Proverbs 31:1 - Meaning and Application

Most interpreters think Lemuel is Solomon. The name means one devoted to God, and that fits well with the name God gave Solomon, Jedidiah, which means beloved of the Lord (2 Samuel 12:25). Some think Lemuel was a king from a nearby nation, with an Israelite mother, perhaps from David’s family, who taught him these wise lessons. In either case, the lesson stands: mothers, as well as fathers, should teach their children what is right and what is wrong while they are still young.

Even kings need instruction. No one is too great to be taught God’s ways. People who grow up should often remember the good instruction they received as children, both to warn themselves and to honor those who guided them. This mother’s teaching shows warm concern and firm care.

She first speaks to the young prince in a way that catches his attention and shows her love: “What, my son? What shall I say to you?” She is thinking carefully about how to advise him. It also sounds like a rebuke, because she had noticed a dangerous tendency in him toward women and wine. She asks, in effect, “Is this the life you plan to live? Have I taught you no better?”

She reminds him that he is her own son, born from her body and shaped by her care. So her words come from love, not from cold criticism. She also reminds him that he is devoted to her God. He is the son she had vowed to God and the son for whom she had often prayed for grace (Psalm 72:1). Children dedicated to God, especially through baptism and the promises made over them, may rightly be called children of our vows. Those vows should shape how we teach them and how they should live.

Then she warns him against two sins that can destroy a man: sexual sin and drunkenness. He must not give his strength to women, especially to women who do not belong to him. He should not waste his time, his energy, or his mind in empty flirting and pleasing talk when he should be learning wisdom and governing well. Above all, he must avoid adultery, fornication, and lust. These sins weaken the body, damage health, and ruin a person’s honor. They are even more dangerous for kings, because a ruler enslaved by his own desires is unfit to rule others.

She also warns him against drunkenness. He must not give himself to wine or strong drink, and he must not sit long at drinking as some rulers did in their feasts, when wine made them weak and foolish (Hosea 7:7). However pleasant the wine or the company may seem, he must practice self-control and stay sober. Drunkenness is shameful in a king because it lowers his dignity and makes him unfit for wise rule. It takes away the clear mind a ruler needs.

The harm of drink is worse than the shame. A drunk ruler may forget the law and misuse power. Instead of helping those in trouble, he may judge them unfairly and increase their suffering. Scripture says the same problem can ruin priests and prophets too, when they go astray through wine and strong drink (Isaiah 28:7). Judges, especially, need clear minds, and those who often make themselves dizzy with drink cannot judge well. The next counsel is that he must do good with his wealth.

Great men must not think that their wealth is only for satisfying their own desires and pleasures. They are to use what they have to help people in need, as Proverbs 31:6, Proverbs 31:7 says. If you have wine or strong drink on hand, do not use it to harm yourself with excess. Use it to help others, and give it to those who need it.

People with means should not only give bread to the hungry and water to the thirsty. They should also give strong drink to those who are ready to perish from sickness or pain, and wine to those who are sad and heavyhearted. Wine was meant to cheer and strengthen people’s spirits, and to make the heart glad when it is truly needed. But it becomes harmful when there is no need for it, because then it burdens the body and the soul.

So we must deny ourselves some pleasures, so that we can spare something for the relief of others’ misery. It is better to see our extras and delicacies used to do real good for others than to use them in ways that only harm ourselves. Let those who are near death drink carefully and moderately, and it may help lift their fainting spirits. Then, for a time, they may forget their poverty and remember their suffering less, which can help them bear it better.

The Jews say that this was the basis for giving a stupefying drink to condemned prisoners before execution, as was done to our Savior. But the main point here is that wine is a comfort, so it should be used for need, not for selfish pleasure, and only by those who truly need such comfort, like Timothy, who was advised to drink a little wine for his stomach and his frequent illnesses (1 Timothy 5:23).

He must also use his power, knowledge, and influence for good, and he must administer justice with care, courage, and kindness, as Proverbs 31:8, Proverbs 31:9 teaches. He should personally pay attention to the cases coming before him and watch what his judges and officers are doing, so that he can support those who do their duty and remove those who are lazy or unfair.

In every matter that comes before him, he must judge fairly and without fear of human opinion. He must speak openly when he passes sentence, which is why the verse says, “Open your mouth.” That means princes and judges should have the freedom to speak plainly and decide rightly. Some have noted that wise men open their mouths only when needed, while fools keep theirs open all the time and are always talking.

Above all, he must see himself as the protector of oppressed innocence. Lesser officials may not have enough zeal or tenderness to plead for the poor and needy, so the king himself must step in and speak up. He must do this for those wrongly accused of capital crimes, like Naboth, who was marked for destruction to satisfy the hatred of a person or a party. It is fitting for a king to act in such a case, to keep innocent blood from being shed.

He must also speak for those who have unjust lawsuits brought against them to rob them of their rights, because they are poor and cannot defend themselves, or do not have money to hire counsel. Kings should act as advocates for the poor in such cases too. And especially he must defend those who cannot speak for themselves, whether because they are weak, afraid, talked over by the accuser, or intimidated by the court. It is a noble thing to speak for people who cannot speak for themselves, whether they are absent, silent, or too timid to make their own case. Our law assigns the judge to be counsel for the prisoner.