Can We Please Acknowledge Proverbs 31 was Written to Men?
Worth Remembering
Proverbs 31
Sayings of King Lemuel
1 The sayings of King Lemuel—an inspired utterance his mother taught him. 2 Listen, my son! Listen, son of my womb! Listen, my son, the answer to my prayers! 3 Do not spend your strength on women, your vigor on those who ruin kings. 4 It is not for kings, Lemuel— it is not for kings to drink wine, not for rulers to crave beer, 5 lest they drink and forget what has been decreed, and deprive all the oppressed of their rights. 6 Let beer be for those who are perishing, wine for those who are in anguish! 7 Let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more. 8 Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. 9 Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. 10 A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. 11 Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value
When was the last time a men’s group did a study on Proverbs 31? Is there a Proverbs 31 devotional for guys? Tens of thousands of devotionals on the text have targeted young women, but the words were aimed at men or rather a young man.
Lemuel was not a king from some pagan land. That is not where God’s people would look for wisdom. Meaning “belonging to God”, Lemuel was most likely, Bathsheba’s pet name for her son Solomon. Sons convince themselves, “Mom doesn’t know.” Fortunately, faithful mothers often see not only what is happening, they see danger coming.
“You belong to God,” she pleaded. “These women, this partying it’s a problem,” she urged over again. “You’re called to more, to lead, to rule, to protect.” If the king was to accomplish all God was calling him to the most valuable thing he could discover was a truly godly wife.
Instead, Solomon, chose what some might imprecisely call a “Song of Solomon” youth. Chasing his passions, led Solomon away from the Lord and towards wicked women, whose gods demanded sacrifices, often human, 1 Kings 11:4-9. As he aged and the Lord’s anger burned against Solomon, the king reflected on the life he had lived and reminisced about the warnings his mother had offered him. Still, unlike his father David, we do not see Solomon building alters or repenting of sin.
After decades of devotionals urging young women to become “more of this” and “less of that” in hopes that the ideal man would suddenly appear, maybe it’s time for a wiser more biblical solution. Maybe it’s time to start pointing young men to Proverbs 31 and saying, “This is for you!” “Stop the drinking. Stop the partying. Stop chasing sinful, idolatrous women. The path you’re on will destroy you. It will devastate your family and nation. You are called to so much better.” Maybe it is time to remember Proverbs 31 was a message to a son on a dangerous path and start teaching it in a way that makes sense. Maybe it’s time to stop telling godly young women when they somehow obtain the ideal, the husband they long for will magically appear out of a mass of young men who have rarely been told to be better. It is relevant to all, but Proverbs 31 was spoken to a son, not a daughter. That’s Worth Remembering.