Episode Transcript
For God willing, we'll be expounding verse 13 tonight.
Proverbs chapter 10 verse 13, the title of the message tonight is the rod and the scepter.
The rod and the scepter.
Now before we go any further, does everyone know what a scepter is?
All right.
I think we have some that don't.
So a scepter is, if you've ever seen a king on his throne, and he's got that staff in his hand, like a little crown on top of it like that, that little staff in his hand is the scepter.
All right.
And it represents the authority of the crown.
So, and you'll see the scepter in the Bible too.
You'll see that.
So in verse 13, I absolutely love these little short Proverbs.
And I'm so thankful that God led me to teach through the book of Proverbs because it's got such a wide variety of life issues that it covers in here.
And it's so practical and so revealing and wonderful.
And I look forward to diving back into them tonight in verse 13.
If you look there, it says, "In the lips of him.
" In the lips of him.
And we're going to pause right there because I want to break this down a little further than what perhaps we normally would.
Tonight Solomon is turning our focus to a man's lips.
And what he means by that is particularly to what a man says, his words.
And words are critical to human life.
God has chosen to reveal himself to us, how?
By words.
And he's given us the ability to reveal our hearts to other people, how?
Through words.
Even as you're listening to my words tonight about God's words.
I mean, words are a big deal.
A man's lips convey his thoughts, his beliefs, his passions, his convictions.
And this year the Republican candidates have been lining up and they've been having debates.
And they've been competing for our support.
And to do this, we have to listen to what their lips have to say.
And what they've been doing on the television interviews.
Trying to get people to listen to what their lips have to say.
Why?
Because they want to convey to us their ideas and hopefully gain our support all based on the words of their lips.
And since Solomon is drawing our attention to a man's lips tonight, then we need to know that God is drawing our attention to what men have to say.
In Matthew 12, verse 37, Jesus said, "A man's words are a very big deal.
" Here's the kingdom truth for you tonight.
"A man's words portray a man's character.
" "A man's words portray a man's character.
" Again, as Jesus said, "By your words you'll be justified, by your words you'll be condemned.
" Yes, a man can lie with his lips.
But if you listen well enough, his character will eventually be found out.
Would you agree with that?
Yeah.
And tonight Solomon is specifically talking to us about a man's lips.
Look back in your text.
A man's lips that hath understanding.
That hath understanding.
Meaning a man who understands the will of God.
A man who understands the way God has created the heavens and the earth.
His will for man, his design for man.
That's a man who has understanding.
And remember the story of Joseph, if you would tonight.
Joseph, remember he was in Egypt.
He was in prison.
He was sold by his brothers, put in prison by a potter for.
And then suddenly he's called up out of prison, how he's standing before Pharaoh.
And here's Joseph there.
And he interpreted Pharaoh's dream and he warned him about the drought, the famine that was going to come.
And Pharaoh knew based on his dreams and based on Joseph's interpretation of those dreams, he knew that he would need a man who understood what to do when that famine came.
Genesis chapter 41 verse 39 says, "And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, 'For as much as God hath showed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art.
'" And that Hebrew word translated "discreet" is the same Hebrew word translated "understanding" in Proverbs tonight.
And so our story of Joseph is going to run parallel with our study of Proverbs 10 13.
"There is none who has understanding and is so wise as you, Joseph.
What Pharaoh saw in the lips of Joseph was understanding and wisdom.
" Where did Joseph's discretion or understanding and wisdom come from?
It came from God.
"And through Joseph's lips Pharaoh discerned that he was a man of understanding.
Pharaoh said, 'There is none so discreet and wise as you are.
'" Even so Solomon says tonight that in the lips of a man who has understanding, look back in your text, wisdom is found.
So in Proverbs 10 13 we see understanding and wisdom.
In the book of Genesis when Joseph stood before Pharaoh, there was a man of understanding and Pharaoh found wisdom in Joseph's lips.
Just what we're reading about here in the book of Proverbs.
So wisdom is found.
Why did Pharaoh need a man with wisdom in his lips?
Because lips that speak God's wisdom are necessary to lead people in God's will.
