“Who has ascended into heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has wrapped the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name or His Son’s name? Surely you know!”

מִי עָלָה־שָׁמַיִם וַיֵּרַד מִי אָסַף־רוּחַ בְּחָפְנָיו מִי צָרַר־מַיִם בַּשִּׂמְלָה מִי הֵקִים כָּל־אַפְסֵי־אָרֶץ מַה־שְּׁמוֹ וּמַה־שֶּׁם־בְּנוֹ כִּי תֵדָע

Have you ever tried to chase the wind? Maybe you have tried to grab it, take hold of it, get ahead of it, or even command it. Were you successful? 

Proverbs 30:4 is considered a riddle of sorts in the biblical canon. Who, but God, could do anything asked in these questions? And what about this Son? Surely this is metaphorical, yes? If the author was being rhetorical, then there is no need to answer. If he was posing a riddle, then perhaps he was being intentionally ambiguous, leaving the answer open-ended. It is my contention, however, that he was writing prophetically. The answer written into the text of the New Testament. 

Agur the son of Jakeh asks a series of questions echoed in motifs found in later rabbinic literature, especially regarding the heavenly ascent of a mysterious figure. Midrash Tanchuma (Va’etchanan 6) speaks of Moses ascending to heaven to receive the Torah/Law. Yet, even Moses is portrayed as a servant, not the sovereign of heaven and earth (Heb. 3:5). Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 35 describes Enoch and Elijah ascending, but never descending with authority over creation.

In contrast to this, Proverbs 30:4 reveals a figure who not only ascends but descends. This divine revelation aligns with the Messianic understanding of the incarnation of Messiah Yeshua/Jesus. “Who has ascended into heaven and descended?” Agur asks. This verse is echoed in John 3:13, as Yeshua/Jesus says: “No one has ascended into heaven except He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.”

Here we find the fulfillment of Agur’s mysterious statement: Yeshua. It is Yeshua who bridges the gap between heaven and earth (Jn. 1:51), not as a prophet or sage, but as the incarnate Son of the Father in Heaven, with authority over creation itself, the Messiah. 

Agur’s imagery of wind and water evokes Genesis 1 and the Spirit of God hovering over the deep. Rabbinic texts often associate control over the elements with divine prerogative. Berakhot 59a (in the Talmud) attributes thunder and wind to God’s majesty, reinforcing the idea that only the Lord commands such forces. Midrash Tehillim 104:3 describes God “clothing Himself with light” (cf. Ps. 104:2) and “walking on the wings of the wind.” This language is mirrored in the poetic awe of Proverbs 30:4.

When Jesus calmed the storm Mark 4:39, it was not just a miracle, it was a Messianic signpost. The One who wraps the waters in His garment walked upon it, and has walked among us. The One “Who has gathered the wind in His fists?” is the One who rebuked the wind and calmed the sea, prompting the disciples to ask: “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” (Mk. 4:31).

This miracle draws our attention back to the imagery in Proverbs 30:4, portraying Yeshua/Jesus as the One who commands nature, an authority attributed to God alone in biblical text and rabbinic tradition. Still: מַה־שְּׁמוֹ וּמַה־שֶּׁם־בְּנוֹ כִּי תֵדָע, “What is His name, what is His Son’s name, if you know?” 

This verse is provocative indeed. Rabbinic tradition wrestles with divine names, emphasizing their mystery and sanctity. Shemot Rabbah 3:6 teaches that God has many names, each reflecting a different aspect of His interaction and relationship with creation, the nations and His covenant people. Sanhedrin 38b discusses the concept of the “Son of Man,” suggesting that the name of the Messiah was known before creation, hinting at the preexistence of the Messiah even in their commentary. 

A later Jewish text, Zohar (Vol. III, 152a; 13th-century Spain), even hints at a hidden “Son” who shares in divine glory, a concept that, while more esoteric, resonates with the revelation of Yeshua as the Son who bears the Name. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil. 2:9–11). 

In Matthew 3:17, at Yeshua’s immersion, the voice of the Father from heaven declares: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” The New Testament reveals the Son’s name, Yeshua (Jesus), as the embodiment of divine grace and truth (Jn. 1:14), answering the mystery found in Proverbs 30:4. 

Proverbs 30:4 is not just poetic, it is prophetic. Rabbinic tradition affirms the mystery of divine ascent, the authority over creation, and the sanctity of the Name. The Apostles reveal the fulfillment in the Gospels, the Epistles and the Apocalypse: Yeshua, the Son who descended, commanded and calmed the chaotic wind and water, and ascended again to intercede on our behalf (Heb. 7:25). Surely we now know His name: Yeshua. 

In messianic faith, our lives are no longer folly, a chasing after the wind, they are purposeful because we have been chosen, called, redeemed and commissioned to His harvest field. 

Maranatha. Shalom. 

“Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children” (Deut. 4:9). 

Parshat Va’etchanan (וָאֶתְחַנַּן) opens with Moses pleading to enter the Land, a request denied. Yet in that denial, we glimpse a deeper truth: that intimacy with God is not always found in fulfilled desires, but in faithful endurance. Moses, though barred from crossing over, stood face to face with the Holy One in the fire (Ex. 33:11). He became the voice of memory and covenant, calling Israel to remember, to teach, and to endure.

In our own trials, we too plead. We ask for healing, for breakthrough, for clarity. Sometimes the answer is silence. Sometimes it is “no.” But in Messiah Yeshua/Jesus, we learn that the fire is not a place of abandonment, it is the place of revelation. The Sh’ma, declared in this parsha, reminds us: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deut. 6:4). In suffering, in joy, in exile and return, He is One. And we are not alone, in the calm or the storm, under fire or in peace.

Messianic faith does not bypass hardship, as I’ve mentioned many times before, it transforms it. Yeshua, like Moses, stood on the mountain, but He also walked through the valley. He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and now calls us to follow, not with fear, but with faithful resolve. Not always receiving what we want or hope for, need or require, but assured of His knowing presence all the same. 

So we teach. We remember. We endure. And in doing so, we become living testimonies of the fire that does not consume, but refines (Mal. 3:2). And we stand waiting for that face to face moment when He returns. Still, until then, “We walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7).

Maranatha. Shalom.