Proverbs 30:24 There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise
Your life is not static, which is to say, it will not be exactly the same now as it will be in five, ten, or fifteen years. If I were to ask you if you would rather be wise or wealthy, what would you say? Wealth is something that can come or go, but wisdom is the thing you need to keep any wealth or health you have. Here is a guy who wins a million dollars in the lottery. After ten years you see him and think, “Where is his money now?” Well, if he doesn’t have wisdom, he won’t keep wealth. This is just a basic principle of life. Oftentimes we wish to be healthy, wealthy, smart, strong, or powerful, but wisdom is really important. It is your greatest strength.
Proverbs 30:24 says, “There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise.” These things have little strength, but a lot of wisdom. If you have to choose one or the other, you ought to go with wisdom because wisdom is necessary to keep any other good thing you may enjoy.
So, there are four creatures and four words I would to give you today. First, we have ants. Verse 25 says, “The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer.” When it comes to ants, the word is preparation. Ants seem to be nearly indestructible. You see their little cities with roads and homes and it seems they are going every which way at a hundred miles an hour. Maybe you put a foot on their ant mound. If you come back a couple of days later, it is likely to be back in place. That is hard work, but there is also something called preparation.
Ants may seem like they have vacated their town in mid-January, but they have just burrowed deep under the ground. I assume they are hibernating, but there will come a time when they will thrive again. That thriving is made possible because of preparations for nourishment they have made. In the times of plenty they prepare for the times of cold. If you don’t prepare, then you are not wise. Wisdom helps us in preparation.
Second, we have the coney. Verse 26 says, “The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks.” What specifically is this critter? Well, it is a feeble critter that makes its home in the rocks. The animal that comes to my mind is the marmot, which is essentially a mountain rodent. It is a little prairie dog type creature that hides in the rocks at high elevations on the mountains. I have been in the high mountains in late August when it was snowing a little, the wind was blowing, visibility was poor, and the trail got slick. That is where the conies live.
Down on the lowland of Tennessee I probably could get the best of a coney, not that I would want to, with a rock and a good aim, but when I am on the mountain, the coney can hide in the rocks. So, when I try to go against a coney, I am fighting the mountain. Why? The word here is delegation. A coney isn’t mighty, but he hides in the rocks. He is delegating to the mountain the strength that he needs. Delegation is a wise thing. I don’t need to be smart enough, powerful enough, or rich enough. I need to know to delegate where I am weak. That takes wisdom.
Third, we have locusts. Verse 27 says, “The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands.” The word here might be organization. A locust is a small animal, but put together with the force of the others they can devour a land in mere moments. None of us are intended to be lone rangers. We are intended to work in tandem with other people for a common purpose. So, organization requires wisdom.
The last creature is the spider. Verse 28 says, “The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings’ palaces.” I wouldn’t be shocked if there isn’t a little lizard in any South American presidential palace. I wouldn’t be shocked if there is a spider in the White House. Can you imagine being a spider in the White House, the conversations you would hear and the people you would have the privilege of frightening? The word with the spider is habitation. Here is a lowly spider living in a king’s palace or the White House.
The point is, don’t limit yourself to one metric, that you’ve got to be smart enough, rich enough, or whatever. You can’t keep the gifts you have if you don’t have the good sense to use them. Wisdom is key. Verse 5 says, “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.” Today, put your trust in God and take heed to the words He has given. They are pure; they work; and they give wisdom. That is what Proverbs is about. Wisdom is your greatest strength.