Proverbs 30:12
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There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.
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Agur taught inspired wisdom for your life through sets of four things (30:11-31). Here is the second of four kinds of men, identified by particular sins. Most men are self-righteous to varying degrees, but there are some who are exceptionally haughty in their religious arrogance. They are pure in their own eyes, and yet they are not washed from their sins.
The word "generation" is used here to describe a kind of man, a kind of person, or a specific type of individual. It is not a prophecy about all the people born at some time in the future, when men would be very self-righteous, for all ages have had such sinners. It is not a direct reference to the evil men living at the time of Jesus Christ, for such a use would be unique in the book of Proverbs and without practical wisdom for life.
The four generations might be loosely connected to the four temperament types - sanguine, choleric, melancholy, and phlegmatic - for each temperament has instinctive tendencies. But the wisdom taught is more than temperamental disposition: the four lessons are specific sins and their related duties. Rather than assigning temperaments to each generation, learn the identified sin and corresponding wisdom of each generation.
The second generation, or kind of evil person, is self-righteous about his own purity. He, or she, has a haughty heart toward the word of God, presuming that it does not apply to him. Confident in his own wisdom and standard of holiness, he looks down on others as inferior and lords it over them in speech and conduct. He feels God is obligated to accept him and will most certainly do so. He sees no need for self-examination or repentance.
What is self-righteousness? It is a woman despising an adulteress, while defrauding her husband six nights of the week (I Cor 7:1-5). It is a foolish man with a big mouth thinking that preaching about the tongue is for others (II Cor 13:5). It is an obese woman eating three desserts at the church potluck, yet condemns wine (Luke 21:34). It is the odious woman refusing to learn graciousness due to haughtiness (27:22). It is the haughty girl ridiculing a warning and stating that it would never happen to her (I Cor 10:12).
It is Simon the Pharisee despising the sinful woman at Jesus' feet (Luke 7:36-50). It is the Pharisee thanking God that he is not as bad as the publican (Luke 18:9-14). It is the Jews condemning the man born blind and his parents for asking questions they could not answer (John 9:13-34). It is the man who will not say he is sorry, even when he is proven wrong. It is the man who brags of his relationship with God, but cannot get along with others. It is the woman who says the Spirit taught her and she does not need the Bible.
There are lessons to be discovered by study (1:6). The world has always had haughty and self-righteous people. What should you learn? There are at least five lessons: God hates self-righteousness; He only accepts the humble; you must learn to hate this sin; you must avoid any tendency toward it; and you must train it thoroughly out of your children.
God hates the self-righteous. He condemned proud Jews saying, "I am holier than thou" (Is 65:1-7). Jesus blasted the religious leaders of his day for self-righteousness (Luke 16:15; 18:9-14). They had perverted God's law by false definitions (Luke 10:25-37), and they despised sinners (Luke 7:36-50). Jesus did not come for the self-righteous, and He expected His disciples to exceed their pitiful standards (Matt 5:20; Mark 2:15-17).
God loves the poor in spirit - those broken and contrite for their sins and sinfulness (Ps 34:18; 51:16-17; 138:6; Is 57:15; 66:2). Jesus came into this world to save sinners, and Paul admitted he was chief among them (I Tim 1:15). God resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble (I Pet 5:5-6). The poor in spirit are blessed heirs of heaven (Mat 5:3). If you come to Jesus Christ any other way, He will not receive you (Mark 2:17).
You must hate self-righteousness, for it is a very damning sin. Once allowed into your thinking, you will reject the very correction and instruction you need to please God, for you will believe you are free from serious faults (26:12; Gal 6:3). You will resent parents or pastors who try to correct, rebuke, teach, or warn you. You must become a fool, admit you are nothing, and despise your own heart (Jer 17:9; I Cor 3:18; Eph 3:8).
You cannot afford any self-deception in this matter. You are a sinner, with sinful desires, and sinful tendencies. Therefore, you must apply all preaching and teaching to yourself, not to others. The hypocrite who wants to remove the speck from another's eye while having a beam in his own has a severe problem with self-righteousness (Matt 7:3-5). You must dread the very thought of hardening your heart against instruction (28:14).
Train your children to be humble, broken over sin, and contrite for faults. If you do not, they will become adults with self-righteous conceit that will destroy them. They will reject instruction, look down on others, and provoke the Lord to be their enemy. Exalt God's holy standards and teach them self-criticism and self-examination more than self-esteem. Teach them that without God's grace through Jesus Christ they are totally lost.
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