The Gift of Suffering for Sin In the Bible
“And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor” Judges 4: 2.
God’s original people were fickle. When life was good they would invariably turn to other gods. So God would give them over to their enemies to chastise them. Then they would turn back to him in their distress. This cycle continued throughout their history.
Intended To Impart Wisdom
The Lord was not being vindictive or mean-spirited in giving the Israelites into the hand of their enemies every time they sinned. It was actually designed to do for them what discipline does for a child- impart wisdom.
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He was trying to get them to make the connection between sin and pain so they would stay on the straight and narrow and be blessed. A parent doesn’t subject her child to discipline because she hates him. Just the opposite.
The parent wants the child to mature and make wise decisions so he will be blessed and happy. This is just how God is too. The fact that we reap destruction when we sow to the sinful nature is actually an expression of His mercy and grace.
Sin and Suffering In the Bible
If there were no painful consequences for our misdeeds, we would continue on in our sinful ways. And miss out on the abundant life God wants to give us. Both in the here and now and in the hereafter. God has made destruction the consequence of sowing to the sinful nature a LAW.
This means this result will be consistent. It can be counted on. We can expect it. This certainty of a consequence is a good thing. We will be more likely to get the message and change our ways if we experience pain EVERY TIME we sin.
This principle is actually classical conditioning. When we sin we experience pain. Eventually we will make the connection and avoid the things that cause pain. The painful consequences for sin are training us to avoid sin, choose righteousness and be blessed.
To read another post related to The Gift of Suffering for Sin In the Bible, see Trouble The Doorway to Blessing In the Bible.