Chastening, Part 1

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.” Hebrews 12:1-4.

The book of Hebrews was written primarily for the Jewish Christians, though the entire book speaks to all Christians.

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

The danger was that because of some persecution many of them would be tempted to return to Judaism.

In light of this the writer set out to show these believers the superiority of Christ over the Law, and inform them that there is no return to the weak and beggarly elements of the Law which are a shadow of things to come.

“So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.” Colossians 2:16-17.

“…Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect.” Hebrews 9:28-10:1.

We must remember that this book is written to the Hebrews. This will keep us mindful of the fact that many of the things that are said concern Jewish practices which non-Jews might not be familiar with.

Nevertheless, the things written herein are for both Jew and Gentile believers. So it would be well for us to research the Old Testament for at least a little understanding of these practices.

Since the book of Hebrews was written around 64-68 A.D. about 2 years before the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. Serious persecution of Christians had not started in earnest until around 100 A.D.

The writer is here referring to lesser forms of persecution such as discrimination and property loss, which did include sporadic imprisonment and deaths.

The Lord Jesus is here held up as an example of one who “endured such hostility from sinners”. This is followed by a statement of encouragement, “…lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls”.

“And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: ‘My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens and scourges every son whom He receives.’ If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.” Hebrews 12:5-8.

There are three words which may need clarification from the dictionary, they are, chasten, scourge, and rebuke.

The word chasten simply means discipline.

Scourge can be a whip or a lash, this word can also mean to punish, chastise, or criticize severely.

Rebuke means to express sternly ones disapproval.

Of these three, the word scourge is hardest to grasp since we visualize the whipping post and the horrific scourging of Jesus Christ. Still the metaphor is to a father spanking his son for some misdeed.

I am not referring here to fathers who heap inordinate punishment upon their children for some real or imagined wrong; which it seems there are far too many of these men.

To those of you who have been victimized by such evil behavior, I want to emphasize that God is just, righteous and loving at all times, if you can imagine that.

According to the Greek, this word speaks of God as a father chastising and training His children as one would a child.

Before leaving the word scourge, further clarification is in order. I try to tell young people, if I can, that it is important to learn the lessons your folks are trying to teach you about things like truthfulness, honesty, respecting authority, kindness, and the like.

Even though you may hate being spanked, grounded, losing phone privileges and things of this sort, remember that your parents are trying to help you, because if you do not learn these lessons at home, God will teach them to you.

And God can do things your parents cannot do, break your legs, allow you to get sick, even take you to within an inch of death. Consider this carefully, would you prefer being grounded, to having your legs broken?

True, these things still happen to children, but the scourging does become more intense for adults, especially those with adult responsibilities.

One last thought on this word. If a shepherd has a sheep that is in the habit of wandering off; the shepherd will break one of the sheep’s legs and carry the animal until it is mended. A drastic measure, but the sheep learns not to wander.

People tend to wander too; and there are wolves out there.

“Further, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.” Hebrews 12:9-10.

Again when speaking of human fathers, it is in reference to fathers who are doing the best they can with what they have.

It does not refer to the ones who think they are the center of the universe and that all must bow to their will.

And since abusive fathers are mostly powerless outside of the family, those who must bow to their every whim are the wife and children. There is too much of this going on today, and most of it can be traced back to divorce.

Fathers who do their best realize that they are to:

“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old [or mature] he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6.

“The rod and rebuke [reproof, correction by words] give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.” Proverbs 29:15.

Life is not something to be escaped from; it is to be taken seriously and faced head on. Children too, are not a by-product of marriage; they are a serious responsibility which will last for eighteen years.

This is what adults do; they shoulder responsibility and carry it to the best of their abilities for a lifetime.

Tune in, turn on, and drop out, is for a past age, one characterized by stupidity of cosmic proportions, things based on vain philosophies that even today are reaching out to destroy our society.

Fathers who abuse their families miss one of the most important lessons in life; that is, while they are seeking to be admired by everyone in the outside world, they overlook the fact that the ones who will look up to them are in their own household.

“Children’s children are the crown of old men, and the glory of children is their father.” Proverbs 17:6.

Fathers, there is no one who will slavishly hero worship you and hang on your every word like your child, true, they get sassy and angry, but they always come back.

It takes a lot to alienate a child, yet there are those who work hammer and tongs to do just that.

Seeing their child follow them around, asking questions, wanting to help in their clumsy way, and exhibiting unconditional love, simply makes them a doormat; just something to wipe their feet on.

God the Father will judge men like this for making Him look like the same kind of loveless Father as they are.

Wives too are mistreated by these men; yet for the most part things could be so different.

If a man shoulders his responsibilities, treats his wife with respect for the job she does at work or around the house; if he lets her share in some of his projects, without treating her as being stupid or a lackey; if he just listens, she will love him as much as the children do.

But ladies, if these things are being done and you cannot be pleased, you are shooting yourself in the foot. Men are not always the villain in the house.

“Every wise woman builds her house, but the foolish pulls it down with her hands.” Proverbs 14:1.

“For they [our fathers] indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.” Hebrews 12:10.

As stated earlier, parents do the best they can with what they have, so they, “…chastened us as seemed best to them…”

In these days of societal corruption few of us have a decent example of what a good parent does to raise children. This is why marriage was designed the way it was, a man and a woman balance each other out which enables them to better recognize what seems best for the rearing of the child.

For instance, if the man has difficulty showing affection, the wife may come to him and tell him that his daughter needs a hug or a few words of encouragement.

If the woman is seen to be too permissive toward her son, the father may come alongside and tell her the need to reign things in a little bit. Things that are obvious to one, may be unseen by the other.

Often the child may play one parent off against the other; it will work if the parents are not in agreement that they will not allow that to happen.

“Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord.” Colossians 3:20.

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother,’ which is the first commandment with promise: ‘that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.’” Ephesians 6:1-3.

“Fathers, do not provoke [provoke by constant faultfinding] your children, lest they become discouraged.” Colossians 3:21.

“And you, fathers, do not provoke [by unreasonable blame, commands, or mercurial temperament] your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:4.

Chastening, Part 1 taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 10-14-15, updated on 1-8-20.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.

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