Life is a vast learning space. Nature, living beings, and everyday events hold many lessons that can help humans understand life more wisely. When one is willing to pay close attention, the world around him can be a teacher of perseverance, order, and even humility. The wisdom tradition in the Book of Proverbs invites us to learn in this way: to pay attention to life, then reflect on it with an open heart.

This section begins with a strong warning against disrespect for parents (v. 17). In the eyes of wisdom, such an attitude is not merely a matter of family etiquette, but a sign of the breakdown of man's moral sensibilities. A person who loses respect for the guarantor of his own life will find it difficult to understand the larger order of life. Therefore, Agur then invites the reader to pay attention to various phenomena in creation: the path of an eagle in the air, a snake on a rock, a ship in the middle of the sea, and the path of a man with a girl (v. 18 & 19). These images remind us that life holds mysteries that humans cannot fully explain.

The observations continue with other examples of the dynamics of life: small things that have staying power, circumstances that can shake the balance of the world, and creatures that walk boldly. Through simple observations of creation, people are invited to realise that the world has certain patterns and regularities. Wisdom is born when people are willing to see, notice, and learn from these patterns of life. The closing section (v. 32 & 33) again highlights the attitude of the human heart. Pride and anger left unchecked will give birth to dissension, just as pressure on the nose will draw blood.

Friends of the Bible, once again we are reminded that wisdom is born out of the humility to learn. When we are willing to pay attention to the life around us, of our fellow creatures, we are reminded that this world has an order that transcends us. It is that humility to learn that leads us to walk more wisely before God and others.