Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. – Proverbs 30:5

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 14, 2026): Proverbs 30

Purity is an important concept. Very little of the everyday things we use is pure. The clothes that we wear, the coins that we spend, and the tools that make our life easier are all made up of composites or things that are made of different materials. And there is a reason for that. Not only are pure things more valuable, but they can also be less durable. So, if you have won a gold medal at the Olympics, you might be surprised to find out that the medal isn’t really gold. A gold medal is made up of only 6% gold. The vast majority of the medal is silver (92.5%). Silver medals are mostly silver, while bronze medals are made of 95% copper and 5% zinc. Revisiting the gold medals, one reason for the predominance of silver in the gold medal is that gold is expensive and soft. That picture of the gold medal winners biting their medals, today all medal winners tend to bite their medals, is because if it is pure gold, you will leave tooth marks in the soft medal. Mixing gold with other metals makes it much more durable.

My grandfather was a coin collector. I wish I had his collection, but I don’t. However, grandpa became disillusioned because silver was removed from some coins, such as quarters, in 1964 (in Canada, 1968). Before 1964, an American quarter was 90% silver and 10% copper, with the copper making the coin more durable. Today, an American quarter is made of 91.67% copper and 8.33% nickel. Interestingly, a nickel is composed of 75% copper and 25% nickel; the exact composition has been used since 1866. The Canadian nickel is an alloy of 94.5% steel and 3.5% copper, with only 2% of the namesake element present. The mixture of these metals makes the coins cheaper to produce and more durable.

But pure gold or silver coins are much more valuable, even though they are also more fragile. The purification process is essential because it removes impurities, leaving the pure metal. The metal is heated, and the dross is burned off, leaving only the pure metal, free of the imperfections present in its original state.

This section of Proverbs is attributed to someone named Agur, the son of Jakeh. We know very little about this man, but he describes himself as a “brute of a man” that does not “have human understanding” (Proverbs 30:2). According to Agur, there is no reason to listen to him except that he is a prophet whom God has chosen to speak through. His words may not be of value, but God’s words are essential. And what Agur is about to give his readers are the flawless words of God. A better translation is that these words are pure. Nothing is present in what Agur gives to his readers except what God has told him. Agur has not polluted these sayings with the dross that came from his mind. It is the pure word of God, and the pure word of God is essential, and it will defend the person who is willing to take these words seriously.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Proverbs 31