Hebrews 12:3-7
3 “For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.4 You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; 5 and you have forgotten the exhortation, which is addressed to you as sons,
‘My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
Nor faint when you are punished by Him;
6 For whom the Lord loves He disciplines,
And He scourges every son whom He accepts.’”
So that you will not grow weary: Jesus endured the most supreme persecution imaginable: Crucifixion. Therefore, we can be encouraged that when we are persecuted, we are enduring something similar to what Jesus experienced. Our place is to fix our eyes on Jesus and persevere.
Points of shedding blood: God is trying to eliminate the misery in our lives caused by sin. As new creations in Christ, we are not designed to fall into sin even in the midst of persecution. The author of Hebrews wants believers to rest in their identity in Christ in the midst of their tribulations.
Discipline of the Lord: The verse is speaking not about God punishing believers for sin but using the trials of life for their good. In the context, there was extreme persecution for the faith, so the author is helping believers be encouraged in the midst of this trial.
He scourges every son: At first glance the author seems to be suggesting that God is scourging Christians for sins. The phrase “and He scourges” was added to the Proverbs 3:12 quote and does not exist in the Old Testament passage. Furthermore, there is a Hebrew term biqqoret which can mean to scourge though it can also mean to inquire into. The scourge translation is much newer than the inquire into translation. Early church scholar Clement and others believed that Hebrews was written in Hebrew and then translated into Greek. If this was the case, then it stands to reason that the original writer used the term biqqoret initially in order to say that God inquires into every son whom He accepts. This would be compatible with the finished work of Christ. God does not punish Christians for their sins: Jesus has taken away all sin once and for all (Hebrews 10:14). This is the main point of the entire book of Hebrews. Therefore, it would be odd for the author to contradict this. The original author likely wrote in Hebrew to reach the Hebrews. So, if Hebrews was translated into Greek, the translator likely translated biqqoret as scourge because the scourging device inquires into a person’s flesh. But over time this translation was misunderstood and mischaracterized. So, the main point is this: God deeply inquires into our lives so that we can experience a harvest of righteousness and peace.
