Re: Get real!!!
"Is tribulation the same as suffering?"
Is the Pope a Catholic?
Do alligators have bad breath?
Do Bears defecate in the woods??
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:
6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
12 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;
13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.
If "Chastening", "Chastisement", and "Scourging" don't result in "Suffering", that I'm not sure what would!!!!!
"Job" is the prototype of God's "Ways and Means" of getting to and EXPOSING what he's intending to "Dig out".
So, do definitions of words in Scripture count? Do meanings matter? Is it okay to confuse intended meanings with our own definitions? I don't know about alligators and bears or even what the Pope is, but this I can say, many doctrinal errors are based on our misunderstanding of God's chosen words. First how about "exhortation"? Concordance says:
1) a calling near, summons, (esp. for help)
2) importation, supplication, entreaty
3) exhortation, admonition, encouragement
4) consolation, comfort, solace; that which affords comfort or refreshment
a) thus of the Messianic salvation (so the Rabbis call the Messiah the consoler, the comforter)
5) persuasive discourse, stirring address
a) instructive, admonitory, conciliatory, powerful hortatory discourse
Then chastening. Concordance says:
1) the whole training and education of children (which relates to the cultivation of mind and morals, and employs for this purpose now commands and admonitions, now reproof and punishment) It also includes the training and care of the body
2) whatever in adults also cultivates the soul, esp. by correcting mistakes and curbing passions.
a) instruction which aims at increasing virtue
b) chastisement, chastening, (of the evils with which God visits men for their amendment)
And now, scourgeth: Concordance says
1) a whip, scourge
2) metaph. a scourge, plague
a) a calamity, misfortune, esp. sent by God to discipline or punish
Job is an example of what can happen to those who despise chastisement. It would seem that if chastisement is not "despised" then scourging would not have to happen. As in Job's case, God had to let satan beat him up good, have his friends try to make him see his self-righteousness, even though they didn't speak rightly of God and finally speak to him personally not as a Father but as Creator, to make him shut his mouth. God forbid any of us miss the point and chastisement has to go that far. Or that we'd miss the progression in these verses you brought out. First the exhortation, then the chastisement, and finally the scourging. As usual God is all about fair warning.