THE CHASTENING OF THE LORD -- Monday:
"For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth." (Heb 12:6)
Our very salvation is founded upon the chastening of the Lord! Christ's vicarious atonement is described as "The CHASTISEMENT for our peace" (Isa 53:5). The Divine lash fell upon the Savior – not because of His own need for correction, but because of our need. We could not have born the whip the Father wielded against the Lord Jesus. That is why HE bore it. It remains, however, for us to feel the stroke of Divine correction and rebuke in a lesser way. Such dealings are not to be viewed as Divine anger, but as Fatherly love. It might be well to say here that God's dealing with His people is the solitary point. This has nothing to do with the wicked.
If we do not recognize the scourgings of life as the hand of a loving God, they will bring no profit to us. They MUST be so perceived! We must not allow the wicked one to cloud our vision on this matter. Carnal explanations for difficulties must be forthrightly rejected, for they are not true. It is God with Whom we have to do. As it is written, "Him with whom we have to do" (Heb 4:13).
But it is not a harsh and indignant God to Whom we must give an account! It is One Who loves us, and corrects us with the intent of bringing us to glory and making us a partaker of His holiness (Heb 12:10)! I do not mean to be morbid, but when sorrows befall us, and life becomes a burden, we must learn to look at it as God dealing with us.
Satan does not have free access to us. His temptations must pass the Throne of the universe before they CAN come to us (1 Cor 10:13). He cannot desire us without the Savior praying for us (Lk 22:32). The storm cannot rise on Jonah's sea without the Lord (Jonah 1:4), nor can Paul receive a thorn that is not sent by God (2 Cor 12:7).
When Job was sorely tested, he knew God was dealing with him – he just did not know why (Job 1:21). When Shimei cursed David with provocative words, David knew God was dealing with him. " . . . because the LORD hath said unto him, Curse David" (2 Sam 16:10). When Eli received the message of judgment upon his house, he responded, "It is the LORD: let Him do what seemeth him good" (1 Sam 3:18).
Paul knew he had been given a "thorn in the flesh" "lest I should be exalted above measure because of the abundance of the revelations" given to him (2 Cor 12:7). Others might have considered that "thorn" a curse, but not Paul. He learned at the feet of Jesus that the Lord "scourges every son whom He receives."
The Holy Spirit directed some very sensitive words to the insensitive Corinthian church. Some of their number had become sick, while others had even died, under the mighty hand of God. Their thoughtless attendance at the Lord's Table had not gone unnoticed by the Lord. Because they treated it with contempt, not wrapping their thoughts around their Savior, the hand of the Lord was raised against them. "For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died" (1 Cor 11:29-30). Although it is not fashionable to say so, I should not be surprised if this accounts for the condition of many people in the churches in the land.
"But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world" (1 Cor 11:32). The hand of the Lord seeks to turn us from condemnation. If the spiritually indolent among God's people begin to absorb the ways of the world, God will, through chastening, seek to divert them from their wayward course. He does this because He loves them, and desires their fellowship and presence with Him. Our text summons us to respond to these overtures. Despise not the chastening of the Lord!
PRAYER POINT: Father, I thank You in Jesus name that there are noble and eternal purposes in Your chastening.