All right, all right, join the journey family, friends, and guests, you're listening to Join the Journey podcast with your host, Emma, daughter.

Thanks for joining. If you're following along in a Join the Journey guided journal, you know that today we're talking all about verse 24, which reads, whoever spares the rod hates his son,

but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.

In this verse probably sounds familiar.

Maybe you've heard the phrase,

spare the rod and spoil the child?

One commentator puts it like this.

Spare the rod and spoil the child.

This common maxim, a one-size-fits-all

approach to child discipline, is often wrongly attributed to the Bible. This maxim actually comes

from a poem written by Samuel Butler in 1664. In reality, the book of Proverbs, when taken as a

whole, encourages its readers to use multiple levels of discipline, ranging from simply pointing out improper behavior to the use of corporal punishment.

The commentator concludes, now simply put, this proverb suggests that physical punishment may be of value, but leaves the details of such punishment to the parent.

Now, before we get any further, and sadly, I know this is heavy, but it's not hard to see how the

enemy can get a foothold in the hearts of people and lead them astray, a stray to be vicious abusers

of their children, taking this proverb out of context, or believing the secular maxim to be vicious abusers of their children, taking this proverb out of context or believing

the secular maxim to be the ultimate truth. And that is not what this verse is insinuating.

Verse 24 is not making physical abuse permissible. I want to be abundantly clear. In fact, I believe it's important

that before I move on, I also point us to Proverbs 2712, which reads,

The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it. So if you

or a child you know are in an abusive situation, it is not God's will that they remain there or that you remain there.

So before you do anything else, get help.

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