Receiving The Lord’s Chastening

We Are Chastened as Children (vv. 5-8)

5 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; 6 For whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.” 7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.

Verse 5 is taken from Proverbs 3:11-12, which tells us, “My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline and do not resent His rebuke, because the LORD disciplines those He loves, as a father the son he delights in.” Proverbs uses the word “discipline,” whereas Hebrews uses the word “chastening.” The New International Version, along with eight other Bible translations (see NLT, HCSB, NASB, MSG, ESV, AMP, NRSV, NCV) use the word “discipline” in Hebrews chapter 12 instead of “chastening.”

The word “chasten” means to “correct by punishment or discipline.”(1) The word “chasten” makes us think of punishment, but we’re going to focus on the other aspect, which is “discipline.” God’s is not a heavenly dictator, who is just waiting to give us a hard time and kick us while we’re down. He is our heavenly Father, and He views us as His beloved sons and daughters. What we see in this passage is not God’s judgment or His infliction of punishment, but His parenting skills. This passage is about parenting, and we learn here how to raise our own children, as well as how our heavenly Father parents us.

There is a huge difference between discipline and punishment. In the book Growing Kid’s God’s Way, Gary and Anne Marie Ezzo tell us, “Today, we socially define discipline to mean spanking or punishment, but true biblical discipline refers to one thing – heart training.”(2) “It comes from the same word as disciple – one who is a learner.”(3) Discipline is not punishment. Punishment is defined as, “rough handling; mistreatment” and “a penalty imposed for wrongdoing;”(4) however discipline means, “to bring to a state of order and obedience by training and control,”(5) and I must emphasize that the key word here is “control” – not “inflicting control” on someone, but “being in control” of oneself.

On an episode of “The Dog Whisperer,” Caesar Millan was talking about the difference between “punishment” and “discipline” in relation to dog training. He stated that punishment often comes from frustration and anger, and there is emotion behind it. Correcting, or disciplining, the dog is just reminding him that he broke the rules, boundaries, or limitations, and then setting him back on the right track. It is done simply, instantly, and without emotion.(6)

When God chastens, or disciplines, us He is not lashing out in anger, but He is nudging us back to the right path; not to say that He doesn’t sometimes have a right to inflict punishment, for we do read here of how God “scourges” us (v. 6).(7) The main emphasis, however, is on God’s discipline.