1. Context:

a. Chapter 30 was written by a man named Agur.

b. He introduced himself by stating that when it comes to the knowledge of God and spiritual things, he is like a beast; he has less knowledge than most men (vs.2)… or what men claim.

c. He acknowledges that in his life in the world, he has not learned any wisdom from above—nor has he learned the knowledge of the Holy One, God. (vs.3)

d. Then (vs.4), he asked a series of rhetorical questions designed to demonstrate that God is infinitely above us.
• There is no one like God; His ways are above our ways. His thoughts are above our thoughts.
• And unless He reveals truth to us, we don’t even know His name—or His Son’s name.

e. Creation (natural revelation) tells us a few things about Him (i.e., His existence and His power), but it does not and cannot enable us to KNOW Him in a personal way.
• In fact, with natural revelation of the creation alone one might easily make some wrong conclusions about God.
• In the natural world we live in today (and in Agur’s day), apart from divine revelation one might conclude that God created the world as it presently is.
• And what is the world like? It is violent – animals eat other animals; people kill people. It is full of immorality in the sphere of human life. The creation seems to be working against mankind—with its thorns and thistles, storms, droughts, etc. It is full of suffering and death.
• Apart from divine revelation concerning how the world came to be as it is, fallen men could easily misread and misinterpret what they see in the world and wrongly attribute it to God.
• Some of the pagan deities were considered to be evil and cruel and could only be satisfied by human sacrifices to appease their wrath.

2. Then in verse 5, Agur states (in contrast to what he just said) “Every word of God is pure.”

a. Agur did not know much of anything about God on his own. And even when he tried to think of what God must be like, his thoughts were seen through the lens of a fallen creature and were not always accurate.

b. Note that it was not just the concepts or thoughts that were pure, but the very words. (“all Scripture [writings] are given by inspiration…”)

c. However, in contrast to that, EVERY word of God is pure!

d. He has found the answer to all his questions in God’s pure Word.

e. If EVERY word of God is pure, then don’t skip over certain portions of Scripture. Don’t read only the gospels and Psalms. If EVERY word of God is pure, then pay attention to every word and every portion of His word.

f. Yes that even means Leviticus, Ezekiel, and Revelation!

g. II Tim.3:16-17 – “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

3. God has given mankind His WORD.

a. Agur had something more than the natural revelation of creation.

b. He had the supernatural revelation of God’s Word.

c. God revealed Himself through His Word.

d. And apart from God’s revelation of Himself, we would never be able to know for sure what He is like.

e. Through His Word, He can be known.

f. His word reveals His NAME to us.

g. His word reveals His WORKS to us.

h. His word reveals His SALVATION to us.

i. His word reveals everything we need to know about God and spiritual things. It’s “all we need for life and godliness.”

4. Every word of God is PURE.

a. Pure: it means that which has been tested by fire, refined, and thus pure; proven to be pure; perfect; flawless; without blemish;

b. This concept of the Word of God as being tested by fire, refined, and purified is found elsewhere in Scripture.
• Psalm12:6 – “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.”
• II Sam. 22:31a – “As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried…”

c. The term PURE described:
• These passages use the same Hebrew word (translated pure or tried).
• The term for pure (metals purified by fire – the fire removes the dross and what survives the fires is completely pure – the dross is removed.)
• This does not mean that God’s Word had dross that needed to be removed. Rather, it is a term that speaks of the end product: that which is absolutely pure – free from anything that defiles or corrupts.

d. Every word of God is pure in that it is absolutely pure from any form of corruption.
• The thoughts Agur and others had about God—thoughts that arose in the heart of man are susceptible to corruption.
• Sometimes men think things about God that are partially true—but not entirely. There is still some “dross” in their concept of who God is and how He operates.
• They didn’t get that dross (impurity) from the Scriptures rightly divided. The dross comes from within our own hearts either through (1) a faulty interpretation of Scripture, (2) a faulty application of Scripture, or (3) a wrong assumption based on something read in the Scriptures.
• But none of that dross had its origin in God’s Word.
• Any impurity, anything that is not true, anything that is contradictory did not arise from God’s Word rightly divided, but it came from the distorted imagination of a fallen man.
• God’s word is pure—EVERY word of God is pure.

e. Over the years, in counseling with believers (especially new or untaught believers) I have had to deal with the “dross” in their thinking.
• Believers are often disturbed and perplexed by dross in their thinking.
• They may have an element of truth in their thoughts, but it is corrupted by dross.
• For example, it is not uncommon for folks to come to a pastor and ask, “Why is God doing this to me?”
» There is an element of truth: they understand that God is sovereign.
» But there is dross – an underlying assumption that God is not being loving; He doesn’t care; or He is punishing me for my sins.
» What that believer needs is to have the dross removed from his thinking so that his concept of God is corrected and he no longer views the sovereignty of God as being cruel, heartless, and detached… but instead as an expression of God’s love and care for you and that His overall plan for the ages is good… and that all things are working together for good. (Rom. 8:28)
» On other occasions, all the bad things the believer assumed God was “doing to him or her” were in fact just the natural consequences of their own sin or of their own poor choices in life.

f. It is liberating to learn and believe that every word of God is pure. It can deliver us from wrong thinking… wrong assumptions… and will cause us to study deeply what the Word actually says.

5. Consider the message of Agur to his students:

a. I your teacher am like a beast. I know nothing about God on my own. His ways are beyond me. I don’t even know His name unless He reveals it.

b. But His Word is pure. Go to the Scriptures yourself if you want to know God… if you want to know what He is like.

c. His Word is pure and true and it will never lead you down a wrong pathway.

d. His Word contains no errors; no mixture of truth and falsehood.

e. Therefore, don’t speculate on God and spiritual things; don’t imagine what He is like; go to the Book—His Word is pure.

f. Psalm 119:140 – “Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it.”
• Once God’s Word is seen for what it really is, the believer will love it!
• You will discover it is just what your heart had been longing for… searching for [truth] in all the wrong places.
• Once you taste and see that the Lord is good, you will keep coming back to the Word.