箴言30:7-9 Proverbs 30:7-9,

Last week and this week I preach about Proverbs in the Old Testament. The Chinese character for “proverb” means “needle.” The “needle” is used in Oriental medicine to puncture acupuncture points on the body to heal the sick. When you get an acupuncture needle stuck in you, it stings and hurts, but it also works to make your whole body feel better. In the same way, the words in Proverbs prick your hearts and remind you to remember God and live according to his teachings when you forget about God and do selfish things.

In the Bible passage we read today, there was something very interesting. This is a prayer that a man called Agur prayed to God. First, in verse 7, he says, “Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die.” This person is probably making his request to God with the strong feeling, “I ask these two things before I die!”

What are the “two things” then? The first is: “Please guide me so that I will not make false oaths to God or tell lies to other people.” This person prays in the first half of verse 8: “Remove far from me falsehood and lying.” If you make an oath to God and do not keep it, it becomes “falsehood.” The third commandment of the Ten Commandments says, “You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God.” This means that you must not make wrongful oaths in God’s name. Then, “lying” means to lie to others. The ninth commandment of the Ten Commandments says, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” This means that you must not tell a lie in court that would incriminate an innocent person. And not only in court, but also in your daily life, you must not cause others to suffer by spreading false rumours.

Another thing this man is asking God for is that God will give him a just life, neither too rich nor too poor. This person prays in the second half of verse 8: “Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me.” If you are poor, you cannot buy food or clothes, so “neither poverty” is obvious. But if you have much money, you can buy many things you like, so isn’t it normal rather to pray “give me riches”? Why is this person praying “nor riches”? It is because it is enough to have something to eat and to wear as much as you need. And because it is enough if you have enough money to buy those necessities. If you have too much money, you may think of money as a god and forget the real God, as the first half of verse 9 says: “lest I be full and deny you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’”

Jesus taught us to pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread.” This means “Please give me what I need on that day.” We tend to want to be rich. But we must not lie to others or make vain oaths to God in order to become rich. We must also not praise money as a god and forget the real God. Jesus taught, “You cannot serve God and money” (Matt. 6:24). He also said, “Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” (Matt. 6:25) More important than money is our fellowship with God, who gives us life and keeps us alive. Let us live our lives with fellowship with God as our first priority.