Does God Whip His Children?

Most of what we believe about discipline from God comes from the Old Covenant. If you believe God’s discipline involves punishment, then you are living in the past. You are a New Covenant believer with an Old Covenant mindset. If the cross was the once and final solution for sin as the New Testament teaches, then how do we explain Hebrews 12:6 that seems to say that God whips or scourges us?

Hebrews 12:6 (NKJV)
For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.”

If you look in the margin notes of most study Bibles, you will see that the writer of Hebrews 12:6 is quoting Proverbs 3:11-12. When I put the original Proverbs and the Hebrews version side by side, you will see the obvious differences:

Original Quote from Prov 3:11-12	Hebrews 12:5-6
My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor detest his correction; For whom the Lord loves he corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.	My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by him For whom the Lord loves he chastens, And scourges every son whom he receives

The first three lines of Proverbs are accurately reproduced in Hebrews 12. The problem comes in the last line.  The Hebrews version is nothing like the original. How are we to account for this?  Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament states the following: “This is not quoted literally from the Hebrew, but from the Septuagint. The Hebrew is, “even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.”

The Septuagint is the Greek Old Testament, and this is a poor translation into our English here in Hebrews 12:6. According to this translation, God scourges us.

What does scourge mean?  It means to flog or whip. The Jewish form of scourging involved being whipped with a leather whip. The apostle Paul received this type scourging five times (2 Cor 11:24). Then there was Roman scourging which was worse. It was typically applied to criminals before execution. If you have seen The Passion movie, then you have seen what scourging entails. The bottom line is scourging is torture. Yet there are some that would have us believe that God does this to His kids.

Everyone has a mental picture of God. Perhaps you think He is distant and angry. Maybe you envision Him holding a whip in his hands. When we go astray, does God come charging after us with a whip? No, he deals with us gently (Heb 5:2) as a loving father deals with his sons (Heb 12:8). The suggestion that God metaphorically rips shreds off us with a whip is slanderous and ridiculous.

Your heavenly Father is not like this. How can I be sure?  Because I’ve seen Jesus. How many people did Jesus scourge when He walked the earth?  How many did He afflict with pain, sickness, trials, or suffering? None! Jesus met plenty of people in need of correction and discipline.  Someone might say, “Didn’t Jesus make a whip?”  Yes, John 2:15 tells us He used a whip to drive the sheep, oxen and those who sold them out of the temple. If Jesus were ever going to whip someone, He would have whipped these guys, but He didn’t and He surely won’t whip His own kids.  Rather, He is a loving, kind, and gracious Father who desires to train and instruct His kids, not beat them.

It may surprise some that God disciplines Christians by His grace. The same grace that brings salvation also disciplines us as believers.  God’s discipline is not punishment, but discipline has instruction, reproof, and correction. God doesn’t save us and then leave us alone.  He is actively involved and guiding us. All of God’s disciplinary processes are grounded in His grace—His unmerited and unconditional favor toward us. 

So, what does it mean that God disciplines us by grace rather than the realm of law? It means that all His teaching, training and discipline are administered in love and for our spiritual welfare. It means that God is never angry with us. It means He does not condemn us or count our sins against us. All that He does in us and to us is done based on grace. The grace that brought salvation to you is the same grace that disciplines you.