Thoughts On Repentance!!!!

Song of Solomon chapter 2

Psalm chapter 27

Today we are walking in: Thoughts On Repentance!!!




Today we look to the word- RETURN-H7725 shuwb --to restore, refresh, repair, to bring back to mind, brought back, return
The Torah testifies.........……


Genesis 43:18


And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's house; and they said, Because of the money that was returned H7725 in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses.




The prophets proclaim..................


Jeremiah 33:7


And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, H7725 and will build them, as at the first.




The writings bear witness............


1Kings 20:9


Wherefore he said unto the messengers of Benhadad, Tell my lord the king, All that thou didst send for to thy servant at the first I will do: but this thing I may not do. And the messengers departed, and brought H7725 ➔ him word again. H7725






Thoughts on Repentance


THE THEME OF THE HEBREW HIGH HOLIDAYS is teshuvah, a word often translated as "repentance," though it's more accurately understood as turning back (shuv) to The Most High Yah. The root of this verb occurs nearly 1,000 times in the Hebrew Scriptures and first occurs when The Most High Yah told Adam he would "return to the earth" (Gen. 3:19). In spiritual terms, shuv may be regarded as a practical turning away from evil and a turning toward the good, though Hebrew thinking regards turning to The Most High Yah as the means by which we turn away from evil. This act of turning has the power to redirect a person's destiny. It affects the whole life of the soul. As Abraham Heschel wrote, "No word is The Most High Yah's final word. Judgment, far from being absolute, is conditional. A change in man's conduct brings about a change in The Most High Yah's judgment" (Heschel: The Prophets, 194). In the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures (i.e., the Septuagint, or LXX), shuv is translated using the word strepho, which means to turn around, or to turn back to The Most High Yah.


A related word in Hebrew is nacham, which is often associated with the emotion of regret (in the old King James Version of the Bible, nacham is sometimes confusingly translated using the word "repent"). Some linguists suggest that the root idea of the verb pictures The Most High Yah "taking a deep breath" (or even sighing) as way of expressing regret or feeling compassion in response to an offense by others. Thus we read, "And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart" (Gen. 6:6). Speaking anthropomorphically, The Most High Yah "consoled himself" (nacham also means to comfort) by changing his thinking and plan. The Most High Yah's "regret" was His "answer" or response to the sinful choices of human beings.


Since it is absurd to say that The Most High Yah needs to repent from sin or that He morally regrets His actions, the meaning of nacham must be qualified when it is applied to man. Regret over sin is a state of sorrow that belongs exclusively to morally free human beings. Therefore the prophet Job uttered, "I aband repent in dust and ashes" (Job 42:6). In the ancient Greek translation of the Scriptures, the word nacham was usually translated using the word metanoia. Metanoia is a compound word that comes from (after, with) and (to think), which means "changing your thinking," (though it also can mean "going beyond (meta) your thinking" to access the realm of your heart). In other words, the word implies that how we think will affect how we make decisions (judgments), and therefore repentance means acknowledging that we are cognitively mistaken about the nature of reality (i.e., there is a divinely sanctioned moral order, and we are guilty of violating that order and in a state of profound alienation until we are divinely reconciled). Our change of mind - if genuine - will lead to a change of heart.


(As an aside, this implies that there is an "ethic of belief," or a moral imperative to believe the truth and reject error in the realm of the spiritual. The Most High Yah has wired us to be rational beings with a moral conscience and an intuitive perception of His reality. He also has revealed himself with "many proofs" that demonstrate the victory of His salvation (Acts 1:3). The greatest mitzvah is exercising faith in The Most High Yah's redemptive love as revealed in the Messiah Yahashua. The LORD is always "calling" out to you to respond to His Presence...)


The Greek New Testament seems to follow the LXX by using the verb metanao to express the Hebrew idea of nacham (i.e., regret or repentance), and it uses the verb strepho to express the practical idea of shuv (i.e., turning to The Most High Yah and away from evil). Metanao means expressing regret and remorse over the bankruptcy of our personal philosophy of how the world should be run. We surrender to The Most High Yah's truth, forsake the selfish demands of the ego, and "let The Most High Yah be The Most High Yah." Strepho, on the other hand, is a literal or metaphorical turning. When applied to The Most High Yah, it means turning all of your "heart, soul, and strength" back to Him. Indeed, the LXX exclusively uses this word to translate the Hebrew word shuv, from which we get the word teshuvah. For example, "If you return, O Israel" is in the original Hebrew. In a sense, we can say that nacham/metanao concerns the past (regret), whereas shuv/strepho concerns the present...


