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Hebrews 12:5-11 KJV 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.

No one likes to suffer. When we go through suffering, our first response as humans is to seek to avoid or repair the suffering. We all do it. When God took Israel out of Egypt, He took His people through a series of water tests.

At the Red Sea, Israel experienced too much water (Exodus 14:10-12).
At Marah, God led Israel to bitter water (Exodus 15:22-26).
At Rephidim, God led Israel where there was no water (Exodus 17:1-7).

At each encounter, Israel responded exactly the same way. They muttered and moaned and complained and blasphemed God and His servants. Israel did not respond to the tests in faith, paying attention to how God saved her each time. Because Israel repeatedly failed the tests and did not turn to God in the midst of their need, their faith never grew. Since their faith never grew, when Israel got to Kadesh Barnea Continue reading →