God Gives Greatly

Introduction

Good morning, Lafayette Baptist family, friends, and honored guests. It is great to be here again with you to worship the Lord God and share his word with you, especially on today of all days, Mother’s Day. If you will please go ahead and turn in your bibles to Proverbs 31, Proverbs 31. While you are doing that, I want to say that Mother’s days is an important day for many a person and many a church goer. This is day in which we acknowledge the importance of a special person in our lives, our mothers. The person who raised us, loved us, helped us, comforted us, and generally was there whenever the need arises. I want to recognize that person congregationally today. Everyone here who was or is a mother, will be a mother, or is a spiritual mother, would you please stand so that we can honor you? What a blessing you are, thank you mom.

I also want to recognize that today can be and is a hard day for many. Some of us never had a mother, some of us may have had one but she is gone now. Some of us may have lost the person that thought of us a mother. I want to say to those people, it is ok to feel bad today and miss her. It is ok to feel bad, it is ok to feel like you were abandoned if you never knew her. Just know, God did not forget you, He sees you, He loves you very much, and He desires to wipe away every tear from your face. I also want to recognize that some of you may want to be mothers but for various reasons cannot be, God does not hate or condemn you. You are loved and are very precious to Him.

I want to also recognize all women, as we all know your deep faith is impactful not just on your immediate family but those around you as well. Weather or not God calls us to mothers to a little boy or girl, he calls all of you to be spiritual mothers to other believing boys and girls. Thank you for the building up that you do for all of us. The bible itself has several examples of mothers passing along their faith, two of which Timothy himself benefited from, His mother and grandmother. Another of which is Naomi, who is the mother-in-law of Ruth. These women gave great gifts to those around them, their faiths, that they shared with the deepest desires of their hearts; and as our text today will point out they are deserving of praise for sharing it. This is a gift that they themselves received from God, a precious Jewel to them, their faith, a Jewel that God gives freely and abundantly, and what is our main idea today is that, God Gives Greatly.

The Text

If you will now all please rise for the reading of God’s Word. First, let us pray. Father, you are mighty and great, and greatly to be praised. Open our hearts and ears today to hear what it is you want us to hear from your word. Your word is truth, and we thank you for that truth father. We ask that you sanctify us father and help us grow, love, and increase in the knowledge of you father that we may share You with others. It’s these things we ask for and in Jesus Christ’s Holy name I pray, Amen. Proverbs Chapter 31. 31 The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:2 What are you doing, my son?[a] What are you doing, son of my womb? What are you doing, son of my vows? 3 Do not give your strength to women, your ways to those who destroy kings. 4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take strong drink, 5 lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and pervert the rights of all the afflicted. 6 Give strong drink to the one who is perishing, and wine to those in bitter distress;[b]7 let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more. 8 Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute.[c] 9 Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.

The Woman Who Fears the Lord

10 [d] An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. 11 The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. 12 She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. 13 She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. 14 She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar. 15 She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens. 16 She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. 17 She dresses herself[e] with strength and makes her arms strong. 18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night. 19 She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle. 20 She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy. 21 She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet.[f] 22 She makes bed coverings for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple. 23 Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land. 24 She makes linen garments and sells them she delivers sashes to the merchant. 25 Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.27 She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. 28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 29 “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.” 30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. 31 Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates. This is the word of the Lord (Thanks be to God) thank you, may now all please be seated.

Context

One thing that many of your probably know is that the book of proverbs is one of the Wisdom books in the bible. The wisdom books themselves are: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Songs (Song of Solomon), and Ecclesiastes. It is possible that all or much of the wisdom lessons in this book was accumulated or written by King Solomon of Israel. This Proverb in particular, stands as one of ones where Solomon’s authorship or overt penmanship is highly contested and unlikely, either way the king saw that it was fit to include the wisdom in this Proverb in his book of wisdom proverbs.

In that thought process, the original audience of this book was likely a small one, consisting of young sons who were being educated and trained to serve in government and participate in the royal court. In time though this piece of wisdom poetry, would be considered part of The Holy Texts during the 2nd temple period and was widely accepted as inspired by the Jewish community. We as Christians accept this heritage and recognize this book of wisdoms as cannon and part of the inspired word of God.

