Jewels From Jesus- More on Repentance

 Hi everyone. Welcome to another Thursday's Child

I've been listening to an Introduction To The Hebrew Bible course on the website The Bible Project. It's explaining the Old Testament and how it was put together. At one point it talks about God's covenant with Noah, Abraham, Moses and Joshua. That got me thinking about God's covenant with us through Jesus. Here's what I've found on our covenant. When Jesus came down from the mountain after being in the wilderness for 40 days, he came back and began His ministry teaching repentance. 

As a lot of you know I have an issue with the sinner's prayer being the only thing some churches teach their members as a way to go to heaven, when Jesus taught differently.

So, here's my understanding on our covenant with God.

From the Hebrew Bible

Joel 2:12-13 12) Yet even now saith YHVH turn ye unto me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning, 13) and rend your heart and not your garments, and turn to YHVH your God. For He is gracious and merciful, and slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

This wasn’t Jesus speaking this time but Peter, speaking the teachings of Jesus, is scolding people in the temple who are amazed that he and John healed a man lame since birth, for turning Jesus over to be crucified, tells them....

Acts 3:19 19) repent ye therefore, and turn again, so that your sins may be blotted out, that so there may become seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord.

The Hebrew noun for repent is Teshuvah meaning return or turning back. The verb is shuv, also meaning to return or turning back.

God made a covenant with Noah, Abraham, Moses and Joshua. Each time the Israelites were on there own they abandoned their part of the covenant, yet God always kept His covenant with them. 

Jesus taught us to repent, that is our covenant with God. Turning away from our sinful ways. Yes, we slip up and can momentarily abandon our covenant, but having remorse for that sin is what brings us back to repentance and renewing our covenant.

I may start adding a link on here to my substack page also called Nite Reflections. Come find me there. Keep Searching,

Paul