Proverbs 31:8, 9 says....

Today's verses are Proverbs 31:8, 9 which read,

Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all the unfortunate.  Open your mouth, judge righteously, and defend the rights of the afflicted and needy.

The wise mother has spoken to King Lemuel, traditionally thought of as Solomon, about holiness in the area of sexual purity and the honoring of God's definition of marriage and then the area of sobriety in regards to alcohol or other substances that would cloud judgment.  Now she focuses on the compassion of the king for the mute, unfortunate, afflicted and needy.  

The king has a responsibility to speak for those who cannot physically or are so wounded by physical or emotional events that the right is defended for them when they hindered from doing it themselves.  I have been in those situations when someone has been so rocked by a life experience that they don't know what to do next or maybe they want to do something rash that would make it worse.  You or I might be used by God to speak God's words of wisdom to follow when they can't think of them or need a voice to give them the next holy step to take.  

I can't help but look at these verses and think of the unborn.  The events in Texas at the church in Sutherland Springs is the most recent.  One of the victims was a mother who was 8 months pregnant.  She was carrying one who didn't have a voice.  The count of those who were deceased was given nationally as 26, because under Texas law the unborn are also counted, a mouth for the mute.  38 other states also respond this way and call the unborn a human child to be counted and not forgotten.  

The command is given twice to "open your mouth."  I know I have been guilty of standing silent when I should have said something in light of God's word.  I have been guilty of not offering help when I was capable of doing something for someone in need.  I confess that I didn't speak and didn't move probably because of selfish reasons.  I didn't want to get involved or I didn't want the responsibility of carrying the weight of what was right for another for a time.

This is the king's responsibility.  He is a king of all the people of his kingdom.  The rich and the poor, the healthy and the unhealthy, the white collar and the blue collar, the many colors of our skin, the high class, middle class, and the low class for these are all his subjects.  The laws of the land apply to them all for their protection and there will be times when he will speak for them in their most dyer circumstances.  He will judge righteously when others are speaking otherwise or avoiding the issue all together.  He will step forward and defend because each life, each soul is precious to him.  

Doesn't that so much sound like God and Jesus.  We come to Him with so many qualifiers of who we are by the world's standards but we are an equal subject to Him in regards to our souls.  Jesus steps in to speak for us for we have nothing to say in regards to our sin to justify it on our own behalf.  We are afflicted and needy of a Savior who speaks for us as repentant sinners.  1 Timothy 2:5 and 6 says,

For there is one God and one mediator between God and humanity, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, a testimony at the proper time.

One last note about this passage is the mentioning of the mute and I think of the unborn but the second part of that verse is for the rights of all the unfortunate which is literally "all the sons of passing away."  The other part of our society that gets taken advantage is the other end of the spectrum of life, the elderly, the passing away.  God knew we needed instruction on how we are to treat those from conception to the grave.  We speak for them as an example of He who has spoken for us and He who we are following after.  May we be bold in the Lord to open our mouths with His words and extend our hands with His love when the Holy Spirit taps us on the shoulder to say or do something for those in need physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  Let us pray.

"Lord, how many times I have been silent.  Please forgive me.  Lord, how many times I have not moved.  Please forgive me.  Lord, how many times I have felt Your nudge to respond but I have resisted against it for selfish reasons.  Please forgive me.  I have missed the blessings of You because I didn't follow Your lead.  I pray to receive some blessings today only because they come to those who actually follow what You say and do what You do.  Amen."

Pastor Adam