Proverbs 30:33 Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.
Sometimes I feel very foolish. There is so much I don’t know that I feel like I should know by this point in my life. It is amazing how many times I think, “I just don’t know.” Someone will ask me a question or I will observe something in life and think, “I don’t know how that works, why that is, or why they are doing that!” The older you get, the more you realize what you don’t know. The more you know, the more you know that you don’t know. Maybe that is the way you feel. That is certainly the sentiment you find in Proverbs 30.
Verse 2 says, “Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man.” He is saying, “I am just like an animal. There is so much I don’t know.” He continues, “I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy.” Then he gives a whole series of questions for which he doesn’t seem to have an answer. Any wise person knows that he is not wise enough. It is only a fool that thinks he is brilliant.
Having said all that, sometimes you know more than you think you do. There are some things that we don’t realize we know that would make a difference if we would act on them. For instance, the last verse of Proverbs 30 says, “Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.” Even a fool should foresee certain inevitable outcomes, but only a wise person does. “Surely” is certainty. This is about action and reaction. There are certain actions or forces that inevitably result in the exact same outcome every time.
For instance, if you churn milk, it produces butter. If you are punched in the nose or you punch someone in the nose, it produces blood. Force on milk brings butter and force on nose bring bloods. So, the forcing of wrath brings forth strife. I don’t have to be a genius to know that. If there is some issue between me and another person and I force that issue with wrath, it is going to bring forth strife. We are just talking in generalities here. We are not talking as to whether there are things worth standing and fighting for. We are talking about inevitable ends.
Verse 32 says, “If thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth.” Don’t think evil, but even if you do think evil, don’t say it. Why? Because the forcing of wrath brings forth strife. It may be that today there is a person or issue in your life that temps you to go off half-cocked. This will mindlessly force some issue without thinking about the inevitable result, which in the back of your mind you know will come. That is strife. May God give us the wisdom to know what we actually know because at the end of the day, you and I often know more than we think we do.