Part 5
There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise:
“The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;
“The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks; “The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands.
“The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in king’s palaces.”
We have talked about the first three little things, the ants, the comes, and the locusts; now we learn of the last one. It is thought that the word for the last of these four small creatures should be “lizard”, instead of “spider”. In our land, spiders are often in houses and make their webs there, but a lizard is seldom ever inside a house. However, in warm lands the lizards are more common, and small one’s crawl into houses and move about. Such a small creature could have no part in building or furnishing a palace, yet it was “wise” to make its way into the very best places.
Let us think what we can learn from this wise little thing: kings’ palaces have useful and beautiful things, treasures from many lands; so God has great blessings now and for eternity, which any who are humble or “little” may enter into. The greatest “palace” for now is perhaps the Bible, for without that we would not know of Christ or of any of God’s blessings.
We might call each book of the Bible a room in tins great “palace”: suppose the Book of Genesis is the first room; there is ever so much more there than we could “see” in a very long-life time. But we would learn of the first days of earth, the first people, the first sin, the first nations and much more that will be useful to us all our lives.
In every “room” there are things helpful for us in school, at work, in pleasures, or in trouble, and very much to give joy.
When the man Agur told of this wise little thing, the people did not have all of the Old Testament. Now we have the New Testament also, so there are many “rooms” in this “palace” for us.
Some say they do not understand the Bible; others say they do not believe it, and have no hope of God’s blessings; they have not been “little” or “wise” like the small creature, and gone into the great “palace” to see its truth and beauty. God will make those who believe Him, “wise” to know and go about there.
When you hear or read God’s Word you can think it is like a fine palace, and take notice of what treasures and wonders you can “see” there, and you will find more every day.
The wise king wrote of the Wisdom of God as a house:
God has shown His wisdom in many ways, but it is by the Scriptures we learn of Him, so they are like a house which we may enter into.
Pillars are what support a house and make it strong; those who have studied much of God’s Words notice the number seven teaches of God’s perfect or complete works, so God’s “house” of the Scriptures is perfect.
ML 05/11/1941