Lips that speak God's wisdom are necessary to lead people in God's will.
Watch here now, watch the connection if you would in Genesis 41.
Look with me in verses 39 and 40.
Genesis 41 39 and 40.
"And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, 'For as much as God has showed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art.
Thou shalt be over my house,' listen carefully now, 'and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled.
'" You see the connection?
Joseph was a man who had lips of understanding.
In those lips of understanding, Pharaoh found wisdom.
And based upon the wisdom he found in Joseph's lips, he said, "Now by your word my people will be ruled.
" The words of Joseph had the wisdom of God.
The people would be ruled by Joseph's words.
That's why it's so important that we pay attention to a man's lips.
That's why it's so important that we have people who have lips of understanding.
"According unto thy lips shall my people be ruled.
" That's what Pharaoh is saying.
This is why it's so important for us to look for wisdom in the lips of a man that seeks to rule us.
You see?
A scepter, once again, is the royal staff that a king holds in his hands when he's seated on a throne.
In a nation like ours, we choose who's going to hold that scepter.
We vote.
And when we do, we have to be like Pharaoh.
Pharaoh wasn't what we'd consider a Christian, I don't think, at this time.
I hope he became one.
He certainly had enough wisdom to know that God had given Joseph wisdom.
We've got to be like Pharaoh in that sense and look for a Joseph who speaks the wisdom of God so we can be ruled according to the wisdom that God has given him.
Here's the kingdom and truth.
You give a scepter to a man of understanding.
Look back in your text now.
But a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding.
When Pharaoh discovered the wisdom in Joseph's lips, he says, "According to your words, my people will be ruled.
" He said, "Only in the throne will I be greater than you.
" That's what he told Joseph.
He handed Joseph his scepter to a degree.
Only one person was over Joseph and that was the king himself.
Other than that, Joseph ruled with the king's authority and by Joseph's words, according to God's wisdom, those people were ruled.
You give a scepter to a man who has understanding like Joseph.
But a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding.
If there's not understanding in a person's lips, if there's not wisdom in a person's lips, you don't give that person a scepter.
You give that person a rod.
Both of them are instruments of God.
All power is given by God.
All power comes from God, the book of Romans chapter 13 tells us.
The scepter is an instrument of God's authority.
The rod of God's governing authority, the rod is an instrument of God's chastising authority.
In a fallen society like we live in, you have to both have the scepter that governs by the authority of God.
To those who are willing to be governed, then you have to have the rod that corrects by the authority of God to those who are unwilling to yield to God's ruling authority.
So a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding.
A rod speaks of a stick that's used to whip someone on the back when they break the rules.
Any of you many kids have been whipped with a rod before?
None of you all?
I just curious.
Abigail, you got to tell the truth.
I think she's starting to get revival over there.
She's laughing.
My grandparents used to call it a switch.
Have you all been whipped with a switch before?
There you go.
They were whipping on the backside of people back then and they still need to be whipping on them today.
But Pharaoh was wise.
Pharaoh gave the right instrument to the right man.
You all think about Joseph.
You think about people and you think, "Brother Richard, this is so simple.
We should need a tutorial on this tonight.
" Oh man, you got it wrong.
Man, look around.
You think about the story of Joseph with me for a moment.
Pharaoh was wise.
He did not give Joseph a rod.
He gave Joseph a scepter.
He gave him his authority to rule.
But think back with me about the story of Joseph.
When it all started, God gave Joseph a dream.
Remember?
He gave him a dream basically just to make it short that he was going to rule over his family.
He was going to be a ruler.
Joseph shared that dream with his brothers.
But it's just saying, "Well, praise the Lord, Joseph.
Let God be sovereign and may his will be done.
" That's not what they did.
Instead of yielding to God's will and giving him a scepter, you know what Joseph's brothers did?
They gave him a rod.
They gave him a rod.
They sold Joseph into slavery to keep him from ruling over them.
It reminds me of Cain and Abel, doesn't it?
God tried telling Cain, "If you do well, won't you be accepted, and under you will be his desire and you'll roll over him?
