“For my name’s sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.” (Isaiah 48:9-11, ESV)
Many of you remember the woodshed, the switch, the belt and the paddle. I certainly do. I really thought these things had my name on them when I was a child. Discipline was not something that I wanted. It was something that I needed. It was not that I was such a bad kid. However, I was a child that needed to learn from my mistakes. I will be honest; I thought my dad enjoyed giving me the paddle. I thought he was unreasonable. When I became an adult, I realized that discipline was not something that I wanted to exercise with my children. However, it was something necessary. There were some reasons for this.
In this section of Isaiah, we see a commentary on the Lord’s discipline of the nation of Israel. You will remember that God would use the Babylonians to bring a chastisement upon the nation. Earlier in chapter 48 we read of some of the nation’s deficiencies. The Lord said they were obstinate, they lacked a complete trust in the Lord, they did not glorify God, they were proud, and they were rebellious (v4-8). As God’s chosen people, a people called by His name, their actions did not reflect upon His name. For this reason, the Lord brought the discipline upon them.
What was the purpose of this discipline? Some, when they hear the word discipline, think it is punishment. It is not. To discipline means to instruct or chastise to bring about a change in mindset and behavior. Discipline itself has to do with self-control, staying within appropriate boundaries of behavior. Why did the Lord discipline Israel? Well, one reason was to cause them to move to a path of propriety, one of faith.
However, there is another reason that we often overlook. This discipline was for the glory of God. Look at the verses. The Lord says, “For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.” The action of God’s chosen people, those called by His name, reflect upon the name of the Lord. For this reason, He restrained His anger in discipline so as not to destroy them, but tried them in the furnace of affliction to purify them.
I think about this now as a parent and remember those times as a child when we went out in public, in particular when we were with my parent’s friends. You see, our behavior was a reflection on my parents. Not only did they want to see us give up our childish and rebellious ways, they also wanted us to reflect upon the family in a positive light. Their discipline was not to destroy us, but to develop us and purify us from the flaws of immaturity.
As it was with Israel, the Lord still disciplines His children today (Hebrews 12:3-17). We are His children, and He disciplines us through the trials of life because He loves us. His discipline works to purge us from the things in our life that look so unlike Christ. He does this for our good and so people will see our good works that glorify Him.
Renewing the Heart 