Devarim... Words
Deuteronomy 1:1 - 3:22
The book of Deuteronomy is unique in the
. While the other four books are said to be a direct transcription from Adonai, Deuteronomy is from the heart of Moses, having walked with Adonai and with the people of Israel. It is as though Deuteronomy is the mind of God given from the heart of man: a perspective that, all by itself, lends itself in identity to the person of Messiah Yeshua .
Heb 4:15 KJV For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
There is an intensely practical flavor to the book of Deuteronomy. When we read the other four books of the
, it’s easy to distance ourselves into an intellectual exercise of theology. Deuteronomy is heart stuff. These are the last words of Moses, who has borne this people Israel for forty years. He could have said so many things. He chose to take this time to re-iterate the things of
and appeal to these, his children, to walk in obedience.
The Scriptures establish for us a clear pattern of relationship in how Adonai deals with us as sons and daughters. This is immediately established early in the book of Deuteronomy.
Deu 1:31 KJV And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the LORD thy God bore thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place.
There is a pattern of discipline in the relationship between a father and his children that we see over and over throughout Scripture. Sadly, this pattern is largely ignored in many parental relationships, yet it is given to us by Adonai as how He deals with us.
Heb 12:5-7 KJV 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?
The pattern of biblical discipline is spelled out most succinctly in 2nd Timothy 3:16-17.
2Ti 3:16-17 KJV All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: (17) That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
Here we have a pattern that we’ll see over and over: First, instruction (or doctrine), then reproof, then correction (or discipline) and finally restoration in righteousness. This pattern is actually demonstrated in the entire book of Deuteronomy. It is separated into four parts: Chapters 1-4 are introduction, chapters 5-26 are instruction, chapters 27-29 give an admonition, and chapters 29-30 are appeals of repentance or reconciliation.
In the haf-
(Isaiah 1:1-27 we see the same pattern: instruction, warning, a promise of discipline and finally an appeal for reconciliation.
Here’s the point. Teaching parents how to discipline their children is a biblical process which has four parts. First we must instruct our children in righteousness. They need to have the information and understand why it is important to do the things that we instruct them to do (and not to do the things we tell them not to do). Of course, because they are children and possess the same sin nature that we are so familiar with, they are going to challenge or ignore your instruction from time to time. The next step is reproof, or warning, when you see the child heading in the direction of sin. This is exactly what Adonai did with Cain in Genesis 4:6-7.
Gen 4:6-7 KJV And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? (7) If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
When the child continues to disobey and enters into outright rebellion against the commands, the next essential step is correction or discipline. All of the arguments I’ve heard about biblical corporal punishment are so overly simplistic. It is concluded that all the Scriptures say is that when your child ticks you off, beat him with a stick. Yet, did you know that there are very specific qualifications that define the fool which is to be beaten with the rod of correction? Paul says to train our children up in the nurture and admonition of Adonai (Ephesians 6:4). If I mold my sons and daughters according to my own personal set of standards and expectations (instead of
) then I am, at best, training up my children in the nurture and admonition of me.
In Deuteronomy 2, we see that the discipline of Adonai, by sending the children of Israel back into the wilderness was not simply punitive. It was instructional. He took them on a tour of the nations around them whom he had established in their own lands, despite the overwhelming stature of the enemy that had needed to dispossess. So, our correctional process is not to go through the motions of thoughtless response (when they screw up I hit them); but rather a thoughtful and insightful response to give the child what he or she needs to be encouraged to go in the way of righteousness.
Finally, when the rod is returned to its place, there is still one necessary step to the discipline process. We pick the child up. We hold him in our arms. We tell him that we love him. And we encourage him to continue in the way of righteousness.
So often, we find our own agendas interrupted by the need to deal with the sinful nature of our kids. This is tragic. It is our direct rebellion to the instructions given us in
. How appropriate and yet disappointingly cyclical. The more we understand the way Adonai would have us raise our children, the more we will understand the ways in which He is dealing with us as a Father. Eventually, we’ll even come to see where we are in that process. Last week I was speaking with a man who confessed that he was hard under the disciplining hand of Adonai. I said to him, “Quiet yourself and listen. Next will come love and instruction as to what you should be doing to please Him. He never leaves us in the place of broken relationships. He finishes the process.”
Reading Schedule for this week:
I was actually waiting for others to comment as many times I find myself being the only one commenting. 