Traditional Christian theology tends to regard The Most High Yah in Greek, rather than Hebrew, terms. Historically speaking, most Christian theologians relied on the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures rather than the original Hebrew to develop their theology. Indeed, the word "theology" itself is Greek (not Hebrew) and refers to the "study of The Most High Yah", implying that The Most High Yah is an "object" that could be looked at, "analyzed," and known as a "thing" or divine "substance." To the ancient Greeks, the idea of The Most High Yah is disclosed through a process of intellectual abstraction -- through "negative theology", and so on. The danger of regarding "repentance" as simply "changing your thinking" is that this can lead to intellectualism that is devoid of inward, heart transformation. Hence Evangelical Christianity has spawned an entire generation of those who accept "easy believism" and who tend to regard "repentance" as intellectual assent to the truths of the Gospel message (or to some creedal formula). Of course correct doctrine is vitally important, but it is emptiness if it is not passionately lived in one's experience. Ultimately, Christian truth is existential rather than academic. Yahashua's passion in the garden is greater than all the most profound thoughts of theology ever penned by the world's greatest theologians...


The general problem with repentance -- whether we regard it as a change of thinking or as a practical call to return to The Most High Yah - is that most people refuse to do it. In fact, no one can repent unless he or she is given the means to do so from heaven (John 6:44). We are born rebels who naturally hate The Most High Yah and His authority (Rom. 8:7). You can argue until you are "blue in face" with a sinner who needs to repent, but unless he or she is truly touched by The Most High Yah, the best possible outcome will be halfhearted resolutions and an incomplete reformation (Luke 11:24-26). Most parents who have children that have turned away from the LORD to embrace a sinful lifestyle know this to be true.... In this connection, repentance is analogous to spiritual rebirth that comes from The Most High Yah's direct intervention. Like genuine faith, the profound change in direction from the principle of self-centeredness to The Most High Yah-centeredness is a miracle from The Most High Yah.


While it is important that we "regret our thinking" and embrace the authority of The Most High Yah as the first principle in all our reasoning, it is equally important that we exercise our wills by turning to the LORD through acts of repentance (e.g., prayer, confession, turning away from sinful practices, offering tzedakah, and so on). According to Hebrew tradition, genuine teshuvah involves four basic steps:


Four Steps of Teshuvah:


Forsake the sin (Prov. 28:13). "Sincere repentance is demonstrated when the same temptation to sin, under the same conditions, is resolutely resisted"


Regret the breach in your relationship with The Most High Yah and others (Psalm 51).


Confess the truth and make amends with those we have harmed (Prov. 28:13; 1 John 1:9; James 5:16, Matt. 5:23-4). Note that we must ask for mechilah (forgiveness from others) before receiving selichah (forgiveness from The Most High Yah). [shuv/strepho]


Accept your forgiveness and move forward with the LORD through faith (Phil. 3:13-14; 1 John 1:9). Be comforted by the Presence of the LORD in your life: Nachumu: "Comfort ye my people" (Isa. 40:1). [nacham/metanoia].



Finally, it needs to be said that authentic repentance is a lifestyle, not a "one time deal." We never get past it. Although there is certainly spiritual progress as we walk in grace, all genuine progress comes through ongoing teshuvah. We may repent from a certain action at a given point in time, but that does not mean that no longer need to do teshuvah. Teshuvah is perpetual and timeless, since it corresponds to our spiritual rather than our temporal lives (i.e., chayei olam rather than chayei sha'ah). Indeed, a true penitent is called baal teshuvah, a "master of returning," who is always turning away from self and toward The Most High Yah. We never get beyond the call to "repent and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:15). That is why the season of teshuvah is always timely. The message of Elul and the High Holidays is meant to be carried over throughout the rest of the year.


"Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near" (Isa. 55:6)


The passage continues: "Let the wicked man forsake his way, and the perverse man his thoughts; and let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion on him, and to our The Most High Yah, for he will abundantly pardon (Isa. 55:7).


Teshuvah and confession go hand in hand. Confession means bringing yourself naked before the Divine Light to agree with the truth about who you are. Indeed, the word homologeo literally means "saying the same thing". In Modern Hebrew teshuvah means an "answer" to a shelah, or a question. The Most High Yah's love for us is the question, and our teshuvah – our turning of the heart toward Him – is the answer. Teshuvah is one of the great gifts The Most High Yah gives each of us – the ability to turn back to Him and seek healing for our brokenness. May we turn to Him now!


May we turn to Him now!