Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for the Bible Recap.

Today we finished our 15th book of the Bible. Congratulations! And even though there are 66 books,

we're actually almost to the halfway point in our first

trip through the Bible together. Let's see what the wise men had to say to us today in Proverbs.

Chapter 30 is written by a man named Agur, and it's the only place in scripture where his name

occurs. Some people think this may have been one of Solomon's pseudonyms, but no one knows for sure.

What we do know is that he has

a different approach to wisdom literature than most other wisdom authors. They typically start out by

saying something like, listen up, I'm about to drop all my wisdom on you. But he opens with something

closer to, hey, nice to meet you. I'm an idiot. He's not just being self-deprecating here. He's driving

home a point. He's saying that his wisdom in comparison to God's wisdom is absolutely zero.

He uses a lot of imagery that's reminiscent of when God spoke to Job, and he points out that

God is so much more powerful and wise than any of us. In verse four, he also ends with a question

that could be prophetic. He's talking about God and his power, and he says,

Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name and his son's name? Surely you know.

I do. I know him. Verse six is a reminder of why this trip we're taking through the Bible is so important.

It says, do not add to his words lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar. If we don't know what God says,

how will we know if we're misquoting him or adding to his words? I've seen many ideas presented

as God's words or promises. I've seen

mantras posted on Instagram images or wall art that are being presented as God's words, but they're

far from it. And sometimes they're even the opposite of what his word communicates.

The more we read his word, the more we'll be able to spot the counterfeits.

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