Hebrews Chapter Twelve, Whom The Lord Loves...

 

Hebrews 12:5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; [6] For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.”

 

Verse 5 transitions from the former thought here. The former dealt with persecution for our faith and laying aside temptation so we might run our race, culminating in verse 4, which affirms that the Hebrew Christians had not yet endured persecution to bloodshed, striving against sin. Sin in this instance refers to outside influence and pressure from people opposed to the gospel message.

Hebrews 10:32-34 reminds the Jewish Christians that they had already entered into the suffering of former saints, as well as our Lord, by sympathizing with those persecuted, and thus likewise becoming persecuted. The writer had been in prison, and the Hebrew Christians became companions with such men; the outcome was that they became the targets of hatred in pluralistic Rome, having their goods plundered. But all of this was external; they had not had hands laid on them yet, like the writer, who had been imprisoned for his faith at least once. Jesus warned His followers before His death that, “the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me,” John 16:2, 3.

 

That this persecution had come to the followers of Christ in the first century was well attested to, as we read in Tacitus’s Annals, “Besides being put to death they were made to serve as objects of amusement; they were clad in the hides of beasts and torn to death by dogs; others were crucified, others set on fire to serve to illuminate the night when daylight failed. Nero had thrown open his grounds for the display, and was putting on a show in the circus, where he mingled with the people in the dress of a charioteer or drove about in his chariot. All this gave rise to a feeling of pity, even towards men whose guilt merited the most exemplary punishment; for it was felt that they were being destroyed not for the public good but to gratify the cruelty of an individual.”

 

Verses 5 and 6, which we are currently considering, cite Proverbs 3:11, 12. In its original context, Solomon is addressing Rehoboam, his son and rightful heir to the throne of Israel. Rehoboam’s personal rebuke by God’s will came in the form of Jeroboam leading away 10 of the 12 tribes to become northern Israel, or Samaria. It is written of Rehoboam, “Now it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom and had strengthened himself, that he forsook the law of the Lord, and all Israel along with him,” 2 Chronicles 12:1. We are never informed if Rehoboam was a saved man; what we do know is that he received poor counsel and suffered the consequences of his folly. We also know that his folly of heeding said poor counsel and its attendant consequences was a, “turn of events…from the Lord, that He might fulfill His word,” 1 Kings 12:15. Rehoboam was, without doubt, a proud man, seeing how he answered the people’s cry for less severity when it came to their workload. He had grown up in Solomon’s shadow, and might have seen the need to establish himself as his own man, thus disregarding the counsel of his elders and embracing the foolish talk of his peers. But beneath all of it, it was from the Lord. What is written regarding the aftermath of Israel’s defection was that Rehoboam prepared for war, to unify the country by threat of force, 1 Kings 12:21. Nonetheless, when Shemaiah the prophet rebuked Rehoboam, saying, “You shall not go up nor fight against your brethren, the children of Israel. Let every man return to his house, for this thing is from Me,” (1 Kings 12:24) the king obeyed.

 

God uses external forces to chasten His children. The concept of chastening sounds bizarre and horrifying to our American ears, but persecution is a common thing in many parts of the world. In certain Muslim-ruled countries one cannot publicly (or privately) preach Christ or own a Bible for fear of extremely harsh consequences. And Christian persecution is beginning to increase in the United States as our liberal government acts on behalf of certain special interest groups to make preaching Christ, praying in public, etc. an illegal hate crime, punishable by prison and/or fines. Yet God says of His people, “For My name’s sake I will defer My anger, and for My praise I will restrain it from you, so that I do not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction,” Isaiah 48:9, 10.