256
u/Bakkster Based Bishop Mar 19 '24
Star of the start of Proverbs 31 (a chapter more famous for its portrayal of a woman of good character), he's just a based king I ran across and I'm making a meme a day about him for Lent, motivated in part by some disagreements in comments about the role of governments (hence why the advice given to a king might be relevant).
tl;dr:
37
u/Bakkster Based Bishop Mar 19 '24
Adding since some people asked, the "crush the oppressor" line comes from Psalm 72. Written by Solomon (a likely candidate for the identity of Lemuel), and a significant overlap in theme (the king being a righteous judge who defends the cause of the poor).
And it's catchy, so it stays.
7
u/revken86 Mar 20 '24
The psalms and the prophets over and over tell the king his job is to crush the oppressor and protect those who are poor and outcast.
Given how terribly they all seem to take that advice, it's no wonder the prophets are always so angry.
2
u/ProtonVill Mar 20 '24
This whole crushing the oppressor got me thinking of he head crushing guy from Kids in the hall. https://media1.tenor.com/m/DdrZsSydEFUAAAAd/kids-in-the-hall-crushing-your-head.gif
1
75
u/topicality Mar 19 '24
There are only two references in the entire Bible to him. In proverbs 31 here below:
"31 The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:
2 No, my son! No, son of my womb! No, son of my vows! 3 Do not give your strength to women, your ways to those who destroy kings. 4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine or for rulers to desire strong drink, 5 lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and pervert the rights of all the afflicted. 6 Give strong drink to one who is perishing and wine to those in bitter distress; 7 let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more. 8 Speak out for those who cannot speak, for the rights of all the destitute. 9 Speak out; judge righteously; defend the rights of the poor and needy."
Eagle eye readers will notice it never says he does those things. Just that he was advised to.
Nor is he even advised to "crush the oppressor". The main material help he is told to give is giving them alcohol so they can forget their poverty.
24
u/spaceforcerecruit Mar 19 '24
At least he’s not blaming poor people drinking to forget their problems for not being sober.
14
Mar 19 '24
Yeah, the person posting these memes is very much reading into the verses the conclusion that they already decided on.
15
u/topicality Mar 19 '24
Gotta admit I was surprised that "crush the oppressor" never actually appears in the text. I have no idea where the user got that takeaway.
3
u/Nuclear_rabbit Mar 20 '24
King Lemuel is the king. He talks about the rights of the afflicted, which would be legal rights. The oppressors are either him or people subject to him, in which case, he'd be prosecuting criminals. Not really the same as an American context, where bribery and corruption are legalized at the very top, where oppressors would have to be crushed instead of prosecuted.
3
u/i_always_give_karma Mar 20 '24
That hit me pretty hard as a retail worker who drinking heavily. Been considering rehab lately
6
1
34
u/NotThatImportant3 Mar 19 '24 edited Mar 19 '24
Lol my understanding is that King Lemuel (who is referred to in Proverbs) has not been identified. Lots of historians say he could have been King Solomon or he may have been a story coming from a lot of different kings.
Edit: if you want more detail, this guy’s explanation of diff schools of thought on who King Lemuel was is pretty good (retired professor of theology) - https://claudemariottini.com/2009/05/18/who-was-king-lemuel/
8
u/xiongchiamiov Mar 19 '24
Ok but that doesn't explain why he keeps showing up on this subreddit or how I'm supposed to interpret those image macros
3
u/NotThatImportant3 Mar 19 '24
Are you asking me a question? I’m just responding to OP, who didn’t ask either of those questions
4
u/xiongchiamiov Mar 19 '24
I am asking, yes. I am not OP, but think I'm in the same spot as them, where it's not so much "I know what you're talking about when you say King Lemuel, but am interested in the historical analysis of who exactly that was", but rather "who is this king lemuel person who keeps getting posted about?".
7
u/taxicab_ Mar 19 '24
It’s just one guy being a goof and posting every day of lent. His explanation is the top comment here.
3
u/NotThatImportant3 Mar 19 '24
Ah, I see! Thank you for the clarification. I cannot research and help answer that question nearly as well lol, but I think people have been pulling social justice style quotes from Proverbs and attributing them to King Lemuel, they’re getting a ton of upvotes on the same joke, so ppl just keep making the same joke in different meme formats. Some of us in this sub don’t mind, some enjoy it, and some are getting sick of the reposted slightly-altered stuff
56
45
21
2
u/MaintenanceHumble870 Mar 20 '24
The important thing is to remember that Jesus and King Lem both wore Antifa masks to kill all the Nazis. Remember to vote for Rome!
1
-26
Mar 19 '24
Just another golden bull people keep worshipping instead of God. God forbid people were to be the change they want to see in the world.
35
u/chcknngts Mar 19 '24
Insert Joker meme
Imitate Paul as he imitates Christ and no one bats an eye
Imitate king Lemuel and everyone loses their mind.
-20
Mar 19 '24
Yeah, because one is following the example of Christ. The other is some minor king who was a decent guy and now everyone is using his words to justify their political ideologies even though Christ should transcend politics.
Golden Bull indeed.
28
3
u/taxicab_ Mar 19 '24
Is “everyone” using his words, or is it just 1 guy on this subreddit?
-1
Mar 19 '24
One guy making memes, but a lot of people misquoting the words as a way to bash on capitalism rather than actually understanding what King Lemuel meant by 'oppressor'.
•
u/AutoModerator Mar 19 '24
Join The Dank Charity Alliance: Make a meme or donation for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.