House of Hope Online

July 7, 2024

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Last week the word was titled, “Thy Rod and Thy Staff,” and it focused on King David’s words from Psalms 23:4 “…Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.”  We said the shepherd’s rod was used for correction, and the staff was for direction.

The Hebrew word for “rod” means correction.   The correction of the rod is discipline, which does not necessarily mean physical punishment.  In studying Hebrews 12 last time we found God’s purpose for disciplining us.

  10 “…He [disciplines us] for [our] good, that we may share His holiness.

 11 All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

The Greek word for “discipline” in verses 10-11 means tutoring, educating, or training, and so we know that God’s purpose in discipling us is to teach us.  We said that use of the rod with our children does not necessarily mean physical discipline or spanking but could instead be accomplished by denying privileges to them or withholding blessings from them.  The important part of discipline is that the child understands why it is being administered so they can learn and grow from it.

In contrast, the purpose of the staff is direction.  The shepherd uses the crook at the end of the staff to gently guide and direct the sheep and to make it abundantly clear where the future direction is.  We made the point last time that we all need to be seeking the Lord’s staff in our lives, as we look for direction and make decisions in a troubled world.

Here is an excerpt from the end of last week’s word:

“The importance of the staff continues even after children grow up.  As we age, we continue to need direction and our children continue to need direction.  The Lord provides the staff by speaking into our lives.  Look for His staff, teach your children to do the same, and you will be comforted amid any uncertainty, as David was.”

And so today the word of the Lord is “Seek His Staff.”  My wife Nancy and our oldest son, Will, collaborated with me on this word as we discussed it over the course of the week. 

As we make decisions in our lives, we need to seek Jesus’ staff.  We need Him to guide us in the direction we should go, so that we choose the way of life and not death nor darkness.  We know the increase of evil in today’s world is apparent, just as Jesus prophesied, so the devil stands ready to ensnare us.  He wants to steal, kill, and destroy.  If the devil can rush us into a decision without seeking the staff of Jesus, we can make a critical mistake that sets us back from God’s best.

How to Seek His Staff

In the Book of Proverbs, we see clear evidence that the desire of the Lord is to guide us with His staff.  We also see instruction on how to seek His staff.  Most of the book is attributed to Solomon’s authorship.  Solomon is Kind David’s son and is therefore in the direct bloodline of Jesus.  And so, we know there is shepherding in David and Solomon, and that Jesus is the Good Shepherd.  Shepherds guide and direct the sheep with a staff. 

As we read from Proverbs 2, we see Solomon’s use of the staff to guide and direct us.  While Solomon penned these words, remember from 2^nd Timothy 3:16-17 that “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.  In other words, all scripture, including Proverbs, is useful for the Lord’s rod and staff.  Jesus is eager to guide us and direct us from the evil of these days, and to guide us into prosperity.

Proverbs 2:

 1 ¶ My son, if you will receive my sayings, And treasure my commandments within you,

 2 Make your ear attentive to wisdom, Incline your heart to understanding;

 3 For if you cry for discernment, Lift your voice for understanding;

 4 If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures;

 5 Then you will discern the fear of the LORD, And discover the knowledge of God.

Get what this passage is saying.  This is how you seek Jesus’ staff:

• Receive the word of the Lord and treasure His commandments,
• Make your ear attentive to wisdom,
• Incline your heart to understanding,
• Cry for discernment,
• Lift your voice for understanding,
• Seek wisdom and understanding as you would silver,
• Search for wisdom and understanding as you would a hidden treasure. 

Verse 5 says if we fervently search for wisdom, understanding and discernment, then we will discern the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God.  Discerning the fear of the Lord means to discern the Spirit of praise and worship and reverence for your God.  If you fervently seek Him, the Spirit of praise and worship will draw you into His presence, and that is where you discover the knowledge of God.  During praise and worship, He speaks into our spirits and gives us discernment, understanding, knowledge, and all the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

In short, we seek the staff of Jesus by really desiring it with all our heart.  We seek His staff by considering wisdom and understanding as silver, or as a hidden treasure.  If we cry out for His guidance, we know He wants to give us His guidance, and that is where Proverbs 2 goes next.

The Lord Wants to Guide us.

