Proverbs 30:21-23 says,...

Today's verses are Proverbs 30:21-23, which read,

Under three things the earth quakes, and under four, it cannot bear up:  under a slave when he becomes a king, and a fool when he is satisfied with food, under an unloved woman when she gets a husband, and a maidservant when she supplants her mistress.

Agur is keeping up with giving us three and then adding a fourth to think about.  Today it is about what shakes the earth.  The earth probably means society and that it is upset when these things happen.  Some roles are reversed here that bring discomfort to many.

The first is the servant or slave who becomes a king.  Usually this person is not prepared for the responsibility or have the education to pull this off for the betterment of the whole.  Agur gives us the "what usually happens" but we also know from Scripture that servants and slaves do become king at times.  We have Joseph who goes from servant to Potiphar and also the jail keeper to second in command to Pharaoh and the earth shook in a good way with his following after God in all things.  We have David who was the youngest and the shepherd boy who became king.  We have Jesus who came as the son of a carpenter and now sits at the right hand of God.  God can make this transition happen for the good of all but when God is out of the picture for seeking His wisdom, the servant or slave turned king can be disastrous.  Many times the unprepared servant can have the position and its power go to his or her head and make poor decisions based on a "big head."

The second is the fool who has become rich and that was usually indicated by the girth of the waist.  Those who were rich were able to eat rich foods and also not have to do manual work so they increased in size.  The fool has more than he needs and so instead of using those resources for the betterment of others, he over indulges and makes himself more of a fool than before.  I can't think of any positive examples of the opposite of this in Scripture because a fool is never presented as a good thing in Scripture.  There are plenty of examples of this action with the kings who reigned during the time of the divided kingdom.  The world or society shakes and quakes when we have a "me" centered attitude and action rather than an "other" centered attitude and action.

The third is an unloved woman who gets married.  We will see a very different woman in the next chapter.  This lady may be unattractive or unattractive in her ways.  She is hard to love and therefore takes it out on those around her and especially her spouse.  Many times we put our best foot forward during those times of courtship and the other doesn't see what we are really like.  After the marriage our true nature appears and our spouse may wonder where this person came from.  This is not the same person I was dating.  An example of this given in Scripture is the story of Jacob and Rachel and Leah.  Genesis 29:30 and 31 says,

Jacob slept with Rachel also, and indeed, he loved Rachel more than Leah.  And he worked for Laban another seven years.  When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, he opened her womb; but Rachel was unable to conceive.

The account between Jacob, Rachel, Leah, and Laban reads like a soap opera.  This is definitely not going the way that Jacob had planned in his head and his world was shaking.  Relationships need love and when it is not given or not acted upon toward others it makes a very unhappy home.  We say the phrase, "If momma isn't happy then no one is happy" but should we ask if momma is being loved or is momma displaying unlovely actions?  An unloved person will respond to try to get it and an unlovely person will try to bring others into the state that they are in.  Both are bad.

The fourth and final is maidservant who supplants her mistress.  This is the servant girl who ousts her queen.  This could be the account of Hagar and Sarah in the book of Genesis found in chapter 16.  The earth quakes, society shakes, when God's principles are overlooked or overrun by man's desires.  Maybe another bad example of this is the account of King Henry the VIII and his many wives.  Each of these examples shows us what happens when foolish practices are followed by the person mentioned or by others around that person that put them into that place.  The famous quote from Edmund Burke applies here that says, 

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

I think many situations that shake society and quake our world are because those following after God have stopped or not stepped up to make Him known and allowed the foolish to be where they should not be.  It is hard at times because it is not popular at times.  We could have a part in why these situations are happening.  I guess that is enough word pictures for the day.  Let us be those who follow after God to be used by Him to shake or quake our world to see Him rather than the fool who is taking the spotlight for the time being.  Let us pray.

"Lord, things get out of whack at times.  We suffer from the foolishness of others and also from our own foolishness of not following after You always.  Help us to see when we need to do something or say something in relationship to You.  Amen."

Pastor Adam