You will notice from the beginning that King Lemuel is credited with the penmanship of this Proverb. Today, Scholarship is not sure exactly who King Lemuel actually was or what kingdom was his. Some popular beliefs are that this was King Solomon, some say that he was the king of an area called Massa. Either way, he is recognized as a king of some sort, a king who received wisdom from his own mother who received the wisdom from God Himself. We see something special here, not just because of Lemuel received good wisdom from his mother, but also because his name means, “Devoted to God.” Needless to say, it’s clear that his mother had high expectations of him.

The Exposition

So, let’s dive into today’s text and my first point which is, God Gives the excellent lesson (1-9)

31 The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him: 2 What are you doing, my son?[a] What are you doing, son of my womb? What are you doing, son of my vows?

So, we already know who Lemuel is, but there is a confusing first word in here, and many of the bible translations can make this confusing as well. In the ESV it uses the word oracle, which Strong’s Bible Dictionary defines as, “A divine message communicated through a human mediator to one or more humans.” Your version may something else, but it all points to the same thing, this lesson was given to Lemuel by his mother, who received it (in one way or another) from God. As you can see, God is working through King Lemuel’s mother. Looking at these first two verses, we see two exclamations. The exclamations are affectionately reproachful: the king’s mother shames him by two things that he knows very well: that he matters to her (2a), and that she has vowed him to God.[1]Here is a mother that is bothered when she sees her son, whom she has promised to God stray away and seek things that are not good for him, which we are about to see are strong drink/inebriation and lustful pursuit of women.

Verse 3 Do not give your strength to women, your ways to those who destroy kings.4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take strong drink, 5 lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and pervert the rights of all the afflicted. 6 Give strong drink to the one who is perishing, and wine to those in bitter distress;[b] 7 let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more.8 Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute.[c]9 Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.

Lemuel’s mother is making it clear here, it is not good for you continue in your ways. You need to turn from them NOW! You shouldn’t be running through the town drunk and be chasing women, in fact you need to be keeping away from Alcohol all you can and seek a woman like will soon be described. Save the drink for those who have the medical need for it. Keep in mind medicine didn’t have all of the amazing things we do today and one of the few ways that was available to them at the time was to take alcohol to help numb crippling pain. We see further evidence for the medicinal use of alcohol in the bible in 1 Tim 5:23, where Paul advises Timothy to use a little wine for his stomach’s sake. Here the king mother is reminding her son of his need to dutifully fulfill what he is called as a king to do, to rule and judge fairly. To seek justice and love mercy, if he is to do this, then he must stay away from these damaging distractions. God gave this lesson to Lemuel, he gives lessons to us today as well. We will do well to hear his wisdom and the wisdom that he has given to those who have walked the paths before. Most importantly though, the wisdom of the holy Scriptures that Paul tells us makes us wise to the ways of salvation. Here these lessons, treasure them, apply them, and share them; every one of us.

Let’s move on, The Second point is this, God Gives the ideal Character (10-27)

You will notice something kind of odd about this portion of the Proverb, and perhaps many of your bibles have the clue in it as to why it seems a little everywhere. You see, for the remainder of this chapter is an acrostic poem. This means that the first letter of each sentence is the next letter in the Hebrew Alphabet. So for example the first sentence starts with A, The second sentence B, the Third 3 and so on. The great pastor John Piper says that people do acrostics, “Because they have so much to say about whatever they are telling you about.” For me, it is something like; A, Always love you Emily. B, Before you I had little Emily. C, Can’t imagine life without you Emily. So, if in this text you see some common themes jumping around, because it is keeping towards this poetic form.

Here are a few things (and many more exist) that I observe in this this passage about an excellent wife.

1. She is Precious, Verse 10

2. She is Trustworthy, 11

3. She does Good, 12.

4. She seeks, brings, and provides, 13, 14, 15, 22, 24,

5. She is industrious, 16, 22, 24

6. She is strong, 17, 25

7. She works hard, 18, 19.

8. She is not afraid 21 (this word scarlet took some study for me, I found it meant to mean of the highest quality, your version may say double layered and think this translates to our English understanding better).

9. Her husband is better off because of her 23. We see here, he sits at the gates, this means that he was important in the Jewish community, her hard work and character boosted her husband up.

10. She is wise and builds people up 26.

I shared this list with the boys class this past Monday. I have to say, I was impressed by them all. They knew that they were not just supposed to be looking for things like looks or popularity when someday they are seeking a wife, they knew that character matters so much more. You will probably notice to, that all of these traits come from one crucial thing. That is, they are all parts of the fruit of the Spirit, which Galatians tells us are, “Love, Joy, peace, Patience, Kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These are traits that are rightly found inside of a believer, someone who accepted something greater than lessons or character from Christ, they took the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross to pay the debt of their sins to God almighty.

