Proverbs 30:24-28,  There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise:  The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer; The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks; The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands; The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces.

What would we do without numbers?

God uses numbers to teach us principles by which to live.

The book of proverbs in many passages gives us a number of examples to ponder, thus planting a principle of life in our hearts.

Proverbs tells us that the Lord hates six things and adds a seventh for good measure.

Proverbs lists three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough.

We are told that there be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not.

The earth is disquieted for three and for four we cannot bear.

Proverbs 30:29 says,  There be three things which go well, yea, four are comely in going:

Numbers are important tools in the word of God and God uses them to teach his people

Numbers are especially used in the thirtieth chapter of Proverbs.

In fact we find that all uses of the number two, the number three, and the number four occuring in the book of Proverbs occur in the thirtieth chapter.

They occur nowhere else in Proverbs.

Our proverb today uses four things to teach us lessons in wisdom.

God has grouped four things that are little things to teach us wisdom.

So today we focus our attention on little things.

Lessons are not only taught in the big things.

We are not to only look to the heavens to find God's handiwork but we are to look to the little things.

God says, Look around you. I've given lessons for life everywhere.

I don't want you to be ignorant and I have prepared things everywhere to instruct you.

Look to the stars and look to the heavens but don't forget the little things.

He says there are little things that will teach big creatures wisdom.

He says not only look in the telescope but look in the microscope.

God's wonders are infinite in both directions and past finding out.

There is no beginning to one and no ending of the other.

We are not to despise the little. God made both the universe and the ant.

Both are instructive and both are to be used for our learning.

Proverbs 6:6 tells us to,  Go to the ant, consider her ways, and be wise:

So I have brought Teacher Ant to Sunday School today.

Perhaps Teacher Ant will instruct us! (Put ear to jar)

Teacher Ant wants me to amplify since he has such a tiny voice.

Hello students. Can you see me? No?

God says that I am not strong compared to you.

I am so small it may appear that I am helpless but God wants me, little me to instruct big you. Can you imagine that?

Will you listen? Do you have ears to hear?

Do you think you can learn from someone as insignificant as I?

I'm the kind of creature you may even step on several times a day without even taking note.

Perhaps you may step on whole families of ants like me and never give thought.

But that does not keep me from teaching you a lesson.

I must do my duty as instructed by my creator.

He told you to go to the ant for instruction, didn't he?

What instruction, you may ask? What is the lesson I am to teach?

The lesson is that even though I am small I still plan for the inevitable, I plan for what God says is to be.

God has placed a truth, indeed has made it part of my nature, to know that winter is coming.

This truth impels me to work hard today even though I don't need what I put away for today.

God has told me that winter is coming. This is his truth to me.

Preparations must be made for me to survive a time in which I cannot make preparations.

I must make preparations for the inevitable winter that is coming.

I can't deny that winter is coming,

I can't ignore that winter is coming.

Hoping that winter won't come won't help,

I cannot stop winter from coming,

so the wise thing to do is to believe God and simply prepare for winter.

I prepare my meat in the summer when I can, when I have strength, when there is opportunity, when there is meat to set aside for winter.

I don't wait until winter to prepare for what I know will come.

Winter, is brought by God for a purpose, but winter does not allow me to prepare my meat.

I must do it in the time appointed.

God has so ordained it and if I am to be exceedingly wise I must follow God's order of things.

God wants me to teach you that. To be exceedingly wise you must follow God's order of things.

God will not change his order of things for me and stop winter from coming.

He simply instructs me to prepare for the inevitable.

So the lesson that you are to learn from me, and remember that God calls me exceedingly wise, is that you too must prepare for the inevitables of life.

God is good to me, the ant, in placing a truth within me that if obeyed will allow me to pass through the winter so I can enjoy another spring and summer.

That is also a principle I can teach.

God is good and will provide you with truth, which if obeyed, will prepare you to pass through the winter of your life.

Doesn't God's word say that it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.

Sounds to me like this is a winter that must be prepared for.

Sounds to me like this is an inevitability that men and women, boys and girls, have to prepare for.

Sounds to me like it cannot be changed to accommodate man but man must accommodate to God's command.

Doesn't Amos the prophet of old say, Prepare to meet thy God?

All of you have an appointment and you will keep that appointment. That is God's will.

It is inevitable and an exceedingly wise man will prepare for that appointment will he not?

So I have taught you today. Do you hear?

Are you preparing your meat in the summer of life?

Remember winter is coming and any attempts to prepare meat in the winter will fail.

God has given you summertime in which to obey his word but remember to everything there is a season and an ending to that season.

Winter is coming and as I do to prepare for the winter so must you gather meat which endures unto everlasting life.

