Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Pr 31.1 and following. Indeed, whatwas King Lemuel? He is not named anywhere else; all we have to know about this young prince are the recommendations of his mother, as well as his name which means “dedicated to God”. “What, son of my vows,” cried the pious woman. Like Anne for her little boy Samuel, she consecrated this child to the Lord who has all the rights over him. As such, she then felt responsible for instructing him as a true Nazarene. The history of Israel shows where a king can be trained by women or by drinking (1 Kings 11:1-13; 16:8, 9 1 Kings 16:8-10). Lemuel is warned against these evil inclinations (Ec 10:17; Hosea 4.11). Then he receives positive exhortations: he must be the support of all the disinherited, the spokesman of the mute! One may find that this is a well-erased role for a king. But these instructions contain the substance of religious service according to James 1:26-27: to keep oneself pure from the world (from its dizziness, from its defilements) and to care for the afflicted. Young Lemuel remembered word for word “the oracle his mother taught him.” If you had the privilege of being raised by a pious mother like him, be careful never to forget the teaching of your childhood (Pr 1.7-9; Pr 6.20-24).
This admirable portrait of the virtuous woman shows us how Wisdom (the very life of Christ) can and must be put into practice in every detail of daily and family existence. Young Christian women, may the Lord give you the desire to please Him by resembling this “courageous, honest, strong” woman (see note)! What characterizes it? she is active, joyful, energetic, charitable, wise, benevolent. His domain is the house (read Titus 2:1-5); his adornment, strength, and dignity (verses 17, 25; 1 Peter 3:1-6); her purpose, to honor her husband, the object of her joyful devotion (verse 23), and to produce fruit for him (verse 16). Her secret finally; it’s revealed only in verse 30: she fears the Lord. Yes really, such an accomplished wife, “who will find her?”. A wise woman comes from the Lord, answers Pr 19:14. So you young men do not rely on hasty judgment or appearances. “Grace is deceiving…” and deceived many. The transient charm of a face is far from always a reflection of true Christian qualities. And do not forget at the end of this book the exhortation of Pr 4.20-27: “Keep your heart more than anything that is kept…”. For it belongs first of all to the Lord.
In contrast to the words of Agur, a stupid man, without intelligence and wisdom, but inspired by God who communicated His wisdom to him (Prov. 30), we find, in chapter 31, the words of a king. As king as he was, Lemuel was not inspired, which prevents him from being confused with Solomon, as the Jewish rabbis would like. His mother was inspired; she had received the oracle of God and taught it to her son, for God does not bind inspiration to sex, education, natural gifts, or social position or authority. The fact that this mother had taught the oracle to her son is very characteristic. The woman is not called to teach man and the Word forbids him, but she can, as a mother, teach her children. Lemuel must have been a child when his mother taught him. The name of Lemuel, which is not found anywhere in the Word, means: “Devoted to God.” This name has greatly exercised human sagacity. In addition to the rabbinical commentators we have talked about, many believe that he refers to Hezekiah. Others make him a brother of Agur, still others consider this name as a poetic personification of royalty, etc., etc. Perhaps God’s word provides us with some indication on this subject.
Three kings are named in Proverbs. First and foremost, Solomon, King of Israel (1:1), the inspired author of most of the book, the king par excellence. He is always called the king in Proverbs. He is, as indeed in all his history, the type of Christ during his millennial reign. Second, Hezekiah, king of Judah (25:1), the instrument of the first revival, whose people transcribed many of Solomon’s Proverbs. This shows the price that this pious king attached to God’s given words. Finally King Lemuel, who occupies us. With regard to him, let’s notice, without attaching much importance to it, that 57 years after Hezekiah, his great-grandson Josiah, instrument of the second awakening of Judah, ascended to the throne. It succeeded the evil reigns of Manasseh and Amun. Josiah was an eight-year-old child when he began to rule. From his childhood, that is, from the beginning of his reign, he began to seek the God of David, his father. So he was really dedicated to God. In addition, her mother was a daughter of Judah, where the worship of Jehovah was still maintained. Her name was Jedida, daughter of Adaïa, of Botskath. She was entrusted with the task of teaching her son, a young boy. One could therefore assume that Lemuel and Josiah are only one character. Lemuel received in his heart the inspired teaching of his mother, accompanied in the spirit of the book of Proverbs (1:8, etc.), by the maternal authority that watched over him, concerned with straightening him up and conforming him to the thoughts of God. This oracle, pronounced by the mother, received into the heart of the son, and transmitted by him, is now part of the Holy Scriptures.
