WWUTT 1644 Open Your Mouth, Judge Righteously (Proverbs 31:1-9)

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Do not give your mind over to those things which will manipulate you.

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Do not hang out with people who are going to lead you in wickedness, but instead follow in the righteous word that we've been given, when we understand the text.

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This is When We Understand The Text, a daily Bible commentary to help encourage your time in the word.

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Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday we feature New Testament Study, an Old Testament book on Thursday, and our

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Q &A on Friday. Now here's your teacher, Pastor Gabe. Thank you, Becky. Well, we finished up our study of 1

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Corinthians yesterday. I did all of chapter 16 this week. We have one more chapter in our study in the book of Proverbs.

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I could do all of chapter 31 today, and then that's it. We finished 1 Corinthians and Proverbs in the same day.

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But I think, or same week rather, I think what I want to do is I want to go through the

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Proverbs 31 woman section a little more slowly. So we'll get to that next week.

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That's verses 10 through 31. So let's just do 1 through 9 today. It'll be a little shorter lesson, but we'll go ahead and look at this, and then finish it up next week,

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God willing. That sound like an okay plan to you? So here we go, because I know that we could dedicate one entire podcast lesson to the

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Proverbs 31 woman, and I think a lot of people would like that, and you might come back to it later. So we'll wait for that part until next week.

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This is Proverbs 31 verses 1 through 9 out of the Legacy Standard Bible.

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The words of King Lemuel, the oracle unto which his mother disciplined him, what,

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O my son, and what, O son of my womb, and what, O son of my vows, do not give your excellence to women, or your ways to that which blots out kings.

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It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to desire strong drink, lest he drink and forget what is decreed, and pervert the justice of all the afflicted.

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Give strong drink to him who is perishing, and wine to those whose soul is bitter.

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Let him drink and forget his poverty, and he will not remember his trouble any longer.

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Open your mouth for the mute, for the justice of all those passing away.

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Open your mouth, judge righteously, and render justice to the afflicted and the needy.

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And that's as far as we'll get this week. That's Proverbs 31 verses 1 through 9. So we start here with the words of King Lemuel.

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We have these last two chapters of Proverbs are the words of someone else other than Solomon.

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We had the words of Agur, the son of Jacob, the oracle, that was in chapter 30. And here in chapter 31, these are the words of King Lemuel.

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And where did he get these words from? Where did this oracle come from?

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It came from his mother. His mother disciplined him in this truth.

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So we're hearing a lesson that was spoken by his mother to himself, which is now the wisdom of King Lemuel that is written down in the book of Proverbs.

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Now when we finished up 1 Corinthians yesterday, in 1 Corinthians chapter 16, I was pointing out how in 16 verse 13, that Paul says to the

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Corinthians, be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

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And that's meant to be every bit as masculine as it sounds. That when it comes to defending the church against the snares of the devil, the schemes of Satan, it takes a strong man of God to be doing that for the church.

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Women have that responsibility, of course, too. But the church is going to be strongest when the men are taking the lead and are filling those roles that God has intended men to fill, especially when a man is standing as pastor or overseer is the church.

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Men are filling those roles as elders and deacons. When women are stepping into positions of authority, the entire church suffers.

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But when men are standing strong, godly, strong men, firm in the faith are in those positions of leadership.

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It is a benefit to the entire church. Everybody benefits, men, women, and children. So we were talking about that yesterday with 1

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Corinthians 16, and Paul even singles out particular men that the church is supposed to emulate, that they are supposed to submit to and follow, men who are likely elders.

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The mention of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaus that come up in verse 17. So we saw that in 1

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Corinthians. Now here we are in Proverbs 31, and we have the words of a wise, strong woman.

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It's just an interesting, and you might even call it providential pairing of passages to be reading from 1

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Corinthians 16, 13 yesterday, and now we're in Proverbs 31 today. This is the wisdom that comes from Lemuel's mother.

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From the very beginning of the book of Proverbs, the instruction has been to listen to the guidance of your father.

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From Proverbs 1, it was a father instructing his son. But the father also said to listen to the instruction of his mother.

