Listen, my son! Listen, son of my womb! Listen, son of my vows!
I am always impressed with the energy and force of Lemuel's mother. She inspires me not to be timid when pronouncing God's eternal truth but to be bold and assertive, even if people choose to hear me as bolshie and aggressive. Lemuel's mother's words are still speaking down through the centuries because she understood the authority with which she spoke, an authority based on the fear of the Lord.
Three times she entreats her son to listen. This isn't how it's always translated. Often it's in the form of a series of questions, but I like Waltke's rendering of it as "listen". It is, he suggests, an Arabic loan word consistent with the idea that Lemuel and his mother are proselytes to Israel's faith. I like "listen" because of its assertiveness. To translate this phrase as "what?" is not only inconsistent with the genre of wisdom literature, as Waltke points out, but somehow makes her sound less determined. A good way of getting her back into her box?
A Proverbs 31 community, then, is instructed to listen to those who speak the truth whether they be Jew or Greek, male or female, slave or free.
It takes time to learn to listen, really listen. James suggests that we should be quick to listen and slow to speak. Not something I admit I find particularly easy. I think as Christians we can get so zealous for our truth that we stop listening for the truth.
A book I did not enjoy reading, back in the days when I read novels, was Sons and Lovers. That portrayal of mothers suffocating their sons is almost as all-pervasive as the fairy tale. It certainly appears in some Christian books I won't mention! Rather than Lemuel having to 'graduate' from his mother's love; to find his definition by moving away from her, she reminds him of where he came from and the stability that this relationship gives him.
I can't put it better myself so here is Waltke on this point:
A proverbs 31 community does not despise its mothers. So don't forget Mothers' Day. You've got about a month!
I am always impressed with the energy and force of Lemuel's mother. She inspires me not to be timid when pronouncing God's eternal truth but to be bold and assertive, even if people choose to hear me as bolshie and aggressive. Lemuel's mother's words are still speaking down through the centuries because she understood the authority with which she spoke, an authority based on the fear of the Lord.
Three times she entreats her son to listen. This isn't how it's always translated. Often it's in the form of a series of questions, but I like Waltke's rendering of it as "listen". It is, he suggests, an Arabic loan word consistent with the idea that Lemuel and his mother are proselytes to Israel's faith. I like "listen" because of its assertiveness. To translate this phrase as "what?" is not only inconsistent with the genre of wisdom literature, as Waltke points out, but somehow makes her sound less determined. A good way of getting her back into her box?
A Proverbs 31 community, then, is instructed to listen to those who speak the truth whether they be Jew or Greek, male or female, slave or free.
It takes time to learn to listen, really listen. James suggests that we should be quick to listen and slow to speak. Not something I admit I find particularly easy. I think as Christians we can get so zealous for our truth that we stop listening for the truth.
A book I did not enjoy reading, back in the days when I read novels, was Sons and Lovers. That portrayal of mothers suffocating their sons is almost as all-pervasive as the fairy tale. It certainly appears in some Christian books I won't mention! Rather than Lemuel having to 'graduate' from his mother's love; to find his definition by moving away from her, she reminds him of where he came from and the stability that this relationship gives him.
I can't put it better myself so here is Waltke on this point:
"The godly mother's endearing epithets - my son..., son of my womb..., son of my vows... mirror their close relationship. She traces his close connection to her backward from the present to his gestation in her womb and to her vows before pregnancy... Appealing to Lemuel's finer feelings, she motivates him to embrace her teachings. He immortalized her life and teachings by passing them on to others, and the Holy Spirit through the community of faith canonized them ...Her sayings through Lemuel still instruct the people of God."
A proverbs 31 community does not despise its mothers. So don't forget Mothers' Day. You've got about a month!
Hi Jen,
ReplyDeleteLoving the blog and really enjoying reading your thoughts on Proverbs 31.
Liz x