The leech has two daughters, "Give," "Give." There are three things that will not be satisfied, Four that will not say, "Enough": Sheol, and the barren womb, Earth that is never satisfied with water, And fire that never says, "Enough." Proverbs 30:15-16

Among verses in Proverbs this has to be one of the stranger ones.  Because this passage has no real pointer within it except the fact that it speaks of a specific kind of leech whose daughters are insatiable, it is one of those verses that has a myriad of explanations by commentators.  These explanations range from the two daughters being death and hell, heaven and hell, as well as a myriad of negative character traits all focusing on greed in its various forms.  So how do you come to any kind of secure conclusion about a verse like this?  Let's take a look and see if we can discern anything from looking at this very strange verse in Proverbs.

First of all, when a passage itself does not immediately release its meaning - it can be very dangerous.  That is because too many people will begin allegorizing it quickly.  You will have people saying that these two sisters are anything and everything under the sun.  But when a verse does not yield immediate clarity - we MUST turn to the context to better understand it. 

Let's start with what we do know.  The being spoken of here is a leech - and more specifically, a horseleach.  This is a blood sucking creature that actually has a two lipped appearance.  It is through these two lips that the leech sucks the blood out of its victims.  Because the horseleach has these two sucking mechanisms - it is known for having an insatiable appetite for a large amount of blood.  That might account for the reason that the passage speaks of the leech having two daughters.  But we come again to what all this means? 

What is the context of this passage.  The previous verses, 12 through 14, are a unit in themselves - and verse 15 does not really fit with them.  These verses spoke of the arrogance and pride of various individuals - and how their arrogance make their mouths very dangerous.  But when you look at verse 15 in the context of the next set of verses - it fits quite well.  These verses deal with things that are unsatiable - that won't ever say, "enough."  The next piece of the puzzle is found when we see that verse 15 speaks of two things - then of three, and ends with a comment in verse 16 that says there are even four things that will not be satisified or say enough.  Verse 16 then gives us what those four things are. 

So what does this context say to us - or help us to see about this horseleach?  When I took time to seriously look at what Solomon was saying, I think that the horseleach was being referred to by his physical characteristics - as an example of the first number (2 things) that are insatiable.  It is part of the buildup that Solomon is giving to get to the number four.  Solomon is using a verbal tactic or a rhetorical device to make his argument more powerful.  He is saying that there are two - no three - no four things that will not say enough. 

Therefore - the leech spoken of here is not a two-pronged greedy set of things - like death and hell or greed and avarice - or like the most ridiculous commentator suggested - a vampire!  The leech is an example of something (here I believe the two-lipped or two-suckered opening that sucks blood - and that according to Solomon is saying always, "Give, Give!"  Beyond that example out of nature - Solomon is most likely saying nothing else.  He moves on in the very next statement to count to three then four - and makes it clear that he speaks of things that will not say enough.  He speaks of these four things before the next verse is over. 

What this passage does help us to see is the danger of just haphazardly taking verses or parts of them that don't seem to have any clear meaning - and assigning them things that we just figure they must be.  I've even heard some use this verse to speak derrogatorily of daugnters - saying that they are like blood-sucking leeches who are constantly taking money from daddy - and who never say, enough.  Again, here is the dagner in all this.  What we don't clearly understand - we need to submit to further scrutiny and a searching out of the text and context.  This will usually yield a blessing in the end.  Here - it yields the use of a rhetorical device - not a secret two-fold code concerning things we are left to guess about in the end. 

But what about wisdom?  This passage is saying to us that we should see that this life and this world are never satisfied.  Whether it is "sheol" (which is the place of the dead -or death itself) or a barren womb (which is never satisfied until there is a baby on the way - even one born to the barren woman) of the earth that is never satisfied with the water rained upon it, or a fire that consumes everything it can get - never being satisfied with what it has burned - we are facing the fact that this present world never gets enough.  If we are wise - we will follow Solomon's reasoning - and see that not having satisfaction is kinda normal in this world.  The Rolling Stones were quasi-prophetic when they sang, "I Can't Get No, Satisfaction, even though they were terrible grammarians.  Wisdom tells us to be careful about our desires and unmet wants.  Wisdom tells us that this world is saying something to us about our dissatisfaction.  This world is not right - and it cannot satisfy us.  In the end - satisfaction will have to be found "outside" this existence.  We are not told where we can get this satisfaction here - just that nature and life should tell us not to expect all that much of it from this present life and this present world.  What we learn from the rest of the testimony of Scripture is that this IS a problem - and it is only satisfied when we come to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.  Only He can bring us fullness. 