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So it wasn't just all of this instruction that comes from your father. Make your father glad, make your mother glad.

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Listen to what your mother tells you, and do what she says also. We start with a father to his royal son, and we end with a mother to her royal son.

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So you get to see both ends of it, right? The wisdom from the father and the wisdom from the mother.

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Furthermore, we got to Proverbs 8, where you have wisdom speaking, and wisdom is personified as a woman.

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So here is wisdom, wisdom from a woman that is being granted to her son in Proverbs 31, the words of King Lemuel, which his mother disciplined him.

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Now these are not the writings of a woman, it's not a woman having written a portion of the Bible, but it's certainly her word, her wisdom to her son, which he has now written down in the pages of Scripture.

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And what is this first question that we have here? It comes out this way, literally, in the

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Legacy Standard Bible. What, O my son? And what,

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O son of my womb? And what, O son of my vows? Now that probably does not make a whole lot of sense to us in English, in the modern,

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Western English -speaking world, what's the what? Why is she just asking him what there?

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Let's consider this from the English Standard Version, it might make a little bit more sense. What are you doing, my son?

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What are you doing, son of my womb? What are you doing, son of my vows?

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There you go, there's Proverbs 31 too. Now, are you doing, those three words there, we've had to insert that in order to make sense the question that's being asked.

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It would have made sense to a Hebrew to read this and know exactly what's being implied. Kind of lost on us a little bit, especially considering 3 ,000 years have passed.

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So adding in the words, are you doing? What are you doing? Helps us to understand the question that a mother is asking of her son here.

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What are you doing, my son? What are you doing, O son of my womb? What are you doing,

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O son of my vows? A son who is being described three ways, just simply as a son, he's the son of her womb.

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So she's carried this boy. She's labored hard to deliver him.

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O son of my vows, means that he is also the fruit of the union that she has had with his father.

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So when, because of their dedication to one another, they're also committed to her kids. And this is a long time labor that we're talking about here.

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Just the very fact that he's her son, the fact that she birthed him and the fact that she's raised him, all of that is being expressed here in verse two.

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So it obligates him, as this is said three times, it obligates him to listen to the counsel and the wisdom of his mother who knows better than he do not give your excellence to women or your ways to that which blots out

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Kings. That is quite a statement. And notice here that comes from a mother. A mother is saying to her son, do not give your strength to women.

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Or the ways in which you walk to those who destroy

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Kings. She is telling her son to walk in righteousness and to stay far away from the wicked.

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This is how Proverbs concludes. And it's the way that Psalms begin.

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So as we were, as we've been in the wisdom books, we've been through Job Psalms and now Proverbs.

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Do you remember the way that that the Psalms start with Psalm one? How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers.

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But his delight is in the law of Yahweh. And in his law, he meditates day and night.

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The last verse, verse six, for Yahweh knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

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And so this is a mother telling her son to walk in the way of righteousness.

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Don't give your strength to women, meaning do not let the manipulations of a woman.

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Seize your mind and influence your body. Now, you will hear from the anti -purity culture and Ariens that are that are out there in our culture right now.

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They will say that you shouldn't say things like this because it makes a woman feel like whenever a man lusts, well, that's her fault because he lusted after her.

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So a woman needs to just always be approved, lest she lead any man astray. That's not what we're saying here.

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There are men who need to take their thoughts captive and they're responsible for whatever it is that they think, regardless of how a woman dresses.

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He needs to be able to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ, as it says in Second Corinthians 10, five.

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That is his responsibility. But there are absolutely women out there who manipulate men and people.

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I tell you this as someone of experience. When I was in my 20s, I'd seem to be the kind of woman

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I was attracted to the manipulative woman. She was emotionally manipulative. She was physically manipulative.

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And that I lusted for those women. And I went after that. I gave my strength to women.

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Praise God that I did not go as far as I could have gone because it was certainly the desire in my flesh to do that.

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But he rescued me out of that sin that I would not go so far that I would I would still be having to deal with the consequences of some really bad decisions today.

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Nonetheless, I still sinned. I had to repent before God, and I alone am responsible for my own actions.

