Proverbs 31:3 Commentary and Bible Study

A king has opportunity to sin like no other person. An ancient, sovereign king could sin and none could question him. He was above the law; he was the law, and therefore a corrupt king could make laws that gave him everything he wanted. If his lust turned in the direction of womanising, then who could stop him? It was a matter of power. But Israel’s kings ruled under the law of God, and to that, they were also subject. God gave them their throne, and while the people were accountable to the king and his laws, the king in turn was accountable to the Most High God. From its formation as a nation Israel was taught to worship the Lord and to obey him, and that obedience was clearly defined. Kings were no different to anyone else, so that Scripture praises or condemns them according to how they lived. They knew that from the time of creation, God had ordained marriage between one man and one woman as the central relationship of society, and although polygamy was practiced in Old Testament times, even by those who believed in God, it was never what God wanted and therefore when Christ came into the world, he restored the original monogamous marriage bond for his disciples.The king’s mother teaches what is in line with this divine standard: ‘Give not thy strength unto women’ – do not be a womaniser, who can never be satisfied with the wife God has given, but always lets his eye rove. The king has responsibilities to his people to govern them with wisdom and justice. But if his mind is perpetually pursuing his lusts, then he has no strength, no thinking and planning energy, to rule his kingdom. His emotions are swept one way and another and he is forever chasing after fantasies. He has lost the ability to form a deep and trusting relationship with the one woman that God has given him. This will inevitably destroy him, even if only at the level of his integrity and honour. Solomon brought shame on his throne by his pursuit of many women, and although we believe he was brought to repentance at the end of his life and this passage in Proverbs comes from after his recovery, his relationship with his God and with his people was harmed greatly by this sin for a time. He ignored the message of the word of God even though it also came to him from his own mother.