Proverbs Chapter 31
Proverbs
Chapter 31
1-2. The sayings of King Lemuel—an oracle his mother taught him: "O my son, O son of my womb, O son of my vows." We know no more about King Lemuel than we do about the prophet Agur in the last chapter. Both Agur and Lemuel have been identified with Solomon, although there is no historical evidence. It seems unlikely that Solomon, having given his own name more than once in this book (1:1; 10:1), should give two mystical names at the end, without any distinct personal application. Nor is there any scriptural testimony in favor of Bathsheba that would lead us to stamp her with this peculiar honor as one of the writers of God's Word (an oracle his mother taught him). "The admonitory verses composed for King Lemuel by his mother, when in the flower of youth and high expectation, are an inimitable production, as well in respect to their actual materials as to the delicacy with which they are selected. Instead of attempting to lay down rules concerning matters of state and political government, the illustrious writer confines herself, with the nicest and most becoming art, to a recommendation of the gentler virtues of temperance, benevolence, and mercy and a minute and unparalleled delineation of the female character, which might bid fairest to promote the happiness of her son in married life" (Dr. Good).
All we know is that King Lemuel was endowed, like many of God's people, with the invaluable blessing of a godly mother who, like Deborah of old (Judges 5:1), was honored by God to be the author of a chapter of the sacred volume.
What an animating burst from the yearning of a mother's heart! "O my son, O son of my womb, O son of my vows." Like Samuel, King Lemuel was the subject of many of his mother's prayers. If there were more Hannahs, would there not be more Samuels? If you want, Christian mother, your child to be a Samuel or an Augustine, you must yourself be a Hannah or a Monica. The child of your prayers, of your vows, of your tears will be in the Lord's best time the child of your praises, your rejoicings, your richest consolation. Yet your faith will not end with the dedication of your child. For King Lemuel's mother taught him. And such is the practical habit of godliness that faith in vowing quickens diligence in teaching.
3-7. Solomon has given us his father's wise counsels (4:4). Lemuel gives us his mother's. Both have an equal claim to reverence (1:8). Filled with deep anxiety, impassioned tenderness bursts out in this godly mother, as if some besetting enticements were imminent, perhaps already working poison in her beloved son.
"Do not spend your strength on women." What a beacon Solomon had set up earlier (chapters 2, 5, 7). These forbidden gratifications ruin kings. Such was the judgment on David. His kingly authority was shaken. And Solomon's sin destroyed his kingdom. The fruit of this sin is shame. The end of it, without repentance, is death.
The anxious mother of Lemuel next warns against another sin—intemperance. The vice that degrades a man and makes him into a beast is shameful to everyone, especially kings. They are cities set on a hill. Men look, or ought to look, to them for guidance and example. How sad it is for kings to drink wine and for rulers to crave beer if they then become drunk and forget what the law decrees and deprive all the oppressed of their rights. Priest and prophet err through strong drink (Isaiah 28:7; 56:12). A wise veto is set for the rulers of the church, that they should not be given to drunkenness (1 Timothy 3:3; Titus 1:7).
Yet the abuse of God's blessing does not destroy its use. Wine is the gift of God. It make a man's heart glad. It restores and refreshes. Give beer to those who are perishing, wine to those who are in anguish. The Samaritan did just this to the wounded traveler, and Paul prescribed it for the illness of his beloved son in the faith (1 Timothy 5:23). The rule, therefore, of love and self-denial is as follows: Instead of wasting beer and wine on yourself and merely indulging your own appetite, share your luxuries with those who really need them, such as the perishing and those who are in anguish.
8-9. Very soundly does the wise mother inculcate mercy in her royal son. This is one of the pillars of the king's throne (20:28 [kjv]). He must be the father of his people, using all his authority to protect those who cannot protect themselves. No case of distress, when coming to his knowledge, should be refused his attention. Thus our law makes the judge the counsel for the prisoner who is unable to plead for himself. "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves."
10. A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. We now come to the principal part of the chapter. The wise mother of Lemuel had warned her royal son against the seduction of evil women and accompanying temptations and had given him wholesome rules by which to govern. She now sets before him the full-length portrait of a wife of noble character. This choicest gift is emphatically said to be from the Lord (19:14).
The elegant power of these twenty-two verses, like Psalm 119, is artificially constructed, each verse beginning with one of the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. "All mothers should teach female pupils under their care to read and learn it by heart" (Bishop Home). The more deeply this passage is studied, provided that it is studied in a practical way, the more its beauty will be understood and felt. No treasure can be compared to the woman described in these verses.
11-12. The different features of this wife are now given. The first lines of the portrait describe her character as a wife. Her faithfulness, oneness of heart, and affectionate attention to duty make her husband have full confidence in her. Such was Luther's description of his wife: "The greatest gift of God is a pious amiable spouse who fears God and loves his house, and with whom one can live in perfect confidence." Isaac Walton's account of Bishop Sanderson's wife followed Solomon's pattern: "A wife who made his life happy, by being always content when he was cheerful; who was always cheerful when he was content; who divided her joys with him and abated his sorrow by bearing a part of that burden; a wife who demonstrated her affection by a cheerful obedience to all his desires during the whole course of his life."
