I have not done many devotional studies as part of this blog but not too long ago I was reading through Proverbs. As often happens, in reading through a text that I had read many times before, I was struck by something new. Proverbs 30:7-9 says:
“7 Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: 8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, 9 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.”
This proverb is perhaps unique in that it is a prayer directed to the Lord, a request from a person who has a living faith to the God who sanctifies him. It is by no means intended to be the exclusive prayer of the saint, but it does show the importance of two qualities in the Christian life which are often neglected.
The Importance of Honesty
The proverb directs the believer to ask God to make him an honest, truth-telling person. Perhaps it is overly simplistic to note that this exhortation has to be made. However, the fact that the prayer is offered points out the Christian may still be tempted with, and fall into, dishonesty. As a result, the proverb makes an appeal to the Lord that He would work in the Christian what he is unable to accomplish on his own. The prayer of the proverb is that he be kept from “falsehood and lying.” But why is truthfulness so significant to the Christian?
The Bible teaches that Jesus is the embodiment of the truth (John 14:6), while the devil is the father of lies (John 8:44). Since the Bible calls believers to imitate the Lord (Ephesians 5:1) and since Jesus attributes the lies of the Pharisees to the fact that they are children of the devil (John 8:44), the issue of truth telling is very closely related to spiritual parentage. In fact, speaking the truth is so important that God includes it as part of the Moral Law, summarized in the Ten Commandments. The ninth commandment specifically deals with honesty.
In the Westminster Shorter Catechism’s explanation of the ninth commandment it summarizes its function as “maintaining and promoting of truth between man and man.” That means its intention goes beyond telling the truth in a court of law. Verses like Proverbs 30:7 bear that out as it is addresses removing falsehood and lying in a more general sense.
Falsehood can have an obvious meaning, but there is a sense in which we can actually use the truth to promote falsehood. An example would be gossip. Gossip is a truthful communication of facts for a false end. Of course, falsehood is also the communication of what is not true. An example would be slander. In slander false information, or maybe information that is only partially true is shared. Both gossip and slander show up in Christian circles. The proverb exhorts Christians to ask God to turn them away from those things. However, the more obvious meaning about falsehood deals with lying.
Lying is the willful and intentional distortion or withholding of the truth for the purpose of deceiving another person. So, if someone asks another how his day is going, and he answers with a non-chalant, “fine,” he has not lied even if he did stub his toe earlier in the morning. There is no intent to deceive. But if a person conceals or alters the truth in an attempt to deceive, then he has lied. That person is speaking the language of the devil; it is sinful. And sin requires a Christian response.
The Christian struggling with honesty must repent of his sin. Confession should be made to the Lord and to the person who has been deceived. Yet the Christian is not concerned merely with forgiveness. He delights in the putting on of Christ and His righteousness. That is not simply a forensic and legal condition. The Christian delights to “walk in His ways.” (Deut. 26:17). Prayer is a request for God’s strength to make that a reality, to be enabled to speak the truth in love and forsake the temptation of speaking falsehood and lies. But that is only the first request in the proverb. The second part deals with riches.
The Importance of Contentment
The second part of the prayer offered in the proverb is that of contentment. It asks God to provide for material needs without either deprivation or excess. It is not unlike the fourth petition of the Lord’s Prayer: “Give us this day our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11). Westminster Shorter Catechism #104 summarizes that petition as asking for a “competent portion of the good things of this life.” That same request is made in this proverb as well. It asks for neither riches nor poverty.
Agur asks the Lord to provide him with his needs so that two scenarios would be avoided. First, he does not wish to be tempted to steal through poverty. Second, he does not wish tempted to deny his need for God because of his riches. And the balance of the Christian life is to receive from God’s hand whatever shape his providential distribution of wealth may take. The riches of eternal life and reconciliation to God received in Christ are of far more worth than any material blessings of this life. Therefore, the heart of the Christian ought first to be delighted with the gift of salvation resulting in contentment in all other circumstances. This proverb is not the only place in the Bible where contentment is urged.
Contentment is the positive subject of the 10th commandment. Negatively, this commandment forbids covetousness, which is a desire for the things providentially given by God to others. But in studying the law of God, the intent in the negatives is not simply to curtail certain behaviors, but to encourage the Christian to pursue the opposite virtue. The Westminster Shorter Catechism puts it this way:
80. What is required in the tenth commandment?
The tenth commandment requireth full contentment with our own condition, with a right and charitable frame of spirit toward our neighbor, and all that is his.
There is a tremendous emphasis on contentment in the Bible. That contentment is grounded in viewing Christ as the greatest treasure of all. When that treasure is graciously given to a person, all other things will fade into the background. Of course, people fail to live out their gratitude consistently.
1 Timothy 6:10a warns the Christian that “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.” Jesus Himself says it another way in Matthew 6:24: “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” There is the danger of forming an affectionate attachment to riches, setting them ahead of the Lord, looking to them as what gives joy and purpose. That is to create an idol in life. On the other hand, what is seen in Jesus’ own words is not a rejection of all forms of wealth. That would be to deny that all good gifts come down from heaven (James 1:17). However, the concern for riches should always be a subservient concern. Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever (Westminster Shorter Catechism #1).
But a love for God is a love for who He is. He is the truth and He is the Christian’s treasure. There is, of course, much more that can be said about God and how belonging to Him changes the Christian. But here in this proverb there are two “acceptable sins” and yet these are singled out for a special prayer by Agur. That makes this section of Scripture a good aid for self-examination and a good place to visit as part of family worship.