Proverbs 31:1-9
Proverbs 31:1-9
New King James Version (NKJV)
The Words of King Lemuel’s Mother
1 The words of King Lemuel, the utterance which his mother taught him:
2 What, my son?
And what, son of my womb?
And what, son of my vows?
3 Do not give your strength to women,
Nor your ways to that which destroys kings.
4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
It is not for kings to drink wine,
Nor for princes intoxicating drink;
5 Lest they drink and forget the law,
And pervert the justice of all the afflicted.
6 Give strong drink to him who is perishing,
And wine to those who are bitter of heart.
7 Let him drink and forget his poverty,
And remember his misery no more.
8 Open your mouth for the speechless,
In the cause of all who are appointed to die.
9 Open your mouth, judge righteously,
And plead the cause of the poor and needy.
My Thoughts:
- So let’s start with (v. 1) we read “The words of King Lemuel, the utterance which his mother taught him:
- Ok who is King Lemuel? Once again we do not know the identity of the author but there are those that believe that Solomon wrote them. While the tone is much closer to the first 29 chapters, I still believe that this is once again a different writer.
- In (v.3) we read “Do not give your strength to women, nor your ways to that which destroys kings”
- I do not see this verse as a warning to all men telling us to stand strong in our own homes. I see this verse telling a soon to be king that if he is not careful he too will end up like so many kings before him that allowed a woman to bring down his kingdom.
- Let’s finish with (v. 4) we read “It is not for kings, O Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes intoxicating drink;
- I was going to comment about verses 4-7 but we have covered my views on drinking. I chose this verse because it pointed to the kings. As the head of the kingdom it is his reasonability to set example for his people. I see this verse telling the head of all households that they are to set the standard in their family.
Thought of the Day
“Nothing can dim the beauty that shines from within”
In her book Who Calls Me Beautiful? Regina Franklin observes that in 1951 Miss Sweden was 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighed 151 pounds. But Miss Sweden of 1983 was 2 inches taller and 45 pounds lighter. What qualifies as beauty for one generation does not seem to apply to the next.
In Genesis 24:16, we are told that Rebekah was “very beautiful to behold.” But physical beauty was not the crucial point for Eliezer, the servant of Abraham, who was sent to find a wife for Isaac.
Eliezer’s prayer gives us an important clue about the kind of beauty he sought for his master’s son: “Let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’—let her be the one” (v.14).
Common courtesy could have prompted Rebekah to provide drinking water for a stranger, but to water camels was a different matter entirely. Ten thirsty camels could drink up to 210 gallons. Rebekah clearly had a servant’s heart.
The Bible tells us that Rebekah was beautiful, but it says much more about the beauty of her character. “Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised” (Proverbs 31:30).—Albert Lee (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)
Think not alone of outward form;
Its beauty will depart;
But cultivate the Spirit’s fruits
That grow within the heart. —D. De Haan
Personal Reflection and Discussion
- What do you think about (v. 9) do you think Solomon wrote the chapter?
- What other things do you see in the text?
Prayer Activities
- Call your Partner and discuss this devotional.
- Continue to have a prayer list and continue to praying for them.
- Pray with them and ask for the following;
- For God to take a hard look at the standards that we set for our families.
- For God help us show strength when needed and humility when called for.
- For the individuals on your pray list.
- Let’s use (2 Cor. 2:14) for today’s prayer verse.
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These verses are from a mother to her son, but more than that they are to a king. She wants Lemuel to be a good king, a godly king. The duty of a king in those day, and probably today even, was to defend the weak, help those who are helpless. These duties were not seen much then or even now. That is what verse 9 is saying. His mother was trying to tell him what he should do as king. I like it to because we have the promise of a King who IS the defender of the helpless and will one day establish His righteous reign. Again, I don’t think Solomon wrote this either. It flowed easier than Agur’s writings but still did not have the depth that Solomons writings have.
I agree, Solomon probably didn’t write this since this was his personal downfall. I wonder if this proverb was even written or known in his time; we see chp. 25-29 were put later in this book by the men of Hezekiah (Pr. 25:1). Solomon could of benefitted from studing this chapter and avoided not just his downfall, but that of his kingdom.
good point
I like your comment about the king being the defender, too many times our leader forget that part.
Verse 3 “Don’t not give your strengh to woman.” Interesting this kind of advise from another woman. You can’t dismiss this as just sexist bias tones set from a time when woman didn’t have equal rights like today. She was a queen and maybe even the “queen mother” ruling in the stead of her late husband till her son matures; may explain why we don’t see counsel from the father, like Solomon in Proverbs for his sons.
No one should give up their strength to anyone. We still need to judge individually and act according to our conscious/ Holy Spirit’s leading. The issue is on who is the Lord of your life?
Men and woman can both idolize their spouse or partner by putting blind faith in them and trying to please them in everything they want, eventually giving up their standard/ better reasoning/ strength. I would think this is easier for men who usually tends to focus on the outward apperance. Woman give up their control/ strengh to men for different reasons. Men usually stand to loss more than women, since they loss not just themselves, but everything underneith them.
The next part of this parable goes into more details on what he should be looking for in a woman. Notice the virtuous woman could be safely trusted, vrs 11…why because “the woman who fears the Lord, she shall be prasied.” That’s the end point to vrs 3. Sorry I jumped ahead…hard to break up one chapter.
yes you did jump ahead, but that is ok. I agree with you that no one sould ever give their power away. relationships are about being there for each other not seeing how is on top.
Noticed vrs 3 says women in pluaral, and definetly not wife. This could also be talking about loving many women, like Solomon having many wives; and definetly in reference to not giving himself to immoral/adulterous women not his wife.