Proverbs 30:24-28. 24There are four things on earth that are small but unusually wise: 25Ants—they aren’t strong, but they store up food all summer. 26Hyraxes—they aren’t powerful, but they make their homes among the rocks. 27Locusts—they have no king, but they march in formation. 28Lizards—they are easy to catch, but they are found even in kings’ palaces.
I live near the National Zoo in Washington DC. Whenever I go to the zoo I make sure to visit the Small Mammals House. Of course we all want to see the tigers, elephants, and gorillas. But the small mammals are not to be missed. I love the naked mole rats. I could watch them all day.
Proverbs 30 was written by a man named Agur. Agur doesn’t talk about naked mole rats in Proverbs 30, but he does talk about four other small animals. Ants, hyraxes, locusts, and lizards. Agur wants us to look at these small animals as unusually wise, not necessarily strong and powerful, but smart. They don’t just survive, they thrive.
Ants wisely store up food for the cold winter months.
Hyraxes, or rock badgers, aren’t strong but they put their homes into strong cliffs where they will be protected.
Locusts don’t have a king, but somehow they all know how to fly together as one big group. That’s how they can wipe out an entire field of crops in minutes.
The lizard Agur is talking about is likely the rainbow lizard. This is a large lizard from Africa that has vibrant blue, green, and orange colors and can grow up to a foot long. The rainbow lizard is easy to catch with your hands, but it lives inside kings’ palaces.
What is Agur’s point in telling us about these four small animals? He wants us to see that wisdom can come in small, powerless, and seemingly unimportant packages. Like maybe a little powerless baby in a manger.
Jesus didn’t come to us as big, strong, and powerful. He didn’t float down from Heaven in a spaceship and threaten to blow us up if we don’t submit to him. He didn’t come with a massive army to take over like in the movies. Jesus came as one of the smallest and weakest things ever – a newborn baby.
And this was unusually wise. Why? Because Jesus came as something gentle and safe. Something so non-threatening that everyone should feel like they can receive him. Receiving Jesus is like holding a little baby, a little baby that loves you. Being one with Jesus is not like wresting a gorilla, or fighting a lion, it’s like catching a rainbow lizard in a palace – easy.
Matthew 11: 28-30. 28Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
Questions: Do you think of Jesus’ as easy to receive or hard to catch? How does Jesus coming as a baby help you to see that he wants you to receive him as a humble and gentle king?
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