YSR

The ancient Hebrew verb YSR or yaw-sar is the principle verb for disciplinary action.  It is defined as: “to chastise, lit. (with blows) or fig. (with words); hence to instruct…”* Further studies point towards Israel “becomes more educated when the proper amount of training and correction are imposed.”*  God makes his point regarding the blessings of obedience tin Leviticus 26:1-13 and also his plans for disciplinary actions towards reformation for Israel in Lev. 26:14-33.  Specifically three mentions of discipline to reformation happen in vv. 18, 23, and 28 of the aforementioned text.  This is an act of a loving father according to Proverbs.

My son, despise nor the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction.

For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

Proverbs 3:11, 12 KJV

The prophets would attempt to make these words discipline clear so Israel would understand what God was trying to do for Israel:

“Wherefore will ye plead with me? Ye have all transgressed against me, saith the lord.  In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.  Jeremiah 2:29, 30  KJV

God could not be any more clear at this juncture that he desires to teach them.  But that will be fleshed out at a later time.

There are intentions to titling this writing Yes Sir. One because Yes Sir phonetically sounds similar to the key verb YSR.  Two because when one is casted, rebuked, corrected, or disciplined “Yes Sir” is the proper response from a child to a father.

* Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary, Word Study of the Old Testament.

* Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon.

Punishment, Discipline, & Parenthood

It is necessary at this point in time to ensure an understanding that punishment and disciplinary action are not one in the same.  These are two very similar yet profoundly different actions. Punishment is defined as: “a penalty that is imposed on somebody for wrongdoing.”*1   This is a good example of cause and effect.  There is no need for purpose or reason.  it is a rather stoic action unto itself.  Compare this to the definition of discipline: “to teach somebody to obey rules or to behave in an ordered or controlled way.”*2  Here lies purposed punishment, a cause-desired (effect) relationship. This is to say that if one is to see God punishing Israel it is more than just some Egyptian overseer cracking his whip, it is a father teaching child to behave in a more intelligent fashion.  God’s is an effort to help Israel learn his rules which will lead to a life of peace and prosperity as par his intent in creation in the first place.

*1 Encarta World English Dictionary.

*2 Ibid.

Introduction + Thesis

Israel is like a child, having no choice in the creation of its existence. As such Israel has had to grow and learn in a similar fashion as a child does, slowly gaining an awareness of itself and its environment.  While the child matures growing in this awareness they will at times be disobedient, sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally. Regardless, these moments require that a parent take disciplinary action that they may rebuke and reform their child towards a more productive lifestyle.  However, as the child matures so does the method of disciplinary action scale to best educate the child.  In this case as the growing child is Israel, the loving, disciplining parent is God.  From their exodus out of Egypt, though the founding of the nation-state of Israel, and in the exile and return from Babylonian rule God has attempted to keep disciplining Israel in such a way that they may become a righteous people, holy and devoted to Him.

What will be written, will come to post.

On April 21, 2006 a little over 3 years ago I submitted one of my final papers prior to graduating from Simpson University.  The class was Old Testament Theology, and the paper was titled, “A Theology of Discipline.” It covered the evolution of God’s people and the means he chose to discipline them in their trespasses as they grew.  When I submitted it I thought it was an amazing paper, the stuff books should be written off of.  I don’t think my professor agreed as his comments on my paper showed my lack of true study of the text and the many unfounded assumptions I put in the paper.  3 years later and able to read the paper objectively I agree with him.  It was a pretty bad paper.  However the thesis was fairly sound and I still stand by a lot of what I wrote. I just needed to give it more support.  So now I am going over the paper again. I am going to expand on it, and grow it into something more elegant, refined, and able to hopefully stand up to the refining fires of scholarly reviews in the future.

This is the new project.  Titled “Yes Sir.”  and I hope the readers enjoy what I have to say as I embark on a renovation.