A Mother’s Gift: Words of Wisdom
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Daily Passage
Reflections
In our final chapter, we have the advice of a mother to her son. She tells her son to not be distracted by women and wine, but to speak out, judge rightly, and to help the needy and the poor (1-9). The concluding lines, verses 10 - 31, are dedicated to the description of the capable wife.
When I sit down to this text, I first ask: Who is this King Lemuel? I also am curious, who is his mother? Like yesterday’s search of names, I search for the name Lemuel and do not find much. Just as Agur is a mystery, so is King Lemuel. I find that there is some debate that King Lemuel is just a pen name for King Solomon and that the mother in this text is actually Bathsheba. Wow. What implications would that bring to this reading! I don’t think though, in light of the extremely figurative nature of The Book of Proverbs as a whole, that we are to read this as historical literature. As with yesterday, and especially after yesterday’s considerations, I find this to be allegorical. Discovering the translations of Agur’s name was most helpful in understanding yesterday’s text; I do the same today. I now discover that Lemuel is translated as “Belonging to God.” Interesting! And so, I read that a mother, talks to her son, one who belongs to God. Would it be too far of a stretch to say her son, the son of God.
Not only do I read this allegorically, but after yesterday’s summative script, I read this final chapter like an epilogue or a postscript. I love the balance it brings. In all of the preceding passages, the words are given from a father to his son. Here, the son’s mother gives her advice. While the father has taken so many pages to say what he needed to say, the mother’s words are succinct. And while the father spoke first, the mother has the final say, which gives so much more weight and importance to her words. In light of the male dominated aspect of the culture that produced this text, and when considering the limited freedoms of women at the time this was written, I find this riveting! Who is this woman? What is this text all about?
I have asked this question before in these recent days that I have spent with this text. The answer is always, Lady Wisdom. She is the mother. She, described as being present with God from the foundations of time, who has gathered the winds and the waters around her and invited her children to her abundant table, now gives advice to her son. And what is she telling him? She tells him what his father told him. She tells him not to be distracted by the temptations of the world, but to live mindfully and peacefully with others.
Most of this passage today is dedicated to the description of a woman, the “capable wife.” And what of the capable wife? This woman is amazing! I love her! She is a real go-getter. Oh so productive! Honest, and brave, and wise, and secure. She is caring and kind, and strong and powerful. She is the provider of food and clothing. She lives in abundance and abundantly gives. She is a teacher, and her words are wise. She respects others and loves and is loved and respected by all. Again, I ask who is this woman? Of her writers in my IVP Bible Background Commentary write, “The idealized picture of ‘the perfect wife’ in this proverb goes beyond anything that the biblical text elsewhere suggests was open to women” (570, Kindle version). Doesn’t this clue you in? She is no ordinary woman. Another clue that I have is the seemingly disconnect from lines 9 to 10. For myself, I read verses 1 - 9 as the advise of the mother. I read lines 11 - 31 as from another source, one commenting on the mother, the wife. And so with this transition, we get a summative picture of our Lady Wisdom who has been so important to the reading as a whole.
Jewish literature is characterized by exquisite balance. Yesterday, we got the summation of just what is is that we are being asked to do in this world: how we are to behave. Today, we are give another summative passage. This time, everything that has been said about Lady Wisdom in the preceding passages, is now brought to our attention, personified as the capable wife. Once more—she is Lady Wisdom. We are to know that if all is to go well with us in this world, we must all choose Wisdom as our partner. It is a marriage made in heaven.
I started this study on January 6, on my birthday. I noticed there were 31 chapters in Proverbs and 31 days in January and just decided to make this my blog. I now return to Chapters 1 - 5. Rereading with fresh eyes now more tuned to the book as I whole, I treasure these words from chapter 4 that I will share here from the King Jame because it is in the public domain:
“Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding. For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law. For I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother. He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live. Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee” (Proverbs : 1-9).
This is not an external, physical union described here, but an internal and eternal relationship that we must agree to and cultivate. When we accept this proposal, and live true to the union, our spirits, our bodies, and our minds unite. It is a mystical union, a holy relationship. We accept the invitation and cross the threshold to enter into a lasting relationship, embodying the best version of ourselves. From within, Wisdom guides us as our perfect partner and we are cared for and we are never alone.
Blessings of Joy
I leave you with a recent translation of the Sheva Brachot, or the Seven Wedding Blessings which is a tradition part of a Jewish wedding:
Blessed are you,
YHVH our elo’ah,
cosmic majesty,
who shapes the fruit of the tree of knowledge.[
Blessed are you,
YHVH our elo’ah,
cosmic majesty,
who creates everything as their glorious signifier![
Blessed are you,
YHVH our elo’ah,
cosmic majesty,
who fashions our cosmic potential![
Blessed are you,
YHVH our elo’ah,
cosmic majesty,
who fashions each person in their likeness.
You have planted within us your creative potential
and given us the means that we may perpetually flourish.
Blessed are you YHVH,
fashioner of our cosmic potential![
May she who was left bereft of her children,
now delight as they gather together in joy.
Blessed are you YHVH,
who delights in Tziyon with her children![
Let these loving friends
taste of the bliss you gave to the first man and woman
in the Garden of Eden
in our earliest memory.
Blessed are you YHVH,
who delights with bridegroom and bride![
Blessed are You,
YHVH our elo’ah,
cosmic majesty,
who illuminates the world with happiness and contentment,
bridegroom and bride,
delight and celebration,
gaiety and mirth,
love and companionship,
peace and friendship.
Speedily,
YHVH our elo’ah,
let it be heard in all the intentional Jewish communities,
and in the gates of the City of Peace,
cries of joy, song, merriment, and delight —
the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride,
the jubilant voice of bridegrooms from their canopies,
and of youths from their feasts of song.
Blessed are you YHVH,
who delights in bridegroom and bride together![
belonging
“Journeys end in lovers meeting.”
— Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, Act II.iii
Eight Affirmations of Gratitude
I am grateful for belonging.
I am thankful for my relationship with the Divine.
An give thanks for my mother Wisdom.
I am thankful that I have not been left alone to live my life.
I am thankful for my Divine connections.
I give thanks for my freedoms.
I am thankful for inspiring literature and ancient words of Wisdom.
I am grateful that I had the time and place and tools to enjoy this Bible study this month; I am grateful for the joy that this study has brought to me.
Questions to Consider
Am I committed to seeking wisdom?
How faithful am I in my union with Wisdom?
Do I resemble my Mother Wisdom in my day to day life?
Blessings
Thank you for joining me. Love and light. From my heart to yours, Namaste.