The Woman Who Fears the Lord

10 [d] An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. 11 The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. 12 She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. 13 She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. 14 She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar. 15 She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens. 16 She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. 17 She dresses herself[e] with strength and makes her arms strong. 18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night. 19 She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle. 20 She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy. 21 She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet.[f] 22 She makes bed coverings for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple. 23 Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land. 24 She makes linen garments and sells them she delivers sashes to the merchant. 25 Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.27 She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

The next point is, God Gives the Highest Calling (28-31)

28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 29 “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.” 30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. 31 Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.

Husbands, fathers, sons you heard it straight from God here. We are to praise the women in our lives for what they do that is praiseworthy. We are to cherish her for all our lives, not just when it is easy for us or convenient, we are to praise her often. This is good and right.

When I was reading this passage this week, Emily was sitting next to me, I put the booklet I was taking notes in down and said to her, “Wow, this is very honoring to women.” She said, “Yes, it is what I have been taught ever since becoming a Christian as the type of Woman I am to aspire to be.” Wow, what a powerful realization this is. Can you hear it your minds? 29 “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.” Then go on, 30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” Henry says of this passage that, 7. Above all, she (a woman) fears the Lord. Beauty recommends none to God, nor is it any proof of wisdom and goodness, but it has deceived many a man who made his choice of a wife by it. But the fear of God reigning in the heart, is the beauty of the soul; it lasts forever[2]

As you can see, this woman has been called to the highest and most important calling that anyone kind have. This is the same as every single person who is sitting in this room right now, it is to be a fearful lover of the Lord. So, what does it mean to be fearful of the Lord? Does it mean to be scared of Him, like a child who is scared of the monsters under his or her bed? Or that we are to run away from in Him in terror? No, rather it means that you are in awe of Him, that you submit to God, and recognize Him for He is. God gives us the high calling, to be fearful of Him, to be in Awe of Him, to Submit to Him, to worship and treasure Him before any and all things. We are to run to HIM BECAUSE WE FEAR SIN. God gives us the highest calling.

Closing

So, why would we do this? Why should we be in awe, submission, and worship of Him. BECAUSE HE IS GOD. He is greater, greater than anything else we can ever know or see. He created the Heavens and the Earth, and Yes He created you as well, lovingly and with great tenderness. Isn’t it odd… In a sense we are His treasure, as that great Hymn, How deep the Father’s Love for us tells us. How deep the Father’s love for us, How vast beyond all measure, That He should give His only Son To make a wretch His treasure (Yes, that’s you, that’s all of us, we, me, she, he we are all wretches). Yet God made the way to take back his treasured creation, Man. We should give up all things before God, as He gave up all things before us.

This is of course through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That is, God created this world. But man separated Himself from God and cursed the Earth by way of Sin. God then takes the ultimate sacrifice by giving Himself (Jesus Christ) up on the cross so that we can be renewed and resorted to fellowship with Him. Greater still, today we suffer on this world, but God will make all things to new, joyful, and painless in the age to come to THE GLORY of GOD AMEN.

To finish things out today, I want to remind you of the three things that God has told us in this passage. That God gives the excellent lesson, that God gives the Ideal Character, that God gives the highest calling. All ultimately, we can see, hear, know, and experience this truth. God gives greatly. So greatly, so so greatly my brothers and sisters whom I love all very much.

I want to charge you all now, to take these words to heart. To trust further into the goodness and righteousness that can only be found in Jesus Christ, the one who loves us to perfection. If you are not a believer yet, I urge to repent, to turn away from your rebellion to God. Take on his gentle and lowly yoke, which is good for all people. He is calling to you, you should answer. If you want to talk more about this, I will be here during our last song and after service

Let’s pray, Father we are not worthy of you. We confess our sins to you, which are so many father. Thank you for your forgiveness of sin that we can be restored to a perfect fellowship with you. As we go out, help us honor you and honor mothers and mothers of our children. Help us to praise the mothers where it is honorable, help us to praise you and share you with others. It’s in these things we ask and in Jesus Christ’s holy name we pray, Amen.

[1]Kidner, Derek. Proverbs: An Introduction and Commentary. InterVarsity Press, 1964, p. 176. [2]Henry, Matthew, and Thomas Scott. Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary. Logos Research Systems, 1997, p. Pr 31:10.