Proverbs 29:15

PROVERB PRACTICALS

Proverbs 29:15, The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.

(A rod, not the hand, not a belt, not a paddle, not a board, not a slat, not anything fashioned by man)

The Apostle Peter was very familiar with the wiles of the devil for he knew firsthand his ways of corruption.

Remember Jesus telling Peter that he was doing the works of the devil when He told Peter, get behind me Satan, as Peter tried to hinder Jesus’ march to the cross.

So Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit wrote in I Peter 5:8, Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

This is the picture we are to have in our minds of that great deceiver, that one who is not only a liar, but that one who is called the Lie.

For he goes about devouring as a lion devours and his appetite is especially for the young and the tender.

His emphases in the hunt is toward the children, toward the youth, toward the teenager.

So it is paramount to endow our children with weapons to defend themselves from the roaring lion and the weapon that God provides is His Holy Word.

Children do not come into this world fully equipped to understand the language of God’s word but God has given a tool which is a primer tool that is to be used to bring children to God’s word.

But before a child is brought to His word there is to be an intermediate step in the process and that is the step of obedience to his or her parent’s word.

Paul in Ephesians 6:1, told of this intermediate step when he said to children, Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

We are told in scripture: Let all things be done decently and in order.

So this is the order of things that will bring a child to obey God’s word.

And that order starts with the rod and reproof.

Get things out of God’s order of things and you can expect different results.

Now In Exodus 4:2 the LORD asked Moses: What is that in thine hand?

And he said, A rod. Moses used a rod as a tool in the business of shepherding.

But God entered into a partnership with Moses in the use of that rod and told him to cast it to the ground and God transformed it into a serpent.

God, using Moses and Aaron, took that same rod and swallowed up the rods of Pharaoh's wise men and sorcerers of Egypt.

God used that rod in the hand of Moses to smite the waters of the rivers and the streams, and ponds, and upon all the pools of water and the waters were turned to blood.

The Lord told Moses to stretch forth his rod toward heaven calling thunder and hail and fire to rain upon the land of Egypt.

That rod, as a tool of God in the hand of an obedient servant, was used to divide the sea to provide safe passage for His people.

Moses misused the rod at the desert of Zin when he was told to take the rod and speak to the rock to give forth water.

But Moses smote the rock twice instead of speaking to it as commanded by the LORD.

And for this unbelief Numbers 20:12 tells us, ...the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.

On this occasion the rod was to be present but only speech was to be used to get water from the rock.

What a lesson this is in voice obedience.

The rod was used up to a point but it was used only until voice obedience was gained.

So the principle that the Bible teaches concerning the rod is a principle of partnership with God in its use.

God gives us the gift of the rod but it is only to be used in accordance with the word of God for it’s use outside the word of God is vain.

It is not to be used for our own purposes or for our own glory or pleasure but we are to use it knowing that the ultimate use of the rod is to be for God's glory.

And that includes the use of the rod in the chastening of a child.

The rod has to be dedicated to God if the use of the rod is to produce God desired results for the rod is a holy thing when it is separated unto God.

And God's word commands the use of the rod.

God's word says that sparing the rod indicates a hatred for the son.

God's word tells us that a rod will drive foolishness from the child.

God's word promises that the use of the rod will not result in the death of the child.

God's word tells us that the use of the rod will result in deliverance of the child from Hell.

There is no other physical object mentioned in scripture that delivers from Hell but a rod.

God is saying that a little pain now will deliver from the greatest of pain later.

Another thing about the rod is that it is the only physical object mentioned in scripture that along with reproof gives wisdom.

The world despises the rod because God so elevates the rod.

But part of the Christian’s distinctiveness is in its use toward a child being taught obedience.

Our Pastor has spoken about Christian distinctiveness lately and it is easy to see that obedience to God’s word in training our children by the use of the rod is so very distinctive from the world as the world condemns this practice as almost barbaric.

But as usual the world knows not the word of God and has no use for wisdom and the rod’s connection with wisdom.

In its condemnation it equates Biblical use of the rod with all kinds of abuses to children done in manners that do not conform to God’s word.

