The Law of Your Mother
What is “the law of your mother”? That is the phrase Solomon uses in Proverbs 1:8. As he begins his foray into wisdom and wise sayings, Solomon first reminds his son about his responsibility not to forsake the law of his mother. He does not go on to say specifically what this phrase means, but we can surmise what his intentions were.
The phrase “law of your mother” can have two meanings, it seems to me. First, it can refer to “the law” as described by God the creator of motherhood. God designed the family and desires for there to be mothers in each family. He has the right and has exercised that right to decide how mothers should be treated. Throughout the book of Proverbs, Solomon calls his son’s attention to his treatment of his mother. He told Solomon not to despise his mother—15:20. He told him not to cause his mother grief—10:1. He was also instructed not to bring shame to her—29:15.
Second, this phrase could also have reference to “the law” as laid down by one’s mother. Not all mothers do things exactly the same way. Children should not look at the way other mothers do things and expect their own mother to do things that same way. Just because something is done differently in your friend’s house does not mean that they should be done the same way in your house. It is probably true that those children are looking at your mother and wishing that their house was like yours. The grass always looks greener in someone else’s yard.
But, there is another way to look at motherhood. God said, “Let Us make in our image according to Our likeness…” (Genesis 1:26). If God made both man and woman in His likeness, can we not learn about God’s likeness from them? We all know that men and women have different natures given to them by God. So, what do those natures teach us about God. We will learn from fatherhood later. But for now, what do we learn about God from motherhood? I want you to consider with me some things about God from what Solomon reveals to his son in his instructions to him about “the law of your mother.”
A good mother treats each of her children specially, as if each of them was an only child. Solomon said he was “tender and the only one in the sight of his mother.” (Proverbs 4:3). We know she had 3 other children (I Chronicles 3:5). I wonder if each of them felt special by the way she treated them. God wants a personal relationship with us—one-on-one, special.
A good mother wants to be there for your whole life and wants to rejoice in your life. “…do not despise your mother when she is old…let her who bore you rejoice.” (Proverbs 23:22, 25). God’s wants a relationship with us that lasts for a lifetime. He wants to rejoice in our life with Him.
A good mother wants a disciplined child. “The rod and rebuke give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.” (Proverbs 29:15). God, too, wants us to be disciplined people.
A good mother teaches her children. King Lemuel (although we don’t know exactly who he was) wrote the words of Proverbs 31. In the first verse, we learn that he wrote what his mother taught him. God wants us to learn from Him. Good mothers show us much about who God is.
— Mike Johnson
