Four Little things that are Exceeding Wise
Proverbs 30:24 There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise:
25 The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;
26 The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks; 27 The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands; 28 The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings’ palaces.
There are many lessons that can be learned from God's creation. This evening I want to consider these four little creatures that Solomon said are “exceeding wise”, and see if we can learn anything from their wisdom.
Vs. 25 The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;
I want to see that ants are wise in planning, in preparation, and in providing for the future.
They plan for the future - They set goals and objectives for their future needs.
That's a wise lesson for us. Look ahead and plan for unforeseen or hard times.
They prepare for the future - They carry out their plans by preparation through industry and hard work, and long hours while they are able. The winter will come when they can't work! They are not strong, but by hard consistent labor they accomplish their goal!
Well, hard work is not only good advice, but it is Biblical. We aren't strong either, but by consistent hard work we can accomplish our goals, whether as a church or as individuals! But the key to success I think is consistency.
Next, they provide for the future when that time comes - In other words, they make use of the goods that were prepared for that purpose. They don't store it up just to hoard it up! But they use it for the intended purpose, which was to provide their food in the winter.
We should also use our resources for their intended purpose, for the glory of God. If we've planned and prepared by hard work to do something for the Lord's work, then we need to do it. Don't hoard it up. Some Baptist Churches are guilty of hoarding money instead of using it to advance the kingdom of God, or maintain their church properties. That's not being wise with the Lord's money.
And don't be like our government and save money toward one thing and then spend it on something else entirely! I think that's what's wrong with the Social Security system, among other things. But use the Lord’s money wisely for the intended spiritual purpose for the glory of God. And don't squander it by spending it on unnecessary things that don't help the church property or advance the kingdom of Christ.
Like the ants, be diligent and hardworking, and use the Lord's resources wisely!
Vs. 26 The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks;
Conies are wise for their safety, separation, and their solidarity.
They take great care for their safety - Conies, they say, are similar to rabbits. And like rabbits they are feeble. But unlike rabbits, they say that conies can't dig with their feet, so they aren't able to live in holes. So instead, they make their houses in the rocks where their enemies can't get to them. That is sound wisdom!
Beloved, spiritually speaking, Christ is our Rock of salvation, and we are safe in Him! Like the conies, we are a feeble folk, but with Jesus as our refuge we are safe from all our enemies. Death, hell, the grave, the devil, or the world can't touch the child of God who is hidden in the Rock of Ages!
I also believe we should care for our physical safety and the safety of our families. As I say often, and you well know, we are living in a dangerous world. We need to be safety conscious!
Next, they live separated lives - They separate themselves from other creatures in their rock houses, where they are not only safe but also protected from exposure to the allurements of the world around them. They say that curiosity killed the cat. Well curiosity can kill the conie too! But wisdom teaches the conies to be a separated people!
Believers are also to be separated from the world, to protect ourselves from the evil influences and allurements, and temptations of the sinful world around us. We are charged by God Himself to come out from among them, and be separated unto Him alone! (2 Corinthians 6:17).
Finally, they dwell together in solidarity - Like rabbits, conies are gregarious animals, and live together in close knit colonies in their rock houses.
We likewise are to be gregarious, and dwell together like a colony, or family, in our Rock House, which is the local New Testament Church! We also socialize (or fellowship) with other believers in their Rock Houses here and about the land. We believe in solidarity, but not isolation! We are not hermits, but we are to be wise in our associations with this world, including the religious world!
Vs. 27 The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands;
Locusts are wise in unification, communication, and mobilization.
They are unified like a mighty army, yet without a king over them - If you are familiar with locusts, you know that they work together in groups of millions and even billions! Yet they are perfectly unified in their purpose and work to destroy every green thing in their path! And they do this without a king or Army General over them.
