Proverbs 30:15-17 says,...

Today's verses are Proverbs 30:15-17, which read,

v.15, 16 - The leech has two daughters, "Give," "Give."  There are three things that will not be satisfied, Four that will not say, "Enough":  Sheol, and the barren womb, earth that is never satisfied with water, and fire that never says, "Enough."

Agur, the writer of these proverbs, gives us some every ugly word pictures today.  Remember getting blood suckers on you when swimming in the pond down the road?  "Get them off of me!" was the cry to your mom.  The leech latches onto another living being to get us nourishment by wounding it so it can draw out the blood of life.  I remember catching fish that had leeches attached to them or seeing the effects of where a leech was.  

Agur uses a technique to draw attention to what leeches of life do.  He repeats and he adds one after the original number to make the point that this is important to know.  The leech has two daughters and their names are the same, "Give" and "Give."  There are three things that will not be satisfied and then he adds a fourth.  We saw this back in Proverbs 6:16 through 19 which reads,

"The LORD hates six things; in fact, seven are detestable to Him:  arrogant eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed blood, a heart that plots wicked schemes, feet eager to run to evil, a lying witness who gives false testimony, and one who stirs up trouble among brothers."

Those who follow after the world are in mode of always wanting more and drawing that more from others.  They take advantage of others to try to satisfy their immediate desires.  This leech is called a horseleech which would reside in the pools of water waiting for a horse to stick its snout in for a drink.  It would fasten to the tongue and nostrils of the horse and it had a vicious bite to latch on.

Let us look at the four things.  Sheol, which is hell or the nether world, is always looking for one more as Satan is very satisfied.  The barren womb of a Hebrew lady was considered a curse and therefore it was a common prayer to have a child and then more children if possible.  The earth soaks up what comes from the sky and was even able to handle the flood.  A fire consumes and continues to consume as it receives more resources like we have seen in California in recent days.  All of these things are not bad but they show the desire of more.  What do we want more of?  What is the object of our more?  Does the more suck the life out of another or does it add to the life of another?  A very ugly picture we have here but I think it does the trick to get us to see how "give, give" and "never enough" are the life of a fool at the expense of others. 

v.17 - The eye that mocks a father and scorns a mother, the ravens of the valley will pick it out and the young eagles will eat it.

The eye is the window to the soul.  It takes in images good and bad.  The eye that focuses on mocking and scorning of parents will come to an awful end.  The ravens and eagles come to eat what has died and they start with the eyes.  They pluck out what was taking in these ideas that disrespected others.  It was a threat of Goliath to David in 1 Samuel 17:44, which reads,

"Come here," the Philistine called to David, "and I'll give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts!"

It was a terrible end of life and God uses it to describe what happens to those who despises or disrespects others.  Here are some more questions to ponder.  What am I taking in with my eyes?  Does it honor others or does it dishonor them?  Does it offer me to lift them up or encourage the practice of tearing them down?  Does the image of our eyes be plucked out by scavenger birds affect us or are we like a leech sucking the life out of others for more, more, and more?  Two very terrible images today to shock us to see the effects of living a life that is not honoring onto God.  Let us pray.

"Lord, we squirm at the sight of a leech and we turn away at the practice of the raven or vulture disposing of a dead animal along the road.  Both scenes are disgusting and so are our actions of desiring what others have and disrespecting especially those given to us to care for us.  May the images have an effect on us to stop these ungodly practices and fall on our knees in submission to Your words and ways.  Amen."

Pastor Adam