It was an ardent love, the love of a mother, who spoke to Lemuel: What, my son? and what, son of my belly? and what, sons of my vows (v. 2)? Her mother’s bowels were moved towards her, her vows to Jehovah had been granted by the gift of a son, and, full of gratitude, she had returned them to God by consecrating Lemuel to him. These exclamations, Lemuel repeats them; they touched his heart by convincing him of his mother’s love, and by making him desire not to be unfaithful to the teaching given with such affection. The same is true for us. Our service cannot be effective, our walk pleasing to the Lord, if the love of God, if the love of Christ are not the starting point.
The first recommendation of Lemuel’s mother to her son is this: Do not give your strength to women, nor your ways to those who lose kings (v. 3). She desires that the strength of the one who has been consecrated to God remain in its entirety, so that his service may not be weakened in any way. Women play a great role in Proverbs: As images, they are on the one hand Wisdom, on the other the “foreign woman”, the “prostitute”, the “adulterous woman”; in a word , corruption. Lemuel had to avoid the latter. For ourlust, by which we allow ourselves to be seduced, tends to rob us of the energy necessary for the service of God. As long as our hearts are won over by it, our character and authority are weakened. It does not need a lot of lust to produce this result. If our hearts are attached to it, when perhaps none of us have noticed it, we lose a good conscience before God and before men, and we no longer carry out our mission with a straight heart, because we have allowed fraud to enter it. We become weak; the souls we are called to govern, feel it, perhaps without realizing it, and we lose all influence over them. But when we give our ways to corrupting lusts, when our conduct is intended to satisfy them, then they are our loss. The dignity that God has entrusted to us is thrown to the ground and is not found. These paths lead to moral ruin.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
Advice to a king:
- Parents, children’s education
Dt 4:9 Only, beware of yourself and watch carefully over your soul, every day of your life, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and that they come out of your heart; teach them to your children and to the children of your children. Dt 31:13 And their children who do not know her will hear it, and they will learn to fear Jehovah, your God, all the time you live in the land you take possession of, after passing the Jordan. Pr 22.6 Teach the child according to the path he must follow; And when he is old, he will not turn away from it. Luke 15:13 A few days later, the youngest son, having picked up everything, left for a distant land, where he dissipated his property by living in debauchery.
- Temperance, total abstinence from strong drinks
-Demanded from the priests Lev 10:9 Thou shalt not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you and your sons with you, when you enter the tent of assignment, lest you die: it will be a perpetual law among your descendants,
-The law concerning the Nazireans Nb 6.3 he will abstain from wine and intoxicating drink; he will not drink vinegar made with wine, nor vinegar made with an intoxicating drink; he will not drink any liquor from grapes, and he will not eat fresh grapes or raisins.
-The precept of the wise Pr 23:31 Do not look at the wine which appears a beautiful red, Which makes pearls in the cup, And which flows easily.
-The rule concerning kings Pr 31.4 It is not for kings, Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Nor for princes to seek strong liquors,
-The law of the Recabites Jr. 35:6 But they answered: We do not drink wine; for Jonadab, son of Recab, our father, gave us this command: You will never drink wine, neither you nor your sons;
-Daniel’s temperance principles Dn 1:8 Daniel resolved not to be defiled by the king’s food and the wine the king drank, and he begged the leader of the eunuchs not to force him to defile himself.
