Proverbs 31:3-9

Her counsel was that it is not wise for a king to make himself dependent on women (Proverbs 31:3) or wine (Proverbs 31:4-7).

"David’s lust for Bathsheba made him callous toward justice and cost Uriah his life, and Solomon’s many sexual partners made him callous toward pure and undefiled religion and incapable of real love. In other words, obsession with women has the same effect as obsession with liquor (Proverbs 31:5)." [Note: Waltke, The Book . . . 31, p. 507.]

The advice in Proverbs 31:6-7 is probably sarcastic, to point out the uselessness of intoxicants. [Note: Ibid., pp. 508-9.] Positively, a king should uphold justice, especially for those whom other people might take advantage of (Proverbs 31:8-9).

"It is the responsibility of the king to champion the rights of the poor and the needy, those who are left desolate by the cruelties of life (see 2 Samuel 14:4-11; 1 Kings 3:16-28; Psalms 45:3-5; Psalms 72:4; Isaiah 9:6-7)." [Note: Ross, p. 1128.]

"I think Proverbs 31:6-7 are spoken in irony and not as a commandment, because nobody’s problems are solved by forgetting them, and who wants to spend his or her last minutes of life on earth drunk? [cf. Matthew 27:33-34]." [Note: Wiersbe, p. 149.]