It is like calling for the abolition of all automobiles because there are a few abuses of them.

But this is Satan’s way for He is the author of confusion and he presents all kinds of extremes in order to suppress God’s truth.

Now Moses misused his rod on occasion and was rebuked by God for disobeying his word but God did not take away the rod.

So a God directed rod has power and God directs you and I as he did Moses to use the rod in accordance with his word.

If we do not use the rod we will, as Moses, reap the consequences of our disobedience.

For as we read in our Proverb 29:15, The rod and reproof give wisdom: .....but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.

Go anywhere and you will see this proverb lived out in the lives of mothers.

So we are not to deprive our children from the great benefits that the rod brings.

A child suffering from (rod deprivation syndrome) "RDS" is a miserable creature.

A child neglected from intimate contact with the rod is a child that is hated by his or her mother.

For the Bible tells us that a child that does not receive the rod is a child left to himself.

It is a child left to himself no matter how close physically the mother is, no matter how much the child is hugged and caressed.

God directs the use of the rod and reproof for a purpose.

God directs children to obey their parents in the Lord, for this is right.

Children are not to be left to themselves in learning obedience.

Parents are given to the child to teach obedience to their word.

Therefore parents guard what you say and mean what you say lest your word become worthless.

You should never say you are going to do something when you know you will not do such a thing.

Parents are to elevate their word as preeminent in the household.

Because this elevation of their word is to be their introduction to the child of the Word of God as preeminent.

In other words the rod and reproof are to be used to teach obedience to the word of the mother and the father.

And this instruction is to have as its ultimate result obedience to the word of God.

The primary use of the rod and reproof is not behavior modification although that is a result of obedience.

But the primary purpose is to gain an internal result, a result of the heart and not simply external behavior changes.

The world's message of behavioral change abhors the rod because the world only desires the outward.

This is the spirit of error of Satan’s world's system which preaches satisfaction with outward change.

The world is satisfied with whited sepulchers and cares nothing about what is inside.

The world is satisfied to provide a mask of a smiling face regardless of the rebellion of the heart.

The world is satisfied with hypocrisy for hypocrisy occupies its highest throne.

We live in the age where the world luxuriates in the perfection of hypocrisy.

And that is why the world is satisfied with behavior.

Samuel said to Saul who spared Agag and many of the best from the herds.

I Samuel 15:22, ……. Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

The world specializes in the outward of sacrifice but the Lord specializes in the inward of obedience.

His word is designed to accomplish that!

And he enters into partnership with you in the use of the rod and reproof.

He says use the rod and reproof and I will bless it. I give you my word.

The rod is a God given tool that should bring a child to obedience very soon in life.

The rod is the communicator to the child that the parents word is preeminent even before the child is able to understand the words of the parent.

The rod is the work of the parent that is to lead a child to the word of the parent just as the works of Christ are to lead us to believe his word!

Child, if you do not believe my word or are incapable of knowing words, then I must apply a work to you which will point you to my word, and that work is applied by the rod.

Did not Jesus do the same with his disciples when he pointed them to his works because they did not fully believe his word?

Child, once you believe my word the rod has done its work and I no longer need the work of the rod.

The rod points to the word of the parent as the authority just as the Holy Spirit of God points to Jesus Christ as the Word of God.

The rod like the Holy Spirit, reproves of sin, shows righteousness, and shows judgment.

This is much more than behavior modification, isn't it.

The world would have you throw away the rod and reproof, and instead use time outs, talks, hugs, persuasion, begging, crying, bribes or guilt, none of which I can find in God’s word for the purpose of rearing a child.

But the world's motive is simply behavior modification.

Behavior is doing what is profitable, Mom and Dad will like me, society will accept me.

But proper behavior does not equal righteousness.

Righteousness is doing right as defined by the word of God.

The authority for righteousness is the Bible but the authority for behavior is man.

There are all kinds of behaviors in this world including all kinds of perversions that are thought of as good.

Behaviors changes but God’s word never changes.

Parents, forget about behavior and concentrate your energy on obedience training.

