We’re told nothing about the prophet Agur except the names of his father and a couple of his disciples. Everything else we read—in footnotes, commentaries and Bible dictionaries—is speculation. But we get a few more insights about him in the opening verses of Proverbs 30.
God, I’m so weary and worn out, I feel more like a beast than a man. I was made in your image, but I lack understanding. I’ve yet to learn the wisdom that comes from the full and intimate knowledge of you, the Holy One.[1]
Agur sounds pretty much like you and me.
We’re perky when we’re first saved, relieved that the threat of hell is no longer on the table and amazed as we realize how much God loves us—even when we ignored, mocked, maybe even hated him.
Over the years, though, we seem to drift into a rut now and again. The more we learn about him, the less we seem to know. And the nearer we get to him, the more distant we feel, because our desire for him is increasing.
But this is the path into God’s kingdom. It has open stretches for running full speed, twists and turns to keep things interesting and darkness and fog to keep us reaching for him.
Now and again, however, we turn a corner to find a dead end and a mountain rising through the clouds. Our strength drains and puddles around our shoes. We have no idea where we are. We’re determined not to go back, but we have no idea how to move forward.
So we sit at the foot of the mountain, and we wait, wondering day and night, as Agur did:
Who is it that travels back and forth from the heavenly realm to the earth? Who controls the wind as it blows and holds it in his fists? Who tucks the rain into the cloak of his clouds? Who stretches out the skyline from one vista to the other?[2]
Then, one morning, the mountain opens wide, and God stands there grinning at us. He’s not the way we remember him. He’s different. But we know he’s the same, and there’s no doubt who he is as he takes our hand and guides us along mysterious new roads and around new corners until we find ourselves facing the next mountain. And each time, we’re a little less anxious and feel a little less alone.
~ Photograph by Vasilly Skuratov
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[1] Proverbs 30:1-3, TPT.
[2] Ibid. v. 4.
