The word insatiable means never satisfied, incapable of being satisfied, greedy. Proverbs 30:15-16 says to us that “the horseleech has two daughters, crying give, give.” Using the number “two” in his words “two daughters” is the way Agur (30:1) is seeking to have the reader remember this wisdom. This is a literary device used in semitic poetry. Numbers were a way to commit a truth to memory and is used many times in the bible, especially in Proverbs. In the chapter we are using today he uses numbers. 30:7 he uses “two”. 30:18 says “There be three things, which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not.” 30:24, “There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise.” We preachers use numbers, the points may begin with same letters, along with alliteration which is using words that sound alike. I have known of many preachers who really had a gift when it came to using these devices.

What is a horseleech? Opinions are all over the map with speculation. The Hebrew word used is “alukah.” Easton’s Bible Dictionary seems to me to be the best in description. “There are various species in the marshes and pools of Palestine. That here referred to, the Hoemopis, is remarkable for the coarseness of its bite, and is therefore not used for medical purposes. They are spoken of in the East with feelings of aversion and horror, because of their propensity to fasten on the tongue and nostrils of horses when they come to drink out of the pools.” Basically, they are blood sucking annelids, worm like animals. (I had to look annelids up.) One of the more humorous takes on alukah is that it is concerning vampires. The ancient peoples of Babylon, Assyria and other Middle Eastern groups believed that harden criminals, evil people and suicides, had souls unable to have peace in the afterlife and were constantly seeking more and more blood from among the still living.

“Give, Give.” The two daughters are never satisfied. The proverb passage we are looking at has the underlying theme of greed and covetousness. Those two things are the daughters. Greed is a dissatisfaction, always wanting more. Covetousness is the desire for more and you want what someone else has. So, what are the four things that always want more and are never satisfied?

  1. The Grave. 30:16. No matter how many die, there’s more that will follow. The word for grave is sheol, the place of departed spirits. From the time Satan deceived Eve and the Fall of Adam death has been a part of the human condition. The devil takes great satisfaction in the death of God’s creation, man. The more painful and horrible the better in his mind. The great John Phillips said “Satan operates where life terminates.”
  2. The Barren Womb. This isn’t a womb that has had children and desires no more. This is a lady that has never had a child and desires one greatly. Two Old Testament saints immediately come to my mind. Rachel cries out “give me children or I die” in Genesis 30. Hannah cries out to the Lord in I Samuel 1 and 2 desiring to have a child. Eli the priest thinks she is drunk. She would not be satisfied until she bore a child. I can hear the words “give, give” in my imagination when thinking about Rachel, Hannah and many others from the pages of the bible or the history of humanity.
  3. The earth that isn’t filled with water. At one point in the early history of mankind a man named Noah was instructed to build an Ark. He did. It took him 120 years but he got it done. Then for the first time a universal flood. The highest mountain peak was underwater. When all the water receded where did it go? No matter how much it rains ultimately the earth cries out for more. The floods in North Carolina months ago are now a painful memory that left behind horrible destruction but the water is now gone.
  4. The fire. We have a fairly big pile of limbs at our house. Deb plans to burn soon. She’s looked up all the burn regulations and has informed me of what I need to get her. I think she is a pyromaniac. Once she begins the fire, the wood will be consumed and what was once a good size will dwindle and the fire will be calling out “it is not enough.” It wants more to burn. I can’t help but think of Hell and the Lake of Fire. Revelation 22:11, “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still.” Death doesn’t change the person only his destination. Jude 7 speaks about “suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” One final thought about this eternal fire. Matthew 25:41 clearly says that the devils and his demons have a destination. Hell was actually created for their punishment.

In closing let’s remember the focus of our passage. There are two daughters we need to flee from. Greed and Covetousness. We ought to be satisfied in the Lord Jesus. This doesn’t mean people shouldn’t have ambition. Ambition is very healthy as long as it doesn’t drive us into the realm of being a horseleech.