Motherly Advice
01.08.25
The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him. What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows? (Proverbs 31:1, 2).
We come now to the final chapter of the Book of Proverbs. The first nine verses center around the author. We have the same problem here as with King Agur of Proverbs 30. We do not know who King Lemuel is. Several ideas have been suggested. Is he the king of the land bordering Edom? Is he some unknown king from a foreign land? Or, is he Solomon himself, using a pen name? No matter who he is, the Jews accepted his message as being from the Lord.
Clearly, his main teacher was his mother (1, 2). She appears to be a godly, caring woman. She had consecrated her son to the Lord as had Hannah with her son Samuel. She cared enough to teach her son godly principles. She used the method of asking penetrating questions.
Her instruction here centers around three topics. First, he is urged to beware of women (3). Give not your strength to women, nor to that which destroys kings. Sensual conduct is destruction to one’s body, name, home, and work. If this is Solomon, his mother was Bath-sheba. She would certainly have a frame of reference for this wise counsel.
The second area of instruction was in regard to wine (4-7). It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.
She shares with him both the negative and positive. Negatively, wine is a hindrance to those in leadership. Under its influence, the law can easily be forgotten and/or perverted. Positively, it can be of special help to those in great pain, and those facing great sorrow. It must be remembered that the wine in the Bible, and even the strong drink, had no where near the alcoholic content of today’s spirits.
His mother also urged him to use his influence as a king to protect the helpless (8, 9). Open your mouth for the mute in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.
His judgement should be fair and impartial to all. Specifically, he should go out of his way to help the helpless. This would include those who can’t speak for themselves, and those who find themselves in great trouble.
It is wonderful to see that it is Christianity that has made a difference in this world in these areas. It is the Christian church that has paved the way for orphanages, rescue missions, homes for unwed mothers, pregnancy care centers, drug rehabilitation centers, and homes for battered wives and wayward teens.
These types of services are not often found in pagan lands. Understand that, though Satan makes sin glitter, he really doesn’t care about people. He wants as many people as possible to populate a hell that was designed by our just and loving God for the devil and his angels. The only reason any of us will end up in hell is if we refuse the gracious offer of salvation provided by his only begotten Son on the cross.
As always, if we at Immanuel Baptist Church can be of any help to you, please feel free to call upon us.