Proverbs 14:3 In the mouth of the foolish is a ROD of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them.

Your Tongue Will Bless Or Whip You

God calls His children to be faithful witnesses. A faithful witness speaks the truth of God’s Word in love.

Word Study: Here God speaks of the tongue of the prideful being a ROD. What does He mean? In the ancient world the “ROD” was used for both self defense as well as punishment. In the 23^rd Psalm David wrote:

Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Word Study: The Shepherd carried a “STAFF” (Hebrew mašʿēnâ) with a crook in its end by which he could pull errant sheep out of the mud, out of ditches and briers. He also carried the “ROD” (Hebrew šēḇeṭ, pronounced shay’-bet) to strike at poisonous snakes and other creatures that might harm the sheep.

Word Study: The same word used for the “ROD” of fighting or punishment is also used for the “SCEPTER” that the King held in his hand.

Genesis 49:10 The SCEPTER (šēḇeṭ) shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

The King of a nation has within his authority to punish the evil doer and the miscreant. The Messiah, Jesus Christ, was prophesied as the “Star out of Jacob, and a SCEPTER (šēḇeṭ) shall rise out of Israel” (Numbers 24:17). God sometimes referred to groups of people as “RODS” (šēḇeṭ), or “tribes”. God used Israel as if the nation was a “ROD” to move into Canaan, to chase out the idolaters, and to spread the Light of The Lord. When God spoke the Davidic Covenant to King David He said of the Kings of Israel:

2 Samuel 7:14 I will be his {the King’s} father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod (šēḇeṭ) of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:

Proverbs 14:3 In the mouth of the foolish is a rod (šēḇeṭ) of pride

The ROD was used to attack, to punish, to inflict harm or death. The Prideful have in their mouths A ROD. They use that ROD to hurt others, to slander, to belittle. In time, that which they arrogantly speak apart from the Word of God will come back to them, and punish them. A person who carelessly and pridefully speaks will eventually face the consequence of their arrogance. The stepbrother of Christ wrote:

James 3:5-6 (ESV) … the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.

Matthew Henry wrote in his commentary:

“The proud man with his tongue lays about him and deals blows at pleasure, but it will in the end be a rod to himself; the proud man shall come under an ignominious correction by the words of his own mouth, not cut as a soldier, but caned as a servant; and herein he will be beaten with his own rod.”

In contrast, God tells us that the Child of God, motivated and instructed by Scripture, are preserved by their tongues:

Proverbs 14:3 … but the lips of the wise shall preserve them.

The Wise person monitors their tongue, and speaks to truth in love. The Christ Follower loves the Word of God, and lives by His Word. When attacked by the prideful the Wise do as Jesus did – they control their tongues. When Jesus was slandered:

1 Peter 2:23 (KJV) {Jesus}, when He was reviled, REVILED NOT AGAIN; when He suffered, HE THREATENED NOT; but committed Himself to Him {our Heavenly Father} that judgeth righteously

Attacks do not surprise the Children of God. We expect them. Jesus told us that they were coming. The Puritan Preacher Jonathan Edwards wrote in his book, Charity and Its Fruits:

“Men that have their spirits heated and enraged and rising in bitter resentment when they are injured act as if they thought some strange thing had happened to them. Whereas they are very foolish in so thinking for it is no strange thing at all but only what was to be expected in a world like this. They therefore do not act wisely that allow their spirits to be ruffled by the injuries they suffer”.

Pastor R.C. Sproul of Ligonier Ministries wrote that we are to bear all things with joy, patience, love and gentleness. He writes:

“This kind of response is required of all of us because the Christian life is about the imitation of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). We are being molded into His image, so we are to strive to live as He lived. Our Lord was slandered and falsely accused of all kinds of offenses, but He opened not His mouth in protest (Isaiah 53:7). Like a lamb, He accepted these vitriolic attacks, and, in the very moment of His passion, He prayed for the forgiveness of those who were attacking Him (Luke 23:34). This is how we are called to react to our enemies (1 Peter 4:13). Therefore, every false accusation, every slander, every ill word spoken about me is an opportunity for me to grow in my sanctification.”

There Is No Blessing Without A Little Mess

I love this parable, because it speaks so loudly to our age:

Proverbs 14:4 (KJV) Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.

In America today we are drifting toward SOCIALISM and away from CAPITALISM. Socialism attempts to give everyone an equal share, regardless as to their personal input into the process. Socialism says “give everyone healthcare, everyone a guaranteed paycheck, everyone “equity”. This is contrary to the CAPITALIST doctrine of the Scripture,

2 Thessalonians 3:10 (NKJV) … If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.

Many humans want our blessings to come to us wrapped up, pretty, and full of joy and happiness. But we know that, in life, for progress to come, there must be inconvenience and some suffering. There must be work. There must be suffering.

