I take time over the weekends to spend with my husband, but I’m just now getting around to posting again for the week! We went on a weekend getaway to one of our favorite places, Jekyll Island. It is on the coast of Georgia about an hour south of Savannah GA.
I’m using today as a catch up in my 31 days of Proverbs 31 by looking at Proverbs 31 3-10.
3 Give not your strength to [loose] women, nor your ways to those who and that which ruin and destroy kings.
4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to desire strong drink,
5 Lest they drink and forget the law and what it decrees, and pervert the justice due any of the afflicted.
6 Give strong drink [as medicine] to him who is ready to pass away, and wine to him in bitter distress of heart.
7 Let him drink and forget his poverty and [seriously] remember his want and misery no more.
8 Open your mouth for the dumb [those unable to speak for themselves], for the rights of all who are left desolate and defenseless;
9 Open your mouth, judge righteously, and administer justice for the poor and needy.
10 A capable, intelligent, and [a]virtuous woman—who is he who can find her? She is far more precious than jewels and her value is far above rubies or pearls.
I don’t know about you, but I’m getting a alcohol vibe from these verses. I can see some ways that drinking would be a good thing. Like in a celebration of someone’s life as in verse 6 or to celebrate a marriage as in Jesus’ first miracle of turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana, but there are also some issues with alcohol. Like when someone drinks to forget their problems like in verse 7. Drinking to forget your problems just causes more problems in life. You start to rely on the alcohol. In verses 8 and 9 I feel is saying to give a voice to those that can’t speak out for themselves. Verse 10 is where Proverbs 31 starts to talk about the Godly woman. A woman that is smart, capable, and virtuous is hard to find because she is more precious and valuable than any jewel.
Wow I’ve never seen someone do a devotional series like this before – it makes me think I need to spend some time WRITING OUT my thoughts as I read through a book or chapter. I generally just underline verses or jot a quick note in my margins, but I like this more in depth thought process!
Thank you! I use a notebook to write down the verse and what I think it means. I also use the same notebook to write verses and notes from Joyce Meyer’s TV program. That usually takes up a whole page!
Hi Cate,
Great scriptures. I see alcohol as being harmful to the body. I think the key word is strong drink. Jesus indeed turned water into wine…but I believe that was symbolic.