Proverbs 29:11-15
 
Prov 29:11 (KJB)
A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.
 
Uttereth - To go out
 
One of the great problems of being a fool is that they have no restraint whenever they get into any kind of contention. They will rage as loud as they can and since they do not become embarrassed, they will think that others are commending them for having such a strong argument, even though most of the times, fools say nothing. The wise man, if he contends with a fool, does not allow all his mind to go out, instead he saves his best negotiations for private. The wise man can show restraint simply because he knows he has the upper hand in wisdom and does not need to belch forth his entire plan as the fool does. The fool lives for center stage, wherever he is, as he revels in the applause of others. The wise man revels in wisdom and he orders every aspect of his life accordingly.
 
Prov 29:12 (KJB)
If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked.
 
Hearken - Listen, attend, and give heed
 
A ruler, who may be a fool, may only want his counselors to tell him what he wants to hear. If his servants are as wicked as he is, then they will be too glad to tell him what he wants to hear. This way there will be peace within the palace but it will be a false peace built upon lies. As long as a king does not want to hear what he needs to hear, he also places his country at great risk. If an enemy is amassing at his border and if he refuses to do anything because he refuses to hear about it, he can expect that shortly his country will be overtaken and he will lose his kingship. A country is built strong upon truth and the rejection of false ways. A wise king will want to hear the truth and act upon it accordingly.
 
Prov 29:13 (KJB)
The poor and the deceitful man meet together: the LORD lighteneth both their eyes.
 
Lighteneth - Illuminate
 
If there is one thing that every person has need of in this world it is salvation. Here this verse is stating that the poor and the deceitful person meet together. Where do they meet? At the foot of the cross. It says here that the LORD is the one who illuminates their eyes. (Mat 6:23 KJV) But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! The eye of the unbeliever is only attuned to darkness and when God saves someone, He takes their eyes out of spiritual darkness and brings them into the light of the Gospel thus illuminating their eyes with light of the Gospel. (1 John 1:5 KJV) This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
 
Prov 29:14 (KJB)
The king that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall be established for ever.
 
This verse is totally opposed to the way the wicked king in 29:12 handles the affairs of state. If a righteous king is on the throne and he faithfully executes all the aspects of his office, including having mercy on the poor, then his throne will be established for ever. Now in terms of a temporal king, his throne will be established in perpetuity, that is, his family will continue to rule as long as they remain as righteous as the first king. If they do not, then another ruler will be picked. Now there is another aspect to this verse and it is about the Lord Jesus Christ. (Mat 11:5 KJV) The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. When He came to earth, one of the groups of people He preached to was the poor. So the Lord faithfully ministered to the poor people and as His children, in His spiritual family, we do the same thing which results in the fact that the Lord’s throne has been established forever. (Rev 4:10-11 KJV) The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, {11} Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. Revelation 4:10-11 shows the Elders falling down before the throne of the Lamb who liveth forever and ever which means the throne of the Lord Jesus Christ is established forever.
 
Prov 29:15 (KJB)
The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.
 
If a child needs discipline and the rod is warranted along with a reason the child did wrong, then both of these together will build wisdom into the child. The rod will enforce the reality that rebellious actions have consequences and this is necessary for the child to learn at a young age because as they grow older, this will become apparent to them. Giving a child reproof alone may be fine if he did a wrong deed without any intent of rebellion but if there is rebellion, then both together will make a good lesson. Now if a parent does not want to discipline their child and allows them to continue in a rebellious path, then as they grow older, they will get into much trouble and that trouble will no doubt come back to haunt the parents, in fact, it may even cost them if legal help is needed. This is why discipline is so necessary because it helps the child and does not hurt them. Even as adults we have certain barriers we cannot cross or else we too will get into trouble. The sooner the child knows that this world is made up of disciplines, the sooner he will realize that they are there for his protection. For example, a stop sign is a discipline. If we stop we are obeying the law, if we do not, we are disobeying the law and risking our lives in a possible accident. So the stop sign is there to prevent accidents and bodily harm, not to hinder our trip, but to make sure our trip is without incident. This is what the disciplines of life are about, making sure our lives are without incident.

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