Proverbs 30:11-20

TEXT Proverbs 30:11-20

11.

There is a generation that curse their father,

And bless not their mother.

12.

There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes,

And yet are not washed from their filthiness.

13.

There is a generation, of how lofty are their eyes!

And their eyelids are lifted up.

14.

There is a generation whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives,

To devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.

15.

The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give.

There are three things that are never satisfied, Yea, four that say not, Enough:

16.

Sheol; and the barren womb;

The earth that is not satisfied with water;
And the fire that saith not, Enough.

17.

The eye that mocketh at his father,

And despiseth to obey his mother,

The ravens of the valley shall pick it out,
And the young eagles shall eat it.

18.

There are three things which are too wonderful for me,

Yea, four which I know not:

19.

The way of an eagle in the air;

The way of a serpent upon a rock;

The way of a ship in the midst of the sea;
And the way of a man with a maiden.

20.

So is the way of an adulterous woman;

She eateth, and wipeth her mouth,
And saith, I have done no wickedness.

STUDY QUESTIONS OVER 30:11-20

1.

Is generation used in Proverbs 30:11 as we use it?

2.

Is the generation in Proverbs 30:12 the same as in Proverbs 30:11 or some other generation?

3.

What is wrong with the generation mentioned in Proverbs 30:13?

4.

To what extent will greedy people go in order to get gain (Proverbs 30:14)?

5.

Comment on horseleach (Proverbs 30:15).

6.

Can you name these four things without looking (Proverbs 30:16)?

7.

What is meant by the birds picking out such a one's eyes (Proverbs 30:17)?

8.

Too wonderful in what sense (Proverbs 30:18)?

9.

Comment upon each thing mentioned in Proverbs 30:19.

10. What does sin do to a person (Proverbs 30:20)?

PARAPHRASE OF 30:11-20

11-14.

There are those who curse their father and mother, and feel themselves faultless despite their many sins. They are proud beyond description, arrogant, disdainful. They devour the poor with teeth as sharp as knives!

15, 16.

There are two things never satisfied, like a leech forever craving more: no, three things! no, four! Hell, the barren womb, a barren desert, fire.

17.

A man who mocks his father and despises his mother shall have his eye plucked out by ravens and eaten by vultures.

18, 19.

There are three things too wonderful for me to understandno four! How an eagle glides through the sky, how a serpent crawls upon a rock, how a ship finds its way across the heaving ocean, the growth of love between a man and a girl.

20.

There is another thing too: how a prostitute can sin and then say, What's wrong with that?

COMMENTS ON 30:11-20

Proverbs 30:11. The next four verses all begin with, There is a generation. Is this a prophecy of a coming wicked generation? He doesn-'t say, There shall be a generation. Was it his own generation? He didn-'t say, This generation. Or was it four different generations being described in the four different statements? Likely what he says has fit various generations from time to time. For sure the four statements seem to fit our own generation, and others who have lived before us have felt that they fit theirs also. Our verse is picturing a generation openly violating the Fifth Commandment (Honor thy father and thy motherExodus 20:12). A child who does not honor and respect his parents is off to a bad start in life: the basis of good character is lacking. Imagine a whole generation of such and the society that would result! This verse and disobedient to parents in 2 Timothy 3:2 aptly find their fulfillment in the juvenile delinquency of our times.

Proverbs 30:12. It is natural for any people to have a concern over human guilt before God, not that everybody comes to God for cleansing and forgiveness. But our verse pictures a time when men will feel no need for such cleansing: they will feel all right as they are. Gospel preaching, evangelistic appeals, and surrender to Christ are indeed foreign, unnecessary, and indeed foolish to such a people. Nor does our present generation miss being this generation by much!

Proverbs 30:13. This verse describes a proud, conceited age. This was the sin of King Nebuchadnezzar. Remember his pride when one day as he was walking in his palace, he proudly said to himself, Is this not great Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelling-place, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty (Daniel 4:30)? This spirit is not far from the present attitude: See what we have done! Look at what man has accomplished! The more that man is puffed up with his own knowledge, own attainments, and own importance, the less he bows before God, seeks His will, and walks by faith. This is a dangerous spirit to get into.

