ruled from without. This foolishness is bound up within his heart.
Allowed to take root and grow for fourteen or fifteen years, it will
produce a rebellious teenager who will not allow anyone to rule him.
(^) God has ordained the rod of discipline for this condition. The
spanking process (undertaken in a biblical manner set forth in chapter
15) drives foolishness from the heart of a child. Confrontation, with
the immediate and undeniably tactile sensation of a spanking, renders
an implacable child sweet. I have seen this principle hold true
countless times. The young child who is refusing to be under
authority is in a place of grave danger.
(^) The rod is given for this extremity. “Punish him [a child] with the
rod and save his soul from death” (Proverbs 23:14). Your children’s
souls are in danger of death—spiritual death. Your task is to rescue
your children from death. Faithful and timely use of the rod is the
means of rescue.
(^) This places the rod in its proper setting. Use of the rod is not a
matter of an angry parent venting his wrath upon a small, helpless
child. The use of the rod signifies a faithful parent recognizing his
child’s dangerous state and employing a God-given remedy. The issue
is not a parental insistence on being obeyed. The issue is the child’s
need to be rescued from death—the death that results from rebellion
left unchallenged in the heart.
The Function of the Rod
(^) What does the rod of correction do for the child? How does it
work? In Proverbs 29:15 God says, “The rod of correction imparts
wisdom ... ” Elsewhere, the Proverbs connect wisdom with the fear of
the Lord. Fearing God and acquiring wisdom come through the
instrumentality of the rod.
(^) The connection of the rod with wisdom is of profound importance.
The child who is not submitting to parental authority is acting
foolishly. He is rejecting the jurisdiction of God. He is living his life