Do Not Despise ADONAI’s Discipline
3: 11-12
A proverb is a short and memorable saying designed to be our blueprint for living in the world that ADONAI has created. It is important to note that proverbs are not promises; they are generally true principles, all other things being equal.
There are two extremes in life. When good times roll and when hardship strikes. When life is sweet, trusting God with all our hearts feels unnecessary. But when life is bitter, trusting God with all our heart seems impossible. We need wisdom from those two seasons of life when we are on top of the world and when nothing seems to be going right. God is with us in both, with wisdom that makes a positive difference. Earlier in Proverbs 3:5, ADONAI calls us to trust Him wholeheartedly. Now, in Proverbs 3:9-12, He leads us to trust Him when we are pushed out to these two opposite edges of our lives: plenty as seen in the previous file (to see link click At – Honor ADONAI from Your Wealth), and pain as seen here.81
My son, do not reject ADONAI’s discipline, and do not resent His rebuke (3:11 NIV). For ADONAI corrects those He loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights (3:12 NLT). Discipline is a part of God’s plan to help His children mature in godly character (see the commentary on Hebrews Cz – God Disciplines His Children). ADONAI disciplines us, not as a judge punishes a criminal, for there is now no condemnation in Messiah Yeshua (Romans 8:1), but as a parent disciplines a child. His purpose is that we may share in His holiness (Hebrews 12:10b). Sometimes He disciplines us because we have rebelled and need to repent; other times He disciplines us from sinning and to prepare us for His special blessing. No matter how much the experience hurts us, it will never harm us, because ADONAI always disciplines us in love: Remember how ADONAI your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey His commands (Deuteronomy 8:2-5 NLT).82
When bad times and hard times come in life (and they will come). Yeshua said: In this life you will have trouble (John 16:33). When that happens, we only have two choices. Either God loves us passionately, or He hates our guts. It has to be one or the other. And we all have had moments when it feels like Ha’Shem despises us. That is why we are thankful for God’s Word that declares: My son. Do you hear the tenderness in those words? The wise father is counseling the son he loves. This advice fits into the broader theme of Proverbs, to listen to correction and be ready to learn from one’s mistakes (9:7-12, 10:17, 12:1, 14:9, 15:10, 12, 31, 25:12, 26:11, 27:5-6, 28:13 and 23). God’s discipline, thought painful, shows that He cares for His children. It is the neglectful parent who spares the rod, after all (29:15).83 What is he saying about the hard times? Two things.
First, when we suffer, ADONAI isn’t angry with us. Suffering feels like anger; it feels like loss; it feels like God has abandoned us. But we know that can’t be true because He has promised: I will never leave you or abandon you (Deuteronomy 31:6 and Hebrews 13:5). All the heroes in Hebrews 11 suffered (see the commentary on Hebrews Cj – Faith in Action). They were tortured, mistreated, and killed. Was God angry with them? No. He commended them (Heb 11:2, 6). That is why it says: ADONAI is not ashamed to be called their God (Heb 11:16). He was proud of them. To use the language of Proverbs 3:12, He was delighted in them. When you are suffering, here’s what you need to remember. Your sufferings are not evidence against you, nor are they evidence against ADONAI. It is the opposite. Your sufferings are proof that God your Father cherishes you. As Hebrews 12:7 says, quoting these verses: ADONAI is treating you as sons.
Second, our wise path through suffering is to accept it and wait for ADONAI to fulfill His purpose. If you are suffering right now, you are probably being tempted in two opposite directions. Both can be seen here in 3:11. Either you reject ADONAI’s discipline, which is the active response of anger, or to be tired of His discipline, which is the passive response of despair. What is your only path forward? The Bible says: Be trained by it (Heb 12:11). We get our modern word gymnasium from that Greek word. By our sufferings, God has us working out. Is that so bad? Yeshua Himself suffered: Although He was a son, He learned obedience through what he suffered (Heb 5:8). The Bible says that Yeshua understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin. He neither lashed back at the Father, nor did He sin. So we have a Friend in Yeshua who is qualified to stand before God on our behalf, but who is also sympathetic with us because He knows how it feels. So the Bible tells us to come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most (Heb 4:16 NLT).84
The difficulty is knowing when suffering is to train us and when there is some other reason behind it. Job discusses these issues and caution against drawing too simplistic a conclusion about the divine purpose of suffering. Elihu, for instance, wrongly insists that discipline for sin was the purpose behind Job’s plight (Job 36:21). Nevertheless, the psalmist was well aware, suffering can often bring us closer to God: When I was prosperous, I said, “Nothing can stop me now!” Your favor, ADONAI, made me as secure as a mountain. Then you turned away from me, and I was shattered. I cried out to you, ADONAI. I begged YHVH for mercy . . . and You turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy (Psalm 30:6-8 and 11).85
Are you suffering right now? Is the pain driving you away from the Lord, or to Him? What lesson do you think that Yeshua wants you to learn? How can you be trained by your suffering? Pray that your loving heavenly Father would reveal what He wants you to learn, knowing that He wants to take away your clothes of mourning and clothe you with joy. Praise Him now, knowing that He only corrects those He loves.
Dear heavenly Father, praise You for being such a wise father who not only loves to guide me into great joy and peace; but also disciplines when I am on the wrong path. Discipline is never fun, but the results help me to produce the fruit of righteousness. Now all discipline seems painful at the moment – not joyful. But later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it (Hebrews 12:10c-11). Thank you for not giving up on me when I choose the wrong path. Your pattern for how you dwelt with Isra’el provides a template for understanding how you will deal with each nation (Leviticus 26:1-13; Deuteronomy 28:1-14). Each nation will have to stand before you God for judgment or blessing and everyone is accountable to the Creator’s moral standard. Isra’el’s curses for disobedience were severe so as to serve as a warning. Curses included confusion, frustration, disease, drought, defeat by enemies and ultimately exile from the Promised Land. However, Israel’s blessings included prosperity, fruitfulness in offspring and livestock (good sales nowadays), abundant harvests (financial prosperity), victory over enemies (over competitors), and establishment as a holy people (relationship with God). It is a joy to know that even in discipline, God is always good! Thank You for Your steadfast love that both blesses and wisely disciplines me, to bring back my relationship with You. In Messiah Yeshua’s Holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen
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