He
layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous (Prov 2:7)
Proverbs Concerning: Our Relationship To Our
Possessions: Prov 3:11-12
11) My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD;
neither be weary of his correction:
12) For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a
father the son [in whom] he
delighteth.
INTRODUCTION:
Solomon now gives us
proverbs that help us to understand the proper attitude we should have as we received
chastening at the hand of our Lord.
Please keep in mind that the divine chastening of the people of God is not
only an Old Testament concept, but a New Testament concept as well (1 Cor
11:32, Hebrews 12:4-11, Rev 3:19).
EXPOSITION:
11) My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of
his correction:
Solomon
reminds his students of his love and concern for them before he addresses this
very important, but unpopular, subject.
The
chastening hand of the Lord has two aspects…
1.
they are warnings and discipline that is meant to reveal our errors (chastening)
2.
they are arguments and motivations to turn us back to the right path
(correction)
The
discipline that is meted out by the Lord is for our good. He is turning us from
a harmful path upon which we are traveling and turning us back to a path that
is beneficial for us.
Realizing
that the Lord is working for our good, our attitude should be:
1.
we should not quickly brush off and ignore His discipline (despise)
2.
we should not tire quickly under His hand of discipline for we will reap benefits
if we endure (weary)
(Note:
the word “weary” is from a Hebrew word for the harvest season of Summer. The idea is that the harvesters did not give
into their weariness they would be able to receive a full harvest of the
crops. If they tired too quickly the
harvest would not be brought to completion.)
“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the
inward [man] is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a
moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding [and] eternal weight of glory;” (2 Corinthians 4:16-17)
12) For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son [in whom] he delighteth.
The
motive behind the discipline coming from the Lord is…
1. His love for His people. (loveth)
2. His parental concern for those who are no
longer debtors to Him. (the son… delighteth)
“And ye have forgotten the exhortation which
speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of
the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth
he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening,
God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father
chasteneth not?” (Hebrews 12:5-7)
SUMMARY:
When
we realize the Lord’s discipline is for our good and proceeds from a heart of
love and concern for us, we should accept His discipline seriously and allow it
to work completely in us. By doing this
we will reap all the blessings of the discipline that were intended for us.
“For if we would judge
ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not
be condemned with the world.” (1 Corinthians 11:31-32)
By
God’s grace, let us all study these proverbs diligently, giving them the value
that they deserve.
May the
Lord bless us as we receive this sound wisdom and then “Think On These Things”.
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