DCLM Daily Manna 2025: DCLM Daily Manna 1 February 2025: Divine Correction
Text: Hebrews 12:5-13 (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:
6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
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*.
12 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;
13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.
KEY VERSE: Hebrews 12:6
“For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.”
Shepherds in the old times often carry a rod and a staff. The rod redirects erring herds back into the fold while the staff caresses and cuddles compliant sheep. As in herding and helping sheep, there is a place for the rod and the staff in a human-divine relationship. The rod is for punishment, while the staff is for comfort. This two-sided approach to training and growth is needed for all-round human growth and development.
In our text, Apostle Paul brings a new perspective to the concept of reward: chastening and scourging. He posits that God chastens us as a token of His affection. God only corrects those wards that are responsible, and that respond to Him. The shepherd may sometimes leave the ninety-nine sheep to search for the lost one but rarely abandons the ninety-nine to pursue hardened, incorrigible ones. Chastening is a corrective means of bringing back home erring or lost souls. By so doing, God rebukes, corrects, and removes the erring ones from their downward slope to destruction, thereby bringing them into the reality of life. To mould character and mend broken lives, not only is the staff useful but the rod also.
Some individuals are so lost that unless they’re whipped into the path of rectitude, they will remain in the region of deception. God did this to Israel in the wilderness. He allowed enemy nations to defeat, capture, and enslave them for many years before stepping in to save them. Chastening is also God’s way of helping a believer see the way after the fogs of sinful living have derailed their spiritual journey. The preacher in the book of Proverbs maintains that he who spares the rod will spoil the child. Why is this so? According to Proverbs, “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him” (Proverbs 22:15).
It has been proven that where correction is properly applied, productivity is guaranteed. Human foolishness has led to many unfortunate occurrences, and God’s way of correcting those ills is very clear: repent and follow God or be ignored until greater calamity befalls. The former solution is preferred and will lead to a better society. It is a loving God’s way of bringing good out of man’s evil ways. It is better than the flood of Noah.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Corrections complied with cancels adverse consequences.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Matthew 8-9
Daily Manna 1 February 2025
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