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But so are those women. They're responsible for their own actions. And they were absolutely out to manipulate men to make themselves feel more important because they could attract a guy in a certain way.

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They could make him do whatever it is they wanted him to do. There are women out there that do such a thing.

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Women are not inherently victims. Men are not those who always have power, and women are always those who are victims.

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There are women who are conniving, manipulative. Pardon me for the word, but it's biblical whores.

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And that is what this mother is warning her son to stay away from.

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Do not let yourself be manipulated by those kinds of women. Do not give your strength to women.

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Have the kind of fortitude, the kind of steadfastness, the kind of self -control that you are not going to be led astray by, again, going back to the adulterous woman that was in Proverbs five, six and seven.

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Don't go after her, that woman that bats her eyelashes, that signals with her hands, shifty with her feet, that whispers sweet nothings to you.

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Come, let us drink our love in full. Don't go after her. She will lead you to destruction.

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You will die in her arms and die under the judgment of God. For the scripture says there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality among you.

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As it says in First Thessalonians chapter four, verse three, this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality.

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Sex is meant for marriage. And as we've read previously in the book of Proverbs, let your fill be with your wife.

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Enjoy her. But don't go after that manipulative woman who is enticing you into an immoral thing that God has promised that he will judge.

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God will judge the sexually, the sexually immoral and adulterous, as said in Hebrews 13, four.

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So do not give your strength to women. Do not give your ways to those who destroy kings, the wicked, the evil.

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Who are manipulating even those who are in powerful high positions that they would give up their power to those who have none and be led into evil and to darkness.

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And therefore other people suffer as a result of that. When a king has been led astray by those who destroy kings, then those who could benefit from a righteous king will suffer since the king did not go the way of righteousness.

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Continue to follow in the way that God has set before us in his word and by his wisdom.

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That is the instruction here from a mother to her son. It is not for kings,

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O Lemuel. It is not for kings to drink wine or for rulers to desire strong drink.

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She's discouraging him from getting drunk, from giving himself over into drunkenness. Why? Verse five, lest he drink and forget what is decreed and pervert the justice of all the afflicted.

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That's what happened with Xerxes in the story of Esther, by the way. So Xerxes, when

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Vashti, his wife had rebelled against him, and then Xerxes got mad and banished her.

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And then he seeks for another wife. And it turns out to be Esther, ultimately the namesake of the book.

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But all of that transpired when Xerxes was drunk. When Haman had influenced him to pass that law in which the

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Jews would be killed, all of that happened when Xerxes was drunk. So you see how drunkenness, even upon a king, perverts justice.

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And he'll even forget what is decreed because his mind has been dulled. His wits have been stupefied by the fact that he's given himself over to debauchery.

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In Ephesians chapter five, it says, do not get drunk with wine, which leads to debauchery, but be filled with the spirit.

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So we would not be filled with temporary things that ultimately don't give us any lasting or eternal fulfillment at all.

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We need to be fulfilled with those things. We need to be filled with those things that are delightful to God and are eternally satisfying.

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And that would be the Holy Spirit of God. Don't be filled. Don't be drunk with wine, but be filled with the

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Holy Spirit. Verse six, now here's where it gets a little more confusing, but give strong drink to him who is perishing and wine to those whose soul is bitter.

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Now, there are a couple of different applications that could apply here. It may be one or the other. It could be both.

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It could be that what's being said here is that there is a proper administration of strong drink, and it's those who are suffering, like those who with some sort of a bodily ailment need a strong drink to kind of dull the pain a little bit.

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Didn't the apostle Paul recommend this to Timothy for his stomach ailments in first Timothy five, twenty three, don't just drink water, but mix in a little wine to help with your stomach ailments.

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Right. So we have those who are perishing. Maybe they're perishing because they have some sort of an ailment and they're dying.

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And so give strong drink to them. They're the ones who need strong drink. Don't drink it for yourself and dull your wits when you need a good, strong mind in order to lead as a king.

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But give strong drink instead to those who are suffering, to those who are who are perishing, that it may give them a little bit of numbness and and not have to deal with that pain constantly and then going on wine to those whose soul is bitter.

