Hi there!! Thanks for stopping in!
Today is a wonky reboot from last October,
some remarks on Proverbs 31, verses 3-7.
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I will try to mostly avoid the Grand Bossy Soapbox on the plain issue of alcohol consumption and just try to let the text (though it is slightly confusing) stand on its own. Alcoholism is real, that much I know. And it destroys lives. That much is immutable. But I do realize lots of people see a vast gray area here, which I will leave each person to explore on her own.
We'll just lay some stuff out today, okay? If you happen to have some insight or expertise, or really just an opinion, then as always you are 100% welcome and invited to post comments or email and share! That's what this is all about!
In the light studying I have done, it seems to be a generally agreed upon point that verse three is simply foreshadowing of events in King Solomon's (Lemuel's) reign. As most people know, Solomon was known for his wisdom. So the building of his character is pretty fascinating. The instruction given him by his mother is vital.
"Give not thy strength unto women,
nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings."
Are there any take-aways here for us, the common people? Not sure. I will resist the temptation to extrapolate meanings where scholars have already explained something clearly and simply. A King's mother was giving her son advice which he would later need in his reign. I can accept that much and move on...
The Judgement of Solomon, where a mother sacrifices her child to keep him whole.
A powerful story that is painfully close to my heart.
The next four verses seem clear enough at first blush but have incited plenty of debate. This is where I will step back a bit, quote the scripture and references, then keep my remarks brief. For a change. LOL.
"It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:
Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgement of any of the afflicted.
Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.
Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more."
Schofield References:
- "Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!" ~Ecclesiastes 10:17
- "Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart." ~Hosea 4:11
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Okay. Last October I felt free to give my personal opinions on alcohol and strong drink. Not so much this year. This seems to be part of an evolution in my heart, the distinction between gladdened and mocked. Please feel free to read my thoughts then or ignore me altogether, but mostly please share yours. This all is wildly interesting to me, and I love to hear how other people sort it out.
Okay. Thanks again for reading! Tune in either tomorrow or Saturday for something totally different!
"We are all tattooed in our cradles with the beliefs of our tribe;
the record may seem superficial, but it is indelible.
You cannot educate a man wholly out of the superstitious fears
which were implanted in his imagination,
no matter how utterly his reason may reject them."
~Sir Oliver Wendell Homes, Sr. 1872
xoxoxoo
