"My child, don't ignore it when the Lord disciplines you,
and don't be discouraged when he corrects you.
For the Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes those he accepts as his children."
Hebrews 12:5 NLT

Last week we examined three scriptural examples of God personally directing the lives of His saints through His prophetic Word. This week our series continues by looking at three more examples of God bringing correction through His prophetic Word. Bear in mind that in this first part of our newsletter series, we are looking only at situations where God Himself speaks personally to individuals.

Because God loves us, He corrects us. Whether young or old, we will always be children in His eyes. Because we will never reach perfection in this life, we must be prepared to receive correction at any time. A willing submission of the heart to the process of correction demonstrates that we are truly sons of God. "But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons." (Hebrews 12:8 KJV). Wise sons welcome correction. "Do not condemn me, but show me wherefore thou contendest with me..." (Job 10:2 KJV). The purpose of God's correction is to keep us from straying down the path toward destruction. "But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world." (I Cor. 11:32 KJV)

Following are three scriptural examples of God bringing correction to an individual soul.

Job. "Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said ... 'Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?'" (Job 40:6, 9 KJV) For millennia Job has been the poster boy for suffering. After all, not only did Job, a very wealthy man, lose everything but his wife, he also suffered physically and had to endure the torture of three "know-it-all" friends explaining the reasons for his calamity. But in the end, God spoke personally to Job, reminding him afresh of his human condition. Even though the Bible calls Job a righteous man, he still needed to be reminded of his humanity and of the sovereignty of God. Job responded appropriately. "Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." (Job 42:6 KJV).

Nebuchadnezzar. "...'King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you!'" (Daniel 4:31 KJV) The king of Babylon had a dream. In his dream he saw a beautiful, flourishing tree suddenly cut down to the stump. (Daniel 4:10-17) He called for the prophet Daniel to interpret the dream. (Daniel 4:19-27) Daniel explained that the tree in the dream was actually the king himself, who would soon be cut down if he did not humble himself and recognize that God was the true King. Nebuchadnezzar did not repent and one year later the Lord corrected him, speaking the words quoted above. The king could no longer stand on two feet but was reduced to crawling on all fours and eating grass like a cow. After Nebuchadnezzar had learned his lesson, God restored him.

Peter. "And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common." (Acts 10:13-15 KJV) Like most of us, Peter clung to certain prejudicial views against people not like himself. He just could not accept the idea that God wanted the gospel to be preached to the Gentiles. But God corrected Peter, showing him in a dream that He intended the good news of His gospel to be preached not only to the Jews, but to the Gentiles as well.

How would you rather be rebuked? Would you rather that God correct you, or would you prefer Him to send one of His servants to do the job? How much sweeter it is when God himself deals with us personally! Can you think of other scriptural examples of God personally correcting one of His children? Has God ever personally corrected you? Can He correct or rebuke an entire church? Can He chastise a nation? Email your example(s) to me (include scripture and comments) and I will post your contribution on our web pages. Or feel free to send any other comments you might have.

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Though God is long-suffering in His dealings with the human race, He knows that some will never change, never repent, never receive correction - that some hearts are beyond reproof. And on rare occasions, God dramatically brings His final judgment upon a human life through His prophetic Word. Next week we will look at God's Adjudicating Power.

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GroundWorks is an imprint of Reconciliation Press. The name has been chosen to reflect the biblical idea of roots and foundations in Christian life and culture. As you read these weekly articles, look for words and imagery in the text that illustrate these themes.

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