Proverbs 31:1-7 – Helping Others
Verses 1-2 – We really don’t know anything about King Lemuel except that he is given the great blessing of a Godly mother. She calls her son the son of her vows, but it can also be translated ‘the answer to my prayers.’ If we want to see our children loving and serving the Lord, then we need to be, like this lady, much in prayer for them. Even if you have no children, there are children in the congregation that need your faithful prayers.
Verses 3-7 – Solomon has given us his father’s wise advice; Lemuel gives us his mother’s. She warns him against the dangers of no self-control whether in the area of women, or drink, or power. She gives him rules of love and self-denial which come down to this: instead of using good things just on your self, selfishly indulging your every wish, give out your luxuries to those who really need them. In other words, use the blessings God has given you to benefit others. Seek out cases of poverty and misery, so that you can use what you have to help them. This is what Christ has done for us. Our conscience is loaded with guilt; our heart is heavy with a burden we can not bear or get rid of. When we are told of God’s love to sinners; the forgiveness and ransom found for us; the welcome we will definitely have, it gives us exactly what we need to forget our misery. We need then to go and share this great gift with others who are suffering. Like Lemuel we need to seek out those we can help by giving them the good news of the Gospel.
Questions
- What blessing did Lemuel have?
- How can we care for children?
- What has Christ done for us?
- What is the greatest thing we can do for someone else?
Prayer Points
- Pray for our covenant children.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.