Day 8/10 – The Discipline of the Father

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Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man by Walter A Henrichsen (“Walt”)
The Discipline of the Father
Day Two Hundred Twenty-two

“For the Lord disciplines him whom he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” Hebrews 12:6

Quoting from Proverbs,289 the writer of Hebrews exhorts his readers to respond properly to God’s discipline. Love and discipline go together; the only people God does not discipline are those He does not love. Rather than discouraging you, His discipline ought to be of great encouragement.

But how do you know if His discipline is for wrong committed, or to push you towards excellence? If the Holy Spirit convicts you of some specific sin in the midst of the chastisement, then you should probably assume a connection and obey the prompting of the Spirit. Otherwise, you don’t need to know; it doesn’t make that much difference. In either case, God’s objective when correcting you remains the same: to conform you to the image of His Son.290

For example, in athletics, the coach is hardest on those with the greatest potential. Let’s say you and I are on a basketball team, and after scrimmage as we head for the showers, you say, “The coach was too hard on me. I can’t seem to please him; he is constantly in my face.” I answer, “I wish he were hard on me. You are the star player and I sit out the game on the bench.” Whether the Coach pushes you because of your doing something wrong, or to make you better makes no difference apart from the response He wants from you; in either case you benefit.

289 cf. Proverbs 3:11-12
290 Romans 8:29

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Psalm 79-80 Romans 11:1-18 (New King James Version)

Psalm 79-80
A Dirge and a Prayer for Israel, Destroyed by Enemies
A Psalm of Asaph.
79
O God, the [a]nations have come into Your inheritance;
Your holy temple they have defiled;
They have laid Jerusalem [b]in heaps.
2
The dead bodies of Your servants
They have given as food for the birds of the heavens,
The flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth.
3
Their blood they have shed like water all around Jerusalem,
And there was no one to bury them.
4
We have become a reproach to our neighbors,
A scorn and derision to those who are around us.
5
How long, Lord?
Will You be angry forever?
Will Your jealousy burn like fire?
6
Pour out Your wrath on the [c]nations that do not know You,
And on the kingdoms that do not call on Your name.
7
For they have devoured Jacob,
And laid waste his dwelling place.
8
Oh, do not remember [d]former iniquities against us!
Let Your tender mercies come speedily to meet us,
For we have been brought very low.
9
Help us, O God of our salvation,
For the glory of Your name;
And deliver us, and provide atonement for our sins,
For Your name’s sake!
10
Why should the [e]nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Let there be known among the nations in our sight
The avenging of the blood of Your servants which has been shed.
11
Let the groaning of the prisoner come before You;
According to the greatness of Your [f]power
Preserve those who are appointed to die;
12
And return to our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom
Their reproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord.
13
So we, Your people and sheep of Your pasture,
Will give You thanks forever;
We will show forth Your praise to all generations.
Prayer for Israel’s Restoration
To the Chief Musician. Set to [g]“The Lilies.” A [h]Testimony of Asaph. A Psalm.
80
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
You who lead Joseph like a flock;
You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth!
2
Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh,
Stir up Your strength,
And come and save us!
3
Restore us, O God;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!
4
O Lord God of hosts,
How long will You be angry
Against the prayer of Your people?
5
You have fed them with the bread of tears,
And given them tears to drink in great measure.
6
You have made us a strife to our neighbors,
And our enemies laugh among themselves.
7
Restore us, O God of hosts;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!
8
You have brought a vine out of Egypt;
You have cast out the [i]nations, and planted it.
9
You prepared room for it,
And caused it to take deep root,
And it filled the land.
10
The hills were covered with its shadow,
And the [j]mighty cedars with its boughs.
11
She sent out her boughs to [k]the Sea,
And her branches to [l]the River.
12
Why have You broken down her [m]hedges,
So that all who pass by the way pluck her fruit?
13
The boar out of the woods uproots it,
And the wild beast of the field devours it.
14
Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts;
Look down from heaven and see,
And visit this vine
15
And the vineyard which Your right hand has planted,
And the branch that You made strong for Yourself.
16
It is burned with fire, it is cut down;
They perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.
17
Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself.
18
Then we will not turn back from You;
Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.
19
Restore us, O Lord God of hosts;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!
Footnotes:
• Psalm 79:1 Gentiles
• Psalm 79:1 in ruins
• Psalm 79:6 Gentiles
• Psalm 79:8 Or against us the iniquities of those who were before us
• Psalm 79:10 Gentiles
• Psalm 79:11 Lit. arm
• Psalm 80:1 Heb. Shoshannim
• Psalm 80:1 Heb. Eduth
• Psalm 80:8 Gentiles
• Psalm 80:10 Lit. cedars of God
• Psalm 80:11 The Mediterranean
• Psalm 80:11 The Euphrates
• Psalm 80:12 walls or fences

Romans 11:1-18
Israel’s Rejection Not Total
11 I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying, 3 “Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life”? 4 But what does the divine response say to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. 6 And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. [a]But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.
7 What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded. 8 Just as it is written:
“God has given them a spirit of stupor,
Eyes that they should not see
And ears that they should not hear,
To this very day.”
9 And David says:
“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
A stumbling block and a recompense to them.
10
Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see,
And bow down their back always.”
Israel’s Rejection Not Final
11 I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their [b]fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. 12 Now if their [c]fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!
13 For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 14 if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them. 15 For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?
16 For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. 17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and [d]fatness of the olive tree, 18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.
Footnotes:
• Romans 11:6 NU omits the rest of v. 6.
• Romans 11:11 trespass
• Romans 11:12 trespass
• Romans 11:17 richness