Four things on earth are small,
but they are exceedingly wise:
the ants are a people not strong,
yet they provide their food in the summer;
the rock badgers are a people not mighty,
yet they make their homes in the cliffs;
the locusts have no king,
yet all of them march in rank;
the lizard you can take in your hands,
yet it is in kings’ palaces. (Prov. 30:24-28, ESV)
The goal of this series has been to give you clarity as you begin a new season. We’ve done this by observing the behavior of four small creatures and then considering the four big lessons they teach. Today, we’ll finish up by looking at the lizard.[1]
Lizards are plentiful in the culture our text was written in, as well as in many parts of the world. This passage is talking about the gecko-lizard. What are its unique qualities? They cannot blink, so they lick their eyes to keep them moist (a talent that would certainly be hard to beat at show and tell!). They are very communicative and speak to one another with chirping sounds. Their toes have Spiderman-like adaptations that allow them to cling to surfaces, which enable them to walk up walls and walk upside down on ceilings. And last, but not least, is the claim (though it hasn’t been proven) that they can save you money on your car insurance. 🙂
But here’s the specific behavior the writer wants us to meditate on: “The lizard you can take in your hands, yet it is in kings’ palaces.”
“King’s palaces” are places of influence and yet this doesn’t deter these little creatures. They somehow still manage to get into shoes, cups, pots, or pans. They can seem be everywhere. One pastor put it this way:
“As far as the lizard is concerned, his attitude is ‘this is my place, too.’ A king’s palace belongs to a king, but the lizard is not afraid to go there. There is no place he’s not willing to explore. For the lizard, life is just one never-ending adventure… Among the final words of Jesus spoke to His disciples were: ‘Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation’ (Mark 16:15). He was saying, in effect, ‘Your role is like that of the lizard.’” [2]
The message of the lizard is to go everywhere and make your presence and influence known. They are examples of courageous and quiet persistency and the big lesson they teach is this:
Remember, in Christ, quiet persistency always pays off (1 Cor. 15:58).
Persistence isn’t very glamorous. If genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration, then as a culture we tend to lionize the one percent. We love its flash and dazzle. But great power lies in the other ninety-nine percent. “It’s not that I’m smart,” said Einstein. “It’s that I stay with problems longer.”[3]
Here are a few ways we can do this:
- By reducing our debt and saving: Prov. 13:11 says, “Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.” (ESV)
- By cultivating our skills and talents:
- “Work hard and become a leader; be lazy and become a slave.” (Prov. 12:24, NLT)
- “Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.” (Prov. 22:29, ESV)
- By prioritizing love and relationships: One of the things Mother Teresa used to say is that there are a lot of people who want to do great things with a small amount of love. But we should be people who delight to do small things with a great amount of love. You can do this today by calling or visiting someone, writing a note asking forgiveness, sending a card of encouragement, or crafting an email or FB message to thank someone for how they’ve influenced your life.
As we conclude this series, we can’t forget that the theme of the Bible is the mission and kingdom of God. This means that we can’t just boil the gist of this passage down to a few moral lessons. These five verses are saturated with gospel meaning:
- The ants in their lesson of disciplined foresight remind us of the beauty of biblical hope, that is, confidence that God will show up. This hope helps us live with an orientation to the future and eternity in view.
- The rock badgers in their lesson of dependency remind us of the beauty of Christ, the cross, His gospel, and our need to rest in Him. It is His finished sacrifice alone that has provided full satisfaction from the wrath of God for all who believe (1 John 2:2).
- The locusts in their lesson of organized cooperation remind us of the beauty of the church and the amazing things can be accomplished when His people join together in the power of the Holy Spirit to be led—not by any great personality—but by the unseen head of the body, Christ (1 Cor. 3,12).
- The lizard in its lesson of courageous and quiet persistency reminds us of the beauty of the feet of those that preach the good news (Rom. 10:15). Again, there’s no place that’s off-limits to the lizard. And when it comes to bringing Christ to new places, as the late Abraham Kuyper said, “There is not one square inch of this earth over which Jesus does not say this is mine!”
Without exception, we all need our internal binoculars adjusted regularly. The good news is that God is a loving Father who delights to give good gifts (Jms. 1:17). The source may be humbling in that, in this instance, it comes through meditating on the behavior of four seemingly insignificant creatures. Yet, in little things a big God is magnified. As a new season begins, may you in your human smallness determine to reflect the great wisdom of your big God, even as these four smallest of his creatures:
- Be a goal-oriented person that’s prepared for the future.
- Remember that your strength comes from keeping close to God.
- Seek out community and your place on a unified team.
- Remember that, in Christ, quiet persistency always pays off.
[1] In the KJV, the verse reads “spider” instead of “lizard.” The reason is that sixteenth-century European translators didn’t always know the meaning of certain Hebrew words, especially when it came to animals with which they weren’t familiar. And so, they used the best word they knew.
[2] Info here and in other places in this section is from a sermon series by Pastor Jim Lloyd. November 9, 2014.
[3] Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, p.169.