But if his descendants forsake my instructions
and fail to obey my regulations,
if they do not obey my decrees
and fail to keep my commands,
then I will punish their sin with the rod,
and their disobedience with beating.
But I will never stop loving him
nor fail to keep my promise to him.
No, I will not break my covenant;
I will not take back a single word I said.
I have sworn an oath to David,
and in my holiness I cannot lie:
His dynasty will go on forever;
his kingdom will endure as the sun.
It will be as eternal as the moon,
my faithful witness in the sky!” (Psalm 89:30-37)

Dogs don’t—and can’t—understand why they have to go to the veterinarian. The experience is nothing but unpleasant and meaningless for the dog. We understand, but we can never get the dog to understand. But the dog still loves us and trusts us. We’re smarter than dogs. So God has explained the purpose of the pain he sometimes lets us experience.

God’s discipline, like that of an ideal parent, comes from love. When the neighbor children misbehave, I do not put them in time out. I do not take their privileges from them. I do not send them to bed early. They’re not mine and I don’t care what they do. But my children I love and so they will get it if they misbehave: I care what sort of human beings they will grow up to become. Likewise, if God had just let his people do whatever they please, whenever they please, he wouldn’t be showing them much love. He had made a promise to David and his offspring: they would be his kings forever. But that came at a cost. Because they belonged to him, God was responsible for their discipline. Discipline would save them. Only through discipline, could God keep his promise that David’s throne and kingdom would go on forever.

“As eternal as the moon” is not to be pressed literally, since all physical things will have their end. But the timescale, compared to human lifespan and the transitory nature of all things human, serves as a useful picture for eternity. Accept God’s discipline as simply more evidence of how much he loves you.

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