Chastisement (Divine Discipline)
Whom the Lord loves, He chastens, whether it is an individual,
a city or community, or a nation. Because God loves the whole
world, there has always been a lot of chastening going on. The
history of the Jews as a nation is, in part, a story of the cycles
of discipline and recovery they experienced throughout all their
generations. There are many parallel lessons to be learned by
individual believers regarding the way the Lord handles the individual
and nation in Grace when either is disobedient.
Divine Discipline of the Christian Believer
Chastisement of individuals is for believers only (HEB. 12:5).
God's discipline is based on love, and when a believer is out
of fellowship, discipline is aimed at only one thing, to get the
believer to acknowledge his sin to God, to confess in order to
be restored to fellowship (HEB. 12:6).
Discipline never means a loss of salvation (GAL. 3:26; HEB. 12:6).
Divine discipline is chastisement for sins of the believer in
the immediate context of the sin that was committed. And discipline
is removed by Biblical confession of sin (1 JOHN 1:9; 1 COR. 11:31),
"...if we judge ourselves...".
Suffering may well be part of the chastisement, and confession
does not remove the suffering. However, when suffering continues
after the believer has been restored to fellowship, the cursing
is turned to blessing; that is, the suffering is for a positive
purpose.
If a believer continues in sin and refuses to repent and confess,
the chastisement will become more and more severe. Certain sins
bring compounded discipline, particularly those in which the believer
is acting as a stumbling block to others (MATT. 7:1-12). In extreme
cases, the believer could suffer the Sin Unto Death. However,
all chastisement is confined to time; there will be no discipline
for believers in eternity (REV. 21:4)
The believer can avoid divine discipline through a consistent
exercise of the principles of Christian living outlined in the
Word of God, as illustrated by the passage in HEB. 12:1-6.
Confession is equivalent to "laying aside the weight"
of HEB. 12:1. The result is production and the fruit of the Spirit.
The phrase "...let us run with patience" refers to the
Faith-Rest life. This is Faith-Patience, also spoken of in JAMES
1.
The next recovery principle is Occupation with Christ, the "looking
unto Jesus..." of HEB. 12:2. Then, avoid sins of the mind;
avoid becoming "wearied", a reference to mental depression
resulting from sin in HEB. 12:3. If any of the following are harbored
continually, mental illness can result: A guilt complex; bitterness
or hatred toward others; jealousy or envy; fear about the present
or future; anxiety or worry about little things; desire for revenge;
arrogance; judging another or running him down to others.
HEB. 12:4 refers to having victory over the Sin Nature. Confess,
keep moving, separate from the sin, grow up in Christ, stand on
Grace principles, exercise Faith-Rest, rely on positional truth.
Live in the Word, HEB. 12:5.
Divine discipline is designed to restrain us from sin and to teach
us lessons which will result in growth (HEB. 12:11).
Divine Discipline for a Nation
The Bible has many examples of divine discipline being brought
against communities or nations. The most dramatic discipline of
a city occurred at Sodom and Gomorrah when God destroyed the cities
and their inhabitants at one stroke. There had not been even a
remnant of faithful people there in order to preserve the cities
from final judgment. Even Lot and his family protested against
having to leave.
Another example is the destruction of heathen Jericho in which
all inhabitants were killed except for Rahab and her family. Rahab
obviously had positive volition toward the Gospel, and her family
enjoyed blessing by association in their narrow escape.
As the individual goes, so goes the nation. In order for a nation
to avoid divine discipline, there must be at least some of its
citizens who live in fellowship with the Lord. A question arises
as to how many positive believers constitute a remnant, a "quorum".
The answer is that at least some of the citizenry and some of
the political leadership of a nation must be faithful believers
and have enough influence to maintain the Divine Institutions
in that nation. It's possible that the remnant could be very small
if it is composed of the most influential and powerful citizens,
such as kings, presidents, or other top political and business
leaders. In a democracy, the remnant would probably have to be
fairly large in order to have divine viewpoint influence in elections.
The key is this: in order for a nation to survive there must be
freedom and morality. These are vital for the preservation of
national integrity and for the maintaining of the Divine Institutions
of volition, marriage, family, and nationalism.
There must be freedom so that the Word of God can be taught clearly
and every citizen be given a chance to decide on issues of salvation
and Christian living. People need freedom so that, under positive
volition to the Word of God, they can keep their marriages and
their families together. Families and nations are a part of God's
plan for the human race. Satan's program is immorality, family
breakup, and internationalism. The Divine Institutions were given
to preserve the human race after the Fall and to protect the nations
from the inroads of Satan's program.
