The sayings of King Lemuel (Proverbs 31)

The final chapter of Proverbs is attributed to King Lemuel. Again, it is described as being an inspired utterance.

It is divided into two portions.

Warnings for the king

The king warns his son that kings should avoid alcohol. The problems with alcohol that he list sound like alcoholism, specifically over-indulgence and addition. He mentions "craving" beer and forgetting what has been decreed.

Taken literally, a drunken king making decrees while in a drunken state would definitely ruin the country. But all of us have various kingdoms and can make decrees while under the influence of alcohol. For instance, people go shopping and spend money after drinking. I think that would be a fair down-to-earth application of the principle that underscores the chapter.

Lest we take his advice too far and that all men should avoid alcohol, King Lemuel also seems to suggest that women ruin kings. Avoiding women completely is not wise nor do I think that avoiding alcohol completely is wise. Rather, I think the chapter speaks to that both without wisdom in their application, men can be brought down by either women or alcohol. Such remains true in King Lemuel's time and today.

That brings us to the other portion of Proverbs 31 - a great woman

The book of Proverbs ends with a description of the ideal woman. This is in marked contrast with the beginning of Proverbs which discusses the kind of women to avoid. Some of the attributes of the Proverbs 31 wife include:

She fears the lord

Watches the affairs of home but is not idle (I think of Peggy Bundy as the epitome as the bored, idle wife)

Her husband has faith in her

She takes care of the children

She cares for the poor

She is an entrepreneur. The example in the chapter is that she starts a vineyard. (v. 16) (here, a vineyard is the subject of praise, which further suggests that alcohol itself is not bad, in contrast to the earlier portions of the chapter)

She does not fear the winter because her children are clothed