I started a word study on ‘punishment’ and ‘discipline.’ One of the first places it took me was Exodus 32: the Israelites had given up on Moses coming back from his time on the mountain with God, so they made a golden calf as their new god. I mean, 40 days and nights is a long time to not hear from their leader! However, hadn’t God shown them again and again His faithfulness as He led them out of Egypt, stayed with them as a cloud by day and pillar of fire by night, and continually provided for them? Not to mention all the times Moses defended the people and called on the Lord’s forgiveness for them.
Then the consequences. Exodus 32:31-34 “So Moses went back to the Lord and said, ‘Oh what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. But now, please forgive their sin – but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.’ The Lord replied to Moses, ‘Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.'”
There are so many things just in these few verses, but I will touch on just a couple. 1) Moses offered to take responsibility for their actions, but God made it clear that each person is responsible for their own sin. Yet what a beautiful picture of what Jesus actually did for us! What grace was being offered. 2) ‘Now lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you.’ Again, in the midst of their failure to follow God and trust His leader no matter what, grace is given. He is still going to lead them to the land He promised. 3) ‘I will still punish.’ Yet the punishment is not to hurt them, but to grow them: Punish: inflict a penalty or sanction on someone as retribution for an offense, especially a transgression of a legal or moral code. Discipline: the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience.
It’s easy for us to judge the Israelites since we can look back and see the whole picture. But are we much different? God doesn’t answer us right away, or doesn’t move a mountain in our timing, or allows a curve ball to our plans, and we are up in arms, stomping off to do things our way. We can’t see or understand Him, so we choose something more tangible as our god. And then we get mad at the consequences, and sometimes at God.
Yet with God, punishment and grace go hand in hand. He uses the punishment to discipline us so we become more mature in Him, all the while covering us with His grace. Grace … we don’t deserve it, but He still gives it!