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| A time and a place |
1 The
words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him. 2 What, my
son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows? 3 Give
not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings. 4 It
is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes
strong drink: 5 Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the
judgment of any of the afflicted. 6 Give strong drink unto him that is
ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. 7 Let him
drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more. 8 Open thy
mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. 9 Open
thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.
(Proverbs 31:1-9)
Please excuse my exuberance at writing on this last chapter of Proverbs, but it
involves devotional attributes and counsel that is urgently needed in our day
but, unfortunately, greatly neglected – the virtues of a loving mother and
righteous woman – how there contribution to a nation and society cannot be
over-estimated. When I was a child, I used to wonder at my mother’s love. I could
not understand why she would forego the satisfaction of her own time and needs
to the benefit of my six siblings and me. Not only that, but she went
about her duties as a mother and wife with a song (usually a hymn) on her lips
that had its birth in a heart of gold. My mother caused me to always harbor an
exalted respect for womanhood, and to lament the downtrodden image of womanhood
that has emerged in our modern day through the agencies of feminism, vulgarity
in media, and the unfaithfulness of many husbands to their wives, and their
lack of appreciation for the great contributions of a good woman to her
household and society itself. Hoping that I have not too much elevated your
expectations to the quality of this devotion, but that I will more draw the
reader’s attention to the underlying significance and meaning of God’s Word,
let us now direct our attention to the first nine verses of Part One. Part Two (vs.10-20) & Part Three
(vs, 21-31) will follow in subsequent devotions.
There are, in Holy Writ, more than one mother who dedicated her son to the
Lord. Hannah dedicated her Samuel to the service of God after weaning him. The
identity of King Lemuel is not revealed anyplace in Scripture. It is surmised
that, since 'Lemuel' means 'dedicated to God,' the identity may be of Solomon
himself - a king dedicated to God. 1 "The words of king
Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him." Like many
other devout and dutiful mother's, it is noteworthy of Bathsheba that she
always advocated the cause of her son Solomon. It may be concluded that she was
attentive to the spiritual, as well as physical, needs of Solomon while he was
growing up. Her past indiscretions, if they were great, do not preclude this
from being the case. Rachab, the harlot, was mother to Boaz. She seems to have
raised her son well. Boaz was the great-grandfather of King David and
great-great-grandfather of Solomon. The Church itself has been referred to as
the Mother of God's people for she births, trains, and raises them up in the nurture
of the Lord.
It seems rather strange to consider this Proverb as a source of prophecy but,
in fact, the entire Bible might be considered prophecy. When God gives us
counsel by which to live, He also informs us of the sure and dreadful consequences
of an habitual disregard of His counsel. It is prophetic and certain to say
that any nation that rejects God will be met by all of the curses of the Law.
The very last word of the Old Testament is the word "curse,' and it is not
to be taken lightly. Unfortunately, there are few ministers that prophesy
today. I am not referring to some sensational exegesis of future events in
scripture, but a sure and informed understanding of the consequences of sin in
the life of a nation and of a people. If God has informed us of the
consequences of the sins of the flesh such as homosexuality and adultery, why
are these only whispered behind the closed doors of the church? When we, as
ministers, fail to preach the full Word of God, we are taking away from the words
of prophecy of God's Book. When we preach things not in conformity with that
Word, we are adding to it just as surely as the corrupt new Bible versions do.
"For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy
of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him
the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall
take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his
part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things
which are written in this book." (Rev
22:18,19)
2 "What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the
son of my vows?" These are the words of a mother whose great
affection is concentrated on her son. It seems far more than coincidence that
the Book of Proverbs begins with Wisdom in the feminine sense, and ends with
woman as the anchor and bulwark of moral society. The truly great man is the
son of a truly great mother. "Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth
her voice in the streets: She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in
the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, How
long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in
their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? Turn you at my reproof: behold,
I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you."
(Prov 1:20-23)
Three of our greatest military heroes were blessed with mothers who taught them
the morals of godliness - General George Washington, Robert E. Lee, and Douglas
MacArthur.; in fact, Douglas MacArthur's mother, to his embarrassment, moved
into the Hotel Thayer on the grounds of West Point while MacArthur was a
student there. "What, my son" expresses the
fervent desire of the mother to discover the best counsel to give her child.
". . . and what, the son of my womb?" What best
advice can this devoted mother give to her most beloved son? Many mother's face
the dilemma today of trying to provide a moral for their children in an
increasingly immoral world. ". . . and what, the son of my vows?"
