Audio Download Part 2

Chastisement vs Trial of Faith

[Study Aired August 26 and September 2, 2025]

Introduction

The distinction between “chastisement” and “the trial of faith” represents more than theological vocabulary—it reflects exact biblical terminology rooted in Hebrew and Greek Scriptures, as demonstrated in these contrasting passages:

“My son, despise not 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)

“That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:7)

When examined closely, Scripture reveals that chastisement and trial arise from different premises and serve distinct purposes. Chastisement assumes deficiency requiring correction and formation, while trial assumes genuineness requiring proof and refinement. Together they reveal how God works with His people in discipline, testing, and growth toward holiness.

Scripture maintains this distinction through carefully chosen words. The Old Testament employs musar (H4148) for chastisement—embracing both instruction and correction—while using nasah (H5254), bachar (H977), and tsaraph (H6884) for testing that proves authenticity. The New Testament continues this framework with paideia (G3809) for discipline and dokimion (G1383), peirasmos (G3986), and dokimazo (G1381) for trials.

Musar: The Hebrew Foundation for Discipline

The Hebrew word musar (מוּסָר, H4148), derived from yasar (“to chastise, instruct”), appears fifty times in the Old Testament. Strong’s defines it as “chastisement; figuratively, reproof, warning, instruction, restraint.” The Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon emphasizes “discipline of the moral nature, chastening, correction.” Far from describing punishment alone, musar encompasses the whole range of instructive training, from gentle instruction to firm reproof.

Proverbs uses musar thirty times, showing its foundational role in wisdom instruction:

“The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; To know wisdom and instruction (musar H4148); to perceive the words of understanding; To receive the instruction (musar H4148) of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: (Here is the reason for this chastisement), To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. (Here is what this chastisement causes) The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction (musar H4148)” (Proverbs 1:1-7)

Musar is constructive, shaping the young in wisdom, justice, and discernment. The Jubilee 2000 translation renders these verses with “chastening” throughout: “The proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel; to know wisdom and chastening (musar H4148); to understand prudent words; to receive the chastening (musar H4148) of prudence, justice, judgment, and equity… The fear of the LORD the beginning of knowledge, fools despise wisdom and chastening” (Proverbs 1:1-7, Jubilee 2000). This translation choice highlights how musar encompasses both gentle instruction and firm correction within a single concept.

Later Proverbs exhorts: “Take fast hold of instruction (musar H4148); let her not go: keep her; (Why?) for she is thy life” (Proverbs 4:13). This molding role shows that chastisement includes both preventive instruction and corrective discipline.

Beyond Proverbs, musar appears in covenantal contexts. Jeremiah laments: “In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction (musar H4148)” (Jeremiah 2:30). Here musar describes God’s national discipline of Israel, which they stubbornly refused. Similarly, Deuteronomy recalls: “And know ye this day: for I speak not with your children which have not known, and which have not seen the chastisement (musar H4148) of the LORD your God, his greatness, his mighty hand, and his stretched out arm” (Deuteronomy 11:2). God’s chastisement was instructive training for the entire nation, molding them through lived experience to fear and obey Him.

This pattern follows the model of earthly fathers training their children: “Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law” (Psalm 94:12). The New Testament bridges this connection: “And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth” (Hebrews 12:5-6). Here the writer quotes Proverbs 3:11-12, bridging Old Testament musar to New Testament paideia, showing that our heavenly Father’s discipline mirrors the loving correction of earthly fathers but with perfect wisdom and eternal purpose.

Thus musar serves as the Old Testament foundation for understanding chastisement as discipline given in love for the purpose of shaping character and deepening relationship with God.

Hebrew Words for Testing: Nasah, Bachar, and Tsaraph

In contrast, Scripture employs different words to describe testing that proves authenticity.

Nasah (נָסָה, H5254) occurs thirty-six times and means “to test, try, prove.” It is used of God’s command to Abraham: “And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt (nasah) Abraham” (Genesis 22:1). Abraham’s faith had already been demonstrated through years of obedience, and this command was not correcting a deficiency but confirming his trust. The Lord’s verdict makes this plain: “Now I know that thou fearest God” (vs 12). Paul echoes this principle: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Bachar (בָּחַר, H977), appearing 164 times, usually means “to choose,” but in testing contexts emphasizes examination for approval. Israel’s experience demonstrates this principle when God declared: “Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen (bachar H977) thee in the furnace of affliction” (Isaiah 48:10). This heavenly choice occurred through testing, not despite it. God’s selection of Israel was validated through their trials in Egyptian bondage and Babylonian captivity, proving their covenant relationship rather than establishing it. The furnace of affliction served as God’s testing ground where He examined and approved His people, demonstrating that His bachar presupposed existing covenant status requiring authentication, not worthless material needing transformation. The imagery parallels precious metals proven valuable through fire.

Tsaraph (צָרַף, H6884) occurs thirty-five times and means “to refine, smelt, test.” In Zechariah 13:9 it appears alongside bachan: “I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine (tsaraph H6884) them as silver is refined, and will try (bachan H974) them as gold is tried (bachan H974).” This prophecy addresses the faithful remnant of Israel—those who will call upon God’s name and receive His answer. The context reveals God’s commitment to preserve and purify His covenant people, not to punish them for unfaithfulness. The pairing of these terms shows that refining (removing impurities) and testing (close examination) together describe God’s work of proving the authenticity of His people. Refining presupposes valuable metal that requires purification of impurities, not correction of deficiency. It is a process of purification and proof, not punishment.

Musar assumes something is lacking and aims to build it up, while nasah, bachar, bachan, and tsaraph assume something valuable is present and aim to bring it to light.

Paideia: The New Testament Language of Chastening

The New Testament employs the word paideia (παιδεία, G3809), derived from pais (“child”), to describe chastening. Thayer’s lexicon defines it as “the whole training and education of children,” encompassing commands, admonitions, reproof, and correction. This comprehensive term bridges the gap between Old Testament musar and New Testament Christian experience, maintaining the same foundational concept of formative discipline.

Scripture demonstrates paideia in three distinct but related contexts. In parental training, Paul instructs fathers: “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture (paideia G3809) and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). Here paideia encompasses the full scope of Christian child-rearing, from gentle instruction to firm correction, all conducted within the framework of godly wisdom.

