Women with a Story to Tell. King Lemuel's Mother.

The glorious story of Esther comprises the book of Esther which, in the Christian arrangement of Bible books, comes at the end of the Historical books (Judges, Ruth, Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah) and at the beginning of the Writings or more poetic books (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs). Therefore, in our series on “Women with a Story to Tell,” it is appropriate to find our next woman with a story to tell in Proverbs. 

 Proverb is the word we use for ‘folk wisdom’ or ‘traditional sayings’. The introduction says that Solomon collected all his wise thoughts or maxims, but then toward the end he added some gems of wisdom he collected from other sources. The first verse of Chapter 1 introduces “The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel.” Then, Chapter 10 begins with a similar heading that perhaps signals a different source or collection of his sayings: “The proverbs of Solomon.” 

 Finally, Chapter 30 introduces another source. Perhaps Solomon surveyed the people who lived around Israel and recorded what he considered to be their wise sayings. Chapter 30 begins “The words of Agur son of Jakeh. An oracle. Or, with another possible  translation, “The words of Agur son of Jakeh of Massa.” If the latter translation has any standing, then Chapter 31 verse 1 could read: “The words of King Lemuel of Massa that his mother taught him.” 

 Who is Lemuel? There is no king of Israel or Judah with this name. Some scholars suggest that Lemuel is a pen name for Solomon, but that seems unlikely since Solomon has not been afraid to attach his name to the first 29 chapters of Proverbs. In Hebrew, Lemuel could mean ‘belongs to God’, but the ‘El’ in the name is also the common Canaanite name for God. 

 ‘Massa’ usually means ‘oracle’ or ‘burden’, but it may instead refer to Agur and Lemuel’s ethnic group. It is possible that it refers to a northern Arabian tribe, the Massa, descendants of Ishmael the son of Abraham (see Genesis 25:14 and I Chronicles 1:30). It seems that Lemuel is not a Hebrew but perhaps the king or chief of a tribal group outside Israel.

 Having said that, it does appear from his name that Lemuel knows about and perhaps worships the God of Abraham. It has been suggested that perhaps he had a Jewish mother who taught him these things, but since his mother is nameless, there is no direct evidence. What we do know is that Proverbs, including Chapter 31, was accepted as Hebrew Scripture and later confirmed as part of Christian Scripture; so it is proper to pay attention to it. What did King Lemuel’s mother teach him? 

Proverbs 31:2-3.

No, my son! No, son of my womb!

     No, son of my vows!

Do not give your strength to women,

     your ways to those who destroy kings.

 King Lemuel’s mother speaks in poetry in the Hebrew style. That is, the lines do not rhyme as our poetry or raps do, instead the first line makes a statement, and the second line repeats the theme with different words. The Psalms are mostly poetry. For example: “O God, do not keep silence; do not hold your peace or be still, O God!” (Psalm 83:1). 

 First, King Lemuel’s mother emphasizes her close relationship with her son. Her claim “son of my womb” reminds Lemuel of the commitment it took for her to carry him and give birth to him. No small feat. But, then she adds the curious “Son of my vows.” What does that mean?

 In Bible study, when we are searching for meaning, we look first in the same book of the Bible, and then elsewhere in the Bible. There are plenty of admonitions in Proverbs about being respectful to one’s father and mother, but only two other references to vows, and they don’t tell us much about a mother’s vow.

 Elsewhere in Scripture, there are several cases that help us out. Most prominent is the vow that Hannah made if God would give her a son.

“She made this vow: “O LORD of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant but will give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death. He shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants, and no razor shall touch his head” (I Samuel 1:11).

 Hannah is talking about Samuel, great prophet and judge of Israel. She dedicated Samuel to God, delivering him to the priest Eli to serve in the place of worship as an acolyte when he was 3 or 4 years old. She said, “I have lent him to the LORD.” 

 Also, Judges 13 tells the story of the mother of Samson who made a similar vow. The implication here is that Lemuel’s mother prayed for a child and made vows to God for how she would raise the child as one dedicated to God. So, more than just a pregnancy is involved. 

 Next, King Lemuel’s mother warns about commitments and behavior. What is your obsession? Is it to follow and learn from God, or to pursue loose women and bed them? Her vow dedicated her son Lemuel to God, but his behavior might shift his allegiance. To which allegiance do you give your energy? If it is an obsession with sex or dominating women, then whatever your status, king or pastor or businessman, that obsession will destroy you. 

 In Proverbs up to this point, Solomon has emphasized that “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7).

 In Chapter 8, Solomon personifies Wisdom as a woman crying out in the streets to all who will come to get wisdom. Then Solomon contrasts Lady Wisdom with the Loose Woman throughout the book, warning against the false promise and eventual destruction that comes following that way. 

 King Lemuel’s mother’s first lesson for her dedicated son is consistent with what Solomon has been trying to teach his son. Perhaps Solomon chose to include these foreign wisdom sayings because they reinforced his own message. They are universal truths conveyed in the closest human relationship: Mother to child.