David Brainerd—A man who got expelled from college

Unfortunately, we do not know much about the younger years of Mr. Brainerd except this account, which is firmly established in church history lore.

“And it once happened, that he and two or three more of these intimate friends were in the hall together, after Mr. Whittelsey, one of the tutors, had been to prayer there with the scholars; no other person now remaining in the hall but Brainerd and his companions. Mr. Whittelsey having been unusually pathetic in his prayer, one of Brainerd’s friends on this occasion asked him what he thought of Mr. Whittelsey; he made answer, “He has no more grace that this chair”. One of the freshman happening at that time to be near the have (though not in the room) over-heard those words. This person, though he heard no name mentioned, and knew not who was thus censured, informed a certain woman in the town, withal telling her his own suspicion, that he believed Brainerd said this of someone or another of the rulers of the college. Whereupon she went and informed the rector, who sent for this freshman and examined him. He told the rector the words he heard Brainerd utter, and informed him who was in the room with him at that time. Upon which the rector sent for them; they were very backward to inform against their friend that they looked upon as private conversation, and especially as …..Brainerd looked on himself very ill used in the management of this affair; and thought, that it was injuriously required of him—as if he had been guilty of some open, notorious crime—to make a public confession, and to humble himself before the whole college in the hall, for what he had said only in private conversation. He was not complying with this demand, and having gone once to the separate meeting at New Haven, when forbidden by the rector; and also have been accused by one of saying concerning the rector, “that he wondered he did not drop dead for fining the scholars who followed Mr. Tennent to Milford”, though there was no proof of it; (and Mr. Brainerd ever professed that he did not remember his saying an thing to that purpose;) for these things he was expelled from the college.”

I am not making an assessment of the innocence or guilt of Mr. Brainerd (neither did Edwards in his work), but only to use this unfortunate situation to ask this question, “Why does God judge severely some of His servants, especially those of unique piety and high commitment to the Almighty?” I mean, God in His providence, could have equipped the rector with a little more grace regarding the situation, instead of treating it as a witch hunt.

Here are two men in the bible that seemed to have to endure hard (almost unjust) consequences for their sin:

Moses

Moses was commanded by God to lead His people out of Egypt. Throughout their journeys, he dealt with a stubborn, stiff-necked people. On at least one occasion, Moses pleaded with God to turn His wrath from consuming His people, even asking for his own life to be taken on their behalf. Pretty noble guy, right?

Scripture also speaks highly of this great lawgiver:

Numbers 12:3 (Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)

Yet he was a sinner.

Here is the account of his tragic sin:

Numbers 20:11-12 And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock. 12 And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.”

God’s judgment had been forged. I must admit there have been times I question why God’s punishment was so harsh. To be clear, it wasn’t that Moses was wrong for becoming angry; it was that he did not uphold God as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel.

Obviously, the holiness of God is important, especially to God Himself.

Uzzah

Who is Uzzah? Uzzah is one of the “tear down” and “assemble” guys of the Tabernacle. From the little biblical data, he seems to be a good dude. But unfortunately, he committed a fatal error before the Lord, while moving the Ark of the Covenant.

2 Samuel 6:6-8 And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God. 8 And David was angry because the LORD had burst forth against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzzah, to this day.

For many Christians, this judgment seems horrifyingly severe. But was it?

In his book, The Holiness of God, R.C. Sproul points out:

“Uzzah assumed that his hand was less polluted than the earth. But it wasn’t the ground that would desecrate the Ark; it was the touch of man.” Uzzah was a Kohathite, a clan from within the tribe of Levi, which had been consecrated by God to handle the logistics of moving the Tabernacle—the tent and its furnishings. The book of Numbers clearly warns that they may not touch the holy objects “or they will die”. Only the Levitical priests were allowed to carry the most holy objects; the Kohathites were not to even look at the Ark (Num 4).”

God was gracious by not consuming Uzzah for looking at the Ark, but his view of himself synchronized with his blasphemously low view of God, incited the anger of the Almighty. This event prefigured a similar event in Acts 5, which caused ‘great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.’ (Acts 5:11).

Here are some thoughts regarding the question, “Why does God judge severely (from a human perspective) some of His servants?”

First, God is holy and expects His children to “set Him apart”. 

In both OT examples, these men did not treat God as holy. Modern day Christians seem lax regarding the holiness of God and their own personal holiness (me included). I have often wondered why God doesn’t bring immediate judgment like He did in the days of old. This would wake up an indifferent church.

Let us not think our God is dormant or impotent. He is not tame. His roar is often communicated through his providence, which is mysterious and equally persuasive.

Second, public leaders often receive greater consequences. 

This is alluded to in the judgment of Moses. His sin demeaned the holiness of God in the sight of the Israelites and subsequently, elevated his position before them. God will NOT share His glory with another.

Luke 12:48 But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

James 3:1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

Now Brainerd wasn’t a teacher or in any Christian vocation at this point, but his piety and sense of calling had already been established. Maybe the future missionary needed a severe reminder of the undeniable connection of his holiness and his gospel witness.

1 Timothy 4:16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.

Third, the goal is to become like Jesus. 

It is difficult sometimes to distinguish divine chastening  from a divine testing. Most of the time it is clear, but occasionally sin blinds us or a Puritan-like introspection muddies our assessment. Either way, God wants to mold us into an image.

I have often wondered if, when in Heaven, we will get the opportunity to see the portrait of our lives, to see the panoramic view of His providence. Will I get to see why God allowed cancer to eat away my father-in-law at such a young age? Or why my sister and I grew up in an environment of chaos? Or why my mentor abandoned his wife and children, which invoked (within me) an era of spiritual doubt and disillusionment? Yet then I remind myself that with the heavenly purging of indwelling sin, the desire of such curiosities will likely also be removed.

The wonderful truth is that I don’t need the Creator of the painting to explain His masterpiece. His divine revelation has already explained the portrait.

Romans 8:28-29 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Even if the Creator stood beside you at His art museum, He would simply say, “My son, the answer was already given. All this was necessary to make you more like my only-begotten Son.”

The comforting reality is this: The Divine surgeon is willing to operate on His children, even if it requires his patients to endure loss, pain and suffering. Make no mistake; this is Fatherly love in the greatest degree.