In scriptural instruction, Paul declares: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction (paideia G3809) in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Scripture itself serves as paideia, shaping us through absolute truth applied to every aspect of life. This training produces completeness and readiness for service.

Most significantly, paideia describes God’s fatherly discipline of His children. Hebrews 12:5-11 provides the definitive New Testament treatment of this concept, beginning with the foundational principle: “And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening (paideia G3809) of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth (paideuo G3811), and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth” (vv. 5-6). The writer quotes Proverbs 3:11-12, directly connecting New Testament paideia to Old Testament musar.

The passage continues by establishing the legitimacy of heavenly discipline: “If ye endure chastening (paideia G3809), God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth (paideuo G3811) not? But if ye be without chastisement (paideia G3809), whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons” (vv. 7-8). God’s fatherly discipline becomes the very proof of authentic sonship. Its absence, not its presence, would indicate a lack of genuine relationship with God.

The writer then contrasts earthly and heavenly discipline: “Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected (paideutes G3810) us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened (paideuo G3811) us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness” (vv. 9-10). Human parents discipline imperfectly and temporarily, but our heavenly Father’s training is perfect in wisdom and eternal in purpose—conforming us to His own holiness.

The ultimate goal of paideia becomes clear: “Now no chastening (paideia G3809) for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby” (vs 11). Like Old Testament musar, New Testament paideia produces character transformation and spiritual maturity. The “peaceable fruit of righteousness” represents the harvest of holiness that God’s loving discipline cultivates within believers.

This pattern extends throughout the New Testament. Paul reminds the Corinthians: “But when we are judged, we are chastened (paideuo G3811) of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world” (1 Corinthians 11:32). Heavenly discipline serves as gracious prevention, keeping us from age-abiding judgment. Similarly, Christ Himself declares: “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten (paideuo G3811): be zealous therefore, and repent” (Revelation 3:19). His chastening flows from love and calls for responsive obedience.

Thus paideia serves as the New Testament counterpart to Old Testament musar, describing God’s loving discipline that shapes His children toward holiness. Both terms assume relationship, both work through instruction and correction, and both aim at character formation that reflects God’s own nature.

Greek Words for Testing: Dokimion, Peirasmos, and Dokimazo

The New Testament preserves a distinct vocabulary for testing that parallels the Old Testament distinction, employing precise Greek terms that emphasize proof rather than correction.

Dokimion (δοκίμιον, G1383), found only in James 1:3 and 1 Peter 1:7, describes the testing of faith with metallurgical precision. The word comes from the practice of assaying precious metals, referring to the proof certificate that demonstrates authenticity after examination. James addresses believers scattered by persecution: “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations: Knowing this, that the trying (dokimion G1383) of your faith worketh patience” (James 1:2-3). These trials were not corrections for spiritual deficiency but authentication of genuine faith already present. Our response—counting it “all joy”—demonstrates confidence in their faith’s authenticity, not fear of displeasure.

Peter writes to believers facing intense persecution, using identical imagery: “That the trial (dokimion G1383) of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:7). The comparison to gold assumes existing value requiring authentication. Peter’s readers were not wayward believers needing correction, but faithful saints whose genuine faith needed public vindication through suffering. Their trials would result in “praise and honour and glory”—the language of commendation, not correction.

Peirasmos (πειρασμός, G3986), appearing twenty-one times, carries a dual significance depending on its source and intent. When originating from God or circumstances under His sovereignty, it describes beneficial testing for spiritual growth. James distinguishes this clearly: “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation (peirasmos G3986): for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him” (James 1:12). This testing leads to reward, indicating proof rather than punishment.

However, when peirasmos stems from evil sources, it becomes temptation to sin: “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed” (James 1:13-14). The same Greek word describes entirely different experiences based on origin and purpose. Godly testing proves faithfulness, while temptation seeks to produce unfaithfulness.

Paul illustrates this principle when describing the Macedonian churches: “How that in a great trial (peirasmos G3986) of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality” (2 Corinthians 8:2). Their severe circumstances tested and revealed their authentic generosity, producing fruit that exceeded expectations. Similarly, Paul encourages all believers: “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience (dokime G1382); and experience, hope” (Romans 5:3-4). The progression leads to dokime—proven character that breeds confident hope.

Dokimazo (δοκιμάζω, G1381), occurring twenty-three times, consistently means “to test, prove, examine for approval.” Unlike chastisement vocabulary, dokimazo never implies correction but always examination for validation. Paul exhorts believers to “prove (dokimazo G1381) what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2). This proving assumes the believer’s capacity to discern and prove God’s will, not their need for correction of wrong thinking.

The apostle uses the same term when describing pastoral ministry: “But as we were allowed (dokimazo G1381) of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth (dokimazo G1381) our hearts” (1 Thessalonians 2:4). God’s ongoing examination of apostolic hearts seeks to validate their faithfulness, not expose their unfaithfulness. The testing confirms their fitness for ministry rather than correcting ministerial defects.

Together, dokimion, peirasmos, and dokimazo form the New Testament’s vocabulary of authentication and proof. Where paideia presumes deficiency requiring formation, these testing words presume genuineness requiring demonstration.

Illustrative Examples in Scripture

This linguistic distinction finds powerful confirmation in biblical narratives, where the circumstances, responses, and outcomes clearly differentiate between testing and chastisement.

Daniel: Faithfulness Under Fire

Daniel’s experience demonstrates trial that validates existing righteousness. His enemies specifically sought to find fault with his character: “Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him” (Daniel 6:4). This establishes Daniel’s proven integrity before any trial began—the testing would validate existing righteousness, not correct deficiency.

When the decree was established forbidding prayer to anyone but the king, Daniel faced a deliberate choice between safety and faithfulness: “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime” (Daniel 6:10). Daniel could have avoided the lions’ den by compromising his devotion, but he chose faithfulness over safety, demonstrating unwavering commitment to God regardless of consequences.

