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A MOTHER’S
TEACHING Every
second Sunday in Timothy
seems to have learned much from his mother.
Paul told Timothy, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that
dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure,
dwells in you as well” (2 Tim. 1:5 ESV).
And a little later, Paul told Timothy, “But as for you, continue in what
you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and
how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are
able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim.
3:14-15 ESV). Likewise,
there was once a king named Lemuel whose mother taught him valuable
lessons. Proverbs 31:1 says, “These are
the words of King Lemuel, the message his mother taught him” (NCV). Then the next eight verses record that
message. Who
is Lemuel? No one alive today (except
God) knows for sure. The name only
appears in this passage. “Rabbinic
tradition equates Lemuel with Solomon, though modern scholars reject this”
(NRSV Harper Study Bible). If Lemuel was
Solomon, then the mother (who is unnamed in this passage) would be Bathsheba (2
Samuel 12:24). The
name “Lemuel” means “devoted to God.”
This goes right along with the first words his mother says to him here:
“My son, I gave birth to you. You are
the son I prayed for” (Proverbs 31:2 NCV).
The words “devoted to God” and “the son I prayed for” reminds us of the
prayer of childless Hannah: “Lord
All-Powerful, see how sad I am. Remember
me and don’t forget me. If you will give
me a son, I will give him back to you all his life” (1 Samuel 1:11 NCV). Now,
let’s notice what Lemuel’s mother taught him.
Like many mothers, Lemuel’s mother taught him about women, wine, and
words: Like many mothers, Lemuel’s
mother taught him about women. She
said, “Don’t waste your life chasing after women! This has ruined many kings” (Proverbs 31:3
CEV). This makes us think of Solomon,
who “loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite,
Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning
which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, ‘You shall not enter into
marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away
your heart after their gods.’ Solomon clung to these in love. He had 700 wives, princesses, and 300
concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. For when Solomon was old his wives turned
away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord
his God” (1 Kings 11:1-4 ESV). Like many mothers, Lemuel’s
mother taught him about wine. She said, “It is not
for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take
strong drink, lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and pervert the
rights of all the afflicted” (Proverbs 31:4-5 ESV). This reminds me of the organization called
MADD (i.e., Mothers Against Drunk Driving).
Lemuel’s mother went on to say, “Give strong drink to the one who is
perishing, and wine to those in bitter distress; let them drink and forget
their poverty and remember their misery no more” (Proverbs 31:6-7 ESV). Nave’s Topical Bible lists these verses
(Proverbs 31:6-7) under the heading, “Medicinal use of wine” (cf. 1 Tim. 5:23). Like many mothers, Lemuel’s
mother taught him about words. She said, “Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of
all who are destitute. Open your mouth,
judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy” (Proverbs 31:8-9
ESV). Solomon said that while there is
“a time to keep silence,” there is also “a time to speak” (Eccl. 3:7). In “the years before World War II,” a German
man named Dietrich Bonhoeffer urged others “to speak up for Hitler’s victims,
particularly Jews who had been stripped of their civil rights.” In doing so, Bonhoeffer frequently quoted
Proverbs 31:8 (NIV Student Bible). He
recognized the wisdom in the words of Lemuel’s mother. |