From the Bulletin - THE MOTHER OF LEMUEL
By Herb Alsup, Woodbury, TN

All we know of Lemuel and his mother is recorded for us in Proverbs 31 :1-9. Within this text, we find several reasons to appreciate this mother and the example she leaves us.
She named her son "Lemuel" meaning "devoted to God." Thus, she was a godly mother wanting her son to grow up to be one devoted to God. Every mother ought to look her child in the face and call him/her "Lemuel."
She was a mother who taught her son. Mothers are our first and most effective teachers. "The mother's heart is the child's first classroom" said Henry Ward Beecher. She taught him ... MORAL PURITY. .. "Do not spend your strength on women, your vigor on those who would ruin kings." - Provo 31:3
She taught him ... DANGERS OF ALCOHOL ... "It is not for kings, 0 Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink intoxicating wine, Nor for princes intoxicating drink." - Provo 31:4 Of great significance is that this mother felt the need to talk with her son about two great issues of life: sex and alcohol. Mothers and Fathers still need to talk with their children about these dangers!
She taught him ... JUSTICE ... "Speak up for those who speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute:
Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy." - Provo 31 :8-9.
Throughout Scripture, God manifested His great interest in the poor, the lowly, and the oppressed. His anger is directed toward those who take advantage of the poor for their personal gain. He blesses those who speak up for, defend, and assist the helpless. Lemuel's mother instilled into his heart a compassion and fairness for all people.
Probably all of us know godly mothers like Lemuel's mother. Taday, I thank God for a Christian mother who often shared with me her heart and Christian life-style. I appreciate all she sacrificed for me. I thank her for her character, virtue, integrity,.,justice, and self-control. I thank her for her devoted loved to me and our family.

-Bruce Daugherty-

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