Verse of the Month

Proverbs 31:8-9

The sayings of King Lemuel—an inspired utterance his mother taught him.

Listen, my son! Listen, son of my womb!
  Listen, my son, the answer to my prayers!
Do not spend your strength on women,
  your vigor on those who ruin kings.

It is not for kings, Lemuel—
  it is not for kings to drink wine,
  not for rulers to crave beer,
lest they drink and forget what has been decreed,
  and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.
Let beer be for those who are perishing,
  wine for those who are in anguish!
Let them drink and forget their poverty
  and remember their misery no more.

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy.

Proverbs 31:1-9, NIV

I included the 7 verses leading up to our verse of the month above because I think it is important that we consider the context where the verse we are looking at appears. It comes as part of the advice left by King Lemuel to his son, who would presumably become king after him. It is significant that advice from a king to his son, arguably the most privileged people in all the kingdom, includes a significant emphasis on caring for the poor and needy and the oppressed.

Why would the king care so much about protecting the vulnerable? While these saying are inspired by his mother, it all originates in the heart of God. God cares for all people, because He created each person and knows them intimately. He also imparted His very image, His likeness, onto every person. And because we have all been bestowed with His image, the most tangible way we can honor God, is by honoring His image in our neighbor.

However, when we neglect the vulnerable in our community, we fail to honor the image of God in them and ourselves, because all of God’s image bearers ought to care for each others’ basic needs. Therefore, God has a special concern for the poor since they are so often neglected by others.

So if that is the case, then each one of us ought to use whatever power or privilege we have to care for the vulnerable just as God does. This includes both how we might influence the governments in authority, and also what we do in our own lives as well and how we influence others more personally.

Note that in this verse, the call to obedience is squarely on us. There are no qualifications of who we are to speak up for, only that they are those who cannot speak up for themselves, are destitute, poor, or needy. The call is for us to identify those in our community who are vulnerable and to speak up for them to ensure they are not forgotten or taken advantage of. 

James sums it up quite nicely when he says, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” (James 2:27, ESV). In visiting orphans and widows in their affliction, we share God’s concern for the most vulnerable and not that we simply try to come and solve their problems, but that we join them in their pain as well.

May our hearts grow in step with our Savior’s so that we might share in His deep concern for the vulnerable in our community, and let us move from compassion and empathy, towards loving action to bring a taste of the kingdom of heaven to our neighborhood.

-Travis Jones

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