Why Agur Couldn’t Handle It

“. . . Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you
    and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God” Proverbs 30: 8, 9.

Proverbs 30 was written by Agur, son of Jakeh. We don’t know much about him except that in his estimation, he was not wise. He tells us in verse 3: “I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One”.

And this makes sense in this context. To read this chapter for context, click here.

Agur Didn’t Have the Wisdom to Handle Blessing

Anyone who isn’t wise can’t handle the blessings of wisdom any more, than a six-year-old can manage the bank account. The rewards of wisdom include long life, honor, wealth, and a peaceful, pleasant life (Proverbs 3: 13-18).

This is why when we’ve come out of Egypt, but have not yet attained wisdom, we have to go through the wilderness to get to the promise land.

It’s why Adam and Eve were not allowed to partake of wisdom (the tree of the knowledge of good and evil), and its rewards (Genesis 2: 16, 17). To read a more in-depth post about this idea see The Purpose of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Until We’re Wise God Will Only Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread

When we have not yet become wise, God will “give us this day our daily bread. . . ” Mathew 6: 11 and we will have just enough.

But we will not attain to that place of overflow and abundance until we’re wise. According to Proverbs 3 and others, the rewards of wisdom include long life, honor and wealth. God wants us to have these things. Not only for our own benefit, but because it glorifies Him.

But He can’t entrust these things to us until we can handle them. Until He can be assured they won’t do us more harm than good. In other words, He can’t give us these things until we’re wise.

Wilderness or Promise Land Blessing

On our journey to wisdom, as we fear and obey the Lord (Proverbs 9: 10), we will be protected, guided and provided for. But in Wilderness, not Promise Land style.

We will have our daily bread, but not much more. Why is this? Because anyone who has not attained wisdom has not learned an important secret:

“. . . for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. ¹² I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4: 11, 13.

When we can be the same and stable and consistent whether we have much or little, are “facing plenty” or are “hungry”, that’s when we’ve attained the wisdom necessary to be blessed with its rewards.

Agur Revealed a Lack of Wisdom

But to deny the Lord when we have much or steal when we don’t have enough reveals a lack of contentment and wisdom. And as long as we lack wisdom, we will not be blessed with its rewards.

The man who wrote this verse is saying “don’t give me the extremes of poverty or wealth, because my faith is not strong enough to withstand it”.

The apostle Paul on the other hand says give me either poverty or wealth. I can be content with either one because “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” Philippians 4: 13.

From Foolish to Wise to Foolish Again

Growing up and becoming wise is only the first step in the Christian experience. Some already come to faith with a measure of this, but many do not. And as we’ve seen, wisdom brings rich rewards. But that’s not the end of the journey.

Once we’ve done the hard work to become wise and are experiencing the benefits, the next step is to give it up for Christ. In other words, to become a fool for Christ.

We then have come full circle. We’ve gone from foolish to wise and back to foolish again. To learn more about this click here: What It Means to be a Fool for Christ.

For another post related to Why Agur Couldn’t Handle It, see How Zechariah and Elizabeth Got their Miracle.