Proverbs 31

Brothers and sisters in Christ,

This evening’s Bible passage is Proverbs 31:1: “The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him.” Actually, we’ll be looking at the whole chapter, but I won’t cut and paste all 31 verses here. I’ll trust each of you to read them in your own Bible. In any case, it’s the first verse that makes this chapter so suitable for the eve of Mothers’ Day.

Did you know that a mother wrote a chapter of the Bible? Well, maybe she didn’t write it, but she was certainly the source of what ended up being written down. It was his mom who taught Lemuel these home truths, and judging by the content, she taught him these lessons not when he was a child, but when he was already a grown man and, what’s more, a king.

She begins by telling him to stop chasing after women and to quit binge-drinking. He should calm down, sober up and champion “the rights of the poor and needy,” indeed “of all who are destitute” (vv. 2-9). Praise God for all mothers who hold such values. 

Some scholars believe that Lemuel’s mother was only responsible for the first part of the chapter, and that someone else was the source of vv. 10-31. We can’t be sure, but I find it very hard to believe that anybody other than a woman was the voice behind these verses. And, I see no good reason not to ascribe them to Lemuel’s mom. A king who drinks and chases women needed to hear his wise mother’s antidote to the traditional patriarchal ideas he entertained about women.

If I’m right, then, Lemuel’s mother gave him a long and telling list of the very wide range of things a good woman can do. She works skillfully with high-quality “wool and flax,” providing warm and durable clothing for her household and selling “linen garments,” “sashes,” and other products to the merchants. She trades in foodstuffs, bringing “her food from afar” like the merchant ships that ply the Mediterranean, providing “food for her household,” not only for the family members but also for her “maidens” or servants. She buys and sells property, and she plants vineyards. All this she does “profitably,” and she still has enough to “open her hand to the poor … and the needy.” I doubt she does all these things single-handed, even if she does “rise while it is still night.” She must have servants, but in that case she clearly has not only practical but managerial skills. She presides over diverse business ventures and charities, directing and caring for her staff well. This is a competent and powerful woman. 

There’s a humorous note in the middle of this, too. You might be wondering, “So, what does her husband do?” We’re told just one thing: “Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land.” Sits! Here’s this woman buying and selling, cultivating vines, managing the family businesses, and her husband’s sitting around, chewing the fat with the guys!

Composed as it is by a woman, this chapter should never be read as advocating the falsehood that women should do all the work while men sit around. Or that every good wife should do all the things this particular exemplary wife does. On the contrary, the chapter is best read as the lesson taught by his mother to Lemuel and to all men who may be inclined not only to chase women, drink, and hang out with the guys, but also grossly to underestimate the God-given ability of women to do pretty much anything a man can do and often to do it better. It’s Lemuel’s mum resisting patriarchy, and she wins this round by a knockout.

I like to think, too, that Lemuel listened to his mum, got his act together, quit drinking, and radically changed his attitudes to women. I like to think that he treated them no longer as playthings but with all the respect due to human beings made in God’s image, who are to be free to flourish in whatever field they choose. Perhaps it was also the case that Lemuel wrote down the lessons he learned from his mother and that’s how this chapter made it into the Bible. It is, after all, described as being “the words of King Lemuel.” But he learned the words from his mom. From the Holy Spirit to Lemuel’s mother to Lemuel to us, changing lives all along the way.

Not every mother has the opportunities that Lemuel’s mother enjoyed. Nor does every mother have the courage to speak so boldly to her sons. But every mother has risked her life for her children just by giving birth to them. We can honor our mothers by thanking them, or if—like mine—she is no longer alive, by thanking God for her. You can also honor your mother by treating all women (including yourself if you are a woman) with respect. May each of us learn something from Lemuel’s mother this Mother’s Day.

Your brother in Christ,

Max