Illustrate: We have had several in our congregation who had hip surgery because they broke a hip. To replace the hip, the skin must be cut. The old must be taken out, and the new installed. The flesh must be sewed up, and healing must take place. There is suffering in the aftermath of surgery, and more suffering when you go through rehabilitation. You may not want to get up and walk. It may be easier to lay about, and watch television all day – to hide out from your responsibilities. But there’s an old saying:

No pain, no gain!

If you want a crop, and want to enjoy a harvest of corn, you must plow the field, and weed the rows. You cannot procrastinate or put off the hard so that you can coast. Many a person has coasted their way to the grave.

Proverbs14:4 (KJV) Where no oxen are, the crib is clean…

You never need to worry about cleaning up or “mucking out” the stalls if you have no oxen. In the ancient world, oxen were used to both till the ground as well as grind the corn. If you have no oxen, you need not plant nor gather hay for the creatures. You do not need to carry water to them, or take them down to the river. Without oxen you do not need to inspect them for parasites, nor clean up their excrement. The stall is nice and neat …

…. but you have no blessing for your table,
nor money in your bank account.

If you lay about in your chair, day after day, complaining about what you do not have, hiding from the pain, you’ll never get any blessing. Get up and go – or else they will throw dirt on you!

Control your tongue. Stop murmuring, whining, and complaining. A negative attitude blames others and tends to procrastination. Get up, and seek an oxen and a blessing. Once you get the oxen, tend to it. Work the field. Some inherit oxen, but shy from doing what is necessary to keep the oxen healthy and alive. In time the stall is empty, and clean – but so is your table and your belly empty and clean.

Proverbs 14:4 … but much increase is by the strength of the ox.

Yes, it is inconvenient to do the hard work of tending to the oxen. But the ox has something you do not have – strength to pull that plow, power to grind that meal or pull that stump. You say, “But we don’t use oxen today”. No, we use tractors, and cars, and trucks. Vehicles require maintenance. You have to put gas in them, even if its cold and rainy outside. You have to change their oil, and pay a mechanic to tune them up, and fix them when they are not what they should be. You have to pay taxes on your vehicles, buy tags. You need insurance. You have to wash them, clean them out, maintain them.

A lazy person has nothing. What about the lazy Church? A lazy Church will lose all it has in time. You have to get up, work, and do the difficult so that the greater can be achieved. The Enduring Word Commentary notes:

“This is an important principle when it comes to church life and Christian community. There are some who, out of good intentions, are obsessed with making sure there is never any kind of “mess” to address among believers. Each and every expression of spiritual life must be hyper-regulated and suspiciously watched with the expectation of grave error. Not only is this an offense against Christian liberty, but it also creates an environment where, spiritually speaking, there is little increase – because no one will tolerate any mess in the trough”.

Growth requires discomfort, moving out of your comfort zone in following the Lord Jesus. We cannot hire it done. We must be willing to do the labor.

Faithful Witnesses Speak The Truth In Love

Proverbs 14:5 (KJV) A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.

Jesus called His disciples – those who are saved by faith in Him – to be “My witnesses”:

Acts 1:8 (ESV) … you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be MY WITNESSES in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth

What type of “WITNESS” are we to be? We are to be “FAITHFUL WITNESSES”. The Bible uses the phrase “FAITHFUL WITNESS” not just here in Proverbs, but in other Scriptures to describe that state. We are told in:

Psalm 89:37 (ESV) Like the moon it shall be established forever, a faithful witness in the skies.

Go Deep: God refers to the “MOON” as “A FAITHFUL WITNESS” in the skies. The Moon does not have its own light, but reflects the light of the sun (S-U-N) back to the earth. The Christ follower as a faithful witness does not possess his own light. We reflect the light of the Son (S-O-N), the Son of God, to the world around us. We cling to the Word of God as God presented it. We do not add to, nor take away, ever conscious of the Biblical warning:

Revelation 22:7, 18-19 (ESV) And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book. …. 18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

The “FAITHFUL WITNESS” cherishes and hears the Word of God. We receive that Word, and present it as it is given without twisting or turning it. It is God’s Word. Our God is a Faithful Witness:

Jeremiah 42:5 (KJV) … The LORD be a TRUE AND FAITHFUL WITNESS between us …

His Word is Truth (John 17:17). When our Lord Jesus came to this earth, He told His disciples:

John 14:10 (KJV) … the words that I speak unto you I SPEAK NOT OF MYSELF: but the Father that dwelleth in Me, HE DOETH THE WORKS.

