22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out with his hand, and take fruit also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove the man out; and at the east of the Garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life. -Genesis 4:22-24
What is the difference between discipline and punishment? I think if we asked a lot of people today, they would not be able to give a difference. We oftentimes use these words synonymously with each other. The truth is, though, that these do not share a common definition. While there are similarities, there are also differences.
If you are like me, you read the above verses and believe that God removed access to the tree of life as a punishment for Adam and Eve’s sin. That is how I interpreted those verses for a long time. That was until I was able to attend a conference, The Story of Scripture by Dr. Mark Yarbrough. As we were looking at the story of Scripture as a whole, he made a comment that stuck with me. Stopping access to the tree of life was not punishment, it was an act of discipline.
You may ask, what’s the difference. Oxford Languages defines punishment as, “the infliction or imposition of a penalty as retribution for an offense.” Discipline is defined as, “the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience.” There is a component of love and respect implied with discipline that is not always seen with punishment.
How does this relate to Adam and Eve? When Adam and Eve sinned, death and destruction entered the world and even our own bodies. God out of love restricted access to the tree of life so that Adam and Eve would not have to remain in their cursed bodies forever. This act was an act of love and mercy.
How often do we look at our own lives and feel like God is just punishing us for something we did? Why do we never consider that God could be protecting us from something worse? Hebrews 12 tells us that God disciplines us because He loves us. Just like a father disciplines his child. Next time you have the thought that you are just being punished, ask God to remind you of His love and ask Him to show you what He is protecting you from.