The Rod
In order for us to follow the mission of Christ we need to be in one accord with Christ and therefore with each other. The Pharisees thought they were in accord with Moses just as many people thinking they are Christians today believe they are in accord with Christ... but are not.
If we have Christ in us we will seek to follow The Way of Christ naturally. Therefore we must actually love the real Christ and not one made up by men who creep into homes deceiving, seducing and snaring people that may have a desire to follow sinful or covetous ways.[1].
True love, challenges our hearts to sacrifice ourselves in service to Christ and for those who seek Him. This love is like the love of a parent for their children and they may also challenge their own children to love others in righteousness.
- Spare the rod spoil the child comes from Proverbs 13:24 "He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes."
This word rod is from טבשׁ shebet[2] ShemBeitTet from an unused root probably meaning to branch off; and is normally translated tribe some 140 times but also rod 34 times.
What is the meaning or sense of a word that means both rod and tribe?
Another word הטמ matteh[3] MemTetHey composed of different letters is also translated tribe 182 times, rod 52 times, staff 15 times, staves once. It is said to be from the word הטנ natah NunTetHey which means to stretch out or turn. Letters in Hebrew have meanings that can help us understand the full meaning of a word. See Sophistry.
Could it have come from the spirit of a parent or others willful spirits given influence over the child who want to impose their will on the child by the use of fear through physical violence by the infliction of pain?
More about Golem.
Proverbs 13:24 is a part of a list and is preceded by Proverbs 13:23 "Much food [is in] the tillage of the poor: but there is [that is] destroyed for want of judgment."
This is a reference to the precept that was the sin of Sodom which is mentioned in Ezekiel 16:49 "Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy."
Giving without judgment weakens and even destroys people.[4]
If we go back to the word chasteneth in Proverbs 13:24 we see that it is normally defined instruction and correction.
The word טבשׁ shebet we see as rod has to do with the growth of a branch of a tree among many branches. All branches growing toward the light and each one growing in its own place guided by the example and firmness of others.
The rod of a shepherd is not used to beat the sheep into submission. It is a rod of guidance and direction to encourage the straight and safe path.[5]
In fact from over 4 decades of herding sheep on the high deserts I know that if you try to force sheep to go in one direction they will resist and try to go around you. The last thing you would want to try to do to get sheep to go down a narrow path is hit them with your shepherds rod. So why would you think it is a good idea to hit your children with a rod?
If you have to spank a child that is usually a sign that someone has already failed somewhere as a parent.
It is hard to win the trust of sheep but with consistent guidance of love and patience it can be done.
It takes patience to raise a family or form a congregation based on the love of Christ.
We cannot force compliance to Christ by forcing others to comply with what we believe is doctrine. We exercise faith by doing all we do in love.
I will not spare the rod of a good shepherd.
- Revelation 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.[6]
Most of us do wrong by habit and of course you can train people to do good by forcing them to do it over and over again and by fear of punishment. But to win the hearts of people according to the ways of Christ, our tactics and policies must be His tactics and policies. That does not mean that a parent or even an adult may never use force to obtain compliance what righteousness is at stake and certainly not when safety of others is at stake. You may. But force is not used to win the hearts and minds of the people. And we need to desire that our children hear the wisdom of Christ in us.
Habitually returning to error or the habit of sin is usually the result of Trauma where there is a part of our heart and mind that has been stunted or closed off. It becomes like a dark corner or room in our minds from which evil may influence us or those around us.
People need compassion and love which often includes forgiveness and patience to remove the influence coming from the dark trauma in our hearts or the hearts of others. Sin can be nothing more than Addiction.
From the beginning God has wanted us to choose to follow Him and walk with Him. He did not want brother to rule over brother like Cain and Nimrod by force. He wants us to follow the ways of Abraham, Gideon, Moses and Jesus Christ.
- "I am the good shepherd, and know my [sheep], and am known of mine." John 10:14
We must choose to follow the narrow path He leads us on. This is not an intellectual choice but a spiritual one. Many will not understand this because they live in the tree of knowledge and imagine they make choices by their own reason.
Somewhere in our spirit our pride or humility will filter the evidence of truth, accepting or rejecting that validity and reason of God and His divine will. Our intellect is often used as a rod to steer us away from the inconvenient truths that God has laid before us.
Many who we have loved will not love Christ enough to hear His whole gospel. Anything less than the whole gospel is a lie.
