OT discipline vs. NT discipline

Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done, but he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. He even made metal images for the Baals, and he made offerings in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom and burned his sons as an offering, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. And he sacrificed and made offerings on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree. Therefore the Lord his God gave him into the hand of the king of Syria, who defeated him and took captive a great number of his people and brought them to Damascus. He was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, who struck him with great force. For Pekah the son of Remaliah killed 120,000 from Judah in one day, all of them men of valor, because they had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers. And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king’s son and Azrikam the commander of the palace and Elkanah the next in authority to the king. The men of Israel took captive 200,000 of their relatives, women, sons, and daughters. They also took much spoil from them and brought the spoil to Samaria. (2 Chronicles 28:1–8)

Since then, the people who claim to follow Jesus Christ do not always do what is right in the eyes of the Lord. I sometimes am motivated by selfish desires as do others. We make an idol out of paper bills, silver and gold. Our children are ignored just as those who do not know God often put their family low on their priority list. Goodness is motivated by the hope of personal gain.

Therefore, God disciplines us too. He foils those worldly desires, prevents our idols from satisfying our hearts, allows good or harmful consequences to our families, and blocks the personal gain from our bucket lists. We may not wind up in captivity and be physically abused, but nevertheless given up to the forces of evil that rob our love, peace, joy and other spiritual fruit, replacing it with ruined relationships, worry, unrest and lack of concern for anyone else, even those we would normally care about. All of this is to wake us up to our need to rely on and obey the Lord.

The Lord may use others to confront us, such as Hezekiah who “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord; 

“Hear me, Levites! Now consecrate yourselves and the house of the Lord. . . . carry out the filth from the Holy Place. For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done what was evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They have forsaken him and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord and turned their backs. . . . Therefore the wrath of the Lord came on Judah and Jerusalem, and he has made them an object of horror. . . . our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord. . . . that his fierce anger may turn away from us. My sons, do not now be negligent, for the Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him and to be his ministers and make offerings to him.” (2 Chronicles 29:1–11)

As the NT also says, we are to hold to our faith and a good conscience. Otherwise we are in danger of a similar discipline of being held captive by our enemy. 

By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom (Paul) handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. (1 Timothy 1:19–20)
When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. (1 Corinthians 5:4–5)

Such discipline is extreme, even shocking. However, God will work in ways to free us from all sin, willful or committed in ignorance.

“For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? . . . . He disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. (Hebrews 12:6–10)

Oh Lord, my parents didn’t discipline me very much, but You have and I am aware of its value, both times of mild rebuke and times I felt a strong kick in my stubborn and selfish attitudes and actions. Without You, I shudder thinking where I would otherwise be.

 

God’s Unfailing Plan

The human soul is blind to spiritual reality. The reason is sin, and the answer is faith in Jesus Christ, the Light of the world. However, if that Light is rejected, then those realities cannot be known.

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” (John 3:19–21)

Toward the end of His time on earth, Jesus entered Jerusalem in triumph and the city shouted its welcome, but the people actually preferred their god, the human pride expressed in their Pharisaical religious system. Today we might call it the religion of “I can save myself by keeping my own rules. Chambers calls them “religious and upright” yet Jesus said they were like “whitewashed tombs” which appeared beautiful, but were full of dead people’s bones and unclean. (Matthew 23:27) This is the sinner’s attitude of hating the light and refusing to come to it. Their rejection had consequences . . .

And when (Jesus) drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” (Luke 19:41–44)

The city would perish for rejecting their Messiah, even as all who love darkness and reject Him will perish.

Chambers brings that reality to my life by asking “What is it that blinds me in this my day?” He is talking about holding on to something that might even look pleasing on the outside, but it is something that rules me and makes me blind to the things that give total peace with God.

Odd thing is that if I have such a god and suffer from such blindness, how could I know it? I would be blind to it, as unseeing as the Pharisees, as unseeing as the vilest sinner who has rejected all attempts to make him see. The only ‘cure’ for this blindness is an eye-opening from the Spirit of God, a piercing of truth that goes direct to the heart.

Luke 19:41ff is the response of Jesus to a blind heart. He wept over it, yet for those people He offered no hope. They had their opportunity. God appeared to them in human flesh and they said no, rejecting His rule over them. I don’t think this is how Jesus treats those who have said yes and who have seen His light.

I agree with Chambers in that Christians can hang fast to strange gods and that God will bring us face to face to our folly. I agree also that we often resist Him and fight truth. We can be blind to what we could enjoy if we would just abandon such vain foolishness. I also agree that God holds us responsible for what we do not see.

However, that is where the parallel ends. The Pharisees had set their course, but God never gives up on a stubborn child. Because He gave me new life in Christ and adopted me into His forever family, He sets my course and has planned my destiny. He promises that one day I will be like Jesus and that He will stay in my face until that transformation is completed. No matter how entrenched any ‘god’ or stubbornness might be, Jesus is my Savior and He saves His people from our sin.

For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives. It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. (Hebrews 12:6–10)

Chambers says “But now they are hidden from your eyes” — yet I do not believe that. Once Jesus gives light into a stubborn heart, we know it. God might close doors because of it, but He never stops His relentless discipline. My stubborn heart cannot alter the fact that I am His child. He loves me with an everlasting love. Regardless of any silly choices I make, my course is set. I am saved by grace and bound for eternity with Him. No matter what, His changeless plan without a doubt will change my life.

A Father’s Discipline

In a very brief Internet search, anyone can find what lack of discipline does to children, especially lack of discipline from an absent or passive father. Statistics say one out of three children in the United States are without their biological fathers. Many dads who are in the home are not involved in their children’s lives.

Consequently, there is a "father factor" in almost all social issues. “No dad” raises the stats on poverty, maternal and child health, incarceration, crime, teen pregnancy, child abuse, drug and alcohol abuse, education, and childhood obesity.

When dad does not discipline, children lose their sense of right and wrong and miss the benefits of learning from consequences. They also lose respect for authority figures and may act out to gain attention and a sense of importance.

Authoritative parenting is important. This includes spending time with children, providing emotional support, giving daily help, monitoring behavior, and providing consistent, fair and proportionate discipline. In contrast, permissive parenting avoids setting standards and limits, and authoritarian parenting is harsh and rigid in discipline without respect for the child’s views and needs. 

However, authoritative parenting has a positive an influence on child development. Mothers with this parenting style tend to provide emotional warmth for their children, while fathers provide a sense of security. Moms soothe more often; fathers often provide more stimulation. Mom is the source of unconditional love; dad offers approval. Both parents are needed. 

With this in mind, this New Testament passage is rich with wise advice…

For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. (Hebrews 12:6–10)

A child without correction or with harsh discipline has a tough time listening to and accepting the Lord’s discipline. A child who cannot respect and trust their earthly father has a difficult time worshiping and believing in their heavenly Father. If discipline is motivated by, “Kid, you bug me” instead of “I want you to be a better person” then the discipline of the Lord is held suspect and resisted instead of trusted and accepted.

Lack of childhood discipline can produce adults who are deeply unsure of themselves. As these verses say, lack of honest and loving discipline can produce a sense of illegitimacy or worthlessness. However, the discipline of God says to me, “I love you just as you are, but I love you too much to leave you that way.”