CHASTISEMENT: AN OLD COVENANT REALITY AND A NEW COVENANT FICTION?
Lev 25:1 KJ2000
And the LORD spoke unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying,
When you read the book of Leviticus, many of of the chapters begin with what God said to Moses. So you’ll notice “and the LORD spoke unto Moses…”. The book has many such recordings.
Now remember that the scriptures were not written in or with chapters and verses and all those other elements of grammar that we now use to bring structure to our written communications.
In one such “and the LORD spoke unto Moses…”, which happens to be a recording of portions of the Law the Lord spoke to Moses on mount Sinai; we see commandments of dogma with what consequences will follow if they are obeyed, as well and what will happen if they are not obeyed.
This particular recording begins at chapter 25 and ends in chapter 26. With the last verse reading;
Lev 26:46 KJ2000
These are the statutes and judgments and laws, which the LORD made between himself and the children of Israel on mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.
So we unequivocally know that in this context, we are speaking about the old covenant (well, technically there are older covenants but you know what is popularly referred to as the old covenant).
In speaking of what things will happen when the Law is trespassed, he said the following;
Lev 26:27–29 KJ2000
27 And if you will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me;
28 Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, EVEN I, WILL CHASTISE YOU seven times FOR YOUR SINS.
29 And you shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall you eat.
So in the old covenant, the wrath and chastisement of God, are fully cast in stone: as consequences for sins.
Now let’s come to the new covenant that is sealed in the blood of Jesus: what is God’s attitude to sin;
Heb 8:8–12 KJ2000
8 For finding fault with them, he says, Behold, the days come, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, says the Lord.
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
God’s attitude towards sin has not to do with suffering his anger and chastisement. Sins under the new covenant incurs not wrath and chastisement BUT mercy.
When God chastises you, it is no trivial matter. He says in the verse 29 that you’ll eat the flesh of your children. That’s the degree of desperation to which God’s chastisement could drive you.
So when someone interprets something that the writer of Hebrews said, to mean that God chastises you, even under this dispensation of the new covenant; at the very least, make certain he or she is clear in their mind about what they’re talking about, before you start taking him seriously.
So what did the writer of Hebrews say, and what did he mean?
Kenneth Hagin used to say that, “when you take the ‘text’ out of ‘context’, what you’re left with, is a con”.
Context is key; When the writer of Hebrews talks about chastisement(as some translations put it) in chapter 12, he was NEVER talking about punishment, let alone punishment for sins committed.
Read from chapter 10 to 12. He was talking about his audience PERSEVERING in spite of their persecution (chapter 10) which was because of their faith. That, faith is not all glorious victory like receiving stuff and subduing nations, but that some ‘heroes’ of faith were persecuted, some sawn asunder etc (chapter 11). That, the audience should keep its focus on Jesus who also suffered even death, at the hands of sinners. That, they the audience of the letter have not suffered to the point of bloodshed i.e. referring to the ‘heroes’ of faith and Jesus, who were opposed by sin to the point of bloodshed:
And he likens God taking them through this period of hardship, to that of a father training or tutoring or correcting his son. A situation which is not often pleasant. Nonetheless there’s ‘method to the madness’, i.e. an eventual reaping of the fruits of righteousness and peace. The KJV calls it a harvest of righteousness(chapter 12).
It has absolutely NOTHING to do with God punishing anybody for sins with hardships, with some intent to correct. His attitude towards sin is unambiguously stated in the new covenant; it is MERCY, he chooses not remember your sins. He is not punishing you for what he has chosen not to remember.
Context is important, especially when we read the scriptures.
