"I am the most ignorant of men; I do not have a man's understanding. I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One. Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow of his hands? Who has wrapped up the waters in his cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and the name of his son? Tell me if you know!" Proverbs 30:2-4
His name is Agur. We know so little about this guy except his name really. We know his dad's name is Jakeh, and that he is probably from Massa. But that's about it.
Agur collected some wise sayings known as "proverbs." He didn't collect all of the proverbs - there were other collectors and authors of the proverbs like King Solomon - but Agur did collect (or author) some of them. Proverbs 30 is the bulk of that collection.
I'm not sure what was going on in Agur's mind when he wrote the first few verses that I noted above. Clearly, the later verses (like verse 5 of that chapter) indicate that he deeply believed in God and that God was a shield to those who took their refuge in Him. It also appears that Agur has no problem believing that God is huge. Gathering wind in the hollow of your hands? Gone to heaven and come down? Wrapped the waters in his cloak? Established the ends of the earth? Yep, that's huge alright.
Yet, Agur says that he is incredibly ignorant of God, and even asks His name, and the name of His Son. While this may be an interesting OT prophecy related to the Messiah (the Son of God), I am thinking more about why he felt he was so ignorant of God - to the point of not even being sure of His name. I guess that Agur knows God's covenant name, so I think his statement about not knowing God's name is hyperbole related to how he feels increasingly ignorant in His knowledge of God. At least, I think so. But this kind of statement - that this huge God is blowing my mind to the place that I feel ignorant of Who He Is - seems like something that strikes a chord with me.
I sometimes think about how long I have journeyed with God. It's really been 20 years now for me. In that time, I have answered God's call to serve Him vocationally in ministry, I have completed Master's and Doctoral degrees in the study of Him, I have preached hundreds of sermons from a deep study of His Word, and have spiritually led thousands of people in that time. Yet there are some mornings - even like today - that I don't think I know God very well at all. It seems that the more I know, and the older I get, God seems to get even larger than I imagined. Far from getting a handle on God because of my study and years of knowing Him, it actually seems the opposite most days.
This obviously was something that must have registered with the great author, C.S. Lewis as well. In Prince Caspian, one of the books in the Chronicles of Narnia, the young Lucy returns to Narnia and finds Aslan (a lion that is representative metaphorically of Christ). When Lucy sees Aslan, she seems amazed because she perceives him to have grown since the last time she saw him. But Aslan replies, "I have not [grown]...Every year you grow, you will find me bigger."
That, it seems to me, is quite true. Maybe that's the sentiment Agur was aiming at - that the more we get to know God, the bigger He appears to us; big to the point of having to try and get to know Him all over again.
