The familiarity with common creatures that people living in the east experienced made biblical allusions to those creatures a valuable teaching tool.  When the Spirit of God wanted to drive home a particular point or make it especially memorable, He would invoke some animal whose common traits would be immediately identifiable by every reader.  And since those characteristics don’t change, the illustration remains relevant in every age.   The lizard is a perfect example.  Growing up in rural Virginia, I had occasion to observe many lizards.  One species (a gecko, perhaps?) was especially fascinating.  Seldom more than six inches long from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail, it ran across vertical walls and upside down on ceilings with the aid of suction cups on its feet.  It was relatively easy to catch, but the most remarkable thing about this lizard was that, if you grabbed it by its tail, the tail would snap off, not raggedly as though torn, but cleanly, almost as if cut with scissors or a knife, but without bleeding.  And if the lizard succeeding in escaping, its tail would grow back.  Surely, it was the knowledge that many would share similar experiences with lizards that provoked the proverb, “The lizard you may grasp with the hands, yet it is in kings’ palaces” (Pro. 30:28).  This proverb is the fourth of four that are prefaced with this observation:  “Four things are small on the earth, but they are exceedingly wise” (30:24).  The Lord would have us learn at least the following from the lizard.

            1.  We should not despise our limitations.  Isaiah warned:  “Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker—an earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth!  Will the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’  Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’?” (Isa. 45:9).  The gecko may not be a tyrannosaurus, but then, no tyrannosaurus ever lived in a king’s palace or ran across a ceiling.  God made us with limitations to provoke us not to rely on ourselves and to encourage us to rely on His ability rather than our own.  And without doubt, God compensates each child of His according to His wisdom.  The Lord assures us that the Holy Spirit works faithfully in “distributing to each one individually just as He wills” (I Cor. 12:11).  And we should remember that the compensating strength may not be natural.  For example, a poor athlete may not be compensated with great intellectual ability.  Someone lacking in mechanical skills may not be compensated with great artistic or musical skills.  In fact, as the world measures things, we might not appear to be “gifted” in any of these things.  But what is that, should we instead enjoy great spiritual gifts, such as steadfast faith, abiding peace, or abounding joy?   The all-wise God has measured out to each of us the right mix of strengths and weaknesses so that His glory might be maximized in each one of us.  We should never question His loving wisdom in those choices.

            2.  We should recognize and utilize our strengths.  How is the lizard wise?  He doesn’t envy the dinosaur; he doesn’t stew and pout about his weaknesses; he uses his small size to advantage, creeping into a luxurious palace, basking in its warmth, its ready access to food (spiders and other insects enjoy the comforts of such an environment, too), and its relative lack of natural predators.  Paul observed that “power is perfected in weakness,” and he correctly affirmed, “when I am weak, then I am strong” (II Cor. 12:9c, 10c).  He knew this to be true because it enabled the power of Christ to dwell in him (II Cor. 12:9d).  In other words, the Lord does give us natural talents to utilize, but our real strength lies not in any natural ability the Lord has been pleased to bestow on us but in our reliance on His power working in and through us.

            3.  We should realize that the Lord protects and provides for us.  The gecko can build nothing; nevertheless, he lives in a palace engineered for a king.  Yes, we should be diligent, responsible, faithful stewards of God’s gifts and opportunities.  But in the final analysis, we may rest in our Jehovah-jireh—“The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, ‘In the mount of the Lord it will be provided’” (Gen. 22:14b).  May we learn the lessons that God intends the lizard to teach us.  And should you be fortunate enough to see a lizard, be reminded that God made him, not to be a nuisance to us, but to teach us to trust His perfect plan and care implicitly.