His response after deliverance reveals the nature of his trial: “My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt” (Daniel 6:22). The trial validated his innocence and faithfulness, producing no correction but rather royal recognition of God’s power and Daniel’s integrity

Samson: The Correction of Unfaithfulness

By contrast, Samson’s downfall illustrates chastisement in response to covenant breaking. Scripture reveals a deeper dimension to Samson’s story: “But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel” (Judges 14:4). The word “occasion” means “reason” or cause for action. God had an occasion against the Philistines for their oppression of Israel, but He also had an occasion against Samson for marrying outside his people, violating the covenant separation.

His strength depended upon his Nazirite vow: “If I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man” (Judges 16:17). When he revealed this secret to Delilah, “she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him” (vs 19).

His subsequent blindness and captivity were direct consequences of covenant violation, intended to humble and restore him to dependence upon God. The chastisement achieved its purpose: “And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life” (Judges 16:30). His final act demonstrates repentance and renewed dependence upon the Lord, showing how chastisement works to restore broken relationship while accomplishing God’s purposes against His enemies.

Israel: National Chastisement for Covenant Breaking

Israel’s history provides extensive examples of national chastisement following covenant warnings. Moses established this pattern in Deuteronomy: “But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee” (Deuteronomy 28:15). These consequences were not arbitrary punishments but corrective measures designed to restore covenant faithfulness.

The prophets consistently interpreted national calamities as chastisement for unfaithfulness. Jeremiah lamented: “The LORD hath done that which he had devised; he hath fulfilled his word that he had commanded in the days of old: he hath thrown down, and hath not pitied: and he hath caused thine enemy to rejoice over thee, he hath set up the horn of thine adversaries” (Lamentations 2:17). Yet even in judgment, the purpose remained redemptive: “It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not” (Lamentations 3:22).

These examples establish a consistent biblical pattern: the righteous experience trials that prove their faith, while the unfaithful experience chastisement that corrects and restores them. Daniel faced testing that validated existing righteousness, expecting and receiving vindication. Samson and Israel faced chastisement that addressed covenant breaking, requiring and producing repentance.

Christ: The Fulfillment of Both Chastisement and Trial

This distinction between chastisement and trial finds its ultimate resolution and perfect expression in the person and work of Jesus Christ. As the sinless Son of God who took upon Himself complete humanity, Christ experienced both the testing that proves genuineness and the formative discipline that shapes perfect obedience—not because He needed correction, but because He chose to identify fully with our human condition while remaining without sin.

Christ’s Testing: Proving Perfect Faithfulness

Christ’s wilderness testing exemplifies dokimion—the proving of already-perfect faithfulness under extreme trial. After His baptism and divine commendation, “Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Being forty days tempted of the devil” (Luke 4:1-2). The Spirit’s leading indicates divine purpose in this testing, not correction of deficiency but validation of His identity and mission.

Each temptation sought to prove His allegiance and identity: “If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread” (Luke 4:3). Satan’s challenges were not designed to expose weakness but to test the reality of Christ’s Sonship and commitment to the Father’s will. His responses—consistently grounded in Scripture—demonstrated unwavering faithfulness: “It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God” (Luke 4:4). The testing validated what was already true: His perfect dependence upon the Father and absolute commitment to fulfilling His mission.

Similarly, Gethsemane represents the ultimate trial of faith. His anguished prayer, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39), reveals the intensity of His struggle while demonstrating perfect submission. This was not correction of wayward will but the proving of perfect obedience under the most severe testing imaginable. The writer to the Hebrews confirms: “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). His testing equipped Him to be our sympathetic High Priest precisely because it proved His faithfulness under every form of human trial.

Christ’s Formative Suffering: Learning Perfect Obedience

Yet Christ also experienced what can only be described as formative discipline—not corrective chastisement for sin, but the shaping of perfect human obedience through suffering. The profound statement in Hebrews requires careful examination: “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). How can the sinless Son “learn” obedience?

The answer lies in the mystery of the Incarnation. As eternal Son, Christ’s obedience was perfect and unchanging. As incarnate Son, experiencing human nature with all its limitations and vulnerabilities, Christ learned obedience in the experiential sense—not gaining knowledge He lacked, but experiencing in His humanity the full cost and weight of perfect submission to the Father’s will. Isaiah prophesied this aspect of His experience: “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7).

Paul captures this progressive nature of His human experience: “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8). Each step of His earthly journey involved deeper levels of experiential obedience, culminating in the ultimate test of Calvary. His suffering was formative in the sense that it developed the full range of human obedience necessary to be our perfect representative.

The Perfect Integration

In Christ, both realities meet without contradiction. His trials proved what was already true—His perfect faithfulness to the Father. His sufferings formed what needed experiential development—complete identification with human obedience under the most extreme circumstances. He endured testing that vindicated His righteousness while experiencing formative suffering that equipped Him for His mediatorial role.

This integration enables Him to minister to believers experiencing either chastisement or trial. To those under heavenly discipline for correction, He offers the sympathy of One who “learned obedience by the things which he suffered.” To those under trials that test their faith, He provides the encouragement of One who was “in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” His experience encompasses both categories while transcending their typical application to sinful humanity.

Christ’s example demonstrates that chastisement and trial are not contradictory but complementary aspects of spiritual development. Through Him we understand that both correction and testing serve God’s gracious purposes in conforming us to His image.

Application for Believers

Understanding the distinction between chastisement and trial provides crucial guidance for navigating the hardships of Christian life. Rather than viewing all suffering as either punishment or testing, we can respond appropriately to God’s specific work in each situation, leading to greater spiritual maturity and deeper fellowship with Him.

Discerning Chastisement: When God Corrects

Chastisement typically follows the Spirit’s conviction of specific sin or spiritual deficiency. Paul provides clear guidance: “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world” (1 Corinthians 11:31-32). The sequence is telling: self-examination can prevent divine chastisement, but when we fail to judge ourselves, God’s loving discipline follows.

The psalmist models the proper heart attitude for receiving correction: “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24). When the Holy Spirit brings conviction—whether through Scripture, circumstances, or godly counsel—we should welcome chastisement as evidence of our sonship. “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth” (Hebrews 12:6).

