皇太后的见识 Insights From An Empress Dowager
Sermon passage: (Proverbs 31:1-9) Spoken on: November 13, 2022More sermons from this speaker 更多该讲员的讲道: Rev. Wong Siow Hwee For more of this sermon series 更多关于此讲道系列: Proverbs
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Title: Insights from an Empress Dowager
Date: 13th Nov 2022
Preacher: Rev. Wong Siow Hwee
Today’s proverb comes from King Lemuel’s mother, and it holds a special place in Proverbs for 2 reasons: one, King Lemuel and his mother were likely foreigners; two, while most of the proverbs were expressed from a male perspective, this was wisdom from a woman. These two unique elements should alert us to give this passage extra attention, since it must have been highly valued by many to traverse distant lands, and cherished by the people of God to be comparable to other wisdom collections in Proverbs. Hence my role today is to enable her words to shine, and hopefully after we capture her wisdom, we may then explore how it might possibly be relevant to us.
First thing to note is that this proverb is a rebuke. The original word for “Listen” translated by NIV is literally “What?” What the heck, Lemuel? What the heck are you doing? Lemuel’s mother was scolding him for his foolishness as a king, which makes it even more admirable that Lemuel then willingly passed on his mother’s harsh personal words as advice for others. It is already rare for anyone to admit their mistakes publicly and even more so for a person with an esteemed royal status. But I guess the words must have stung him deeply, such that he chose to own up to his wrongs, and then humbly treasured it. Bearing the shame, but maturing through the pain, I’m reminded of Proverbs 23: Saying 17
22 Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.
Lemuel had every right to reject his mother’s words and dismiss her counsel as meddling in his private affairs. But he acted wisely to listen and to repent.
At first glance, her advice for Lemuel might seem rather commonplace: 3 Do not spend your strength on women, your vigor on those who ruin kings. Isn’t this just standard guidance on staying away from bad women, similar to many other proverbs we have heard so far on adultery [1]? But more insights were revealed when I searched the key words of this verse within Proverbs. The same word for “strength” is repeated later in the same chapter in 31:10,29 to describe “capable and resourceful” women. So strength did not just refer to men, but to women too. The same words for “vigor” (ways) and “ruin”, can also be found in the previous chapter in Proverbs 30:20 “This is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth, And says, "I have done no wrong." The word “ruining” in our passage has the same connotation of “wiping out” in this context. Again the word way/vigor was used on a woman. Lemuel’s mother’s warning was this: Lemuel might think that he was the dominant one in his palace harem, spending his strength and ways on his harem, but he was manipulated by the strength and ways of the women. In fact, they would clean out whatever he had to give, (whether it was his favor, wealth, influences, or his genes), in order to get to where they wanted to be. Despite the glamour of royalty, the palace harem could be a lonely and treacherous place, a survival of the fittest. “Women are not chattel in Proverbs, nor are they simply sexual objects; they are persons of intelligence and will, who can either make or break a man.” [2] Lemuel’s possible “destruction might be through indignity, blackmail, vengeful plotting or palace intrigue between wives trying to exalt themselves and their sons.” [3] My point is: Lemuel’s mother’s advice was not about sexual morality. It was a warning against manipulation and politics.
I suppose this was why King Lemuel heeded the wisdom of his mother. You may recall my parenting sermon on WAM combined service where I stressed on the importance of trust in a parent-child relationship. [4] I believe trust was the key factor at work here. Lemuel’s mother repeated three times, 2 Listen, my son! Listen, son of my womb! Listen, my son, the answer to my prayers! These repeated calls could be interpreted as an emphasis on their close relationship. But I think it went even deeper than that. As an empress dowager, what was it that bestowed her current title upon her? Was it not because the offspring of her womb was the current king? Would the contents of her prayers be that she would give birth to an heir to the throne? The phrase "son of my vows" implied that she had made promises to God (the name Lemuel means "Devoted to God"). [5] So I think Lemuel would trust his mother because of her credibility as the empress dowager. In short, she was no stranger to the politics of the palace harem. In fact, she was the victor. She could be trusted to know the thoughts of all the women seducing her son, because just like her in the past, they too harbored hopes for their womb, praying and vowing for their sons to become the next king so that they might become the next empress dowager.
To be honest, I doubt Lemuel was truly ignorant of these palace harem politics. Unlike some of us who have to watch lots of period dramas to learn of these things, Lamuel would probably have played and won the game of thrones with other princes to become king. Why then did he embroil himself back into the same quagmire with his own harem? Was it really out of wanton sexual desires? If he truly was a self-indulgent delinquent king, I believe his mother’s words would not have sunk in and be preserved till this day (see Proverbs 17:10). Far more likely, he knew of the dangers, but he might have thought that palace harem politics was part and parcel of the duties of a king, and he could keep any complications under control. You can study the harems of King David [6] and Solomon [7]to see similar power dynamics at work. The former had multiple wives to unite the various tribal factions of Israel, while the latter had even more to form alliances with other neighboring kingdoms. A foolish king might have been manipulated by his harem like a puppet, but for kings like David, Solomon, and possibly Lemuel, palace harem politics was merely an extension of court politics. Many of the women would either be daughters and sisters of the nobilities, whether from their own subordinates, or belonging to foreign powers. My presupposition here is that both Lemuel and his mother knew the necessity of power play in palace harem politics.