" Cain could have been in charge of Abel.
He was a senior man.
But like a lot of people, like Jacob and Esau and all, he was not going to yield to God.
He wanted a scepter.
God gave him a rod.
Abel needed a scepter, and Cain gave him a rod.
It's really sad how we have to deal with this, but in a fallen society, this is how things go.
When you have rebels who are living in our world.
But he shared that with his brother, and instead of giving him a scepter, they gave him a rod.
They sold him into slavery to keep him from being ruled by him.
Joseph was bought by a man named Potiphar.
Potiphar saw that Joseph was a man of understanding in his lips.
Potiphar saw that.
So Potiphar gave Joseph a scepter.
"Rule over my house.
" And only Potiphar was over Joseph.
Potiphar put Joseph in charge of everything.
He didn't know how much money he had in the bank.
He gave Joseph a scepter until his no-good wife lied on Joseph, and I assume in his pride, maybe just his foolishness, instead of investigating.
And I believe it's probably a lot because of his pride.
I bet he knew his wife was lying.
I don't know.
But I kind of figure he might have known, and to save face, he put Joseph in prison.
Do you know what Potiphar did then?
Potiphar knew.
Who said that?
Gave him a rod?
That's exactly what it is.
Gave him a rod.
He knew Joseph was a man of understanding.
He gave him a scepter, and he did it rightfully in the beginning.
But later on, unwisely, he takes a man that he knew deserved a scepter, and he gave him a rod.
He put the man in prison.
Now, Joseph is getting corrected for something wrong that Potiphar's wife did.
Now he is in prison, suffering under the rod, unrighteous, a man of understanding in prison, and now he gets called up, and finally, he exchanges the rod for a scepter.
What a obstacle course he had to go through, you know, to finally get there.
In prison, the keeper of the prison, before he gave him up to Pharaoh, you know what the keeper of the prison did?
He gave him a scepter.
The keeper of the prison saw that there was-- he was a man of understanding in his lips, and he had wisdom.
He found wisdom in that man's lips.
He put him in charge that, according to his words, his jail would be ruled, and God blessed.
In the end--and this is something we need to understand-- Pharaoh was wise enough to give Joseph a scepter and put him in charge of his nation.
You know what that means?
It means in the end, Joseph ruled Potiphar.
Joseph ruled Potiphar's lying wife, and Joseph ruled the brothers who gave him the rod.
Joseph ruled everybody with the scepter that gave him the rod.
You can give a rod to a man of understanding, but in the end, wisdom will hold the scepter.
We'll repeat that again.
You can give a rod to a man of understanding.
A man of understanding doesn't need a rod.
He needs a scepter.
But this rebellious world--we see it with Joseph-- you can give a rod to a man of understanding, but ultimately, the man of understanding, the man who has wisdom, will hold that scepter.
That's the kingdom truth.
Mark chapter 14, verse 55 through 64.
This is a long passage, but listen.
"And the chief priests and all the counsel sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death and found none.
" What are those people trying to do?
What are the chief priests and all the counsel trying to do with Jesus?
They're trying to seek a witness against him so they can legally, at least according to their law, give him the rod.
There is a man with understanding in his lips, with wisdom, and they're trying their best to give that man a rod.
They should have given him a scepter.
For many bear false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together, and there arose certain and bear false witness against him, saying, "We heard him say, 'I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.
' But neither so did their witness agree together.
And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, 'Anchress thou nothing, or will you please incriminate yourself?
We're doing a bad job of prosecuting it.
'" What is it which these witness against thee, but he held his peace and answered nothing?
Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, 'Art thou the Christ, the Son of the blessed?
' And Jesus said, 'I am, and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven.
'" In other words, you're trying to give me a rod, in the end you're going to see me coming with a scepter.
You're giving the wrong instrument to the wrong man.
Then the high priest rent his clothes and say, "What need any further witnesses?
Ye have heard the blasphemy, what think ye, and they all condemned him to be guilty of death?
" You give them the rod, give them the rod.
They gave a rod to the man with understanding in his lips, and they should have given him a scepter.
