Pulpit Magazine

(By Ralph Drollinger)

D.  THE COMPARISON TO SPANKING

Hebrews 12:5-11 is a wonderful NT passage outlining God’s heavenly desire to discipline His spiritual children—those whom He has chosen but who still need to be rescued from besetting sins. This passage serves to incorporate the previous proverbial instruction on parental discipline with the very character of God:

“MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.” It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

The capital letters are a quote by the writer of Hebrews from the OT book of Job (that is the translation style of the NASB editors). It should be noted that Solomon quotes the same passage in Proverbs 3:11-12. What is being said in Hebrews is certainly illustrated by the life of Job in perhaps the most extreme way. Notice the authentication of the principle of the rod here in the NT: “Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them . . . for they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them.” The reason God disciplines His children (His saints, cf. Eph. 1:4) has to do not only with our yielding the fruits of righteousness but God’s preparation of a spotless bride—His church—to present to His Son at the future marriage supper of the Lamb (cf. Rev. 19:9; 21:1 & 2).

He is intent about bring His children to maturity, and the rod is His means.

In one of the most well-known Psalms of all, the one that depicts the LORD as our shepherd, King David states, “Your rod (shebet) and your staff, they comfort me” (23:4). Divine discipline ultimately produces spiritual comfort (cf. James 1:2-4). Thus, Hebrews 12 provides a wonderful insight into the mind of God on this matter: Corrective discipline (including spanking) is a practice He models for us; it is, in fact, part of His nature (cf. 1 Cor. 14:21; Phil. 1:6; 2:13; Rev. 12:5). Should it not therefore be ours too? Herein is a communicable attribute of God to us.

E.  THE CONCLUSION OF SPANKING

The following Proverb illuminates the fabulous results of proper parenting. Notice it carefully:

1.  THE FUTURE OF THE CHILD

29:15, 17 The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother. . . . Correct your son, and he will give you comfort; he will also delight your soul.

Not only does the rod bring the skill at living life to the child, in contrast to life-long rebellion toward all forms of authority, but proper use of the rod blesses and will bring comfort and delight to the innermost parts of the parents. This is reflected by the idea of training in the following Proverb:

22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.

These principles should motivate everyone to use God’s ordained tools for childrearing. It should be noted that God’s Word does not allow parents to choose whether or not to spank their children as a form of discipline. Spanking a rebellious child is not optional, as was previously seen in Proverbs 23:13-14. Spanking is not a suggestion. Today unfortunately, too many professing Christians, because of a lack of biblical understanding or outright rebellion, assert that whether or not one spanks is a personal choice. It is not. Christians are not at liberty to pick and choose when they will follow God’s commands. Parents, think of spanking in this way: As hard as it is for you to spank your child, his or her obedience to God in the future is directly related to yours in the present

2.  THE FUTURE OF THE STATE

In the Proverbs just mentioned from chapter 29, verse 16 was intentionally bypassed for the purposes of emphasis herein. Notice what Solomon tells his son about the impact on the state from a lack of familial spanking:

29:15-17 The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother. 16 When the wicked increase, transgression increases; but the righteous will see their fall. 17 Correct your son, and he will give you comfort; he will also delight your soul.

The bottom line:

In context, and paraphrased, verse 16 finds Solomon instructing his son, who would become the next king, on the relationship of the health of a nation to familial spanking. How’s that for the applicability of the Bible for today? He states that when children get their own way in the home, transgressions in society increase. And as a result the reign of those societies is short-lived. This principle is replete throughout Scripture: deter spanking in the home now and you are sure to pay for it later—in a major, major way!

Because government is called by God to be a form of His restraining grace in a fallen world (1 Pet. 2:13) it must empower and encourage—not encroach upon—the family and the church to do their job of wielding the rod in the home. It would be foolish to take it away! Our state’s penal system must partner with the other institutions God has ordained, versus cutting them off and taking on a burden that will be unmanageable within another generation.

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