Every word of God proves true;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
Do not add to his words,
lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.
Proverbs 30 is attributed to an otherwise unknown Agur, the son of Jakeh. In these two verses, Agur refers to the word of God. We often use this expression to refer to the Bible. But Agur lived long before the New Testament texts were written. And the Old Testament was still in development. The word of God was simply the words that God had given to Moses and the prophets. Words that were often passed down orally long before they took on written form.
Agur has two complementary things to say about the word of God in these verses. First, he says that every word of God proves true. Can we prove that? Not through reason. But our experience, and others who have trusted in his word, should demonstrate to us that his words are true. When we take refuge in God, trusting in his words, God is a shield to us. God’s word protects us from going astray.
The second thing Agur has to say about God’s word is a warning. Do not add to them. This mirrors what Moses told the people (Deut. 4:2, 12:32) and is later found at the end of Revelation (Rev. 22:18-19). Do not put any other words on par with God’s words. There is grave danger in doing so.
God’s Word Is Useful to Us
How do we know today what God’s words are? The easy answer is that they are what is found in the Bible. But how can we know that? At one level, we cannot. We simply trust that it is. But, as Agur said, every word of God proves true. The Bible was assembled over a long time as God’s people found the individual writings useful to them in knowing God and living for him. And they came to believe they were inspired, collecting them together in what we now know as the Bible.
The Bible has proven itself, not by human reasoning, but by the lives of those who have trusted it. Be careful about adding to it or taking away from it. You do so at your own risk.
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