◄ Proverbs 29:12 ►
If a ruler listens to lies, all his officials will be wicked.
Study Bible
If a ruler
The term "ruler" in this context refers to anyone in a position of authority or leadership. In Hebrew, the word used is "מושל" (moshel), which implies someone who governs or has dominion. Historically, rulers were seen as representatives of God's order on earth, tasked with maintaining justice and righteousness. The integrity of a ruler is crucial because their actions and decisions set the tone for the entire administration. In a broader sense, this can apply to leaders in various spheres, including political, religious, and familial.

listens to lies
The Hebrew word for "listens" is "שׁמע" (shama), which means to hear intelligently, often with the implication of obedience or compliance. "Lies" in Hebrew is "שׁקר" (sheker), meaning falsehood or deception. This phrase warns against the danger of a leader who is swayed by falsehoods. In a biblical context, truth is a fundamental attribute of God's character, and leaders are expected to reflect this divine quality. When a ruler entertains deceit, it undermines the foundation of truth and justice, leading to corruption and moral decay.

all his officials
The term "officials" refers to those who serve under the ruler, often translated from the Hebrew word "שׂר" (sar), meaning prince, leader, or chief. These are individuals entrusted with authority and responsibility, acting as extensions of the ruler's will. The behavior and character of these officials are directly influenced by the ruler's values and decisions. In ancient times, the conduct of a ruler's court was a reflection of the ruler's own character and governance style.

will be wicked
The word "wicked" is translated from the Hebrew "רשׁע" (rasha), which denotes someone who is morally wrong, guilty, or ungodly. This phrase highlights the corrupting influence of a leader who embraces falsehood. When a ruler is guided by lies, it creates an environment where dishonesty and immorality thrive among subordinates. This serves as a cautionary note that the moral compass of a leader has a profound impact on the ethical climate of their administration.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Ruler
In the context of this proverb, a ruler refers to any person in a position of authority or leadership. This could be a king, a government official, or even a leader in a church or organization.

2. Officials
These are the subordinates or advisors who serve under the ruler. Their behavior and integrity are influenced by the ruler's actions and decisions.

3. Lies
This refers to falsehoods, deceit, or misinformation. The acceptance of lies by a ruler can lead to corruption and moral decay within the leadership structure.
Teaching Points
The Influence of Leadership
A leader's acceptance of lies sets a precedent for those under their authority. Leaders must prioritize truth to foster integrity within their ranks.

The Ripple Effect of Deceit
When a ruler listens to lies, it not only corrupts the leader but also permeates through the entire administration, leading to widespread wickedness.

The Responsibility of Discernment
Leaders must exercise discernment and seek wisdom to differentiate between truth and falsehood, ensuring their decisions are just and righteous.

The Call for Accountability
Both leaders and their officials are accountable to God for their actions. Upholding truth is essential for maintaining divine favor and justice.

The Role of Advisors
Advisors and officials should be chosen based on their integrity and commitment to truth, as they play a crucial role in guiding the ruler's decisions.
Bible Study Questions
1. How can a leader ensure they are not influenced by lies or deceitful counsel in their decision-making process?

2. In what ways can the acceptance of lies by a leader impact the moral and ethical climate of an organization or community?

3. Reflect on a time when you witnessed the consequences of a leader listening to falsehoods. What lessons can be learned from that experience?

4. How does the principle in Proverbs 29:12 relate to the importance of truthfulness in your personal life and relationships?

5. What steps can you take to ensure that you are a source of truth and integrity in your sphere of influence, whether in leadership or as a member of a community?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Proverbs 16:12
This verse highlights the importance of righteousness in leadership, stating that it is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness, as their throne is established by righteousness.

Exodus 23:1
This passage warns against spreading false reports and being a malicious witness, emphasizing the importance of truthfulness in maintaining justice.

1 Kings 12:6-15
The account of Rehoboam, who listened to poor advice, leading to the division of the kingdom, illustrates the consequences of a ruler heeding unwise counsel.
Sermons
Government in Truth and EquityE. Johnson Proverbs 29:12-17
People
Solomon
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
FALSE, Attention, Evil-doers, Falsehood, Gives, Hearken, Hearkeneth, Lies, Listens, Lying, Ministers, Officials, Pays, Ruler, Servants, Wicked
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Proverbs 29:11

     5267   control
     5868   gossip
     8339   self-control
     8365   wisdom, human
     8760   fools, characteristics

Library
An Obscured vision
(Preached at the opening of the Winona Lake Bible Conference.) TEXT: "Where there is no vision, the people perish."--Proverbs 29:18. It is not altogether an easy matter to secure a text for such an occasion as this; not because the texts are so few in number but rather because they are so many, for one has only to turn over the pages of the Bible in the most casual way to find them facing him at every reading. Feeling the need of advice for such a time as this, I asked a number of my friends who …
J. Wilbur Chapman—And Judas Iscariot

Two Ancient Proverbs
A Sermon (No. 3080) Published on Thursday, February 20th, 1908. Delivered by C.H. Spurgeon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington on Lord's Day evening, March 29th, 1874. "The fear of man bringeth a snare; but whoso puteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe." --Proverbs 29:25. We have two ancient proverbs here; each of them is true as a separate proverb, and they are equally true when linked together. The independent proposition, that the fear of man bringeth a snare, is a truth which experience …
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