You must admit that Proverbs 2:1-5 is loaded with instruction on how to seek the staff of our Lord.  It really expresses what the Lord meant last week when He said: “Look for His staff, teach your children to do the same, and you will be comforted amid any uncertainty, as David was.”  But Proverbs 2 goes on to reemphasize that the Lord willingly dispenses His wisdom, knowledge, and understanding if we seek the staff.  This is what He does.  A Father wants to bless and instruct His children.  He stands ready to dispense to us if we search for Him.  He delights in blessing us with these things.

Proverbs 2:

 6 For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth [come] knowledge and understanding.

 7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; [He is] a shield to those who walk in integrity,

 8 Guarding the paths of justice, And He preserves the way of His godly ones.

 9 Then you will discern righteousness and justice And equity [and] every good course.

10 ¶ For wisdom will enter your heart, And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;

 11 Discretion will guard you, Understanding will watch over you,

These are tremendous promises to those who will seek the staff of the Lord.  Knowledge answers the questions we have about our future direction.  But we are not talking about just knowing things or discovering facts.  Knowledge is a gift of the Holy Spirit that allows us to know things that we would have no other basis to know.  If you can discover it through research, that is not the gift of knowledge.  The gift of knowledge is knowing something that only God can show us.  And understanding that knowledge is equally important.  It is a great value to know and understand what the Lord is showing you.

Verses 7-11 promise that sound wisdom, discernment, equity, and discretion will come to us.  Wisdom helps us to apply the knowledge and understanding that the Lord has given us for decision-making.  Discernment means the ability to distinguish between good and evil spirits.  Equity is fairness, or in the context of finances, it means ownership.  Discretion means we will limit ourselves to doing the right thing, i.e., we will not consider doing anything that the Lord would not approve. 

This passage promises we will know righteousness and justice when we see it, and therefore, the lie of deceivers will not deceive us.  Many leaders today masquerade as righteousness and justice, but they are deceivers who proceed in darkness, and they have ulterior motives that are not in our best interests.  But the Lord willingly gives us wisdom, knowledge, and understanding to withstand these forces of evil.

These are gifts that will provide much needed guidance and protection as we walk in the days leading to the Rapture. 

His Guidance Protects us.

Proverbs 2 goes on to teach that the guidance of His staff is to protect us.

Proverbs 2:

 10 ¶ For wisdom will enter your heart, And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;

 11 Discretion will guard you, Understanding will watch over you,

 12 To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things;

 13 From those who leave the paths of uprightness, To walk in the ways of darkness;

 14 Who delight in doing evil, And rejoice in the perversity of evil;

 15 Whose paths are crooked, And who are devious in their ways;

Jesus promised that the tribulation of these pre-Rapture days will be cut short for the sake of the elect, but in the meantime, He wants us to look for the staff, and let wisdom into our heart, and allow pleasant knowledge into our soul.  Get that from verse 10…there will be a pleasant knowledge in our soul as others (non-believers) suffer strife during the coming darker days.

Verses 12-15 explicitly promise protection from evil, from perverse men, from those who abandon righteousness, who walk in darkness, delight in evil, and rejoice in perversity.  There is protection for us from the devious souls walking the earth in the days to come.

His Staff Will Lead Us to the Rapture.

Not only will the staff of our Lord help us navigate our way through the evil of this present generation, but it will ultimately lead us to the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise from John 14 to come again and receive us at the Rapture.  Notice the sincere love in the Lord’s tone as He explains all this to His disciples before He is stolen away to Calvary.  Just allow your spirit to soak in these words from the Good Shepherd:

John 14:

 1 ¶ “Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.

 2 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.

 3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, [there] you may be also.

 4 ¶ “And you know the way where I am going.”

Closing

We are not to be troubled by the trouble in this world, or by the uncertainty of our future.  Just believe in God, in Jesus.  He clearly promises in verse 3 to return for us, to receive us to Himself, so that we may be with Him.  Allow His words to comfort you as you seek His staff that guides you until He comes.

 Let us pray.

Father God, thank You for the staff of Jesus.  Quicken our spirits, Lord, to seek that staff always, in every circumstance, and for every decision.  We praise the Good Shepherd, who lays down His life for the sheep, who is not a hireling, but instead is the owner of the sheep, and protects them from the wolf coming.  Guide us, O Lord, by Your staff.  Call forth wisdom, understanding, discernment, knowledge, righteousness, justice, and equity.  Prosper us in Your will, and protect us from the evil one, in Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.