Life
Lessons: God’s Discipline
Genesis
27:1-28:9
SITUATION: After Jacob obtained Esau’s birthright, their
mother, Rebekah, helped Jacob trick his father into giving him his brother’s
blessing too.
OBSERVATION: When people choose to hurt others, God
disciplines. God seeks, through his discipline, to save his children from
eternal harm.
INSPIRATION: As a Christian, I most certainly believe in
punishment. Biblical justice demands that individuals be held accountable.
Throughout the history of ancient Israel, to break God’s law was to invite
swift, specific, and certain punishment. When a law was broken, the resulting
imbalance could be righted only when the transgressor was punished and thus
made to “pay” for his wrong.
Though modern sociologists take offense at
this elemental concept of retribution, it is essential. If justice means
getting one’s due, then justice is denied when deserved punishment is not
received. And ultimately this undermines one’s role as a moral, responsible
human being. . . .
In this Biblical sense, punishment is not
only just, it is very often redemptive—to the offender, the victim, and society
at large. (From The God of Stones and
Spiders by Charles Colson)
APPLICATION: Never discipline in anger, but always desire
the best for the other person. If you are disciplined, take it joyfully. Then
thank the individual for having your best interests in mind.
EXPLORATION: God’s Discipline—Psalm 94:12-13; 119:67;
Proverbs 3:11-12; Jeremiah 46:28
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