What then was Lemuel’s mother’s unique contribution in the reality of this situation? She provided two insights, one obvious, and the other more subtle but deeper. The obvious one is that Lemuel as the king had a job to do, described by his mother in verses 8-9, which was to 8 Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. 9 Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. Obviously, the more time and energy that Lemuel used in his palace harem politics, the less he had left for his actual royal duties. But let’s go beyond the obvious. If he had to speak up, who then would he be speaking against? Here is where we need to read between the lines, he would be speaking against the rich and powerful, those whom he was already engaging in power play, whether directly in the courts or indirectly in his harem. The ultimate truth was that as a king he had to make a decision about how to spend his strength and ways (vigor). Would he use it to booster the privileges of the rich and powerful, including foreign alliances, and hence consolidate his own power? Then the masses would have to pay for his spending whether it was through higher taxes or further loss of rights. Or would he use it to empower the masses, but in the process offend the rich and powerful who would then withdraw their support for his kingship? Lemuel’s mother had stated the obvious: he had to do his job as a king for the masses. The tough part was that the execution would be costly.
Let me now share the more subtle but deeper insight which Lemuel’s mother shared within the context of drinking. She said, drinking is not for kings, 5 lest they drink and forget what has been decreed, and deprive all the oppressed of their rights. Drinking should be for those who are perishing and those who are in anguish! So that they may drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more [8]. I instinctively recognize that drinking is not the main point here, but rather the point is what kings should never forget, and so I searched the key words “what has been decreed” in Proverbs. Guess what: the same word “decreed” is repeated three times in Proverbs 8, in the poetic self-declaration of Wisdom.
Proverbs 8: 15 By me kings reign
and rulers issue decrees that are just;
(Hence, a fair and just policy that was good for the kingdom and the people was made in Wisdom.)
27 I was there when he set the heavens in place,
when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,
(Decreed is translated as marked out in this context, reminding us that a royal decree was just like the second day of Creation when God created order by separating water into waters above, and waters below.)
29 when he gave the sea its boundary
so the waters would not overstep his command,
and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.
(Similarly, it was like the third day of Creation when God created order by limiting water to sea and land. In short, wise kings set limits and boundaries to bring about order in their kingdoms so that justice might prevail.)
What I find insightful is that Lemuel’s mother understood palace intrigues, and she noted the misery of both the people and of kings. So she was using sarcasm to inspire Lemuel. What are you doing? Did you drink and lost your senses and forget your royal duties? You want to play politics with your harem and give in to them? You allow them to bring chaos and destroy your decrees of order? Fine! Then join those who are perishing and in anguish. And in your drunkenness, whether it is to be drunk in power or in pleasures, you can forget about your miserable life, just like the people of your kingdom which you left in misery. Or you come to your senses and not forget that as the king, you are entrusted with the divine role to bring order and justice through your decrees. That is what will distinguish you as a king who is wise.
A world of kings and harems may seem contextually distant from us. But I suspect that many of us watch these palace period dramas because we connect with the characters through our common humanity. In palace harem politics, the brutality of survival is laid bare. Compared to a royal consort with a child, the childless woman in the harem is nothing. Compared with the empress dowager whose son is crowned the king, everybody else in the harem becomes nothing. So the politics involved are not so different from our own context, except the stakes are elevated to the level of life and death. This is how I see the relevance for us: our situations may not be so extreme, but ultimately it is about the same decision-making process of choosing between right and wrong, choosing between what is challenging or convenient, and choosing to be selfish or be selfless.
The wisdom of Lemuel’s mother has been an awakening call to me. At the personal level, even though I have neither kingship nor a harem, I still have strength and ways in my work and social life. Today’s passage is a timely reminder of what should be my true priorities. Sometimes I am tempted to just go with the flow even though I know things are not quite right the way they are. Why rock the boat, or why offend people? Can’t I just do whatever it is that everybody is doing anyway? Maybe it is the same for you, whether it is racism or sexism or ageism in society, or unfairness and bullying at your workplace, or maybe someone toxic among your friends and family. But now I am reminded. Don’t stay drunk and numb anymore. Speak up. Do what is right. Protect the weak and vulnerable. I may not be a king. But I am a follower of Christ, who sticks to the truth and acts to bring order and life.
[1] https://www.jubilee.org.sg/sermons/?sermon_id=1170
[2] Bird, P. A. (1974). Images of Woman in the Book of Proverbs. Religion and sexism: Images of woman in the Jewish and Christian traditions, 41-60.
[3] Kimilike, P. L. (2018). Poverty context in Proverbs 31: 1-9: A Bena Tanzanian analysis for transformational leadership training. Old Testament Essays, 31(1), 135-163.
[4] Text and Audio: https://www.jubilee.org.sg/sermons/?sermon_id=1193 ; Video: https://youtu.be/dyPnYVo6ars
[5] https://bible.ucg.org/bible-commentary/Proverbs/Words-of-King-Lemuel-from-his-mother/
[6] https://www.learnreligions.com/davids-many-wives-in-bible-117324
[7] https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/women-of-solomon-bible
[8] See the advice against drunkenness in Proverbs 23: Saying 19
29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaints?
Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?
30 Those who linger over wine,
who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.
31 Do not gaze at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup,
when it goes down smoothly!
32 In the end it bites like a snake
and poisons like a viper.
33 Your eyes will see strange sights,
and your mind will imagine confusing things.
34 You will be like one sleeping on the high seas,
lying on top of the rigging.
35 “They hit me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt!
They beat me, but I don’t feel it!
When will I wake up
so I can find another drink?”
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