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Closing in on finishing up Proverbs Chapter 30!
We now look at verses 24-28:
24 "Four things on earth are small,
yet they are extremely wise:
25 Ants are creatures of little strength,
yet they store up their food in the summer;
26 coneys are creatures of little power,
yet they make their home in the crags;
27 locusts have no king,
yet they advance together in ranks;
28 a lizard can be caught with the hand,
yet it is found in kings' palaces."
Verse 24 shows that physical characteristics are no indicator of inner strength. First, we see the ant. Compared to humans, they ARE of little strength. But the thing that we can see from them, is that they all have one common purpose-the colony! I think that many of us at one time or another, have seen pictures of these enormous anthills on various nature shows. Ants are wise by God's power, because they show how it was for the early Christian church! Look at Acts 2:44-47-"44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved"
Like a colony af ants, the early Christians were totally unified in their purpose. Everything was shared, & need was adressed immediatly. This is how God's church SHOULD be-a growing, living, breathing body where Christian Brothers & Sisters support each other, & devote their time to obeying God's word! This is a good lesson for all of us!
Verse 26-26 coneys are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags. I'm not sure what various translations say, but according to my liner notes, coneys are creatures similar to the woodchuck or badger. They are burrowers. They know how to find protection, when they need it. In much the same way, we too should be like these burrowing animals-burrowing our way into the Word of God, seeking proptection against the forces of Satan. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says-" 16 All Scripture is Godbreathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. We see that God's word is useful for EVERYTHING that we need to live the kind of life that God wants us to live! If we ever have any questions, , we can always find it in the Bible, for protection against the enemy!
Verse 27-2 locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks; We see here a very small insect, that when they are in very large numbers, , have might beyond belief. We all have heard of the damage thast swarms of locusts can do to crops! But, in relation to the Christian Church, this can be a good thing, because when the church is in one accord, nothing can stop it! We looked act Acts 2:44-47 earlier, where we saw Believers being added to the church every day. But back up a little, & look at verse 41-"....Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day." Pentecost started off with a very small number of people, (somewhere around 120, according to Acts 1:15). & after Peter delivered his first message, that number grew to over 3,000! And it didn't stop there! Look at acts 5:14 & 6:7-"Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number......the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith." What started as a small group of Believers, totally committed to the lord, became very much like a locust swam that could not be stopped! Look at the history of Great revivals in the early 20th century, & how many were saved by speeches from men like Moody, Spurgeon, & Wesley! These are all good examples of a very small number of people can grow into a force that cannot be stopped, just like a swarm of locusts!
Verse 28-["a lizard can be caught with the hand, yet it is found in kings' palaces." Here we see the image of a lizard. As it says, they were everywhere, even in the king''s palace! Now, we see that many Believers WERE caught during the Early Church. But even during the OT, people knew that nothing could escape God's power! Look at 1 Samuel 14:6-" "Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, "Come, let's go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few." While we know that Jonathan was talking about a physical battle, it's principle, can also be applied to Believer's in the real world, & the effect of our witness to others. Nothing CAN hinder the Word of the Lord, or stop it from convicting others to salvation! Maybe this verse is even a little prophetical as well, in that Jesus was all alone in the preaching of His message, & yet look what has happend after all these years-His message is still being preached EVERYWHERE! Like the lizard, it is everywhere-in the woprkplace, the streets, EVERYWHERE!!!amen!
Job was also aware of the power of the Lord-Job 41:33
Abraham was also aware of God's power-Hebrews 4:13-14
GOD'S POWER CANNOT BE STOPPED!
Let us pray.
"Heavenly Father, as we have seen though we are small, we ar NOT unimportant! You started your church with one Man-Your Son, Christ Jesus. Your chruch comprises millions af Your childern, now Lord Jesus! All because of one person. You are our Lord! You are our Savior! You have shown us that each one of us CAN make a difference! Lord Jesus, help each of us to realize that we are ALL important to You, & that each of us CAN be used in a mighty way! That, through surrender totally to You & You alone, we CAN make a difference! We ask this in Your Name & Youer Name alone, Lord Jesus! Amen!"