The proper response to chastisement involves humble acknowledgment of the area needing correction, genuine repentance, and active cooperation with God’s formative work. David demonstrates this pattern after Nathan’s confrontation: “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight… Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:4, 10). Chastisement received with humility and repentance produces the “peaceable fruit of righteousness” that God desires.

Recognizing Trials: When God Tests

Trials, by contrast, often come without specific conviction of sin and may actually intensify during seasons of faithful obedience. James provides the framework: “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations: Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (James 1:2-4). The emphasis on joy and the expected outcome of spiritual completeness distinguish trials from corrective chastisement.

Peter offers similar counsel to believers facing persecution: “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy” (1 Peter 4:12-13). Trials are “not strange” for faithful believers but rather normal experiences that authenticate our participation in Christ’s sufferings.

Paul reinforces this perspective when describing his own trials: “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” (Romans 5:3-5). The progression from tribulation to proven character to confident hope shows trials building upon existing faith rather than correcting deficient faith.

Practical Guidelines for Response

When facing hardship, several questions can help discern the nature of our experience: Has the Holy Spirit brought specific conviction of sin or spiritual deficiency? Are we walking in known obedience to God’s revealed will? Does the difficulty seem connected to our faithfulness rather than our failures? Are we experiencing peace and hope despite the pain, or primarily guilt and condemnation?

If we sense specific conviction and our conscience bears witness to areas needing correction, we should receive the hardship as chastisement, responding with humility, repentance, and cooperation with God’s corrective work. The goal is restoration of fellowship and growth in holiness.

If we’re walking in faithful obedience and sense no specific conviction, we can receive the difficulty as a trial, responding with faith, perseverance, and confident expectation of vindication. The goal is proof of our faith’s authenticity and deeper experiential knowledge of God’s sustaining grace.

The Community of Faith

The church plays a vital role in helping believers discern and respond appropriately to both experiences. “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted” (Galatians 6:1). When chastisement is needed, the church can provide loving correction and support during restoration.

Similarly, during trials, the community offers encouragement and practical support: “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). Fellow believers can provide perspective, prayer, and practical assistance that help prove faith’s authenticity through corporate faithfulness.

The Ultimate Perspective

Whether through correction or through testing, God’s purposes remain consistently good. Paul’s magnificent declaration encompasses both experiences: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:28-29). Both chastisement and trial serve the ultimate goal of Christlikeness.

This perspective transforms our response to all hardship. Instead of questioning God’s love during chastisement or His justice during trials, we can rest in His sovereign purpose to conform us to Christ’s image. We can receive correction with gratitude for His fatherly care and endure testing with confidence in His faithful character.

The mature believer learns to cooperate with both forms of divine working, knowing that each serves God’s gracious design. Through chastisement we grow in holiness, and through trials we grow in proven faith. Both lead to greater spiritual maturity, deeper fellowship with Christ, and ultimately, eternal glory in His presence.

Conclusion

Understanding the distinction between chastisement and trial provides essential insight into God’s varied workings with His people. Scripture’s precise terminology reveals that chastisement assumes deficiency requiring correction, while trial assumes genuineness requiring proof. Both serve God’s gracious purposes but through different means and toward different immediate goals.

The Hebrew words musar, nasah, bachar, bachan, and tsaraph, along with the Greek terms paideia, dokimion, peirasmos, and dokimazo, establish this distinction across both testaments. Biblical narratives confirm these patterns, showing righteous figures like Daniel and faithful Israel experiencing testing that validated their covenant relationship, while unfaithful ones like Samson and rebellious Israel faced chastisement that corrected their course.

Christ perfectly fulfills both categories—enduring testing that proved His perfect faithfulness while experiencing formative suffering that equipped Him for His mediatorial role. Through Him, believers can understand and respond appropriately to both forms of divine working in their lives.

Whether we face the corrective discipline of chastisement or the authenticating fire of trials, we can rest in God’s unchanging purpose to conform us to Christ’s image. Both paths lead to greater holiness, deeper fellowship with our heavenly Father, and ultimately, eternal glory in His presence. The mature believer learns to cooperate with both forms of sacred working, knowing that each serves God’s gracious design toward complete transformation into the likeness of His Son.

“The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand” (Psalm 37:23-24)

nbsp;

The Book of Amos – Chapter 3:1-15: Israel’s Guilt and Punishment

“Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing,
but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets”– Amo 3:7

[Aired November 30, 2024]

Although this study and much of the Book of Amos focuses on Israel and, specifically, the Priests directly indicting us, highlighting our guilt and punishment, it is all integral to the Feast of Trumpets and the trumpet blasts in Revelation. Thus, a degree of repetition will be reflected during these studies.

Humanity innately desires an easy life that monetary riches enable. With money, we can make ourselves look more appealing than nature has provided; it vainly authorises greater intelligence and access to the world’s best academic institutions. Monetary riches engender personal wealth on all levels of one’s presentation to the world unchallenged while remaining semiconsciously yet unashamedly naked.

Ecc 10:19  A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all things.

In succession with those riches, our Lord intentionally created sexual awareness to be part of our daily lives, intrinsically. Even though it is a subliminally and constantly present spontaneity of mind, outwardly, we, and even the most debauched, thankfully, practice social sobriety. Accordingly, the Bible is about the marriage of the Lamb of God to the pinnacle of his creation in the Bride who is first to be blessed to see the spiritual implications of every Old Covenant Law. Consequently, the Bible is equally about two women; one a whore and the other the Bride of Christ, as it is about two men, the old and new Adam in Christ, who, paradoxically to the churches of the world, are one representation of the Bride in transition.

Without the Law in Christ’s commandments, we would never know the spirit of the Law. Amos and all the Bible’s prophets’ prophecies are deeply connected to our sexuality and broken covenant and the most profound aspect of indicting guilt for a guaranteed punishment. Incomprehensibly to Cain (Gen 4:13… “my punishment is greater than I can bear”) and the world who see us as masochists, we have learnt to glorify God for our chastisement and send each other gifts in the form of prayers, psalms, and encouragement for the torment He has given us (Rev 11:10). That response is us joyfully ascending into heaven in a cloud while our old enemies left in the old Adam below, mournfully look upward; a chasm impossible to traverse.

