Three Things that Amaze – No, Make that Four!

Near the end of a book written to teach us wisdom, comes a portrait of four things that can leave you in awe. Proverbs 30:18-19 says,

There are three things that amaze me—

no, four things that I don’t understand:

how an eagle glides through the sky,

how a snake slithers on a rock,

how a ship navigates the ocean,

how a man loves a woman.

Well-spring of Life

The Book of Proverbs is more than just a collection of witty observations about life. It is a passionate plea to adopt the best path – and that begins at the source. “Above all else,” the teacher says, “guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:23. The heart is a deep aquifer from which everything flows, my motives, my speech, my actions, passions and decisions. As these ‘waters’ flow out of my heart they have the potential to aggravate or enrich the people around me.

For a fully embodied wisdom, the teacher urges us in this text to guard my ears, eyes, lips and feet, all of which express externally what the heart devises.

Drenched By the Dew of Heaven

The dew fell generously on the gardens of Nebuchadnezzar. His palace and gardens were one of the wonders of the world and he took pride in his architectural achievements. But he was about to learn an important life-lesson from the silent power of the dew.

As he tells his story in Daniel Chapter 4, he was at home in his palace contended and prosperous, when he had a dream that made him afraid, terrified him, in fact. He dreamed of a magnificent tree cut down by a decree from heaven; the tree had a human mind, but it lost its sanity and became like an animal. exposed to the weather for seven years.

A palace advisor named Daniel interpreted the dream as a warning to the king and urged him to practice mercy and justice.

Darwin Awards - The Jesus Edition

Since 1994, the Darwin Awards have held up a mirror to human folly. Their tongue-in-cheek books and web-site tell true stories of people who, as they say, ‘live in the shallow end of the gene pool’, people who 'show an astounding lack of judgment and cause their own demise'.

'Terminal stupidity', they call it, with lethal personal consequences. They cite these stories not to laugh at calamity, but as cautionary tales.

Jesus used a different metaphor, but his insight into disastrous human stupidity is just as clear. His story about the foolish carpenter and the raging river seems the perfect parable for April Fools Day!

As a carpenter Jesus knew the consequences of shoddy house-building. He probably knew peasants in the hills around Nazareth who skimped on the foundations of hasty summer-built houses only to see their investment collapse in ruins when the winter rains fell and the wadis swelled with torrential floods that tore the earth away from their doorsteps.

Rooted by the River-bank

I’ve always been impressed by the rugged roots of cedars growing along shale ravines.  Those roots worry their way down through fissures in the rock searching out the waters below. 

I love walking along woodland streams where gurgling waters keep plants alive and healthy despite the constant shade of the over-hanging tree cover.

Flowing streams provide continuous moisture and nutrients for the plants and animals that live along their banks. 

Ocean Vents

Solomon was an astute observer of nature. In his Song of Wisdom in Proverbs 8 he celebrates the intelligent design he sees in the very fabric of our complex world.

He particularly singles out the wonders of water – and how consistently it functions.

► Oceans are enormous but measurable and well-regulated. Despite tidal variations and gale-force winds, gravity holds the sea in place.

► Above us, clouds, which are the epitome of freedom in motion, are nevertheless ‘established’.

► Below us, the 'fountains of the deep' are 'securely fixed'. This doesn’t mean that geological fissures never shift, but that laws of hydrology are constant and reliable. Aquifers store water and release their stores to the world above in ways that well-drillers can rely on.

Before The Oceans . . .

The Song of Wisdom

I was born before the oceans were created,

I was there when the LORD established the heavens,

when he drew the horizon on the oceans.

I was there when he set the clouds above,

when he established springs deep in the earth.

I was there when he set the limits of the seas,

so they would not spread beyond their boundaries.

And when he marked off the earth’s foundations,

I was the architect at his side.

I was his constant delight,

rejoicing always in his presence.

And how happy I was with the world he created;

how I rejoiced with the human family!