The Gimme Gimme Twins Text: Proverbs 30:15-16
Introduction: The Grammar of Greed
The book of Proverbs is intensely practical. It does not float in the ether of abstract principles but walks on the dusty ground of human experience. And one of the most fundamental human experiences is that of desire. We are creatures of desire. God made us this way. But sin has twisted our desires, turning them from a holy longing for God into a ravenous, insatiable craving for more. Sin has made us into black holes of want.
Agur, the author of this section of Proverbs, gives us a memorable, almost grotesque, image to make this point. He shows us a leech, a blood-sucking parasite, and tells us it has two daughters. And their names are "Give," and "Give." We might render this in our modern vernacular as the Gimme Gimme twins. Their vocabulary is limited to a single, repeated demand. They are the personification of ceaseless, grasping desire. This is the grammar of greed. It is a language with only one word.
This proverb is a master class in biblical observation. Agur looks at the world around him, the created order groaning under the curse of sin, and he sees this principle of insatiability everywhere. He is not just giving us a lesson in ancient zoology. He is holding up a mirror to the fallen human heart. He wants us to see that the world, apart from Christ, is characterized by a hunger that can never be satisfied. He then gives us a list of four things that embody this principle, four things that never say, "Enough." This is not just a random collection of items; it is a carefully constructed picture of the consequences of the fall. He is showing us the shape of a world that has turned its back on the only one who can truly satisfy.
The Text
The leech has two daughters,
“Give,” “Give.”
There are three things that will not be satisfied,
Four that will not say, “Enough”:
Sheol, and the barren womb,
Earth that is never satisfied with water,
And fire that never says, “Enough.”
(Proverbs 30:15-16 LSB)
The Leech and Her Daughters (v. 15)
The proverb begins with this striking image:
"The leech has two daughters, 'Give,' 'Give.'" (Proverbs 30:15a)
A leech is a parasitic worm. It attaches itself to a host and drains its blood. It is a picture of a creature that lives by taking, not by giving. It contributes nothing but takes everything it can. Its entire existence is defined by its appetite. Agur tells us this leech has two daughters, and they are the verbal expression of its nature. All they can say is "Give, Give."
This is a profound commentary on the nature of sin. Sin is parasitic. It attaches itself to God's good creation and seeks to drain the life out of it. Greed, lust, envy, bitterness, all of these are leeches on the soul. They promise satisfaction but deliver only a perpetual craving for more. The man driven by greed is never rich enough. The man consumed by lust is never gratified. The covetous man is never content. His heart is always crying out, "Give, Give."
This is the native language of the unregenerate heart. It is the cry of fallen humanity, turned inward on itself, seeking to be filled by a world that was never designed to be its ultimate satisfaction. This is the spirit of our age, a consumer culture that constantly whispers, "You need more. You are not complete. Give me your money, your time, your attention, and I will make you happy." But it is a lie. The daughters of the leech are liars. They promise fulfillment but are themselves the very definition of emptiness.
Four Insatiable Things (v. 15b-16)
Agur then transitions, using a common Hebrew poetic device, from the general principle to specific examples. He uses a numerical ladder: "three things... Four." This is a way of saying, "Here are some examples, and the last one is the capstone."
"There are three things that will not be satisfied, Four that will not say, 'Enough': Sheol, and the barren womb, Earth that is never satisfied with water, And fire that never says, 'Enough.'" (Proverbs 30:15b-16 LSB)
Each of these four things is a picture of an appetite that cannot be filled, a mouth that is always open. And each one is a direct consequence of the curse of sin in the world.
First, there is "Sheol," the grave. Death is the ultimate leech. From the moment Abel's blood cried out from the ground, the grave has been swallowing humanity. It has never once been filled. It has never said, "That's enough for today." Sheol is always ready for more. This is the direct result of sin: "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). The grave's insatiable appetite is a constant, physical reminder of our rebellion against the God of life.
Second, we have "the barren womb." In a world without sin, God's command to "be fruitful and multiply" would have been carried out with joyful ease. But the curse has brought frustration and sorrow into the heart of this command. For a Hebrew woman, barrenness was a source of deep grief and shame. It represented an unfulfilled longing, a desire for life that was thwarted. The barren womb is a picture of a good desire that, because of the brokenness of the world, becomes a source of insatiable ache. It cries out for a child, for life, and is not satisfied.
Third is the "earth that is never satisfied with water." Think of parched desert ground. You can pour a gallon of water on it, and a moment later it is as dry as it was before. It just drinks and drinks and is never saturated. This points to the curse on the ground from Genesis 3: "Cursed is the ground for your sake... Thorns also and thistles it shall bring forth for you." The land itself resists our efforts, and its thirst is a picture of a creation groaning for redemption, waiting to be delivered from its bondage to decay.
Fourth, and finally, there is "fire that never says, 'Enough.'" Fire is a good servant but a terrible master. It will consume everything in its path as long as there is fuel and oxygen. It has no internal governor. It does not get tired of burning. It is a picture of pure, unrestrained consumption. In Scripture, fire is often a symbol of judgment. Here, it represents a destructive force that, once unleashed, has an appetite that cannot be quenched. It is a terrifying image of consumption for the sake of consumption.
The Gospel for the Leech's Daughters
So what are we to do with this bleak picture? Agur has masterfully painted a portrait of a fallen world, a world of death, frustrated life, cursed ground, and consuming judgment. This is the world of the law. This is the world under the curse. This is a world full of appetites that can never be satisfied.
And this is precisely why the gospel is such good news. The gospel is God's answer to the insatiable cry of "Give, Give." Each of these four ravenous things finds its final answer and its ultimate quietus in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Sheol, the grave, cried "Give me this man from Nazareth!" And for three days, it held Him. But the grave could not hold the Lord of Life. On the third day, Christ burst forth from the tomb, having plundered the plunderer. He has the keys of Death and Hades (Rev. 1:18). Because He lives, the grave's appetite is not ultimate. A day is coming when Christ will empty all the graves, and death itself will be thrown into the lake of fire. The grave will finally be forced to say, "Enough."
The barren womb, that deep ache for life, finds its ultimate fulfillment in the gospel. The church, which includes many who were physically barren, is the fruitful bride of Christ, bringing forth countless spiritual children. And in the resurrection, our longings will be fully and finally satisfied in ways we cannot now imagine. God is the one who "gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children" (Psalm 113:9).
The parched earth finds its satisfaction in Christ, who is the Living Water. He stood and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink" (John 7:37). The curse on the land will be removed. In the new heavens and the new earth, a river of the water of life will flow from the throne of God, and the tree of life will bear fruit in its season, and its leaves will be for the healing of the nations (Rev. 22:1-2). The thirsty earth will drink its fill and be satisfied.
And the fire of judgment? That fire which never says "Enough" fell with all its fury on Jesus Christ at the cross. He absorbed the full, unquenchable wrath of God that we deserved. He endured the infinite fire so that we would not have to. The fire of God's holy wrath was satisfied by the sacrifice of His Son. For those who are in Christ, the fire has no more claim.
The daughters of the leech cry "Give, Give." They represent the endless, hungry demand of the law and of sin. But the gospel answers with a different word. The gospel says, "It is finished." The gospel says, "Receive." The insatiable longing of the fallen world is met and mastered by the infinite satisfaction found in Jesus Christ. He is the bread of life for our hungry souls, the living water for our thirsty hearts. In Him, and only in Him, can the ravenous human heart finally and truly say, "Enough."