Rom 7:7-25  What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

There, in the last sentence of that scripture, is our realisation for our acknowledgment of the subtlety of spiritual transgressions. As seen in the previous study in Amos chapter two under the Old Covenant, we could lust all we liked physically of mind and not transgress God’s Commandments so long as we didn’t physically engage sexually. However, now and in light of the New Covenant (subtlety juxtaposed in John 8:1-11) in our study of physical Judah and Israel, we are aroused most gloriously in righteous spiritual spontaneity by the lyrics of the song only the 144,000 in Revelations 14:1-5  are learning today!

Rom 7:8  But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence [meaning, inordinate ‘desire, carving, longing’ in the lust of the mind and spirit insidiously for what is now forbiden]. For without the law sin was dead.
Rom 7:9  For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I [learned to] died [daily].
Rom 7:10  And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.
Rom 7:11  For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
Rom 7:12  Wherefore the law is holy, and the [spiritual] commandment holy, and just, and good.
Rom 7:13  Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
Rom 7:14  For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
Rom 7:15  For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
Rom 7:16  If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
Rom 7:17  Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the [spiritual] mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the [disappearing] flesh the law of sin.

Significations:

Israel’s Guilt and Punishment

Amo 3:1  Hear this word that the LORD hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family [the twelve tribes inclusive of Judah] which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, 
Amo 3:2  You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. 

Just wow! Don’t those first verses make you shiver? Our Lord addresses his Bride, the few, nonetheless the ‘whole family’ he will drag out of Babylon and sobering us with the stark reality of his will that it is “you only [primarily meaning his Bride] have I known of all the families of the earth“! The ‘kicker’ (colloquially ‘usually unpleasant’) for the spiritually immature is that he “will punish you for all your iniquities“! Now, that is too much for our former Gentile Christian selves to stomach and attracts a jolly good spiritual stoning for the consternation it unsettles the Babylonian within.

With the taste of wording common to the Body of Christ, ‘no person will ever see eternal life without the wrath of God through chastisement in his life at God’s appointed time’. This process of chastening brings salvation and teaches us righteousness (Isa 26:9).

Hos 11:1  When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
Hos 11:2  As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images.
Hos 11:3  I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I healed them.
Hos 11:4  I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love [hidden chastisement]: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them.
Hos 11:5  He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return [to God].

Not returning to Egypt and going into Assyria and Babylon is part of our journey towards becoming Christ (Jer 29:3-23).

Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared [in their order of salvation] to all men,
Tit 2:12 Teaching [chastening] us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world [Not all sins are transgression, but are highly apt to lead into transgression. Christ must increase as we decrease the flesh subject to corruption];

Heb 12:5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

1Co 11:32 But when we are judged [Hebrew: “krinō”], we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned [Hebrew: “katakrinō” = a later judgement] with the world [to the later “great white throne… judgment”].

Heb 12:7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
Heb 12:8  But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

It is only the Elect who are being chastened since Christ and the foundation of the world. All of the Gentile Christian Church are bastards in their own time and order.

Psa 119:71  It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.

Isa 33:14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
Isa 33:15 He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

It is only the Elect who can hear and live in the fire of his word. The Lord’s Elect, “they that have done good [in] this present time” (Rom 8:18), are being judged in ‘this present time’ and will not need to come up “unto the resurrection of judgment”. “When we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord that we should not be condemned with the world… unto the resurrection of judgment.” Nevertheless, even those who are condemned to the resurrection of judgment are still being judged by God, and when His judgments are in the earth men will learn righteousness, even those in the lake of fire, the second death, the Great White Throne Judgment:

Isa 26:8 Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Isa 26:9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

It is only by the Lord’s sovereign will that some few are given to be judged in “this present time”. If we are blessed to be part of “the house of God [in] this present time”, then we will also be given to believe these words of the apostle Paul concerning this the greatest of all honours:

Rom 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Rom 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. [God chastises us for our good!]

Jer 24:5  Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.
Jer 24:6  For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.
Jer 24:7  And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.
Jer 24:8  And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the LORD, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt:
Jer 24:9  And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.
Jer 24:10  And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.

The answer to all of the following rhetorical verses is profoundly yes.

Amo 3:3  Can two walk together, except they be agreed? 

That verse makes a subtle connection with marriage. Every spirit-led Elect of God coming out of Babylon and married to an unbeliever, like Lot coming out of Sodom with his wife looking back, immaturely experiences initial ‘bitterness’ for their spouse’s seeming ridiculous blindness in not realising that it is God that blinds all people, including the incipient Elect.

2Co 6:14  Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

1Co 7:12  But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away.
1Co 7:13  And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him.

Isa 42:19  Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the LORD’S servant?

Isa 42:1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles [In the Lake of Fire].

And, for the time being,

Isa 42:2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street [in this age unless he is asked about his faith].

Amo 3:4  Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing? 

The Lord assuredly will roar as a lion out of Zion when we haven’t fed the spiritually hungry, just as the wolf feeds her young in the evening (Gen 49:27).

Joe 3:16  The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

Amo 3:5  Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin [lure for the unfortunate bird we are] is for him? shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all? 

It is every person since and inclusive of Adam conceived to the end of the One Thousand Year rule who is the bird taken in the snare of our whorish mother, Babylon the Great. Even righteous Gideon bowed to femineity and unconsciously emasculated himself and Israel (Deu 23:1).

Ecc 7:26  And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.

Jdg 8:27  And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah [female fawn]: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.
Jdg 8:28  Thus was Midian [Effectively the Ammorites] subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.

Gideon’s subduing the Midianites is akin to what some Babylonian Christian girls do today, supposedly for Jesus, by deliberately luring unbelieving young men, justifying sex ‘for Jesus’, deludedly thinking that they have done their duty in saving them. Gideon’s action is a classic act of not trusting in God’s strength over appeasing the downright alluring girls next door who, with exposed thighs, are ‘delightfully’ ensnaring (Ecc 9:12. Prov 7:6-27).

Amo 3:6  Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it? 

