See the Bible Through Jewish Eyes BIBLE STUDY WITH DR. RICH FREEMAN
Hebrews 12:4-11
OUR FATHER’S DISCIPLINE
Our previous Bible study ended with an
admonition to the Jewish believers who were
struggling with persecution: to consider all that
Yeshua went through in order that they would “not
grow weary and lose heart.” In Hebrew 12:4, the
writer continues this thought by reminding them
that regardless of how difficult
things have become, “You have
not yet resisted to the point of
shedding blood.” In spite of the
challenges they were facing, those
who were persecuting them were
not yet torturing or killing them
for their faith. Jesus died on that
Roman cross, but these Hebrew
believers had not yet faced death.
Now, in 12:5–6, the writer of
Hebrews reminds them of the exhortation
in Proverbs 3 regarding
how to respond to persecution:
as a discipline of the Lord. By
quoting Proverbs 3:11–12, the
writer asks these believers who
are experiencing persecution to
view their afflictions as evidence
of their Heavenly Father’s love
for them. Rather than “regarding
lightly” His discipline or being
discouraged when persecution
comes, they should instead see
it in a positive way and welcome it as assurance
that they are the sons of God, “For those whom the
Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son
whom He receives.”
It is very important to understand the difference
between punishment and discipline. Punishment
is a consequence for doing evil. God never
punishes His children for their iniquities because
all punishment for sin was carried by Jesus the
Messiah on the cross. “Therefore there is now no
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”
(Romans 8:1).
So, if one is a true believer in Jesus, a child of God,
they should never fear punishment from Him.
Discipline, on the other hand, has the goal of
training. It is intended to be an instructive device
by which a child will be moved to conform to
the standards of his father. It is the responsibility
6 The Chosen People | JUNE 2019
of earthly fathers who love their children to
discipline them, so God, as our Heavenly Father
who loves us, disciplines us, His children.
The absence of any discipline would indicate that
we are not sons of God, but in fact, “illegitimate children.”
In the Roman world in which
the Book of Hebrews was written,
an illegitimate son had no rights of
inheritance. Ishmael is the primary
Old Testament example of an
illegitimate child. He was the true
child of Abraham. Yet because he
was illegitimate—the son of Hagar
not Sarah—he did not receive the
ultimate inheritance that Isaac,
the legitimate child, did. Ishmael
certainly received some blessings
because he was Abraham’s son,
but he did not receive what would
be the full inheritance that Isaac
received. Considering that a main
component of the Book of Hebrews
is warning Jewish believers not to
depart from the faith and go back
to the Judaism of their day, those
who are “illegitimate children” are
those who eventually do fall into
apostasy.
Beginning in Hebrews 12:9, the
writer compares the discipline of earthly fathers
and our Heavenly Father. He writes, “Furthermore,
we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected
them.” A normal response to the discipline
of our earthly father is to respect him because he
is faithful to his responsibilities. The comparison
of the two fathers makes the application obvious:
“Shall we not much rather be subject to the Father
of spirits, and live?” With all their human frailties,
our earthly fathers are respected when they discipline
us. Our Heavenly Father, the Father of spirits
“disciplines us for our good, so that we may share
His holiness.” This should result in our desiring to
be subject to Him. His discipline “for the moment
seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful,” and results
in those trained by it yielding “the peaceful fruit of
righteousness.” Our Heavenly Father disciplines us
so that we may mature and bear much fruit for the
Lord and His kingdom.
Dr. Rich Freeman, D. Min.
serves as the Vice President
for Church Ministries and
Conferences with Chosen
People Ministries and
lives in South Florida
with his wife, Julia.
HEBREWS 12:5-11 NASB
5…This exhortation …is
addressed to you as sons,
“My son, do not regard
lightly the discipline of the
Lord, nor faint when you
are reproved by Him;
6 For those whom the Lord
loves He disciplines,….”
10 For they disciplined us
for a short time as seemed
best to them, but He
disciplines us for our good,
so that we may share His
holiness. 11 All discipline for
the moment seems not to
be joyful, but sorrowful; yet
to those who have been
trained by it, afterwards it
yields the peaceful fruit of
righteousness.