What Is God's Purpose In Your Pain?

You must *obey God’s *purpose, and *choose *discipline so that you may grow with wisdom for *your posterity. (MAST)

*[You must obey] literally, to heed. Therefore it is more than devoting the ear to listen but devoting the ear to obey. It is to adhere to the instruction and doctrine of the commandments. But this is the Qal imperative of the application of the preceding proverb. To endure the “heat of the day,” which are the current social evils of the fallen culture (Matt.20:12), the Israelite culture was to practice the means (or methods) that imparted grace to God’s chosen people. Through the Levitical sacrificial system, culture was in a position to “hear” and to “understand” the disciplines of the LORD. But to disregard “the purpose” of both the priesthood and the court of the king is to disobey the purpose of Israel altogether. Therefore Israel was to understand her “particular” purpose in the plan of salvation.

*[God’s purpose] literally, the decision. But because the noun is feminine, it is in subjection to the purpose of God for Solomon’s court. This isn’t the court’s decision standing on its own authority but upon God’s intention for the court. It is a feminine underpart to God’s overall “scheme” (or plan) for the kingdom of Israel. The purpose of the court is to administrate discipline to those who walk outside “the sign” of the priesthood (the Sabbath). Therefore God’s purpose for the court is to administrate His judgment between the civil nature of Israel’s inheritance (her land and people), such as disputes that arise from property and trade rights, but more corporately under the sufferings that come against the nation as God’s discipline for her unbelief and failure to keep the covenant under which they vowed allegiance to Him (Deut.4:6-14; 27:11-28:10). Therefore it’s God’s purpose (or intent) of “the discipline,” according to the covenant, that is being “decided” on, that will render a particular judgment from the court to the subject. Solomon’s application of this purpose is to point out Israel’s ignorance of her vow to the covenant and the dishonoring of her fathers’ discipline to obey the sign of the covenant (the Sabbath). And so, to obey this discipline is to honor the Sabbath where the instruction and the purposes of God are revealed, but this court is to show no mercy to those who have no intention of honoring their fathers’ vow of allegiance.

*[choose] literally, to assume. This conveys the understanding of more than just receiving something passively but actively. Think of the concept of “assuming” responsibility. It is to take hold of the burden that comes with the care or concern to do that which is required to fulfill a task. Therefore it is a willful choice to come under this court decision for the effect of its purpose (sanctification in LORD). To turn from this court to enter the court of the LORD is to honor the sanctification of His Day of peace and gladness. The Piel stem offers the “intentional” force of action to bring about the condition of the desired purpose, which is the discipline (Phil.2:12). But because the verb is imperative, the state of the object is potential (or conditional) rather than complete. The Day of rest, i.e., peace and gladness, is at best incomplete without the peace that Christ has made in the day of his crucifixion, but through faith in Christ, this Day of perfection is won through the victory of His eternal resurrection (Heb.4:1-16). Therefore the sign of “this” discipline is no longer to be found in a particular day (or time) of the week but in the signification and marks of His Eternal, Personal identity (Baptism and the Lord’s Table). These are the marks or “signs” of “this” discipline that is “continued” in the new covenant church (1Cor.11:26; Heb.6:1-3). The old system of this “discipline” is swallowed up in His once-for-all substitutional sacrifice of Jesus Christ (1Cor.15:54; 2Cor.5:4; Col.2:14).

*[discipline] literally, the warning. In contrast to the feminine noun, purpose, which is in conjunction with the court of God’s choosing, this noun is “direct” from God. In other words, there is no mediation between God and this particular, exclusive discipline. It was God’s discipline that dragged the subject into this court, but it is also God’s discipline in the purpose of Solomon’s court, which is given “indirectly” of God. Therefore, this discipline is not to be viewed through the lens of Solomon’s rod but directly from the hand of God. And so the accused is to willingly give his back to the stripes of the Lord’s chastisement. Because the court bears the sign and purpose of the Lord’s authority, the accused is to submit willingly rather than to incur a greater discipline. There is no excuse to resist the means (or method) of God’s grace to those humbled through God’s gift and purpose of discipline (1Pet.5:5).

*[your posterity] literally, the last of you (Gen.49:1). This is referring to the remnant of Israel during the time of her restoration (Acts 1:6;3:21; Matt.19:28-30). In other words, the plan of salvation has a particular purpose for the remnant of this discipline, where all the promises of God are fulfilled in the last generation of her climactic fruit (Matt.20:1-16). This posterity is the ripest, most beautiful generation that is prepared for the glorious appearing of her salvation face-to-face with Christ when the devil who deceived her is restrained to the life of the dust and can deceive her innocence no more, preying upon her glorious wisdom and purity (Mk.10:28-31). There is much that can be said concerning this time of salvation in the land of Israel, where peace is secure, and the perfection of love is her banner, but what is to be applied in the time of our discipline is to obey what has been revealed and to wait for the secret things to be revealed by the Spirit of the living God (in the time His choosing) (Deut.29:29; Rom.8:18-30; Matt.25:1-13).