Context No. 3898 of 4322 · Proverbs

Proverbs 31:1-16: in context

1The words of King Lemuel—the revelation which his mother taught him: 2“Oh, my son! Oh, son of my womb! Oh, son of my vows! 3Don’t give your strength to women, nor your ways to that which destroys kings. 4It is not for kings, Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes to say, ‘Where is strong drink?’ 5lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the justice due to anyone who is afflicted. 6Give strong drink to him who is ready to perish, and wine to the bitter in soul. 7Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more. 8Open your mouth for the mute, in the cause of all who are left desolate. 9Open your mouth, judge righteously, and serve justice to the poor and needy.” 10Who can find a worthy woman? For her value is far above rubies. 11The heart of her husband trusts in her. He shall have no lack of gain. 12She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. 13She seeks wool and flax, and works eagerly with her hands. 14She is like the merchant ships. She brings her bread from afar. 15She rises also while it is yet night, gives food to her household, and portions for her servant girls. 16She considers a field, and buys it. With the fruit of her hands, she plants a vineyard.

Among the counsels King Lemuel's mother gave him is a charge that rises above the rest in its nobility: open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are left desolate; open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy. A king's power, she teaches, is given not for self-indulgence but for the sake of those who have no voice and no advocate.

She warns him away from the wine and indulgence that would make him forget the rights of the afflicted, and turns him toward using his position to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. There is a call here that reaches beyond kings. Whatever measure of voice, influence, or position we have been given, it carries a responsibility to speak up for the voiceless, the poor, the desolate, those who have no one to plead their cause. It is easy to use whatever standing we have for our own comfort; God calls us to use it for the sake of those who have nothing. To open our mouth for the mute, to defend the rights of the needy, is among the noble uses of any influence we hold.

Do I use whatever voice, influence, or position I have been given to speak up for the voiceless and defend the rights of the poor and desolate, rather than for my own comfort?

Sources

Proverbs 31:8-9: "Open your mouth for the mute, in the cause of all who are left desolate... judge righteously, and serve justice to the poor and needy."
Proverbs 31:5: "Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the justice due to anyone who is afflicted."
Proverbs 31:4: "It is not for kings, Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes to say, Where is strong drink?"