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So there could be some sort of vexation of the mind that they can't help. And the wine helps to dull that a little bit.

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That's one possible interpretation, a right administration of strong drink. Another possible interpretation, and again, it could be both and not necessarily either or.

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But another possible interpretation is that strong drink drunkenness are for those who are criminals and for those whose minds are insane because they're wicked people.

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And so let them have it. Let it just go to those who are wicked. Let them have drunkenness.

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They're always going to get drunk. They're always out of their minds anyway. Let them have drunkenness.

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You have good sense. Now, this is not saying you shouldn't drink wine at all, because, again, the instruction from the apostle

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Paul to Timothy is to use it for his his frequent ailments. And we know that Jesus changed the water into wine at the wedding feast at Cana in John chapter two.

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So it's not speaking against drinking wine of any kind. It's just don't let yourself be given over to drunkenness.

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The same was the instruction with regards to women. Don't don't give your excellence to women.

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Don't give your ways to those people which blot out kings. Don't give your mind over to that wine, which makes you drunk and deadens your wits, but continue to have your senses about you.

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Let the wicked get drunk. You walk in righteousness. Verse seven, let him drink and forget his poverty, and he will not remember his trouble any longer.

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So, again, if we're talking about a right administration of strong drink here, there are those who are struggling, who are in poverty.

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Let them have strong drink that it may for a time soften the effects of the suffering that they are going through.

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Verse eight, open your mouth for the mute. So you're not giving yourself over to drunkenness and forgetting what is decreed.

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You as a king need to know how to rule rightly and do justice properly for the benefit of those people whom

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God has put you over. So the mother saying to a son here versus eight and nine, open your mouth for the mute for those who do not have a voice to speak for themselves, to defend themselves for the justice of all those who are passing away, those who are dying, who cannot plead their case.

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Verse nine, open your mouth, judge righteously, and render justice to the afflicted and the needy.

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But if you are led astray by women, if you keep company with fools, if you give your mind over to drunkenness, then how can you lead in justice for those who need it?

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Instead, be pure in your thinking, be good in your company, seek the company of righteous people, not of the unrighteous, and let your mind be steadfast and strong on the ways of God.

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Be filled with the Holy Spirit, and then you will be able to do justice for those who are needing it for the justice of those who are passing away.

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Open your mouth, judge righteously, and render justice to the afflicted and the needy.

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One of the ways that I've applied these two verses, Proverbs 31, eight and nine, is with regards to speaking up for the unborn.

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They are mute. They cannot speak for themselves. They are perishing. A third, a fourth to a third, depending on the area of the country in which you live, just speaking about the

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United States of America, a fourth to a third of all pregnancies end in abortion.

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That's how common abortion is. One out of every five to like one out of every three pregnancies will end in abortion.

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There are even some places like New York City, for example, over half of black children are being aborted, over half.

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And we need to speak up for those who do not have a voice for themselves. They can't speak for themselves. They're passing away.

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They're perishing because this wicked culture is destroying them. Open your mouth and judge righteously and render justice to those who are afflicted.

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There are many different classes of people in the United States that will claim to be afflicted who are not.

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But there is definitely a class of persons that is in danger each and every day. And that is unborn children here in the

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United States of America. That's one place where we could certainly be putting those verses into action.

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That is an unborn child. That is a living human being in the womb created in the image of God.

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Render justice to the afflicted and those who need it. Let's finish there.

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We will finish out Proverbs 31 next week. Heavenly Father, thank you for the justice that you have given us in Christ Jesus, who took our sins upon himself with his death on the cross.

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He rose for our justification so that all who believe in him will not perish under the just judgment of God.

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But the justice has been paid for by the precious blood of Jesus. And we who are in Christ will be saved and have eternal life in your eternal kingdom.

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Let that message of the gospel of Jesus Christ go forth so that others will hear it and know God is a good and righteous judge.

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He will render to each person according to their works. If we have done according to Christ, we will have eternal life.

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But if we continue in the ways of Satan, those who walk in his ways will perish.

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Teach us these things, and may we remain steadfast in your good works according to your good word.