Our Father’s Rod

And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. - Hebrews 12:5-6

    Every wise and good father has a rod by which he corrects his sons and daughters, by which he disciplines his children and makes them mind. And our heavenly Father is a wise and good Father. Hebrews 12:5-11 tells us much about our Father’s rod.

    One greatest evidences of our Father’s love for us is his rod of chastisement. When we are in trouble, when our hearts are heavy, I cannot think of anything that would be more helpful to our souls than the realization of that fact. ― One greatest evidences of our Father’s love for us is his rod of chastisement.

    Sorrow

    In this world of sin sorrow is everywhere. All who live in this world suffer many bitter things, sorrows that are deeply felt, leaving scars that never quite heal. The fact of human suffering is something that baffles philosophers and sociologists, politicians and religious leaders, moralists and educators. Try as they may to eradicate pain and poverty, it only gets worse.

    The glaring fact that men and women in this world refuse to acknowledge is that all sorrow, all pain, all adversity is the result of sin. Because we live in a sin-cursed world under the judgment of God, because our human race is a race under the wrath of the Almighty, our world is a world of hurt and woe.

    The Unbeliever

    When the unbeliever, the man of the world, has to face pain and sorrow, he looks upon his hardships either as a matters of “luck,” or “fate,” or as things which must be blamed on someone. If his child is born with a severe handicap, or one of his family is permanently injured by an automobile accident, it is “bad luck”. In the face of such things he either becomes bitter and cynical, or he shrugs his shoulders and tries to cope with fate with as much cheerfulness as he can muster.

    The Believer

    For the believer things are different. We trust God who is almighty, our heavenly Father who “works all things after the counsel of his own will.” We know that God is love, that he loves us with a peculiar, distinguishing love. He has adopted us as his sons and daughters. He is our Father; and we are his children.

    We do not feel pain any less than others. In some ways we feel it more acutely. When a child of God looks into the face of a deformed baby, or sees his teenage boy or girl maimed by some accident, as he holds the weak hand of a dying wife, as he thinks about the whole of human suffering and misery he cries from the depth of his tortured soul, “Why, O Lord, Why?” “Why do the righteous suffer?”

    Often our sorrows are aggravated by the apparent indifference of our God, our heavenly Father. How often the heavens seem silent and empty. We cry out in despair with the psalmist, "Why standest thou afar off, O Lord? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?" (Psa 10:1) These are questions that need to be answered. But they can only be answered by God himself. And he has answered them for us in Hebrews 12:5-11.

    Consolation

    As he instructs us in this matter of suffering, urging us to endure the Father’s chastening rod, the Holy Spirit reminds us of a consoling fact in verses 5 and 6. ― “And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.”

    The opening words of verse 5 are not incorrect, but they could be (and I think should be) translated as a question. Paul is not saying, “You have forgotten,” but “Have you forgotten?” The word “exhortation” would be better translated, “consolation.” In my opinion, the opening line of verse 5 would be more accurately translated — “And have ye forgotten the consolation which speaketh unto you as unto children?” This is not intended to be an accusation, but a challenge.

    The passage Paul is quoting here is Proverbs 3:11-12. ― “My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.” This is a blessed word of consolation that we often need. Therefore it is often given in the Book of God (Deut. 8:5; Job 5:17; Psa. 94:12; James 1:2-3, 12; Rev. 3:19).

    Love ― Not wrath

    We must never look upon our Father’s chastisements as acts of anger, vengeance, or wrath. He is not punishing us for our sins as a judge executing the sentence of law upon us. That could never be! The Lord God punished our sins to the full satisfaction of his law’s infinite justice and wrath in our Substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ at Calvary.

    Because our God’s rod is the rod of our heavenly Father’s love, not the rod of divine justice, we must take care that we “despise not the chastening of the Lord.” The Lord God corrects his children in love as our Father. The very word “chastening” implies instruction. The Lord by chastening us instructs us.

    This is called “the chastening of the Lord” because every chastening, every afflictive providence, is appointed by God, and is to be seen by us as his work. It is ordained by him, governed by him, limited by him, and overruled by him for our good and his glory! When we understand this, we will cease to look upon our trials and hardships as nauseous, loathsome things, and begin to esteem them as wonders of mercy. Mysterious? Yes! But still, wonders of mercy. Whatever my pain is, my Heavenly Father sent it. If he sent it, he will do me good by it. William Cowper understood this. That is why he could write, though he was constantly bombarded with afflictive circumstances…

    “God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform;

    He plants His footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm.”