The Rod Of God

I am old enough that spanking was not considered abuse when I was young. As sure as the sun rises, so did the willow switch in my mother's hand when I deserved it. [see Proverbs 22:15] Somehow I managed to survive with no apparent emotional scars. On the contrary, it was those moments of painful discipline that gave me the utmost respect for my blessed mother. It was she, not my father, who administered the rod of correction. I  never doubted that the rod was the result of love from my mom.

One of the most quoted passages in all of scripture is found in Psalm 2:3,4: "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me." Now the staff is relatively easy for me to understand. The staff was a tall crooked neck walking stick that you took with you to traverse the rocky, steep, or otherwise difficult journey as a means of support; something to lean on. In biblical times, walking was the means of transportation, and the staff was indeed a comfort. On the other hand, there is the rod to consider. Loosely paraphrasing our text, even though I am in the midst of a very low point in my spiritual walk, that's heading for sure destruction, how you have disciplined [the rod] and supported [the staff] me in the past gives me the comfort and courage to go on.

I am not here to tout the evils of society, but the generation we now live in is a generation that will use any excuse, attaching blame to anything outside of self, so as not to have to accept responsibility. It was the alcohol, or it was the drugs, or it's really the way they were brought up--- Mom and Dad did it--- or the lack thereof. Even though our heavenly Father sees and accepts us right where we are, He never leaves us there. Our walk with God is always a progressive one. If you look back on your life's journey, I believe you will find that a loving Father did not allow you to be too comfortable for very long. He always seems find a way to make us uncomfortable enough to move us forward. Our tendency is to find a shady spot under a tree and fall asleep in the warm sun or to run and hide as Adam and Eve when confronted with wrong doing. When God calls us to face the sin we look for someone or something to blame. Adam said it's "the woman you gave me" actually blaming God for giving him "the woman." Eve said "it was the serpent, the devil who beguiled me." Gods rod is God's means of rescuing us from self-deception and destruction. In the hand of Moses, God's rod performed miraculous things, such as the parting of the Red Sea and supplying life-giving water. God's rod then is always used as a means to deliver from evil and lead us to freedom. It is more than a comfort to know He doesn't just leave us in the wilderness. He supplies and applies His rod and staff to bring us to the the promised land just ahead.

copyright March 21, 2014