There must be morality in order to protect people from criminality,
disease, and the other consequences of unchecked sinfulness. In
particular, the institutions of marriage and the family are very
much dependent on a high level of morality in the community so
that parents can maintain positive momentum for long periods of
time while they are training and nurturing their children. It
is the breakdown of morality which is the first and most obvious
indication that both the individual and the nation are in trouble.
The Five Cycles of Discipline - Leviticus 26
The five "cycles" of discipline refer to the five levels,
or increments, of chastisement which God brings on a nation which
steadfastly refuses to repent of its immorality and live according
to God's plan. When a nation at first very subtly begins to drift
away from the Lord, indicated by a laxness in morality in many
of its citizens and an indifference to the Word of God, the Lord
begins the discipline with relatively gentle reminders in the
form of a loss of peace, a reduction in prosperity, and so forth.
At the other end of the scale, God allows the complete destruction
of a nation which has defiantly ignored all levels of discipline.
This destruction is analogous to the Sin Unto Death suffered by
an individual who is intractable in his defiance of God (Nadab
and Abihu, Saul, Ananias and Sapphira).
At this point you should read LEVITICUS 26:14-29. That chapter
provides a concise outline of God's warnings about the levels
of punishment He will bring on the nation of Israel if they will
not turn from their sinful rebellion. Discipline of the nation
begins with relatively mild problems, including people's loss
of inner peace and mental depression. There will be great fear
and paranoia among the people, accompanied by lack of success
in business and agriculture, poverty, sickness, and defeat in
battle.
Verses 18 to 20 show the second stage of discipline which is characterized
by a continued lack of fellowship with the Lord, loss of national
prestige and honor, a cessation of God's grace provision for the
nation, and a great barrenness in the land.
The third cycle, verses 21 and 22, includes great plagues, no
control over natural enemies, a general inability to subdue the
earth, the death of children, and the beginnings of great desolation
among the people.
In verses 23-26 chastisement becomes severe, with increased attacks
by enemies, invasions by foreign powers. There is extreme economic
adversity and poor productivity, even in the production of necessities,
resulting in famine. Some national sovereignty remains, but invaders
have ever-widening influence in all areas of life. There are increases
in plagues and disease.
The fifth cycle of discipline involves complete loss of personal
and national sovereignty, the destruction of the family and the
nation. Offerings to God are unacceptable. Nations which have
undergone this destruction have experienced slavery, cannibalism,
and the assimilation of its surviving citizens into other cultures.
Seeds of National Destruction, Genesis 11
The people of Babel, in defiance of God, thought they could construct
a better society, a more secure, more compatible, more idealistic
community. Their volitional defiance of God began at the grass
roots level, "They said to one another..."; then they
united in an effort to organize their society under agreed-upon
principles. They had a complete disregard for God; there was no
communication between God and man. They refused divine viewpoint
and the commandment to go throughout the world and multiply.
During the Age of the Jews there were many examples of national
discipline. HOSEA 4:1-7 gives an example of the nation rejecting
Bible teaching and building for chastisement. They were engaged
in false business practices (4:2); there was no application of
grace, "no truth...nor mercy" (4:1); they were in a
miserable state "languish" (4:3); there was false prosperity
"they are increased" (4:7); they followed their religious
leaders to destruction.
The whole book of Isaiah, notably chapter 28, was directed at
the nation which had rejected the authority of God.
National destruction came on every nation that rejected the Word
of God, not just the nation of Israel. Canaan was destroyed by
the Jews under Joshua. There was divine discipline on Egypt for
refusing to let the Jews leave. Assyria was destroyed (2 KINGS
19:35; 2 CHRON. 32:21). Babylon, in turn, faded quickly as a nation
(DANIEL 5).
And discipline is related to cities as well as to nations, as
the following examples indicate:
Sodom and Gomorrah, GEN. 18:20
Jericho, JOSHUA 6
Jerusalem, LUKE 21:24; JER. 5:1
Damascus, ISAIAH 17:1
Nineveh, NAHUM 3:5-8
Babylon, ISAIAH 13:19-21
Tyre, EZEKIEL 26,27; ISAIAH 23:1
Rome, REV. 17:11; 18:1ff
Chorazin and Bethsaida, MATT. 11:21
Sidon, EZEKIEL 28:20,22