King Lemuel
Proverbs 31
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Q: Concerning
Proverbs chapter 31, who is King Lemuel and his mother?
A: Proverbs 31:2-9 is
introduced as the words of King Lemuel from prophecy
that had been taught to him by his mother. Proverbs 31:1
states, "The
words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught
him." Lemuel is
mentioned only in this passage in the Bible (Proverbs 31:1,
4). This has
left the door open to all kinds of speculation as to his
true identity.
He has been thought by interpreters to be imaginary, to be
Solomon
himself, to be Hezekiah, to be a Lemuel who was king of
Massa (a play on
the Hebrew words), or just some petty Arabian prince. In
other words, no
one really knows.
The name means "to God" and has the implication of
"belonging to God." El
(the basic name for God in Hebrew) on the end of Lemuel
shows the name to
be a compound of God. Personally, I think the name and
context points to
a poetic reference to Solomon. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon
never uses his
own name but presents himself seven times as the "Preacher"
(Ecclesiastes
1:1, 2, 12; 7:27; 12:8, 9, 10). The shift in emphasis in
Proverbs would
call for a different construction. Through most of Proverbs,
Solomon is
giving words of wisdom to his son. In Proverbs 31, King
Lemuel is
repeating the words of wisdom given to him by his mother.
The advice is clearly advice that Solomon needed to hear.
Lemuel's mother
warned her son against giving his strength unto women
(Proverbs 31:3).
This problem directly led to Solomon's decline in later
years (1Kings
11:1-4). She also warned against strong drink (Proverbs
31:4-7). This is
something we know Solomon toyed with from his testimony in
Ecclesiastes
2:3--"I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet
acquainting
mine heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I
might see what
was that good for the sons of men, which they should do
under the heaven
all the days of their life." Finally, she twice admonished
her son: "Open
thy mouth" (Proverbs 31:8, 9). He is to open it in the cause
who cannot
speak for themselves (v.8) and to judge righteously (v.9).
We know of
Solomon's initial hesitancy and concern in this matter of
judging the
people from his own testimony in 1Kings 3:7-9. He saw
himself as a child
(v.7) and desired God's help to "judge this thy so great a
people" (v.9).
The words are also presented as "prophecy" given to Lemuel
from his
mother (Proverbs 31:2). Prophecy does include the
proclamation of God's
truth, but it normally has at least an element of
foretelling the future.
If this refers to Bathsheba and she is telling Solomon how
he will need
to act when he is king, then it definitely includes a strong
element of
prophecy, for Solomon was a younger son and therefore not
the natural one
in line to be king. When David drew close to death and
Adonijah set
himself up as king, Bathsheba approached him with this plea:
"My lord,
thou swarest by the LORD thy God unto thine handmaid,
saying, Assuredly
Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon
my throne"
(1Kings 1:17). David and Bathsheba had talked about it. The
choice was to
be Solomon. Bathsheba could prophesy the coming reign of her
son as she
spoke to the young prince Solomon.
One other internal evidence that Lemuel might be a poetic
name for
Solomon is in the mother's address to her son. Proverbs 31:2
states,
"What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the
son of my
vows?" Lemuel is the son of her vows. The first son to
Bathsheba and
David was a son of broken vows. Because of those broken
vows, that son
had to die (2Samuel 12:14). However, when Solomon was born,
David's sin
had been revealed, confessed, and forgiven. God accepted the
marriage and
the son Solomon.
2Samuel 12:24 And David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and
went in unto
her, and lay with her: and she bare a son, and he called his
name
Solomon: and the LORD loved him.
25 And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he
called his name
Jedidiah, because of the LORD.
Notice, at the birth of Solomon, the Lord loved him. Then,
he is called
by the "name Jedidiah, because of the LORD." This is the
only occurrence
of the name Jedidiah in the Bible. It means "beloved of
God." Truly,
Solomon was the son of Bathsheba's vows. And, the one who
was "beloved of
God" could also be said to be the one "belonging to God"
(meaning of
Lemuel). So, although the identity cannot be nailed down
with absolute
certainty, there is good reason to think that Solomon is
here referring
to himself.
Till He comes,
Pastor David Reagan
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