Those rhetorical questions asked by our Lord through Amos lead us back to the theme of an earthquake, symbolised by a mighty trumpet blast corresponding to a force of 10 on the Richter scale. The Lord’s Elect, as seen in Isa 42:1, are blessed to have their earth shake their self-styled temple to powder and are wonderfully “afraid” to give Christ all glory. That verse of Amos 3:6 is one of the most profound statements emanating from God’s throne that affects everything we think and do; “shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?” However, we all inwardly sigh for it being one of the greatest delusions and “gin” (Amos 3:5) to our family and friends for the ‘snare’ it is and them, as we once were, beguiled by the chief ‘birder’, Satan to oppose themselves stubbornly parroting that God allows sin by our will.

2Ti 2:25  In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
2Ti 2:26  And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

For Babylon’s churches, there is no greater enigmatic demonstration of Trumpet blasts than the Seven Trumpets of Revelations. These Trumpets herald the Elect’s swift understanding that the Trumpets, Vials, Woes and associated plagues are different versions of the same great tribulation first to come upon them and, ultimately, all mankind in his order.

Ecc 9:2  All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.
Ecc 9:3  This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

1Co 3:21  Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1Co 3:22  Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;

Everyone will hear Christ’s voice in his God-given time and order to hear. Understanding Jesus’s “loud voice” on the “great day of the feast” today is the greatest Trumpet blast the Elect will ever hear. The expression, “for three transgressions and four,” adds up to seven and represents the Seventh Trumpet expressed eight times (judgement) in Amos. The rest of humanity, hearing it, will assuredly hear it without understanding at the end of the One Thousand Year rule in death by fire, be that death his fiery word or both in a literal fire, before being instantly resurrected to hear it all again in the Resurrection to Judgment and the Last Great Day, the Eighth Day following the Feast of Tabernacles. Hence, every generation hears that trumpet blast.

Rom 11:7  What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.

Rev 1:9  I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Rev 1:10  I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,

Joh 7:37  On the last day, the great day of the feast, [of Tabernacles] Jesus got up and said in a loud voice, If any man is in need of drink let him come to me and I will give it to him.

For a far more in-depth understanding of the Feast of Trumpets, begin here with other localised links:
https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/revelation-81-6-the-seven-angels-prepare-to-sound-seven-trumpets-part-1/

As is demonstrated in those preceding verses, the Lord says,

Amo 3:7  Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets. 
Amo 3:8  The lion hath roared [Trumpet and Earthquake], who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy? 

Luk 8:10  And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others [Everyone who is not given of God to be an Elect] in parables [designed to hide the meanings]; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.

Amo 3:9  Publish in the palaces at Ashdod [Powerful cities of Egypt, Sodom and Old Jerusalem – Babylon], and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold the great tumults [confusion] in the midst thereof, and the oppressed in the midst thereof. 
Amo 3:10  For they know not to do right, saith the LORD, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces. 
Amo 3:11  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; An adversary there shall be even round about the land; and he shall bring down thy strength from thee, and thy palaces shall be spoiled. 

Today, December 2024, the entire world is living in foreboding fear of nuclear war, but not the Bride. She looks upon worldly, apparently end-time events with immense intrigue since she knows her husband’s mind in blessing her with good and not evil. She glorifies in her Lord identifying her confusion and seeing Satan coming afar off and having her old man within destroyed. She utterly disdains the physical riches of this world and shakes her head for having impudently exposed her beauty validated by a leering world to the point of spiritual adultery.

Heb 12:1  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Heb 12:2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Amo 3:12  Thus saith the LORD; As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus in a couch. 

The Bride of Christ is the ‘two witnesses’ represented as ‘two legs’, the shepherd who testifies in transition in hearing her husband’s voice represented as ‘a piece of an ear’ in the house of Jacob. She is embarrassed by her whoredoms and steps out of bed, and on looking back, is temporarily shocked that she was in bed with her sisters still fornicating with Damascus and, in humiliation, flees as did Joseph from Potiphar’s wife (Gen 39).

Amo 3:13  Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob, saith the Lord GOD, the God of hosts, 
Amo 3:14  That in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him I will also visit the altars of Bethel [house of God]: and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground. 

Gen 6:1  And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
Gen 6:2  That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
Gen 6:3  And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

Once our Lord has made us aware of our sins and transgressions and, in symbolic frustration, chastised us multiple times, we hopefully become acutely aware of our tendency to oscillate like Old Israel between physical riches and validating our beauty in bed with Babylon, much like Ohola and Oholibah. When this chastisement ceases, we no longer feel His spirit striving with us. This leads us into a dangerously insidious state as we again begin to act as a law unto ourselves, excusing our behaviour in the absence of His guidance and swift correction (Rom 2:14-18). Consequently, Christ, our horns and altar of his strength to overcome, are cut off, and we fall again to the dust of the earth. Accordingly, we return to a wintery fruitlessness in the summertime when we should spiritually harvest in abundance. Where there isn’t a harvest, our spiritual barns are empty, and we starve of Christ’s word.

Amo 3:15  And I will smite the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, saith the LORD. 

To that end, and again, the indictment is upon the very Priests of God, his Elect; we shall continue to see in the next chapter our enduring guilt and punishment.

The Book of Joel – Chapter 3:1-2

And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live?
And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. – Eze 37:3.

[Study Aired Sept 14^th]

The Book of Joel to this last Chapter 3, just as has every other testimony from Genisus to Revelations, warns man of the pattern of disobedience to his Lord’s word and guarantees consequences for disobedience and inevitable chastisement and “deliverance”.

Our Lord’s word is the pure Alpha and Omega of every opposing matter ever conceived by our first father, Satan, and our resonance with him results in assured failure. Nonetheless, our flesh, without the perplexing (holy) new spirit the Lord speaks of [only perceived as a new thing since it hadn’t yet been given more visually], will always default to escalating the sensual because the short-term thrill is far more exhilarating than the esoteric that can’t be physically experienced.

We fall seven times, and if we are given righteousness in this age before the First Resurrection, our earthy existence will likewise be given to rising from the furnace of our disobedience seven times ~ even seventy times seven (Matt 18:21-22. Pro 24:16).

Psa 12:6  The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. 
Psa 12:7  Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.
Psa 12:8  The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.