With obedience to a parent who believes the word of God the right behavior in the child will definitely follow because you will have a wise child who is capable of making wise choices.

He or she will do right by faith, will do right to please God.

He may ask, Why do I have to do this Mama?

The answer is simply "Because I said so, son.

God gave me the right to command you, as it says in:

Ephesians 6:1, Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. It is a righteous act to obey!

God made me the authority over you and I am obeying God’s command and I expect you to first obey me on your way to obeying God.

Parents you are to establish your word in your children as if it is from God and in the early years the rod is given to you as a tool is given to get to the desired result.

And the desired result is wisdom, Jesus Christ being its personification.

For Proverbs 29:15 says, The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.

Proverbs 29:15, The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.

In Exodus 4:2 the LORD asked Moses: What is that in thine hand?

And he said, A rod. Moses used a rod as a tool in the business of shepherding.

But God entered into a partnership with Moses in the use of that rod and told him to cast it to the ground and God transformed it into a serpent.

God, using Moses and Aaron, took that same rod and swallowed up the rods of Pharaoh's wise men and sorcerers of Egypt.

God used that rod in the hand of Moses to smite the waters of the rivers and the streams, and ponds, and upon all the pools of water and the waters were turned to blood.

The LORD continued to use that rod in the hand of Aaron to cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt.

And by that rod smiting the dust of the land, that dust became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.

The Lord told Moses to stretch forth his rod toward heaven and the Lord sent thunder and hail.

The fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt by Moses stretching forth that rod.

That rod, used in partnership with God, commanded the east wind to serve God in bringing the locusts to plague the land of Egypt.

That rod as a tool of God in the hand of an obedient servant was used to divide the sea.

That divided sea provided safe passage for the children of Israel to go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.

God told Moses to smite the rock in Horeb with that same rod and out of that rock came water to give to the people that murmured against Moses.

And Moses lifted up the rod of God in his hands in the fight against Amalek and Israel prevailed as long as his hands with the rod were uplifted.

Moses misused the rod at the desert of Zin when he was told to take the rod and speak to the rock to give forth water.

But Moses smote the rock twice instead of speaking to it as commanded by the LORD.

On this occasion the rod was to be present but only speech was to be used to get water from the rock.

Moses used the rod outside of the word of God and he suffered for it.

Moses used the rod in a fleshly way attempting to gather glory for himself when he said:

"Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?"

God intended that he be sanctified in the eyes of the children of Israel but Moses took it upon himself to smote the rock like he had done at Horeb thereby disobeying the word of God.

So the principle that the Bible teaches concerning the rod is a principle of partnership with God in its use.

God gives us the gift of the rod but it is only to be used in accordance with the word of God.

Its use outside the word of God is vain.

It is not to be used for our own purposes or for our own glory or pleasure.

The ultimate use of the rod is to be for God's glory.

And that includes the use of the rod in the chastening of a child.

The rod has to be dedicated to God if the use of the rod is to produce God desired results.

The rod is a holy thing when it is separated unto God.

A separated rod is dedicated to God if it is used in accord with God's word.

And God's word commands the use of the rod.

God's word says that sparing the rod indicates a hatred for the son.

God's word tells us that a rod will drive foolishness from the child.

God's word promises that the use of the rod will not result in the death of the child.

God's word tells us that the use of the rod will result in deliverance of the child from Hell.

There is no other physical object mentioned in scripture that delivers from Hell but a rod.

And the rod is the only physical object mentioned in scripture that along with reproof gives wisdom.

If ever there were to be something physical to be worshipped it should be a rod.

If the Israelites made idols shaped like a rod perhaps their worship of idols would have been understandable.

Because a God directed rod has power and God directs you and I as he did Moses to use the rod in accordance with his word.

If we do not use the rod we will, as Moses, reap the consequences of our disobedience.

For as we read in Proverbs 29:15, The rod and reproof give wisdom: .....but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.

A child suffering from "RDS" (rod deprivation syndrome) is a miserable creature.

A child neglected from intimate contact with the rod is a child that is hated by its mother.