The Link Between Chaos and Arrogance

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Sunday - 9:15 AM Sunday School, 10:30 AM Worship Service

by: Denise Robinson

05/04/2021

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Today's first verses are intended to be satirical rather than taken literally. But in the ancient Near East, they describe a world turned upside down. Things which upset the social order threaten the overall stability of the world. Agur writes:


Under three things the earth trembles; under four it cannot bear up: a slave when he becomes king, and a fool when glutted with food; an unloved woman when she gets a husband, and a maid when she succeeds her mistress. (Prov. 30:21-23)

In each of these four examples, we have to understand an underlying message: they share an arrogant behavior. A slave in that time would've been uneducated, illiterate, and have no experience or ability to rule. There is also an assumption in all of the examples that the person (slave, fool, hated woman, and maid) would take advantage of others if suddenly they were granted power and position. 

Meditation: There is some here with which we would disagree (although Agur doesn't write these as universal truths but, rather, as humorous - tongue in cheek - illustrations of things which create chaos and bring disunity). He's not talking about a woman who, after a time, finally finds love or person born in poverty improving his economic / social status. What things do you see that threaten our social order, that tear at the fabric of our society? COVID and the reactions to it? Social media and its use and abuse? Our political divisiveness? The disunity in our churches? Once you have thought about your examples, how often is arrogance a part of the division? What does that say about us as human beings?
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Today's first verses are intended to be satirical rather than taken literally. But in the ancient Near East, they describe a world turned upside down. Things which upset the social order threaten the overall stability of the world. Agur writes:


Under three things the earth trembles; under four it cannot bear up: a slave when he becomes king, and a fool when glutted with food; an unloved woman when she gets a husband, and a maid when she succeeds her mistress. (Prov. 30:21-23)

In each of these four examples, we have to understand an underlying message: they share an arrogant behavior. A slave in that time would've been uneducated, illiterate, and have no experience or ability to rule. There is also an assumption in all of the examples that the person (slave, fool, hated woman, and maid) would take advantage of others if suddenly they were granted power and position. 

Meditation: There is some here with which we would disagree (although Agur doesn't write these as universal truths but, rather, as humorous - tongue in cheek - illustrations of things which create chaos and bring disunity). He's not talking about a woman who, after a time, finally finds love or person born in poverty improving his economic / social status. What things do you see that threaten our social order, that tear at the fabric of our society? COVID and the reactions to it? Social media and its use and abuse? Our political divisiveness? The disunity in our churches? Once you have thought about your examples, how often is arrogance a part of the division? What does that say about us as human beings?
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