Chastened in Love – Jer 12
“I have forsaken
Jeremiah 12:7-8mine house, I have left mine heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies. Mine heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest; it crieth out against me: therefore have I hated it.”
The judgment of God on Israel was severe, but it was entirely appropriate. And it was the only choice God had.
He loved them. They were still His ‘house’, His ‘heritage, and ‘the dearly beloved of [His] soul’. Yet, He had no other choice.
Like a lion, they had roared against Him. They refused to submit, refused to obey. With their sin, their leaders had destroyed what God had made, so God had no other choice but to chasten them.
When God chastens His children, it is done in love. It will hurt and not feel like love for a while, but it is what we need and will produce good in our lives.
“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.”
Hebrews 12:5-6
“Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”
Hebrews 12:11
- How have you seen God’s chastening hand at work in your life?
- How do you respond to His chastisement?
- Can you see the reasons for it and the good that will come out of it?
Never forget, that, if we are His children, He dearly loves us and wants the best for us. And often that means He disciplines us for our sin and disciples us for our growth.
I accept all this with patience! To whom else can we go?