Likewise, we should have this same kind of unity in our purpose and work for Jesus. Unity is one of the most important things for a church to master! Because without unity we will lose our effectiveness, and eventually fall apart and die. Unlike locusts, however, we do have a King over us, but He went back to a far country to receive for Himself a kingdom and to return. (Luke 19:12). And we are on the “honor system” to do the work that He gave us to do in His absence. We also have His Word wherein we can find all the instructions and help that we need to do the work He gave us to do. And also, unlike the locusts, who go forth to devour the land, we are to go forth and plant, and water, and reap the harvest for our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ!
Locusts are also wise in communication - They communicate with one another using chemical signals and through physical interactions, which combine to make an elaborate and effective communication system. They all know what everyone else is doing. They know exactly when to gather, when to swarm, when to stop and eat, and when to disperse.
We likewise should be good communicators. As a church we should all be on the same page, with everyone knowing what the church is doing. Everyone knowing our purpose as a church, and our plans for accomplishing that purpose. Everyone taking our place, and getting in line, as it were, to fulfill our purpose in the body of Christ. We should all be in tune with the Holy Spirit in the church, who invisibly leads and directs the church in all of its endeavors.
And locusts are wise in mobilization - Locusts don't just sit around and talk about what they want to do, or what they should do, but they mobilize and do their work.
We also need to mobilize in unity to get our work done for Jesus. We do a lot of talking about what we want to do, and need to do as the Lord’s Churches, but sometimes we are slow and sluggish to mobilize to do the work! There is a lot of work to be done. If the locusts didn't mobilize to do their work, it wouldn't get done. The same is true for us!
Vs. 28 The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings’ palaces.
The spider is wise in agility, ingenuity, and adaptability.
First, spiders are agile creatures - They can go anywhere with their eight legs and eight sticky little feet! (and I for one hate spiders). They get into King's palaces, they get into my house, and no doubt they are in your house too! And they climb and go anywhere they want to, even into our beds at night!
We also need to be agile. We need to be able to go anywhere and everywhere with the gospel! We need to be able to overcome all the physical and spiritual barriers that would hinder us from reaching the lost with the gospel wherever they are in the world.
Spiders have great ingenuity - They are clever and creative creatures. They can build their webs about anywhere with amazing skill. They can figure out a way to set their traps in every place where they can catch their unsuspecting prey.
We also need to have ingenuity in our service to Jesus. We need to be creative and innovative to discover ways to reach souls with the gospel. Like Brother Cockrel once wrote in one of his books on the church - “We are not Methodists, but we believe in using methods”! The gospel message never changes, but how we get the gospel to the lost world might have to be tweaked and modified if we want to reach lost souls in our modern world!
For example, many (if not most) people won't answer their doors today; and I don't blame them. We live in a crazy world! So then, door knocking isn't as effective as it used to be. But we can leave a tract or an invitation on their door or on their porch. Or we can talk to them about Jesus in other places where we find them in life. God gave us an imagination, so we need to use it for the glory of God, and the furtherance of the gospel! Spiders are wise in their ingenuity, and they also teach us to be wise in this way.
And finally, spiders are adaptable - The same spider can adapt to the slums or to the White House, and everywhere in between. They're not so set in their spider ways that they can only live in the palace!
Well, beloved, Baptists have always been able to adapt to wherever the Lord sends us or puts us. Hopefully we Baptists today haven't become so accustomed to luxury and finery in modern America that we can't adapt to the people of lower estate than we are.
God help us Baptists to remember our humble roots. Most of our forefathers were poor. They were made poor and kept poor by our enemies! But on the other side of the coin, we also need to know how to adapt to the rich, and mighty, and nobles of the world, because Jesus even saves some of them as well. In other words, let us put off all our prejudices, and like Paul, let us become all things to all men that we might by all means save some!
In conclusion, are we wise like the ants, who plan, prepare, and provide for their own in the hard times of winter?
Are we wise like the conies, who are concerned for the safety, separation, and solidarity of their own people?
Are we wise like the locusts who are wise in unification, communication, and mobilization to effectively accomplish their work?
And finally, are we wise like the spider, who is wise in agility, ingenuity, and adaptability, who can go anywhere and be successful and prosperous.
I hope that we have learned some lessons from these four exceeding wise little creatures this evening!