The vilest men are exalted largely because you can see, hear, feel and experience their sensualities that the spirit only offers non-sensually, to be experienced by faith.

Jas 3:15  This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
Jas 3:16  For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

There is confusion largely because we default to the sensual, which is lusciously experienced with devilish ardour. This is a powerful and devilish argument against the spirit that can’t be physically touched and seen.

Jud 1:17  But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;
Jud 1:18  How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.
Jud 1:19  These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the spirit.

1Co 3:11  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ [The foundation of the devilish physical sensualities that inevitably fail will always mirror the everlasting spiritual correlations].
1Co 3:12  Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Mat 18:21  Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
Mat 18:22  Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

And so, around and around the deadly loop of disobedience, chastisement, and repentance leading to spiritual obedience continues for a symbolic seventy times seven. Then, even though that process doesn’t totally stop, Christ’s righteousness is attributed to us even though our sins are as scarlet (Isa 1:18).

Significations

Without the holy spirit and inseparable faith, no wonder old Israel grew weary of hearing her Lord’s “light bread” (Num 21:5) words since the pattern of suggested ‘deliverance’ continues in the opening verses of Joel 3:1,

The Lord Judges the Nations

Joe 3:1  For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,

What Israel couldn’t understand is that without the enigmatic holy spirit, their ability to keep her Lord’s commandments was classicly impossible with assured tears of frustration.

Psa 6:6  I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.
Psa 6:7  Mine eye is consumed because of grief; it waxeth old because of [the impossibility of routing] all mine enemies [within without the holy spirit!].

Joe 3:2  I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat [H3092], and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. 

Jehoshaphat H3092 – Transliteration: Y@howshaphat- Phonetic: yeh-ho-shaw-fawt’ Definition: Jehoshaphat = Jehovah has judged n pr m

1. son of king Asa and himself king of Judah for 25 years; one of the best, most pious, and prosperous kings of Judah.

6. symbolical name of a valley near Jerusalem, which is the [equally symbolic] place of ultimate judgment; maybe the deep ravine that separates Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives through which the Kidron flowed. FROM H3068 and H8199

– Y@hovah – Phonetic: yeh-ho-vaw’- Definition: Jehovah = the existing one 1. the proper name of the one true God a. unpronounced except with the vowel pointings of 0136. 1. to judge, govern, vindicate, punish a. (Qal) 1. to act as law-giver or judge or governor (of God, man) 1a.

Armageddon G717

– Original: Ἀρμαγεδδών

– Transliteration: Armageddon

– Phonetic: ar-mag-ed-dohn’

– Definition: Armageddon = the hill or city of Megiddo.

In Rev 16:16, the scene of a struggle of good and evil is suggested by that battle plain of Esdraelon, which was famous for two great victories, of Barak over the Canaanites and of Gideon over the Midianites, and for two great disasters, the deaths of Saul and Josiah. Hence, in Revelation, a place of great slaughter, the scene of a terrible retribution upon the wicked. The RSV translates the name as Har-Magedon, i.e. the hill (as Ar is the city) of Megiddo.

– Origin: of Hebrew origin H2022 and G4023

– TDNT entry: 08:48,8

– Part(s) of speech: Noun Location

– Strong’s: Of Hebrew origin [H2022] and [H4023]; Armageddon (or Har-Megiddon) a symbolical name: – Armageddon.

Rev 16:12  And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
Rev 16:13  And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
Rev 16:14  For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
Rev 16:15  Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
Rev 16:16  And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

The Valley of Jehoshaphat is another name for the Valley of Jezreel. At the western end of the valley is a small hill, or Mount Armageddon. Geographically and collectively called Meggido, this small valley, just 20 miles long by 7 miles wide, is just outside of Jerusalem and will symbolically contain the implausible vastness of “all [the physical] nations” of the earth represented as Gog and Magog, yet, and conclusively spiritually within, to battle and bloody destruction in our dying daily:

1Co 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
1Co 15:32  If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus [literally and within], what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die
[The unconverted are effectively saying, ‘scriptures are too hard to understand; we may as well have wine, women and song and take what happens because God says that he is love and we are (deludedly) saved, anyhow’ by him dying in our stead].

Rev 14:19  And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
Rev 14:20  And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

Very few valleys don’t exit via a stream. The valley of Meggido, just 20 x 7 miles in size, exited the huge volume of blood from the winepress of God’s wrath downstream for 322 km, or 1,600 furlongs (200 miles).

Hos 1:10  Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God [Solomon’s “two armies” Son 6:13 – The elder, Old Israel depicted as “you are not my people “and the second and younger Bride of Christ, “ye are the sons of the living God].
Hos 1:11  Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head [Each person, sitting on God’s throne saying that he is god 2Thes 2:4], and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the [slaughter in the] day of Jezreel. 

Jezreel H3157 –Definition: Jezreel = God sows n pr m 1. a descendant of the father or founder of Etam f Judah 2. first son of Hosea the prophet n pr loc 3. a city in the Nekeb of Judah 4. a city in Issachar on the northwest spur of Mount Gilboa – Gilboa H1533 = swollen heap 1. a mountain-ridge at the southeastern end of the plain of Jezreel, site of the death of Saul and Jonathan.

Every time Mt Gilboa is mentioned in the scriptures, its symbolism is accompanied by an immense swelling of our pride, fattening its host for slaughter. It all began with Israel’s whoredoms, graphically portrayed by Hosea marrying the known harlot, Gomer, and prophesying Israel’s day of slaughter. Of course, the Lord’s Bride knows that the most outstanding slaughter it all refers to is hers, for her whoredoms.

Hos 1:2  The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD.
Hos 1:3  So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son.
Hos 1:4  And the LORD said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.
Hos 1:5  And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel. 
Hos 1:6  And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Loruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away. 
Hos 1:7  But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah [Symbolically the Bride of Christ!], and will save them [The “remnant” spoken about in Joel Chapter 2] by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen [meaning, by their Old Covenant physical strength opposed to the coming of the mysterious (holy) spirit].