Bill
We now look at verses 24-28:
24 "Four things on earth are small,
yet they are extremely wise:
25 Ants are creatures of little strength,
yet they store up their food in the summer;
26 coneys are creatures of little power,
yet they make their home in the crags;
27 locusts have no king,
yet they advance together in ranks;
28 a lizard can be caught with the hand,
yet it is found in kings' palaces."
Verse 24 shows that physical characteristics are no indicator of inner strength. First, we see the ant. Compared to humans, they ARE of little strength. But the thing that we can see from them, is that they all have one common purpose-the colony! I think that many of us at one time or another, have seen pictures of these enormous anthills on various nature shows. Ants are wise by God's power, because they show how it was for the early Christian church! Look at Acts 2:44-47-"44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved"
Like a colony af ants, the early Christians were totally unified in their purpose. Everything was shared, & need was adressed immediatly. This is how God's church SHOULD be-a growing, living, breathing body where Christian Brothers & Sisters support each other, & devote their time to obeying God's word! This is a good lesson for all of us!
Verse 26-26 coneys are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags. I'm not sure what various translations say, but according to my liner notes, coneys are creatures similar to the woodchuck or badger. They are burrowers. They know how to find protection, when they need it. In much the same way, we too should be like these burrowing animals-burrowing our way into the Word of God, seeking proptection against the forces of Satan. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says-" 16 All Scripture is Godbreathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. We see that God's word is useful for EVERYTHING that we need to live the kind of life that God wants us to live! If we ever have any questions, , we can always find it in the Bible, for protection against the enemy!
Verse 27-2 locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks; We see here a very small insect, that when they are in very large numbers, , have might beyond belief. We all have heard of the damage thast swarms of locusts can do to crops! But, in relation to the Christian Church, this can be a good thing, because when the church is in one accord, nothing can stop it! We looked act Acts 2:44-47 earlier, where we saw Believers being added to the church every day. But back up a little, & look at verse 41-"....Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day." Pentecost started off with a very small number of people, (somewhere around 120, according to Acts 1:15). & after Peter delivered his first message, that number grew to over 3,000! And it didn't stop there! Look at acts 5:14 & 6:7-"Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number......the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith." What started as a small group of Believers, totally committed to the lord, became very much like a locust swam that could not be stopped! Look at the history of Great revivals in the early 20th century, & how many were saved by speeches from men like Moody, Spurgeon, & Wesley! These are all good examples of a very small number of people can grow into a force that cannot be stopped, just like a swarm of locusts!
Verse 28-["a lizard can be caught with the hand, yet it is found in kings' palaces." Here we see the image of a lizard. As it says, they were everywhere, even in the king''s palace! Now, we see that many Believers WERE caught during the Early Church. But even during the OT, people knew that nothing could escape God's power! Look at 1 Samuel 14:6-" "Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, "Come, let's go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few." While we know that Jonathan was talking about a physical battle, it's principle, can also be applied to Believer's in the real world, & the effect of our witness to others. Nothing CAN hinder the Word of the Lord, or stop it from convicting others to salvation! Maybe this verse is even a little prophetical as well, in that Jesus was all alone in the preaching of His message, & yet look what has happend after all these years-His message is still being preached EVERYWHERE! Like the lizard, it is everywhere-in the woprkplace, the streets, EVERYWHERE!!!amen!
Job was also aware of the power of the Lord-Job 41:33
Abraham was also aware of God's power-Hebrews 4:13-14
GOD'S POWER CANNOT BE STOPPED!
Let us pray.
"Heavenly Father, as we have seen though we are small, we ar NOT unimportant! You started your church with one Man-Your Son, Christ Jesus. Your chruch comprises millions af Your childern, now Lord Jesus! All because of one person. You are our Lord! You are our Savior! You have shown us that each one of us CAN make a difference! Lord Jesus, help each of us to realize that we are ALL important to You, & that each of us CAN be used in a mighty way! That, through surrender totally to You & You alone, we CAN make a difference! We ask this in Your Name & Youer Name alone, Lord Jesus! Amen!"
Bill