Bible Questions Answered:
“What is the chastening of the Lord?”
Ker/ Lambeth, United Kingdom
Bible Answers:
Chasten: To punish in order to correct or make better; chastise. To make purer..refine.
(New World Dictionary)
The Word of the Lord:
Chastening:
Deuteronomy 8:5 KJV
Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth* his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee.
*Chasteneth-Hebrew: Yacar (Yaw-sar): To chastise, (litterally-with blows/ figuratively-with words), to instruct: bind, chasten, chastise, correct, instruct, punish, reform, reprove, sore, teach.
(Abingdon's Strong's Concordance of the Bible.)
Deuteronomy 8:5 NLT
Think about it: Just as a parent disciplines a child, the Lord your God disciplines you for your own good.
Job 5:17
Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth*: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:
*Correcteth-Hebrew-Yakach-(Yaw-Kahh): To chasten, convince, correct, plead, reason, rebuke, reprove.
(Abingdon's Strong's Concordance of the Bible.)
Psalm 94:12 NLT
Joyful are those you discipline, Lord, those you teach with your instructions.
Proverbs 3:11,12 KJV
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.
John 15:1,2 KJV
1 I am the True Vine, and My Father is the Husbandman.
2 Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Hebrews 12:5,7, 11 KJV
5 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
7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
11 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.
* Chastening-Greek-Paideia-(Pahee-di-ah): Education or training, by implied disciplinary correction: -chastening, chastisement, instruction, nurture.
Revelation 3:19 KJV
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Why God's people are chastised:
Condemnation- so that we will not fall into God's disfavor.
Romans 8:1 KJV
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Humility-so that we as God's people, will remain humble in the sight of God.
I Peter 5:5,6 KJV
5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time:
Prayer-so that we as God's people, will be a people calling upon our Father, God.
Isaiah 26:16 KJV
LORD, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them.
Repentance-so that we as God's people, will be a people of confession.
Jeremiah 31:18 NLT
I have heard Israel saying,‘You disciplined me severely, like a calf that needs training for the yoke. Turn me again to you and restore me, for you alone are the Lord my God.
Teachable-so that we as God's people, will remain willing to learn.
Psalm 94:12 KJV
Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law;
Hebrews 12:5-13 NLT
5 And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as His children? He said, “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when He corrects you.
6 For the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes each one He accepts as His child.”
7 As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as His own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father?
8 If God doesn’t discipline you as He does all of His children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really His children at all.
9 Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?
10 For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in His holiness.
11 No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.
12 So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees.
13 Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.
