Strong Drink to the Perishing - Proverbs 31:6

In the book of Proverbs Lemuel's mother said, “Give not your strength unto women, nor your ways to that which destroys kings. Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted”, and in chapter thirty one and verse six of Proverbs King Lemuel's mother said, “give strong drink to him that is ready to perish” where we read,

Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish,

and wine unto those that be heavy of hearts.

The verse begins, “Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, ...” Lemuel began with the words, “give strong drink” or “grant, bestow and ascribe intoxicating and fermented liquor” “unto him that is ready to perish” which means “to the person whether male or female who is prepared to vanish, go astray, be destroyed, exterminated or die”. Lemuel's mother told him to bestow intoxicating liquor to a person who is close to perishing.

The verse goes on to say, “... and wine unto those that be heavy of hearts.” Lemuel continued with the words, “and wine” or “and fermented fruit of the vine” “unto those that be heavy of hearts” which means “to the people whether male or female who exist with bitter, pained and chafed souls, minds, wills, desires, living being, conscience and seat of emotions and passions”. Lemuel's mother told him to give fermented fruit of the vine to people have pained and angry souls,minds and wills. 

When we think through the words in this verse, we learn how Lemuel's mother told him to bestow intoxicated liquor on people who are ready to die, and he was to grant fermented “wine” to people who are bitter and angry in their souls. This may seem like a great contrast to our last verse, but the idea is to give comfort to people who are hurting. God wants to be our source of comfort, and when we yield to His Son Jesus who died on the cross for our sins, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and teach us the value of medicinal care for our bodies and minds and a personal relationship with Him that brings comfort and peace that no other source provides. 

Next time Lemuel says, “let him drink, and forget his poverty”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".