Day 12 - 90 Days in Proverbs - A Father's Correction
Proverbs 3:11-12 [NKJV] 11 My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor detest His correction; 12 For whom the LORD loves He corrects, Just as a father the son [in whom] he delights.
Solomon uses three different Hebrew words here for chastening, correction and corrects – covering all the bases of the discipline from instruction to correction to punishment. God, our Father, who knows us better than we know ourselves, like any good parent, has more than one correction tool in His toolbox for working with His children.
It’s amazing how closely this scripture aligns with one in the New Testament.
Hebrews 12:7-8 [NKJV] 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.
Well, maybe it isn’t so amazing that these two scriptures are so perfectly in synch, since God inspired both Testaments and both writers.
Why does God do it – why does He instruct, correct and punish us at different times? Out of love for us, of course, as Proverbs 3:12 tells us. But also for our growth.
Hebrews 12:11 [NKJV] Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
The fruit of correction by a loving Father, given to a child who seeks to obey, is righteousness. Instruction, correction and punishment lead to righteousness in us.
In 1 Chronicles 21, David was given the choice of three punishments for his sin of numbering the people. Here is the account of what he selected and why:
1 Chronicles 21:13 [NKJV] 13 And David said to Gad, "I am in great distress. Please let me fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies [are] very great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man."
The passages in both Proverbs and Hebrews acknowledge that no one likes punishment or correction. But, we must understand that it is necessary for us, just as it is necessary for our own children.
And, just like David did, we must learn to trust God’s correction and His mercy more than that of any human father, more than any government, more even than any friend. The best human fathers are flawed. Parents make mistakes. We have our own sins and faults to work around.
But God, our Father, is perfect. He has no sin nor fault to cloud His judgement. Through His correction, He seeks to make more like Him. He seeks to make us children of righteousness. The path may bring us sorrow or pain, but the end result is worth the process.
Prayer — Father God, I know I need to be corrected in order to become more like you. I seek your correction, as David did, and trust in it as I trust in your love. I submit to your correction because I love You and because I want to become more like You. Guide me daily by Your Holy Spirit so that I need less correction. Please correct me with gentleness when I need it. In the name of Your only perfect Son, I ask. Amen.
Your thoughts —
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