Jesus did not come to this earth, making up a new Word from God. He spoke the Words that the Father gave Him (John 12:49-50). Jesus is called “THE FAITHFUL WITNESS”:

Revelation 1:5 (KJV) … Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness …

You will be tested: What do you do if someone comes up to you and asks belligerently, “Do you really think that anyone who doesn’t believe the way you believe is going to hell?” The faithful witness explains, just as Jesus did, that “the words I speak do not come from my opinion. I believe the Bible. I believe in Jesus. And I believe what Jesus said:

John 14:6 (KJV) Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

When I speak to people like this, I am not trying to win an argument. I am not trying to not hurt their feelings, nor do I want to hurt their feelings. I do not take their attack personally, but cling to the Scripture knowing that:

Proverbs 14:3 In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them.

The false witness does not respect life, nor the person that they are talking to. If we believe the Bible is true, and believe that there is a hell and a lake of fire for those who reject Jesus as Lord and Savior, then we must speak this truth in love. We want to “preserve them”. We want to lead people from eternal damnation and toward genuine faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Proverbs 14:5 (KJV) A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.

Be Biblically Based: Another objection (and there are many by the world) to Christianity is “I am as good as any Christian”. The faithful witness will respond, “You’re absolutely right. The Bible tells us that, without Christ, all of mankind is corrupt and filthy in God’s eyes”. The Psalmist said:

Psalm 14:3 … there is NONE WHO DOES GOOD, no, not one …

Our best good is not good enough. This is why Jesus said, “There is NONE GOOD BUT GOD” (Matthew 19:17; Mark 10:18). Human good falls short of the glory of God. We all need to receive Jesus Christ as both Lord and Savior. I have had people say, “How do you explain the atrocities that the Church committed over the years, like the Great Crusades or turning a blind eye to the extermination of the Jews in Nazi Germany”? My response is that the Church during those times was a false witness who uttered lies.

The State organized Church with its Catholic State Endorsed Bishops, Arch Bishops and Popes departed from the Word of God and Jesus Christ in order to satisfy self pride and the flesh.

The Protestant Church of England, in order to justify the King’s selfish divorces, became a false witness. Many Churches today are false witnesses because of wolves in sheep clothing leading the flock.

Some preachers today tell people that you can be saved by Jesus, and yet live like a child of hell. They are false witnesses who speak lies. When you receive Jesus Christ, you receive Him as He is: both Savior and LORD. Jesus came to save us from SIN (Matthew 1:21).

God has always had a remnant who have cherished His Word and stood by it. When the Prophet Elijah, discouraged by the incessant attacks of Jezebel against his ministry, ran away from Mount Carmel to die in the wilderness – God told him:

1 Kings 19:18 (KJV) Yet I have left Me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.

Beloved, God has a remnant that are faithful witnesses to Him. You do not stand alone. Do not compromise the Word of God in order to drift in the cesspool of Satan’s world. Stay true to God’s Word. Read it, study it, and hide in it.

Stand Firm In The Gospel Truth, Even If It Costs Friends and Family

Proverbs 14:6-7 A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not: but knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth. 7 Go from the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge.

You cannot please the scorner. They will not hear the truth of God’s Word. Speak the Word of God in love, prayerfully, in hope that all who hear will come to the Lord and be saved. The Scorner, the mocker will never find wisdom, for they will not seek it where it can be found.

Wisdom is found in God’s Word. Wisdom is found through the revelation of God’s Holy Spirit.

Jesus told us:

Matthew 7:7 (ESV) Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you

Ask Who? If you ask the world, you will not find the truth, for the world clings to whatever feels good at the time. God withholds nothing from those who will come to Him in faith. The Bible says:

Psalm 84:11 (KJV) For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

God loves to give Grace. He loves to save souls. He loves to bless His children. God is not a Heavenly Miser, a spiritual Ebeneezer Scrooge. He wants to bless us. But we must come surrendered to Him. We must receive what He gives us in His Word. And that’s not popular in our world today.

Speak the truth in love. But if they will not receive it, we are told:

Proverbs 14:7 Go from the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge.

Jesus told us in Luke 9:5 (KJV) … whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.

I’ve heard preachers say that they weep over the lost. I’m sorry, but I don’t. I speak the truth as clear and as poignantly simple to the Scripture as possible. I pray over the lost. But no, I don’t weep. Maybe that’s wrong. But it’s your choice. If you choose hell over Heaven, even after I plainly tell you the Way to Heaven is surrendered faith in Christ Jesus, then that’s your choice. I hate that you chose that way – its not on me, but on you.

If you are a Christian, be a faithful witness. Pilate sought to wash the Blood of Christ from his hands (Matthew 27:24) rather than standing on what he knew was true. In time, Pilate lost his governorship, and Rome its empire, because the judge who should have known better sarcastically compromised truth (“What is truth?”, John 18:38).

Our nation will fall if we do not raise up the standard of truth, if we as Christians do not speak God’s Word without flinching. I close with these warning words:

Isaiah 59:13-15 (ESV) … transgressing, and denying the Lord, and turning back from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words. 14 Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has stumbled in the public squares, and uprightness cannot enter. 15 Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. The Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice …

May God touch your hearts with His Word.