Proverbs 20:30

Nobody likes pain. But a wound often heals, whilst it hurts. The body removes the bad part of the wound, and this hurts.

In Solomon’s country, judges might punish a guilty man with the whip. The second line means, ‘Punishment removes a man’s evil behaviour.’ No punishment is pleasant. But the intention is to teach good behaviour.

If we smack a child, then the child learns to behave. When a judge punishes a thief, the thief should learn not to steal.

God sometimes punishes Christians. He does this because he loves us. He wants us to learn how to be holy. See Hebrews 12:5-11.

This verse also reminds us about Jesus. Before Jesus died, the soldiers whipped his back. They made him suffer greatly, although he had done nothing wrong. Then they placed nails through his hands and feet. The nails fixed him to the wooden cross where he died.

Jesus suffered the punishment that we deserve for our evil deeds. He suffered because God loves us. God forgives us because Jesus suffered. We need simply to confess our evil deeds and to trust God. Because Jesus suffered our punishment, God removes our evil behaviour. And because Jesus suffered our punishment, we can be friends of God. See 1 Peter 2:24 and Isaiah 53:5.