The Baptismal Covenant Can be Kept Unbroken. Aim and Responsibility of Parents.
We have gone "to the Law and to the Testimony" to find out what the nature and benefits of Baptism are. We have gathered out of the Word all the principal passages bearing on this subject. We have grouped them together, and studied them side by side. We have noticed that their sense is uniform, clear, and strong. Unless we are willing to throw aside all sound principles of interpretation, we can extract from the words of inspiration only one meaning, and that is that the baptized child is, by virtue …
G. H. Gerberding—The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church

But Sometimes a Peril to Eternal Salvation Itself is Put Forth against Us...
40. But sometimes a peril to eternal salvation itself is put forth against us; [2466] which peril, they cry out, we by telling a lie, if otherwise it cannot be, must ward off. As, for instance, if a person who is to be baptized be in the power of impious and infidel men, and cannot be got at that he may be washed with the laver of regeneration, but by deceiving his keepers with a lie. From this most invidious cry, by which we are compelled, not for a man's wealth or honors in this world which are …
St. Augustine—Against Lying

Little Sarah Howley.
MISS SARAH HOWLEY, when she was between eight and nine years old, was carried by her friends to hear a sermon, where the minister preached upon Matt. xi, 30, "My yoke is easy, and my burden is light;" in the applying of which scripture the child was mightily awakened, and made deeply sensible of the condition of her soul, and her need of Christ: she wept bitterly to think what a case she was in; went home, retired into a chamber, and upon her knees she wept and cried to the Lord as well as she could, …
John Wesley—Stories of Boys and Girls Who Loved the Saviour

For, Concerning False Witness, which is Set Down in the Ten Commands of The...
36. For, concerning false witness, which is set down in the ten commands of the Law, it can indeed in no wise be contended that love of truth may at heart be preserved, and false witness brought forth to him unto whom the witness is borne. For, when it is said to God only, then it is only in the heart that the truth is to be embraced: but when it is said to man, then must we with the mouth also of the body bring forth truth, because man is not an inspector of the heart. But then, touching the witness …
St. Augustine—On Lying

Palm Sunday
Text: Philippians 2, 5-11. 5 Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; 8 and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross. 9 Wherefore also God highly exalted him, and gave unto him the name which is above every name; 10 that …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II

It Remains Then that we Understand as Concerning those Women...
33. It remains then that we understand as concerning those women, whether in Egypt or in Jericho, that for their humanity and mercy they received a reward, in any wise temporal, which indeed itself, while they wist not of it, should by prophetical signification prefigure somewhat eternal. But whether it be ever right, even for the saving of a man's life, to tell a lie, as it is a question in resolving which even the most learned do weary themselves, it did vastly surpass the capacity of those poor …
St. Augustine—Against Lying

What are Evidences of Backsliding in Heart.
1. Manifest formality in religious exercises. A stereotyped, formal way of saying and doing things, that is clearly the result of habit, rather than the outgushing of the religious life. This formality will be emotionless and cold as an iceberg, and will evince a total want of earnestness in the performance of religious duty. In prayer and in religious exercises the backslider in heart will pray or praise, or confess, or give thanks with his lips, so that all can hear him, perhaps, but in such a …
Charles G. Finney—The Backslider in Heart

God's Glory the Chief End of Man's Being
Rom. xi. 36.--"Of him and through him, and to him, are all things, to whom be glory for ever." And 1 Cor. x. 31--"Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." All that men have to know, may be comprised under these two heads,--What their end is, and What is the right way to attain to that end? And all that we have to do, is by any means to seek to compass that end. These are the two cardinal points of a man's knowledge and exercise. Quo et qua eundum est,--Whither to go, and what way to go. …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

How the Impatient and the Patient are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 10.) Differently to be admonished are the impatient and the patient. For the impatient are to be told that, while they neglect to bridle their spirit, they are hurried through many steep places of iniquity which they seek not after, inasmuch as fury drives the mind whither desire draws it not, and, when perturbed, it does, not knowing, what it afterwards grieves for when it knows. The impatient are also to be told that, when carried headlong by the impulse of emotion, they act in some …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

Humility is the Root of Charity, and Meekness the Fruit of Both. ...
Humility is the root of charity, and meekness the fruit of both. There is no solid and pure ground of love to others, except the rubbish of self-love be first cast out of the soul; and when that superfluity of naughtiness is cast out, then charity hath a solid and deep foundation: "The end of the command is charity out of a pure heart," 1 Tim. i. 5. It is only such a purified heart, cleansed from that poison and contagion of pride and self-estimation, that can send out such a sweet and wholesome …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

How to Make Use of Christ as the Truth, when Error Prevaileth, and the Spirit of Error Carrieth Many Away.
There is a time when the spirit of error is going abroad, and truth is questioned, and many are led away with delusions. For Satan can change himself into an angel of light, and make many great and fairlike pretensions to holiness, and under that pretext usher in untruths, and gain the consent of many unto them; so that in such a time of temptation many are stolen off their feet, and made to depart from the right ways of God, and to embrace error and delusions instead of truth. Now the question is, …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

Characters and Names of Messiah
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. S uch was the triumphant exultation of the Old Testament Church! Their noblest hopes were founded upon the promise of MESSIAH; their most sublime songs were derived from the prospect of His Advent. By faith, which is the substance of things hoped for, they considered the gracious declarations …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

Proverbs
Many specimens of the so-called Wisdom Literature are preserved for us in the book of Proverbs, for its contents are by no means confined to what we call proverbs. The first nine chapters constitute a continuous discourse, almost in the manner of a sermon; and of the last two chapters, ch. xxx. is largely made up of enigmas, and xxxi. is in part a description of the good housewife. All, however, are rightly subsumed under the idea of wisdom, which to the Hebrew had always moral relations. The Hebrew …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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