Proverbs 30:14. This verse tells of a greedy age, when the big eat up the little, when the rich devour the poor. Have we not come to this time when everything big drives everything small out of business. The small farmer with no capital can no longer farm. The man with his small store on the corner can no longer compete. The greed mentioned in this verse has characterized many generations Amos 8:4 uses the same language: Hear this, O ye that would swallow up the needy, and cause the poor of the land to fail.

Proverbs 30:15. This verse and the one following will deal with things that seemingly cannot get enough, are never satisfied. To begin with, he compares them with the blood-sucking horseleach whose two daughters can never get enough blood (Give, give, they cry). But the number of things he has in mind are not two, so he raises it to three; and finally he says there are Four that say not, Enough.

Proverbs 30:16. What are those four? (1) Sheolthe abode of men's departed spirits. Sheol is never satisfied: it keeps claiming new victims and never says, Enough. Proverbs 27:20 and Habakkuk 2:5 also states that Sheol is never satisfied. (2) The barren wombthe married woman who has not been able to bear children. It keeps crying out for conception. Recall that the barren Rachel said to her husband Jacob, Give me children, or else I die (Genesis 30:1). Elkannah's words to his barren wife Hannah (Am I not better off to thee than ten sons?1 Samuel 1:8) did not satisfy her longing for offspring (read 1 Samuel 1:4-11). (3) The earthoh, how quickly it dries out after a heavy rain and is ready for more! (4) Fireinstead of being extinguished from fuel put upon it, fire leaps higher and roars louder as if to say, More, more. Actually, what is the moral of such a verse? We conjecture a guess: not so much for the sake of the earth and fire not being satisfied but to remind man of the coming of death and that the barren womb of woman can be a problem.

Proverbs 30:17. Mixed in with the groupings of this chapter are occasional single-proverbs (such as this verse and Proverbs 30:10). This verse returns to the subject of Proverbs 30:11. Other passages on showing disrespect to one's parents: Genesis 9:22; Leviticus 20:9, Proverbs 20:20. On this verse: Such an undutiful son shall die a violent death; his corpse shall lie unburied, and the birds of prey shall feed upon him...Ravens, vultures, and other birds that live on carrion first attack the eyes of their prey (Pulpit Commentary).

Proverbs 30:18. Agur begins another seriesthis time four things he can but wonder at but not comprehend. Job 42:3 speaks of Things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.

Proverbs 30:19. What are these four things that excited Agur's wonderment? (1) The way of an eagle in the airhow marvelous his flight! (2) The way of a serpent on a rockhow man likes to conceal himself and study such! (3) The way of a ship in the midst of the seato see a large vessel take to the deep waters and to go with no land in sight was another marvel. (4) The way of a man with a maidenit remains a marvel the way that love develops between two people and grows into the ultimate relation of husband and wife. We personally think the Paraphrase gets to the correct idea better than the commentaries. The Paraphrase reads: There are three things too wonderful for me to understandno four! How an eagle glides through the sky. How a serpent crawls upon a rock. How a ship finds its way across the heaving ocean. The growth of love between a man and a girl.

Proverbs 30:20. And here is another thing to marvel at: how an adulterous woman can sin, knowing she has sinned, and say, I have done no wickedness. She would fit the Generation spoken in Proverbs 30:12 (pure in their own eyes, and yet are not washed from their filthiness).

TEST QUESTIONS OVER 30:11-20

1.

Comment upon generation as used in Proverbs 30:11-14.

2.

Which commandment of the Ten would be violated by those in Proverbs 30:11?

3.

What is the picture of those in Proverbs 30:12?

4.

What evidence can you think of that might relate our generation with what is said in Proverbs 30:13?

5.

Has Proverbs 30:14 characterized many generations or an occasional one?

6.

Proverbs 30:15 introduces four things that seemingly are never ............

7.

What are those four (Proverbs 30:16)?

8.

Comment upon Proverbs 30:17.

9.

What type of things does Proverbs 30:18 introduce?

10.

What are those four things (Proverbs 30:19)?

11.

What additional thing to marvel at was mentioned in Proverbs 30:20?