MUSAR ADONAI
I grew up in a home with three younger brothers. I was spoiled; I always had my own room, but my three brothers shared a large bedroom when they were very young. You put three young boys in one bedroom and you will get fights, sibling rivalry and pillow fights. I remember numerous times my father climbing the stairs walking past my bedroom on the way to their bedroom. I knew he had the belt and he was going to give my brothers a spanking. My brothers would get quiet immediately; they knew that my father’s entry meant that he had some punishment for them. I never was present during any of the spankings; I just heard my brothers’ crying. I learned decades later that my brothers faked the crying! Dad spanked them on top of their bedcovers; they knew how to fake out my father.
There is quite a difference between parental chastening and holy chastening, the chastening of the LORD, Musar Adonai. Our parents are finite beings, they disciplined as they saw fit. Most of the time they disciplined us because we deserved the correction. He who withholds his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently as Proverbs 13:24 tells us. A parent loves his child and sometimes correction with the rod (or belt) is necessary.
But the chastening of the LORD, Musar Adonai, is different. “You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the LORD your God chastens you.” Deut. 8:5 There are times in our lives when our loving Heavenly Father chastens us. It could be through affliction of disease, illness, disappointment, loss, death and so on. When we go through these times, there are a few things that we need to know.
Our Father loves us. He loves us with chesed, lovingkindness and it is divine lovingkindness. The human mind cannot fathom the depths of His love for us. “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! “ 1 John 3:1 Our Father loves us, there is a divine love that He has for each of us, His children. His love for us is greater than a father’s love for a child. It is a holy relationship. It is a divine relationship. We must learn to accept that He loves us, even if we did not receive parental love. God’s love is perfect love; there is no better experience in life than to be on the receiving end of His love.
Yet Hebrews 12:6 says “For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives." Is this an oxymoron? A loving Father who chastens? Yes, it is a divine oxymoron, the mystery of God’s discipline. It is not pleasurable to be in the school of the LORD’s chastening. Yet Hebrews 12: 7-8 states ” It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. “ If God did not love you, He would not chasten you. But there is a mystery within this holy love relationship with God, that He does love us, yet sometimes we must come under His hand of correction, Musar Adonai, the chastening of the LORD.
Why does this happen? Sometimes I wish God did not love me so much as to correct me and cause so much pain! The LORD allows us to go through these times of chastening to bring forth humility, to make us obey, to test our patience, to encourage us, and to strengthen our faith, the acronym HOPES. There are times when we need to be humbled. We need to be reminded that God is God, and we are not. Perhaps we have disobeyed God. Holy chastening is necessary. God is not so concerned about giving us immediate relief. He is most desirous that our character be conformed to the Messiah, to Jesus, Yeshua. These times of chastening are necessary. We are not in this world to be comfortable but that our character is conformable to that of Messiah’s character. “But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. (James 1:4) God sometimes chastens us to be encouraged of His love. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For just as the sufferings of Messiah are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Messiah. ( 2 Corin 1:3-5) He comforts us through afflictions, to make our ministry great, to be able to encourage others. He strengthens our faith through chastening. “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for; the conviction of things not seen.” (Heb. 11:1), And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” (Heb. 11:6) How can we demonstrate our faith in our heavenly Father unless we are chastened? No one likes exercise, if exercise was so much fun, everyone would be doing it. Yet exercise is good for the body. The hardest muscle to be exercised is our faith muscle, yet it is the BEST muscle to be exercised. It needs to be exercised and the only way to have our faith muscle exercised is through trials, disciplines, and chastening.
“My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor detest His correction; For whom the LORD loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.” (Prov. 3:11-12) So we come back home to the love of the Father for us. He delights in you , Zephaniah 3:17 says “"The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.”
I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the LORD
In the land of the living.
Wait on the LORD;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD! Psalm 27:13-14
www.barricae.com