Her vows are to God, and her son is also dedicated in the same sense. It is for
this reason that the Anglican faith and doctrine includes the baptism of
infants that we intend to dedicate to God. We should remember that there would
never have been a John Wesley if there had never been a Susannah Wesley, his
godly mother.
3 "Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that
which destroyeth kings." It might be supposed that a loving mother
is far more cognizant of the dangers and pitfalls of indiscreet alliances
with women of less worth - far better than a father. The word 'strength' is, in
the Hebrew Chayil meaning not only physical strength, but worth
as well. We become a party of ever liaison we make - good or bad. Mother's are
most wise in detecting flaws in character and worth of both men and women. The
son who chases after women becomes a victim not only to his own sensual sins,
but those of the woman whom he seduces or is seduced thereby. His focus is
taken off the things of God and centered on the things of the flesh.
4 "It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to
drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: 5 Lest they drink, and
forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted."
Though it is undesirable enough that a private citizen abuse his drink, it is
of greater and tragic proportions for the wisdom and clear thought of the
ruler's mind to be corrupted by the same. Additionally, all inhibitions
are removed and defenses against moral turpitude are fallen. I do not believe
this means table wine which was commonly consumed at meals, but strong drink,
undiluted and consumed in such measure as to alter the mental attributes of a
person. Strong drink, or too much wine, does alter our thinking capacity and
also perverts our memories. “Drunkenness,’’ says Jeremy Taylor (‘Holy
Living,’ ch. 3, § 2), “opens all the sanctuaries of nature, and discovers
the nakedness of the soul, all its weaknesses and follies; it multiplies sins
and discovers them; it makes a man incapable of being a private friend or a
public counsellor. It taketh a man’s soul into slavery and imprisonment more
than any vice whatsoever, because it disarms a man of all his reason and his
wisdom, whereby he might be cured, and, therefore, commonly it grows upon him
with age; a drunkard being still more a fool and less a man.”
It is drunkeness that is the sin and not the grape.
There is, of course, a proper use of wine and strong drink just as there is a
proper use for narcotic drugs in treating severe pain. "6 Give
strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of
heavy hearts. 7 Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember
his misery no more." When some grievous calamity has befallen
a poor soul, drink may serve as a comforting tonic. When sorrow
overwhelms, there must be found some remedy that will alleviate the keen
awareness of loss. During the War Between the States, whiskey was often given
to soldiers when limbs were amputated. Of course, the wine used in the
Lord’s Supper is intended to represent the strong Blood of Christ. The warm and
elevated spirit resulting from wine can also simulate the effects of the Holy
Ghost. (It was not simply grape juice that Christ drank at the Last Supper, but
fermented fruit of the vine.) In Acts 2, the effects of the Holy Spirit on the
disciples was even mistaken by some observers to be actual drunkenness.
8 “Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are
appointed to destruction.” To fail to comply with this command is
to commit sins of omission as expressed in the General Confession. Men and
women of honor and faith must speak out for those who are unable to speak out
for themselves. Children, orphans, the handicapped, etc. depend upon righteous
lips to plead their cause in the public forum. To fail to stand on the side of
the helpless is to fail of the compassion of Christ and rejects His Lordship. “Pure
religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the
fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from
the world.” (James 1:27)
The modern church rejects the next proverb: 9 Open thy mouth,
judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.” When
you see immorality and depravity of character in either individuals,
government, church, or community, do not sit like a dumb stone and say nothing –
speak out like a man or woman with spiritual backbone! That which the modern
church has rejected is the omission that has led to the present demise of the
nation and her churches; that is, the failure to obey the command to judge with
righteous judgment. Jesus Himself commanded how we must judge: Judge not
according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” (John
7:24)
Because the modern church is comprised of moral cowards, they seek refuge in
the false claim that “we must not judge.” They twist the meaning of Christ’s
words in St. Matthew to preclude ALL judgment – both righteous and unrighteous:
“Judge not, that ye be not judged.” (Matt 7:1) Lifting their ‘escape clause’ from
the context of Jesus’ words, they omit the qualification Christ made to this
statement in the next four verses following: “For
with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete,
it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that
is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of
thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first
cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly
to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.” (Matt 7:2-5)
By ignoring the qualifying stipulations made by Christ, they have rendered
church discipline a mere sterile memory. If the Church and its members cannot
judge sin by the rule of God’s Word, we are helpless to confront sin, or
sinner.
Tomorrow (Lord willing), we take up the beginning of the most often quoted
Mother’s Day text of the Bible. This is the manna of Proverbs.
