Proverbs 31: 1-9, MSG Version
“Wisdom is the fitting application of knowledge,” Apostle Lockhart says. “Knowledge understands the light turns red; wisdom applies the brakes. Knowledge sees the quicksand; wisdom walks around it. Knowledge memorizes the 10 Commandments, but wisdom obeys them. Knowledge and understanding learn of God, wisdom is the catnip to love and obey God.”
By Apostle Victoria Regina Lockhart of Jersey City, N.J.
Proverbs 31 is popular for its description of a virtuous woman who runs her own business and manages household affairs. But, also embedded in the first nine verses of the chapter is very poignant advice by the mother of King Lemuel. Little is known about Lemuel except that he was a king, had a wise mother and wrote poetry.
Lemuel means “for God or devoted to God.” Some believe that Lemuel and Agur were both from the kingdom of Massa in northern Arabia. But since we know that most of the Book of Proverbs was penned by King Solomon, the third king of Israel who bookmarked the end of the Golden Age of kings, most researchers and Bible scholars theorize that King Lemuel probably was a pet name for King Solomon.
Solomon was the second son of King David and Bathsheba. We know how our mothers give us nicknames. My name is Victoria Regina but when I was growing up, my mother called me “Jeannie.”
The Old Testament of the Bible is filled with David’s military exploits, anecdotes about his close relationship with God and details of his sin with the married Bathsheba.
If anyone would have some great wisdom as a mother, it would be Bathsheba. She went through a lot, including being forced into a relationship with the king who impregnated her and then arranged her husband Uriah’s murder on the battlefield to cover up the affair. The first baby died. So, we see that Bathsheba’s initial relationship with David was a far cry from virtuous.
Despite what he did, King David had such a great relationship with God that the Almighty was still talking about David throughout the entire Old Testament and into the New Testament. When Bathsheba became David’s wife, she had access to a great deal of the wisdom God had given him.
Since Bathsheba’s first son was taken by God, she most likely was driven to teach Solomon all that she possibly could because she appreciated that God gave her another son. As a young boy, Solomon asked God for wisdom so he could rule his father’s kingdom with credibility and integrity. Solomon was obviously taught by both his mother and father to honor God. He knew that wisdom was truly the principal thing.
Proverbs 31: 1 begins:
- “The words of King Lemuel, the strong advice his mother gave him:
Some of the things that his mother said to him were so powerful and so profound. It is truly amazing. The Word said it was “strong advice.” And so, there are times when we get advice but if this advice is “strong” that means we really need to not only hear but we need to listen.
- “Oh, son of mine, what can you be thinking of! Child whom I bore! The son I dedicated to God!”
How many of us truly dedicate our sons and our daughters to God? So just as I forestated, the mother had to be someone who had a relationship with God, who loved God and who was able to teach this child of wisdom. And definitely to me, it sounds like Bathsheba because, for sure, she would have dedicated her son to God because of what previously happened with her, and David.
- “Don’t dilute your strength on fortune-hunting women, promiscuous women who shipwreck leaders.”
She is saying that hunting women dilute strength and fortune. Now, we know that the Word of the Lord says, “when a man finds a wife, he finds a good thing,” but the mother is telling her son Lemuel here, “don’t hunt.” So, there must be a difference between hunting and finding.
There are some things that the mind does, and people will do things to try to get us off track, to derail, detour, and distract us from our destiny. This mother was saying to her son the king, “Listen, leave promiscuous women alone. They will shipwreck you.”
- “Leaders can’t afford to make fools of themselves, gulping wine and swilling beer,
Lemuel’s mother is telling him: “first of all, if you’re hunting women and you’re spending all your fortune on promiscuous women, it will ruin or destroy you.” We can’t afford to make fools of ourselves. Do everything in moderation. Don’t overkill it, overdo it.
- “Lest, hung over, they don’t know right from wrong, and the people who depend on them are hurt.”
If you are out in the streets getting high or drunk, a hangover will come, and you don’t know right from wrong. When leadership does something wrong, we falter and we make mistakes, because we will make mistakes whether we’re a king or not a king. But if we’re in the Body of Christ, and we make a mistake or do something that is hurtful to someone, the entire body hurts. There is just no way around it, the entire body will hurt. Their hearts will be hurt.
- “Use wine and beer only as sedatives, to kill the pain and dull the ache Of the terminally ill, for whom life is a living death.”
Instead of using wine and beer for entertainment, use them for the terminally ill.
- “Speak up for the people who have no voice,
for the rights of all the misfits.
Speak out for justice!
Stand up for the poor and destitute!” - “Speak up for the people who have no voice, for the rights of all the misfits.
Speak out for justice! Stand up for the poor and destitute!”
King Lemuel’s mother is telling her son to speak up for everybody, including the misfits, the immigrants, the marginalized and the poor.
Virtuous men and women have large shoes to fill. The recommendations of King Lemuel’s mother can only be accomplished by following the paths of righteousness and allowing the Holy Spirit to transform us. However, first we must admit we are sinners, put our total trust in Jesus Christ as Savior and believe in our heart that God has raised His son from the dead. At this point, the Bible says we are saved and ready to begin the work of spreading the Gospel.
(Apostle Victoria Regina Lockhart provided this teaching of Proverbs 31: 1-9 during a weeklong Bible study hosted by Morning Manna Ministries, which is headed by Minister Vannessa Douglas. Lockhart is founder of Club Christ Ministries. Women of the Word added additional background information.)
Sources:
Bolinger, Hope. “Who is King Lemuel in the Bible?” Oct. 30, 2023. Christianity.com. https://www.christianity.com/wiki/people/who-king-lemuel-bible.html
Holy Bible, including The Message Bible and New Living Translation.
Mowczko, Margaret. “King Lemuel’s Mother: The Other Proverbs 31 Woman.” July 19, 2012. https://margmowczko.com/
Proverbs 31 – The Wisdom of King Lemuel. Enduring Word. https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/proverbs-31/
“Who was King Lemuel in Proverbs 31?” God Questions.org. https://www.gotquestions.org/King-Lemuel.html
