Still Hungry

Proverbs 30:15-16  The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough: The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough.

The leech is the symbol of an insatiable appetite because it sucks blood through its two suckers (here called its “two daughters” who cry “Give, give!”).  It is found in stagnant waters everywhere.

The author of Proverbs 30 is “Agur the son of Jakeh.”  He gives several lists, including this in v.16:

FOUR THINGS WHICH ARE NEVER SATISFIED:

1.     THE GRAVE

Proverbs 27:20  Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

·        Hebrew word “Sheol” – translated “grave, hell, pit”

·        Greek equivalents are “Hades” and “Gehenna” – translated “hell”

·        HELL:  Translated from the Greek “Gehenna” which meant “The Valley of Hinnom.”  In this valley south of Jerusalem the ancient Canaanites once sacrificed their children to the fire-god Molech.  Even Ahaz and Manasseh, kings of Judah, were guilty of this idolatrous practice.  King Josiah later defiled this valley, making it the city’s garbage dump so these sacrifices could never happen again.  To consume the garbage, fires burned constantly.  Maggots worked in the filth, and wild dogs howled and gnashed their teeth as the fought over the garbage every night.  When the wind blew from that direction, the stench was unbearable.  Jesus said hell was a place where the worm would not die and the fire would not be quenched.  He said there would be weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth.  In effect, He was saying, “If you want to know what Hell is like, look at Gehenna!”

·        NT has 27 books, 264 chapters.  Hell mentioned 234 times.  (27 miles, 234 danger signs!)

“When you arrive at church next week there will be 1 million more lost people in the world than when you arrived last Sunday. About 200,000 people will die around the world in the next 24 hours. Most of them will not know Christ as Saviour and Lord. About 200 per minute. A line made up of all the lost people in the world would circle the earth 30 times. This line grows a the rate of 20 miles per day. Every year the world population increases by over 50 miles, and only 2 miles are ever touched by the Gospel. 2 out of every 3 Christians accepted Christ before age of 18, yet 80% of evangelistic resources is targeted to reaching adults. Churches put $4 into real estate for every $1 in evangelism. On the positive side, about 100,000 are finding Christ as Saviour every day. The world is reverting to heathenism 30 times faster than it is being evangelized. Countless millions are still lost without Christ. “While we tarry someone else is reaping”. The Enemy is busy reaping. Hundreds of millions have never heard – the responsibility is ours.”  (Fair Dinkum, Issue 46, Feb. 1998)

2.     THE BARREN WOMB

Genesis 30:1  And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.

·        Barrenness in the East was looked upon as a sign of great reproach and divine punishment

·        The reproach attached to barrenness was due to the constant expectation of the Messiah and the hope cherished by every woman that she might be the mother of the promised Seed.

·        In order to avoid this disgrace, women even gave their handmaidens to their husbands, regarding the children born as their own.  But this still did not satisfy a mother’s heart!

1 Samuel 1:13  Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.  (UNASHAMED DESIRE)

·        Rachael’s cry is the cry of the church!

3.     THE PARCHED EARTH

Psalm 42:1-2  To the chief Musician, Maschil, for the sons of Korah. As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. 2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

Psalm 63:1-2  A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; 2 To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.

4.     THE RAGING FIRE

Hebrews 12:29  For our God is a consuming fire.

The Holy Ghost in us never says “IT IS ENOUGH!”