them in numbers but frankly, there are thousands upon thousands of more ants where those came from, always continuing the work of gathering food in the summer to survive the winter.

If you really think about it, we’re really a lot alike in many ways, people and ants. We think we’re strong when we’re so very vulnerable and we find our power in numbers. There are plenty of workers in the field and when a number of workers die, there are always more ready to continue the work, a work that is intended to bring home food in order to live.

Maybe it’s this similarity that allows the ant to garner so much respect in the proverbs. For as we have seen through our study, the hard working ant has been mentioned before this, personified to contrast the laziness found in a sluggard. (Proverbs 6:6). Perhaps, we have more to learn from the ant than we have ever considered, one “thing” for us to take away from God’s word today.

But Agur didn’t stop with ants. For next, he mentioned the hyrax.

Now, maybe you’re like me and have never seen a hyrax, except of course when I visited a zoo. We know they are not the largest creatures as Agur has categorized them among the small (they are about the size of rabbits) and we discover from our scripture passage that they live in the crags of rocks. Like the ant, the hyrax would seem very vulnerable but they have been created in such a way that they can maneuver on rocks and reside in areas where they cannot be reached. They stay together and defend one another when the need arises. Through observation of their ways, it’s been found that they post sentries to watch for pending danger while they are out of the crags and seeking vegetation.

So although they seem small and easy to take advantage of, the hyrax are actually very smart and utilize the gifts God has given them through the way they were created to protect themselves and survive within His kingdom.

Now we don’t have a natural ability to scale rock and aren’t small enough to live in the crags of cliffs, but we were designed to use the gifts God has given us to live and survive in a world that offers us danger, just as it does to the hyrax. And we are to look out for one another and be ready to sound the alarm if we seem impending danger coming upon one of our own. Survival sometimes comes in the way we look out for one another, realizing that we’re all part of one family, God’s family.

Agur moves back to the insect world with the third thing that although small commands attention, focusing on the locusts. How significant is the locust? Well, if you could go back in time and talk to the Egyptians and Pharaoh who held the Israelites in captivity before Moses led them out, they would tell you that the locusts pack a destructive punch. In fact, scriptures tell us that the locusts that invaded Egypt devoured “everything growing in the fields and the fruit on the trees. Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt” (Exodus 10:15b). And unlike bees who have a queen, locusts have no such leader over them. This does not mean they don’t band together and move in unity for a common cause however.

Perhaps it’s that independence, to be able to go forth and work together united without a principal leader, that we should seek to emulate, to allow ourselves to move and act in accordance with God’s will and way. Indeed, the prophet Joel referred to the locusts as God’s army. Perhaps we could do more than we imagine if we allowed the Lord God Almighty to be our sole commander in chief.

The final thing mentioned in Agur’s discourse on diminutive parts of creation that move and behave in ways that we can learn from is the lizard. Although the lizard can be caught by human hands, it still has the elusiveness and stealth to climb, creep, and slither its way into the king’s palace. There is little security that can prevent the lizard’s trespass for there is no human being who can do the things a lizard can do.

Indeed, there are many members of the order of the created who do things than mankind cannot. Perhaps that is why we are so frightened by them for we find ourselves vulnerable and helpless in their midst. In those instances, I believe God is trying to teach us that we only need to rely on Him, to trust in His protection and deliverance. For although we are limited in the ways we can prevent harm to come upon us, there is NO limitation when it comes to the way our Lord can protect us and keep us from harm.

There are many “things” we can sit around and be concerned with but in the end we need to always remember that we serve a God who can do all things, a God who is more powerful than our greatest adversary, a God who has promised to never leave or forsake us.

Trust in Him always and rest in the assurance of His peace.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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