Audio Lesson: https://youtu.be/7HSA0FKULJo
1
The Queen Mum
1 The words of Lemuel the king; a prophecy that his mother chastised him;
Translation: the king is retelling what the Queen Mum taught him about being a woman. In this first stanza I am already flooded with questions:
How did she teach this? Undoubtable it was not a one time, “sit down I have something to tell you,” discussion. It it had been, this conversation would have been lost in the abundance of knowledge a king has to possess.
Was it taught only in word? Did the Queen Mum have a class in finding the perfect woman? Was it in his curriculum, taught by his tutors?
Rarely lessons taught in word alone are remembered in such detail. And even more rarely thought important enough to record. So we have to ask, Was Queen Mum the living example of such a woman? Did her words match her actions? Did her actions match her character? Did mum live them?
Actions can nullify a lifetime of words in a instant. You can diligently teach your children to talk kindly; don’t yell, be respectful, but when they are driving you crazy in the middle of the grocery store and you yell out, “Knock it off.” Or “Hey kid of mine, STOP IT!” you’ve somehow watered down your message. You can teach a child to respect authority, but when you are relieved that the police officer you just passed didn’t pulled you over even though you were 20 miles over the speed limit, respecting authority looks different. Who we are speaks volumes over what we say.
Little Lemuel must have witnessed his mum being these words. As he grew, she must have opened her heart to him; showing him the type of partner he deserved, the type of person she longed for him to find.
It was interesting to me to read that it has not yet been discovered who King Lemuel was or where he reigned as king. This fact interests me, but mostly it excites me.
Somewhere in history, a mother taught her son about relationships, about character; she showed him what ‘good’ looks like. Her example has set a bar that countless have tried to attain.
A woman from nowhere has been acknowledged everywhere and will live forever in Proverbs 31. We all have the potential to influence our children, our world, and generations to come.