The husband feels his wife's comfort as his burdens are relieved and his mind is spared many annoying problems. A faithful wife and a confiding husband thus mutually bless each other. With such a jewel for his wife, the husband has no misgivings. His home is the home of his heart. He does not need to look into the matters entrusted to her with suspicious eyes. We often hear about prudent management, but without the fear of God. But in this picture she brings him good, not harm.
Her husband's comfort is her interest and her rest. To live for him is her highest happiness. Even if all the detailed attention she gives to this object are not always noticed, she does not accuse her husband of indifference or unkindness. Nor does she pay back imagined neglect with sullenness.
13-27. She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls. She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night. In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers. She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet. She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple. Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes. She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
This lovely character is drawn according to the ways of ancient times, although the general principles have universal application. It describes not only the wife of a man of rank, but a wise, useful, and godly woman in her domestic responsibilities. She is a Mary no less than a Martha. "It may be necessary to retouch the lines of the picture that have been obscured by length of years; in plain terms: to explain some parts of the description that relate to ancient manners and customs, and to show how they may be usefully applied to those of our own age and country" (Bishop Home).
One thing, however, is most remarkable. The standard of godliness shown here is not that of a religious recluse shut up from active obligations under the pretense of greater consecration to God. Here are none of those habits of monastic asceticism that are now extolled as the highest point of Christian perfection. One half at least of the picture of this wife of noble character is taken up with her personal and domestic industry. What a rebuke this is to self-indulgent inactivity!
But let us look in detail at the features of the portrait in front of us. Her personal habits are full of energy. Manual labor, even menial service, in olden times was the work of women in the highest ranks. Self-denial is here a main principle. The woman of noble character goes before her servants in diligence no less than in dignity. Instead of being idle herself while they are working, she is not ashamed to work the spindle with her fingers (verse 19). Always alert for her husband's interests, she considers a field and buys it (verse 16) if it is a good buy.
We note again her behavior as mistress of her household. She builds her house with industry, self-denial, and heartiness. She gets up while it is still dark, not for the sake of being admired and talked about, but as one who provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls (verse 15). Nothing is neglected that belongs to order, sobriety, economy, or general management. She fully understands the exact work of each person in her care and their different abilities—when they need to be directed and when they may be left to their own responsibility.
Nor is her provident care limited to her own dependents. Her spindle and distaff are used not for herself or for her household only, but for the poor and the needy (verse 20). This godly woman does not only have the law of love in her heart, but she speaks with wisdom (verse 26). "She says nothing that is foolish, nothing that is ill-natured" (Bishop Horne). Hooker probably had this portrait in his mind when in his exquisite funeral sermon for his "virtuous gentlewoman" he enumerated "among so many virtues hearty devotion toward God; toward poverty, tender compassion; motherly affection toward servants; toward friends serviceable kindness; mild behavior and harmless meaning toward all." Bishop Taylor's finely drawn portrait of Lady Carbery is similar: "If we look on her as a wife, she was chaste and loving, discreet and humble. If we remember her as a mother, she was kind and severe [strict, scrupulous], careful and prudent, very tender; a greater lover of her children's souls than of their bodies. Her servants found her prudent and fit to govern, and yet openhanded and apt to reward, a great rewarder of their diligence." Mrs. Godolphin's biographer mentions her "employing herself in working for poor people, cutting out and making waistcoats and other necessary coverings, which she constantly distributed among them, like another Dorcas, spending much of her time, and no little money, in relieving, visiting, and inquiring after them."
This wife of noble character is indeed the crown of her husband (12:4). Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land (verse 23). Her husband is blessed with no ordinary treasures of happiness, "as indebted perhaps for his promotion to the wealth acquired by her management at home and, it may be, for the preservation and establishment of his virtue as to the encouragement furnished by her example and conversation" (Bishop Home).
28-31. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all." Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate. This wife of noble character is obviously subserving her own interest. For what greater earthly happiness could she know than that her children arise and call her blessed and that her husband . .. praises her (verse 28)? Her husband's attachment to her is well founded—not on deceitful and vain charms of beauty, but on one who fears the Lord. She is therefore in his eyes to the end, a support in his declining years. She soothes his cares, and she comforts him in sorrow. Both her children and her husband combine in grateful acknowledgment: "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all" (verse 29).
If she has no herald to sound her praise, all will say, Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate (verse 31). "Let everyone," says Bishop Patrick, "extol her virtue. Let her not lack the just commendation of her pious labors. But while some are magnified for the nobleness of the stock from whence they sprung, others for their fortune, others for their beauty, others for other things, let the good deeds that she herself has done be publicly praised in the greatest assemblies, where, if all men should be silent, her own works will declare her excellent worth." All will see in her the light and luster of a sound and practical way of life, noting that the promises of godliness are the richest gain, the grace of God the best portion, and his favor the highest honor.
In conclusion, "if women," says pious Bishop Pilkington, "want to learn what God wants them to do and be occupied with, although they be of the best sort, let them read the last chapter of Proverbs. It is enough to note it and point it out to them who will learn." "That which is to be done," concludes Jermin, "is to mark it well, and let every woman strive to make it agree to herself as much as she can. Let every man be ashamed that any woman shall excel him in virtue and godliness."
"Thus," says pious Matthew Henry in his quaint style, "is shut up this looking-glass for ladies, which they are desired to open and dress themselves by; and if they do so, their adorning will be found to bring praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ."