Isa 11:4
But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
I think it all depends on how one interprets the word Rod and how it is to be used.
Pro 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Do you "train" with a rod?
I got my spankings when I was a child, but I think that's just a temporary action that really doesn't have a long lasting spiritual effect. Physical maybe, but how could you train a child without beating them?
You can shame them, you can take things away from them, you can confine them to a place where they can"think" about what they did.
There needs to be discipline that goes without argument. But how one administers that discipline....
Do you potty train with a belt? Like if you miss the pot you get a beating? I don't think so.
A lot of people just don't have the patience to do the proper "training" so it's easier to just reach for the rod or the belt then to sit and explain the rules.
It's a hard topic because we been brought up to believe hitting in some circumstances is ok. And maybe it is. Jesus made a whip and took it to the backs of thieves, so...
But they wasn't children, they knew better.. I think.
I never spanked my daughter and she turned out ok. But she did lose out on a lot of things, like going out or watching tv.
We didn't have the internet back then so you had to be creative.
If she acted up in the store, then the next time she stayed home with grandma.
Things like that.
Maybe sometimes when they are real bad and there is no reasoning with them, then maybe as a last resort, because sometimes you have to deter pain by bringing pain. SO they can learn Empathy.
Just thinking
Hugs