Well, enough of this instruction. Heed my word as God as told you to consider my ways.

I must get back and continue to prepare for the winter.

Proverbs 30:24-28,  There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise: The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer; The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks; The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands; The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces.

God groups these four little things together for a purpose.

God chooses four things to put together and challenges us to find in this grouping, instruction concerning wisdom.

The ant, the conies, the locusts, and a spider, little things.

Even though an ant is not strong he uses the strength that God has given him, to not only provide for his daily needs, but to prepare for things to come.

Ants use a God given time to prepare for a time in which they cannot prepare.

They work while it is day, for they know the night cometh.

They work in the summer because they know that the winter is coming when they cannot work.

They do their duty as instructed by their creator.

The lesson is that even though the ant is small and weak he still plans and provides for the inevitable.

He plans for what God says is to befall him.

God has so placed a truth, indeed has made it part of his nature, for him to know that winter is coming.

This truth impels him to work hard today even though he does not need for today what he puts away. That is faith.

Preparations are made by him to survive a time in which he cannot make preparations.

He must make preparations for the inevitable winter that is coming.

He can't deny that winter is coming,

He can't ignore the fact that winter is coming.

He cannot stop nor hope that winter won't come,

so the wise thing to do is to believe God and simply prepare for the winter.

Winter, is brought by God for a purpose, but winter does not allow the ant to prepare his meat.

He must do it in the time appointed by his maker.

God has so ordained it and what makes the ant exceeding wise is that he follows God's order of things.

God will not change his order of things for the ant and stop winter from coming.

So the lesson that we are to learn from the ant, and remember that God calls him exceeding wise, is that we must also prepare for the inevitables of life.

God is good and will provide you with truth, which if obeyed, will prepare you to pass through the winter of your life.

Doesn't God's word say that it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment?

Sounds to me like this is a winter that must be prepared for.

Sounds to me like this is an inevitable that men and women, boys and girls, have to prepare for.

Sounds to me like it cannot be changed to accommodate man but man must accommodate himself to God's command.

Doesn't Amos the prophet of old say, Prepare to meet thy God?

All of us have an appointment and we will keep that appointment.

It is inevitable and an exceeding wise man will prepare for that appointment, will he not?

The lesson then from an exceeding wise little ant is to prepare for the inevitables, those things that are ordained of God to come to pass.

Conies are rock rabbits, called hyrax.

We are told that along with the ant not being strong the conies are feeble.

I think that this description of rock rabbits refers to their brain power.

Apparently they are not very smart yet we are told that they are exceeding wise.

Sounds like a contrast in words, does it not? There is a lesson there also!

But they are exceeding wise because they make their houses in the rocks.

We are told that it does not take brain power to know that a safe place must be found in which to dwell.

God tells you that making your house in a secure place is a wise thing.

Has not the Lord Jesus Christ told us that the wise man builds his house upon a rock?

And does not 1 Corinthians 10:4 tell us that that Rock was Christ?

Rock of Ages cleft for me, let me hide myself like the rock rabbit does in the rocks.

The Lord's our rock, in him we hide, a shelter in the time of storm.

Has not the Rock of Ages broken himself to provide a hiding place for me?

I don't have to break the rock, I just have to run to the rock.

So the cony, the rock rabbit by his example tells feeble man to dwell in the rock.

He tells us that we do not have to be smart to be wise.

We can be feeble and still be wise.

Somehow locusts are unified to go forth in unbroken ranks like a disciplined army.

Do they not keep this order by the unseen hand of God?

We see not a king because the lesson here is that they are responding to a king invisible.

This king invisible has put in their nature a guiding hand that causes them to be perfectly unified and to keep rank.

They are completely obedient to one unseen guide and they do not deviate to do their own thing or to fly contrary to the guide.

God calls them exceeding wise.

The ant teaches us to prepare for the inevitable.

The cony teaches us to dwell in the Rock.

The locust teaches those who dwell in the Rock to dwell with unity of purpose, united, concentrated, well disciplined, every one at his post, each under the same direction, each helpful to each other and to the cause of Christ.

The locust reminds us of what the body of Christ, the church is to be.

As we learn in Ephesians 4:16,  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

So the picture the locusts present to us is a picture of the people of God serving God in unity and united in purpose.

All of the people of God taking direction from the same head, that is the Word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is even a picture of the resurrected saints as they all in unison rise to meet the same Lord in the air responding to the same call.

Which leads us to the spider. She also is exceeding wise!

Jesus said: I go to prepare a place for you that where I am ye may be also. In my Father's house are many mansions.

You who prepare for the inevitable, you who dwell in a rock, you who are part of the body fitly joined together like the locusts who fly without a king.

You are the ones that Jesus Christ prepares a place for in his palace.