But Jesus let them know that when he comes again, he'll be holding the scepter, and they'll be getting the rod.
You give a scepter to a wise man, you give a rod to a fool.
When Jesus went to the cross, before Jesus went to the cross, they had a choice to let Barabbas go or to let Jesus go.
They gave Jesus the rod, they cut Barabbas loose, which is in a sense giving him a scepter.
It's quite amazing.
But if you give a rod to a man with wisdom in the end, wisdom will hold a scepter, and the person who gave wisdom a rod will get the rod back.
It's so important that we give the right instrument to the right person.
Sadly, many in our nation, they don't value wisdom anymore.
Watch the result, they give a scepter to a fool, and a rod to the wise.
That's what we're seeing in our nation right now.
They give a scepter to a fool, and they give a rod to the wise.
They put a foolish man in the White House, and they're trying to put a wise man in prison.
We're watching it getting lived out.
I know that Mr.
Trump is no Joseph.
I know that.
But he does hold to some godly principles that once benefited our nation, principles that Mr.
Biden does not hold to.
In Canada, they put a scepter in the hand of a foolish man in Canada.
And they're giving rods to people who are standing up for what's right and trying to teach the Word of God in certain areas of sexuality and whatever, and they want to give them rods.
After they gave Jesus the rod and crucified him, those with the scepter received the rod themselves.
Their temple was destroyed by the Roman army.
Here's the kingdom truth.
Give a scepter to a fool, and you will receive the rod.
Give a scepter to a wise man, and you will receive a scepter.
Let me repeat that again.
Let it sink in.
Give a scepter to a fool, and you will receive the rod.
Give a scepter to a wise man, and you will receive a scepter as well.
Revelation 20, verse 6.
Oh, this is good stuff.
Revelation 20, verse 6.
"Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection.
" Now, who's going to have part in the first resurrection in the book of the Revelation?
Those who gave Jesus a scepter.
Those who received him as their Lord and Savior.
They're going to take part in the first resurrection.
"Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection.
On such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
" That's good, brother.
What happens is when we bow the knee to Jesus Christ, and we accept him as our Lord, as our Savior, as our God, as our great Redeemer and sacrifice for our sins, we give him the rod.
He dresses us in his righteousness.
And in the end, those who bowed the knee and gave a rod to the wise man, I'm sorry, and gave the scepter to the wise man, in the end, they reign with him themselves.
You give a scepter to a fool, in the end, you'll get a rod.
You give a scepter to a wise man, in the end, you also will get a scepter.
You'll rule and reign with Jesus a thousand years.
And even here, in our nation, you give a scepter to a wise man in our nation, you will have the liberty of ruling over your own household, ruling over your own communities.
There's liberty to self-govern when a wise man is in charge.
As I was meditating on this verse this week, this will be a good place for us to close.
I shared this scripture with a godly co-worker of mine, and I told him the conclusion of the text, that you give a scepter to a wise man, but you give a rod to a fool.
And he said, and I think this is a good way to close, he said the only time you should give a scepter to a fool is if you're going to beat him over the head with it.
So that's a good place for us to close, and I say Amen to that.
Let's close.
Father, we thank you so much for your precious word.
Thank you, Father, for the clarity of your scripture.
Lord, what is it with us, Lord?
We're so fallen, we're so rebellious, that over and over and over and over again throughout your word, Lord.
And as I'm thinking of it now, you're flooding more instances into my mind.
Adam gave a scepter to the serpent.
Adam received the rod.
The people of Israel, they wouldn't give the scepter to you.
They wanted a king like the other nations.
They wanted to give scepters to fools.
You gave them a rod.
Lord God, we pray in our hearts, each one tonight, and each one listening tonight, we pray, Father God, that we'll be humbled in our hearts, we'll bow the knee before you, that everyone here will confess you as King of kings and Lord of lords, our rightful ruler, because you are our actual creator.
And we acknowledge you as our God, as our king, and we acknowledge Jesus as our savior.
In Him alone do we find the wisdom to live and to overcome sin and death, and we look forward to reigning with Him one day, in Jesus' precious name.
Amen.
