Deuteronomy 8:5, “Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, [so] the LORD thy God chasteneth thee.”

 

During the Spanish American war  Captain Gridley mounted the conning tower of his ship and received the order from Admiral Dewey, “You may fire when ready Gridley.”   Captain Gridley did not hesitate and immediately opened fire sinking the Spanish flag ship. Well, that was a good thing, at least for the American side, but you know that is the problem with many Christians, they think they get an order from God to open fire on a passage of Scripture without giving it any thought and end up sinking one of God’s flag ship promises. When it comes to Deuteronomy 8:5 the order is, “Not so fast Gridley.”

 

Before you dive blindly headlong into the verse and say, “Oh yeah, God will chasten us just like a father chastens his children, good teaching, let’s move on,”  stop for a moment and look at those first words, “consider in thine heart.”   God did not put that in there to give it a little poetic pump.  There is something very important in those words that we as Christians easily overlook, but the Jewish sages did not overlook.  In fact in the Masoretic text they felt it was important enough to make a little notation called keri.  Now I know I take pot shots at the Masoretic text from time to time, but in truth, I really do respect this Jewish work, I just do not raise it to the level of being the inspired Word of God, but I do respect its historical and traditional input.  When the Masoretic text indicates a keri it is telling us that this word can have a wide range of meanings both symbolically, metaphorically and entomologically. Keri  is telling us, don’t look at the word symbolically, simply take it at face value, and render it literally.  The word used for consider is yada and is in a Piel Perfect form and simply means to know something or something that is commonly known and understood.  Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev  put it this way.  The Hebrew words yada’eta im levaveka literally means what is commonly known and understood about the heart (of a father).  In other words, it may not be true in every case, but this is the socially acceptable understanding. It is also interesting that the word for heart has a double Beth which would indicate two hearts joined together.  What is understood is understood by your heart joined with the heart of God.

 

Rabbi Levi Yitzachak of Berditchev explains that what is being expressed in this verse is not that God chastens man as a man chastens his son, but that what a father feels when chastening his son is what God feels when chastening his people.  The generally understood feeling that a father has when he must chasten his child is, “This is gonna hurt me more than you.” Of course this is not true in every case and that why the Masoretic text put in the keri notation.   The general belief is that a father hates to chasten his child, he does not want to chasten his child, but he will do it, he will do what he wishes to the world he does not have to do, but because he loves his child and knows that if he does not correct his child the child may continue doing something that will cause a greater harm.

 

I recall as a teacher I would often have a student who was very delightful, eager to learn and studied very hard.  Yet when it came time to grade the student’s test I found the student had failed the test.  Everything in me cried out against giving that student an “F” but I had to do it, I was not helping the student if I did not give him a failing grade.

 

The word chasten as used in the Hebrew is very misunderstood.  The word used in the Hebrew is yasar which merely means to correct, admonish and instruct.  It has nothing to do with physical or corporal punishment.

 

I remember as a child I took piano lessons.  I was so taken with what is known as stride piano which grew out of the old Jazz piano and became popular in Gospel music. My piano teacher had once played for Lawrence Welk and was very well verse in stride piano.  I recall working on a piece very hard and I could not wait to show my piano teacher what I had accomplished.  He knew I worked very hard but when I played the piece but he became very silent, then very apologetic and even apologized and “I am really sorry, but that is not right.” I remember it was like my whole world collapsed, but I think my piano teacher suffered more than I did in having to tell me I was just not playing the piece right.  He corrected me, he yasar’d me and guided me into the right direction.  Unfortunately, my talents did not lie in stride piano or any piano for that matter about the only place I can play the piano now a days is in a nursing home where half the people can’t hear me to begin with.

 

I traced this word yasar (chastise) to its Semitic origins and found it came out of the Akkadian language.  The Akkadians were great builders and this word was used in the building trade to indicate the laying of a sure and firm foundation.  This is what chastisement is all about, it is about building a firm foundation.  God must step into our lives from time to time to yasar us, to correct us, change our direction so that He can build a firm and sure foundation.

 

Yet as Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev clearly points out, if this yasar is painful, sorrowful or grievous, you can rest assured it is hurting God more than it hurts us to have to correct us.  He is not an angry God who is ready to fly off the handle, become irrational and start sending out lightning bolts when we don’t pay our ten percent tithe or miss church on Sunday and then he sits back, arms cross saying, “Well, that will show you who is boss around here.”  Deuteronomy 8:5 is picturing a gentle, loving God who longs for us to not fall into harmful practices and suffers more than we do when He must correct us.

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