‘Ithiel’ and ‘Ucal’ – ‘God is with me’, and therefore ‘I am able.’

“The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle. The man declares, I am weary, O God; I am weary, O God, and worn out. Surely I am too stupid to be a man. I have not the understanding of a man. I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One. Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name? Surely you know!” (Proverbs 30:1-4)”

“If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. (John 3:12-13)”

Have you ever given up trying to solve a difficult puzzle – like understanding Bitcoin? If you’re older you’ll remember trying to solve the Rubik’s Cube… without cheating! If you’re younger, you’ll remember downloading the cheat codes for Age of Empires. Who hasn’t given up on a hard Wordle?

Agur is a wise man who gives up trying to solve the puzzle of life. It’s just too difficult he says. The search for the meaning of life has left him weary and feeling stupid. But Agur is more humble than our modern age. In our times, because most people have given up on solving the meaning of life, in our pride, we have come to the conclusion that there is no meaning to life. The ‘meaning of life’ is now dismissed as a fool’s quest.

Agur’s inability to solve the riddle of life makes him humble and self-aware: ‘I’m obviously not smart enough and not powerful enough to figure out the puzzle of life. I need someone to tell me.’

There are two things we need if we’re going to solve the meaning of life: wisdom and strength. But who can bring wisdom down from God? Who has knowledge of the Holy One? All we can do is give it our best thoughts but no one has actually gone up to God and come down from God and therefore no one has the wisdom necessary to understand life.

The other thing we need is strength. Who has the power to gather the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters? Who created everything? Unless we have power over creation we can’t solve the riddle of life. In order to master life we need the wisdom of God and the power of God. Agur is not up to it and he doesn’t know anyone who is. So in his humility, which is true wisdom, he asks, ‘What is the name of someone who can tell me the truth about these things?’

We know His name. Jesus fulfills the hopes and answers the questions of the OT. There is a Man who says that only He has ascended into heaven and descended from heaven. There is a man who rebuked the wind of the storm and it obeyed Him and became totally calm. A man once demonstrated His creative power over water by walking on it and turning it into wine. What is his name? Jesus Christ the Son of God.