“Manna for Mothers”
Proverbs 31:1-31
Pro 31:30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
Mother’s Day is a bittersweet time for many of us. If your mother is in this service you ought to thank God for the opportunity to worship together and to spend time in each other’s company. There are many of us who must spend this separated from our mother, either because she has already passed on or like Sis. Judy and I and others present here this morning, are separated by geography though not separated in our hearts. As I have gotten older myself I’ve thought a great deal about my mother and the kind of life she had and what she tried to do for me to the best of her ability. I’ve come to realize that I learned far more from her than I thought. I am told that I look like my dad but my mother put her mark on me in a lot of other ways. Like Solomon’s mother, my mom was my teacher and mom’s you are a teacher too. You may think that you don’t have much in common with the “wife of a king” but you do, more than you know. Notice that Solomon, (King Lemuel) was taught by his mother. The fact that he mentions this may sound a bit odd since King David was his father but I can assure that for the overwhelming majority of us, mother has been and is still the most influential person in our lives. There is just something special about our mothers, a special and unique relationship like no other on earth. The special nature of this relationship is emphasized in verse 2 where the queen mother refers to him as “…my son, the son of my womb, and …the son of my vows.” A literal translation of this verse would go something like: “son of my body, my dear beloved son, the answer to my prayers!” The fact that Bathsheba had already lost one child made the birth of Solomon all the more special in the eyes of his mother. When she prayed for a son she made vows to the Lord and so Solomon was the “…son of her vows…” Coverdale Solomon mentions several areas of life that his mother gave him instructions in.
I. Your teachings
ILL - 'A mighty power and stronger
Man from his throne has hurled,
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.'
~ William Ross Wallace
ILL - 'The mother's heart is the child's schoolroom.' ~ Henry Ward Beecher
a. Women
Who should know more about women than a woman? Bathsheba (Solomon’s mother) had seen firsthand the consequences of bad decision making where the opposite sex was concerned.
Proverbs 6:23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
24 To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
25 Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
26 For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.
27 Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?
28 Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?
29 So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.
b. Wine
Proverbs 23:29 Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
30 They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.
31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.
32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
33 Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.
34 Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.
35 They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.
c. Wrong
Isaiah 1:17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
This woman recognizes that her son must “learn to do well…” You don’t have to teach a child to lie, they must learn not too! You don’t have to teach them to steal, they must learn not too! Character building and helping your children to “…do well…” This would also include but be limited to learning how to treat others, especially those who are less fortunate like the orphan, the stranger, the widow etc.
II. Your tone
What I mean is more than anyone else in the home the mother creates the atmosphere in the home! We need clean air to breathe to stay healthy and so does the home.
a. Her love
ILL - 'Motherhood: All love begins and ends there.' ~ Robert Browning
And someone said that, “A mother’s love is the closest thing on earth to God’s love!”
b. Her labor
As you read Proverbs 31 you can’t help but notice all the verbs! They are in almost every line of the text and all are related to the actions of this women. For instance beginning in verse 13 she: “…seeketh, bringeth, riseth, giveth, considereth, planteth, girdeth, strengtheneth, perceiveth, layeth, stretcheth, reacheth, maketh, delivereth and openeth…” One thing is obvious; there is not a lazy bone in this woman’s body! Verse 27 says that she: “…eateth not the bread of idleness…”
c. Her looks
I want you to notice something about this woman in verses 22 and 25.
Proverbs 31:22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
25 Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
There is no contradiction here in these verses. A woman should pay attention to her attire and appearance. That is not in question but every women must recognize that “…Favour is deceitful and beauty is vain…” and that “…strength and honour…” are more important clothing than wearing the latest fashion.
1 Timothy 2:9 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;
10 But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.
III. Your trustworthiness
ILL - 'A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials, heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine, desert us; when troubles thicken around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavour by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.' ~ Washington Irving
a. Her responses
Verse 26 states that “She openeth her mouth with wisdom…and kindness” When you open your mouth what comes out?
b. Her relations
Her children “…rise up and call her blessed…” and Her husband can “…trust in her…” and “…he praiseth her.”
c. Her Redeemer
She “…feareth the Lord…” Solomon pays this woman the ultimate compliment. It sounds old fashioned today but this is a god fearing woman!
ILL - There is no amount of money which could be paid for a God-fearing woman. There is no way, in a human sense, of estimating her value except to ask, "What happens when a wife is not God-fearing? What happens when a wife is not faithful? What happens when a wife abandons her children?" Then the home is destroyed. The children are subjected to the onslaughts of Satan, who gobbles them up. There is uproar and confusion. Who can find a virtuous woman? Her price is far above rubies, says the Word of God. She shall be praised. Among God's people, she is honored with a grateful love. She may not be abused, ill-treated, disrespected. Listen, children, young people, teenagers: you may not have a big-mouth to her. For, I tell you, a God-fearing woman is the apple of God's eye. She shall be praised. The Word of God says here that many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. Many daughters have made riches by marrying for wealth. Many woman have obtained glamour and fame. But one daughter of God who fears God excels them all. Is that what you say, as a man of God? Is that what you say as a teenage boy? A woman who fears the Lord excels them all. Not the world's unbelieving women who are unchaste and who promise to give all the pleasures of sin. But a God-fearing woman who, unashamedly, is sold out to Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior, she excels them all. She is precious to me. She shall be praised. Her children are to call her blessed. Her husband is to give thanks to God for her every day. A woman that feareth the Lord, that is a gift of God. Once again, perhaps, you, as a believing woman and God-fearing mother, feel that you cannot measure up to all that the Word of God speaks of in Proverbs. Look to Jesus Christ. Remember that you serve a faithful, kind, and benevolent Master. From your heart, do all things as unto your Lord. Then you are a precious thing to your husband and to your home. A God-fearing woman! No price can be placed upon her. And this will be your reward. When you meet your Lord, He will say, "Well done, good and faithful servant. In as much as ye have done it unto these the least of my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."
Rev. Carl Haak