Zec 12:9  And it shall come to pass in that day [for the Bride of Christ, ‘the day of the lord’], that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem [meaning, the customised nations of opposition to Christ’s word within the Bride]. 
Zec 12:10  And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace [… doesn’t it make you shiver?] and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced [every man understanding in his order of salvation], and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
Zec 12:11  In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon [H7426 Pomegranates synonymous with exaltedly and the Bride’s chastisements and subsequent returning to truth and the love of God] in the valley of Megiddon.

Afresh: “I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land”.

Notice in Joel 3:2 that the Lord brings his people to the symbolic abyss of Meggido (Jehoshaphat) and “pleads” with her face to face in that wretched valley. She stares at the stark reality of its symbolism and what is going to happen to her if she continues to spurn his love overtures not to follow through for her inheritance. She knows that this valley is traditionally represented as a ‘valley of death’ ordained for immense slaughter. Even though she is brought to remembrance of her physical “heritage”, her “Promised Land”, it is her younger sister, the Bride today, who ecstatically knows it is Christ who is her spiritual heritage. It is the Bride alone who knows that she is to keep her garments pure. Otherwise, she, along with her elder sister, Israel, Gog and Magog will, as one, face being cast into the vastly more fearful spiritual death in the Lake of Fire, the Great White Throne Judgement.

Psa 23:4  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me [with the Him, her promised heritage]. 
Psa 23:5  Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil [the holy spirit]; my cup runneth over.
Psa 23:6  Surely [the hope of the First Resurrection] goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Rev 16:14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
Rev 16:15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
Rev 16:16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon G717.

We see that the names for that highly prominent and mysterious location of death, the Valley of Jehoshaphat, Jezeel, Meggido, and Armageddon, identify the same address.

Hence, and paradoxically to Babylonians, the Lord exalts his Bride for her judging herself within to die a much “lighter” ‘spiritual death’ from her lawlessness as opposed to physical Israel’s bloody death and literal exile to Babylon, symbolised by the Valley of Jehoshaphat.

Mat 11:28  Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden [believing in free will and delusionally encumbered with saving yourself], and I will give you rest.
Mat 11:29  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me [that Christ is our workmanship creating us by his power and might spiritually]; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls [because Christ is building his temple within us].
Mat 11:30  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light [… indeed!]. 

In Babylon, Israel continues worshipping every false god more vigorously and unconsciously, imagining in her flesh that God, their enemy, wouldn’t utterly destroy her when belonging to a far more powerful nation than they had been in the Promised Land. What they couldn’t see in Joel 3:2 is that their coming ‘scattering among the nations’ would result from their lockstep with their real enemy, Babylon, and collectively building a great tower to beat any imagined future Noah-like flood, that more profoundly represented the entire Earth’s stubborn and petulant face against her Lord’s commandments.

Gen 11:1-9  And the whole earth [Represented by Babylon, the strongest nation representative of the entire Earth to this day!] was of one language, and of one speech [meaning, 200,000,000 lies (Rev 9:16) of their own ideologies all opposing God’s word].
Gen 11:2  And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar [H8152 country of two rivers. 1. the ancient name for the territory later known as Babylonia or Chaldea]; and they dwelt there.

In type, Israel’s physical exile and journey from her former estate in the Promised Land to Babylon, as were the sons of Noah from the “mountains of Arat” to Babylon, were from the West, and Israel even southwest of Babylon! For Israel to travel to Babylon from the East, as Gen 11:2 says, they would absurdly have come from the Indian Ocean and the mouth of the Euphrates River. Israel’s journey from the East is clearly a metaphor for her, in particular, and later, the entire world’s journey in Christ, their Sun who rises in the East with the healing of increasingly ‘burning’ righteousness in his wings into the spiritual heat of midday. Geographically and astronomically spiritually, it means that wherever we are on Earth in regards to its rotation from the West to the East, it gives the impression that the sun, meaning Christ and his Bride, rises from the East to herald the infinitely greater riches of the Heavenly Jerusalem (… don’t give up understanding that physical reality of the Earth’s rotation that gives the impression that it is the sun that revolves around the Earth). As such, and in regards to Israel still in Babylon, the figurative centre of the financial and Satan’s spiritual world, she, to the deluded world, has today risen again her tower of godship from the East to sit on the throne of God, effectively stating that she IS god! She is all prepared to enter the valley of death in Megeddo, Armageddon to be destroyed as God said would happen to anyone rebuilding old Babylon, particularly within.

(Mal 4:1  For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven [In the valley of Meggido/Armageddon]; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
Mal 4:2  But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.)

Continuing…

Gen 11:3  And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.
Gen 11:4  And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. 
Gen 11:5  And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
Gen 11:6  And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language [of total opposition to His word]; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. (Rom 1:28  And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient)
Gen 11:7  Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.
Gen 11:8  So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city [… at the beginning of the soon coming of the One Thousand Year rule with the rod of iron]. 
Gen 11:9  Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. 

That action is the audacity of a harlot standing piously on her self-righteousness, stating that she will eat her own bread and wear her own apparel (Isa 4:1. Rev 18:7. Rev 19:18) while claiming salvation even as she feels safely ‘scattered’ in Babylonian Christianity throughout the world, serving multiple representations of “another Jesus” (2 Cor 11:4). Babylon’s rule is soon to close with the outward coming of Christ and resurrection of his faithful Bride.

These two verses studied are devoted to the Lord pleading today with the joints in his Bride! She, in the spirit today, the Lord’s day, symbolically and paradoxically literally standing in the Valley of Jehoshaphat among the dry bones of her predecessors, where her Lord is graphically presenting a historical visualisation of where she, too, will die a bloody death if she doesn’t repent from her ways.

Eze 37:1  The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,
Eze 37:2  And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.

The Bride is already clothed in her Lord’s white robes. Yet, within her remains a sub-remnant of unidentified tares containing schisms and rottenness to her bones (1 Cor 11:19). Our Lord has almost finished dragging those divisions out of her that collectively are called Sodom, Egypt, Tyre and Babylon, which all represent Old Jerusalem, the Great Whore, even as she, in pain, patiently laments, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.  – Rev 6:10-11.

Continuing next week in verse three of Joel Chapter three, we will, Lord willing, quietly listen intently to him as he continues to reflect upon the final dying days of our decreasing wretchedness in the glorious expectation of him winning our battle.