The word "strength" here is referring to wealth. Is Lemuel's mother saying never to buy anything for any girl ever? No, we see in the next words she speaks of the kind of woman she is warning her son about: "those who ruin kings." She tells her son not to waste his "vigor" ("conduct" or "way of life") on such a woman (The Strongest NIV Exhaustive Concordance).
What kind of woman ruins kings? An obvious example we have is Jezebel in 1 Kings. Her husband, Ahab, was a shell of a man because of her evil ways and her firm grip on him.
"Jezebel is fiercely independent and intensely ambitious for pre-eminence and control...Jezebel, literally translated, means 'without cohabitation.' This simply means she refuses 'to live together' or 'co-habit' with anyone. Jezebel will not dwell with anyone unless she can control and dominate the relationship. When she seems submissive or 'servant-like,' it is only for the sake of gaining some strategic advantage. From her heart, she yields to no one" (Francis Frangipane, The Three Battlegrounds p. 112).
A given component of Jezebel is her immorality but the motive behind her seduction is not simply for seduction's sake; "immorality is not the issue; control is what she seeks" (Frangipane, p. 113).
"There is a spirit which works with Jezebel. The effect of this demon is that it floods the soul of a man with weakness and fear...When Ahab was king, Jezebel ruled. The man who cannot govern his household in godly, protective authority will not exercise his spiritual authority elsewhere" (Frangipane, p. 132, 133).
Ahab was Jezebel's puppet and with the flash of her make-upped eyes he was mesmerized to follow her down paths of ruin. He allowed her to help him lead the sons of Israel to worship the Baal's and Asherah instead of their God. The result was utter destruction. Not only were the false prophets of Baal executed, but Ahab and Jezebel suffered gruesome ends as well. There is a high price to pay for joining lives with those who walk according to what is right in their own eyes--a price Lemuel's mother says he cannot afford to pay.
We hope one day our children will marry a godly husband/wife. Let's not assume this will happen because they grow up in Christian homes. Pray for their future spouse. Pray that they will have discernment concerning motives in their relationships. Our children are sons and daughters of the King, but even kings can be led astray if their heart strings are attached to the wrong person with impure motives.
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