I guess the proper way to close this particular post is to say that maybe there is a fifth thing that never says enough.  That would be commentators who take passages like this and make them say something that neither the meaning of the words in the verse - nor the verse as a whole in its context actually means.

Two things I asked of You, Do not refuse me before I die . . . Proverbs 30:7

I love people who can simplify life for me.  It is actually not difficult to make things difficult - people do it all the time.  They have a gift for taking something that should be simple - and making it incredibly complicated and hard to understand.  Then they charge you money to do what they have made difficult - since now you think there is no way that you can do it yourself.  If you are wanting the simple made difficult, this is not a proverb for you.  God has this proverb written to help us understand important life principles - and do so in two easy concepts.  In future posts I deal with the actual request - but this post I want to deal with the writer and his heart in making the request.

The writer here asks two things from God.  He has learned the blessing of economy in his relationship with God.  There are times for us to expand things out and look at multiple aspects of a live lived for God's glory.  and these two things are two principles we should remember to live a happy life and one that is founded on sound biblical footing.  This request is vital because the writer says here that these two things are things he does not want God to refuse him before he dies.  That is the last thing we can learn from this man - he is passionate about his request.

"Do not refuse me before I die!"  This is the way the writer expresses the intensity of his desire.  Lord, there are definitely two things I have to have.  I must have them before I die!  There is a passion here that often is missing in ordinary Christians.  This guy does not want to end his life without knowing and having walked out two things.  We later learn that these two things are to walk in the truth always - and to experience contentment.  As he seeks the Lord for these things, he does so with a hunger that is inspiring.  Too often in our lives we're not really sure what we're really going after and we are thinking about being committed to getting it - at least we're pretty sure that we are.  That is not what we see here.  We see a man that knows the importance of walking in truth - and walking with a contentment in what God has given him.  He knows one thing - that falsehood does not lead to a good end in life - and that running after this world does not either.  He is chasing after something much different and much more satisfying.  We learn by verse 9 that what he truly desires is to please and honor God.  He wants to live a life that acknowledges God and that will be pleasing to Him in the end. 

We so desperately need to embrace what this writer is expressing in our lives.  Do you know and can you enumerate a few things - no more than three that you absolutely have to have in life?  Is there a higher purpose for living in your life than just making it through life?  Are you bored - unchallenged by life and the goal for which you are living, or the lack thereof?  Make the time to get alone with God and hash out what really matters in your life.  Find in Him and in His purposes a reason to live!  Than, rather than just having life go by as you watch confused as to its purpose, you can go out every day and agressively give yourself to a purpose that goes far beyond life itself - it goes gloriously into eternity!

 

When a wicked man dies, his expectation will perish, And the hope of strong men perishes. Proverbs 11:7

The true test of a man and his choices is how he dies.  More accurately it is what happens to him after he dies.  That is what this proverb addresses today.

When a wicked man dies - everything dies with him.  He has no expectations beyond this world.  During his life he lived for the things of this world - and now that he is dead - he has to face the fact that he lost everything at the moment he died.  You leave it ALL behind.  The wicked man's expectation was centered in this world.  He bet his entire life that this was all that there is - that there is no afterlife.  He figured that all he did will speak for him on that day. 

The fact is that the moment the wicked man dies - things will never get any better than the moment before his death.  Any good perishes the moment he perishes.  All that he can look forward to from that moment on is the wrath of God.  Jesus spoke to the rich man who was in torment in flame after death.  He reminded him that he received his good things in this life.  He rejected God - rejected serving God - and rejected living for God rather than for his own selfish agenda.  He bet that God did not exist - that heaven was just a state of mind - that judgment day was just a device used by Christian preaches to get people to walk down the aisle at church.  He was radically wrong!  God is real - and He is holy and just.  The strong man and the complete weakling are identical before the throne of God.  The strong man does not want to humble himself before the Lord.  But no matter what he does - his hope and his expectation perish before the Lord. 

There are times when we can learn from the wicked.  The first two funerals I ever did were for two people who were lost.  As I worked through the service - I felt completely helpless and unable to offer a lot of hope for those who had died.  This was because the hope and expectation of the wicked perish when they do.  When death made its play for them they lost everything.  The lesson I learned from them was to be prepared for the ultimate loss of all earthly things.  Death will rob a wicked man of everything he owns and everything he has hoped for in life.  I learned that I need to live for things that last beyond the grave.  I need to live for the spiritual reality that will continue throughout eternity.  I need to be prepared to die - and to have an expectation that goes beyond my trip to the funeral hope and graveyard.  Jesus promises life eternal - a reward that goes beyond the grave.  The wise man . . . places his hope and expectation in Jesus Christ.