The truth is there are many people who think they are Christ-loving, Bible-honoring, grace filled, gospel-preaching, self-debasing, peace-loving believers but are not. You know they are not because they do not do what Christ said to do. In fact they are doing exactly what the Pharisees did.
In truth most modern day people who call themselves christian, are not serving God but are by their ways and means serving the ends of the Fathers of the world and Satan.
How do they do that?
They fail to be the social welfare of the people according to the perfect law of liberty by providing for one another through true love and pure religion that is not a snare or a trap. Even more, their ministers encourage and condone the people to go pray to the men who call themselves benefactors and exercise authority one over the other by offering a welfare that is a snare and a trap. This action entangles them in the bondage of the world again.
In order to keep the people under a strong delusion of false salvation these benefactors will need some ministers and priests out there doing good works to keep fooling many. They need to present some form of godliness but will be denying the power thereof.
- 2 Timothy 3:5 "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away."
They will need to keep pointing to the few quotes that talk about belief in Christ and that supposedly being all you have to do. They will never point to all those places where He instructs a person to...
- keep commandments in order to have eternal life,
- seek the kingdom first,
- strive if you want to be saved,
- give or you will not receive,
- forgive or you will not be forgiven,
- be doers or you are not one of mine.
- pray to your father in heaven
If you really believed, all these things would be evidence of your faith. But that is not what we see in the modern Church.
Do we believe in what Jesus said?
Or do we believe in the doctrines of men gleaned from parts of the gospel?
The true ministers of God know the love and patience of God and know that he has sent them to rebuke those who think they are Christ-loving, Bible-honoring, grace gospel-preaching, self-debasing, peace-loving believers. Those people are actually allowing, promoting and condoning the same Corban of the Pharisees along with many other "damnable heresies" and delivering the people back into the yoke of bondage of the world.
Many preachers water down the gospel to keep their congregations whole. But we are not to be preaching our gospel but Christ's. The congregation must belong to Christ, not to the pastors. The ministers of God are supposed to be calling all to repentance, including those who think they are Christ-loving, Bible-honoring, grace gospel-preaching, self-debasing, peace-loving believers. Instead, those calling themselves ministers are going the way of the Pharisees and sending the people to pray to the men who call themselves benefactors but exercise authority.
We were directed not to be that way, and those who believe in Jesus should easily see that it is coveting your neighbor's goods to desire those benefits. This was and is the gospel of Christ and those who will not receive it are not Christ-loving or Bible-honoring and they will not be saved until they truly repent.
Many will not repent just as many Pharisees did not repent because they knew neither Moses nor Christ even though they thought they were Moses-loving, Torah-honoring, God-preaching, self-debasing, peace-loving Pharisees.
Yes! Many ministers will say they prophesied and preached in His name, and in His name cast out devils, and in His name have done many wonderful works and outwardly appear righteous unto men by their own standards, but within they are full of hypocrisy and iniquity... because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold and they will not sustain a society by faith, hope and charity.
Instead of doing it as Christ said and the early Church did, they will not attend to the weightier matters and they will not turn away from the Corban of the modern state Church which encourages all to pray to Caesar, Pharaoh and Nimrod to feed His sheep. Nor will they lift a finger to set the table of the Lord.
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== Footnotes ==
- ↑ 2 Timothy 3:6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
- ↑ 07626 ^טבשׁ^ shebet \@shay’- bet\@ from an unused root probably meaning to branch off; n m; AV-tribe 140, rod 34, sceptre 10, staff 2, misc 4; 190 1) rod, staff, branch, offshoot, club, sceptre, tribe 1a) rod, staff 1b) shaft (of spear, dart) 1c) club (of shepherd’s implement) 1d) truncheon, sceptre (mark of authority) 1e) clan, tribe
- ↑ 04294 ^הטמ^ matteh \@mat-teh’\@ or (fem.) ^הטמ^ mattah \@mat-taw’\@ from 05186; n m; AV-tribe 182, rod 52, staff 15, staves 1, tribe + 04294 1; 251 1) staff, branch, tribe 1a) staff, rod, shaft 1b) branch (of vine) 1c) tribe 1c1) company led by chief with staff (originally)
- ↑ Plutarch, Polybius, Benefactors
- ↑ Psalms 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.
- ↑ Proverbs 9:8 Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. Proverbs 27:5 Open rebuke is better than secret love.