John the Baptist, a total abstinent Lk 1:15 For he will be great before the Lord. He will drink neither wine nor intoxicating liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb of his mother;
Brotherly love requires Rom 14:21 and having the full conviction that what he promises can also accomplish it.
- Wise women, wisdom and virtue
Pr 11:16 A woman who has grace obtains glory, and those who have strength obtain wealth. Pr 12:4 A virtuous woman is the crown of her husband, but the one who shames is like the decay in her bones. Pr 31.10 Who can find a virtuous woman? It is much more valuable than pearls. Pr 31:30 Grace is deceiving, and beauty is vain; The woman who fears the Lord is the one who will be praised.
- Ministry of women, compassion shown in a special way
-Hospitality to the Prophets 2 Kings 4:10 Let us make a small upper room with walls, and put a bed, a table, a seat, and a candlestick in it for him, so that he may retire there when he comes to us.
-Kindness to the poor Pr 31:20 She reaches out to the unfortunate, She reaches out to the needy.
-Contribution to the well-being of Christ Mt 27:55-56 There were several women there who looked from afar; who had accompanied Jesus from Galilee, to serve him. 56 Among them were Mary of Magdala, Mary, mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
-Anointing of Christ Mk 14:3 As Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, a woman entered, while he was at the table. She held an alabaster vase, which contained a perfume of pure nard of great price; and, having broken the vase, she poured out the perfume on Jesus’ head.
-Washing of the Savior’s feet Lk 7:37-38 And behold, a sinful woman who was in the city, having known that he was at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster vase full of perfume, 38 and stood behind, at the feet of Jesus. She was crying; and soon she wet his feet with her tears, then wiped them with her hair, fucked them, and anointed them with perfume.
-Service of the Church Rom 16:1-2 I commend to you Phoebe, our sister, who is deaconess of the Church of Cenchrées, 2 that you may receive her into our Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and assist her in the things where she would need you, for she has given help to many and to me.
-Collaboration with Paul Rom 16:3, 6, 12 Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Jesus Christ, 6 Greet Mary, who took great pain for you. 12 Greet Tryphene and Tryphosis, who work for the Lord. Greet Perside, the beloved, who has worked much for the Lord.
From all the above, we note that the fear of the Eterne is the secret motive of all the conduct of the virtuous woman. Proverbs ends with this fear, as they began with it (1:7). To be before God, in the light of His presence, to learn to hate the evil He hates, to love the good He loves; seek in all things to please him, and fear to displease him; this is the fear of the Lord. It is the crowning glory of all blessings, the source of knowledge, and the source of Wisdom. This fear is here the only reason for the praise of the virtuous woman, for it is on fear that all other virtues depend and, without it, the greatest gifts are only vanity. This is the last word of Proverbs, as well as of Ecclesiastes (12:13); but this subject comes up again and again in the book that concerns us where it is mentioned sixteen times. Give her the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her at the doors. The “fruit of her hands” seems to be the vine she planted with the fruit of her hands in v. 16. The house of Israel is the vineyard of the Lord (Isaiah 5:7). As for its responsibility, Israel had not been able to keep the vine that was its own. This is what the Sulamite says (Cant. 1:6); but, at the moment of producing it in triumph, the bridegroom attributes to her all that His grace has done for her and through her. She eats the fruit of the vine she planted (I Cor. 9:7). We are therefore brought back, in type, to the true Israel according to God’s thoughts; he is seen as perfect according to his advice and obtains, as having deserved it, the reward that is acquired to him by grace. “And let her works praise her at the doors”; that is, where her husband is honored, where His dignity is recognized by all. It is then that all the activity of the virtuous woman will be recognized as having had as its purpose the glorification of her husband. Let us therefore constantly strive to conduct ourselves in such a way that it is proved, on the day of glory, that our whole life has had as its sole purpose to give the Lord the place due to him! Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to react to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow “Introduction to the Book of Job (Jb 1).
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.