God's Compassion in the Face of Sin Repented

TORAH

• Deut. 31:1-29

HAFTORAH

• Hos. 14:1-9
• Micah 7:18-20
• Joel 2:15-27

The necessity for regular reading of the Scripture (the book of the law) is described many times in both the OT and the NT. It is found here, in Parsha Vayalech, (Deut. 31:9-13), as well as in Joshua 8:33-35. The consequences of not knowing God's Word is made evident in such passages as 2 Kings 22:8-13,18-19.

In that passage, we see that King Josiah realizes his predicament and its consequence. His response is to humble himself, to tear his clothes in contrition and to weep in sorrow. Without a regular reading and study of God’s Word, we will inevitably fall away into deeper and deeper sin.

 

God is omniscient and knows His people would always turn away from Him if left to themselves. There are two intertwined themes in the Bible:

·         First, the sinfulness of man and His inability to be obedient to God’s commands and decrees and

·         Second, the quickness of God’s forgiveness of the repentant sinner. God’s gracious forgiveness is made plain from our Haftorah reading from Micah 7:18-20 “Who is a God like You, Who forgives iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not maintain His anger forever, for He desires loving-kindness. He shall return and grant us compassion; He shall hide our iniquities, and You shall cast into the depths of the sea all their sins. You shall give the truth of Jacob, the loving-kindness of Abraham, which You swore to our forefathers from days of yore.”  This idea is reinforced compellingly in passages such as Joel 2:12-13.

Nevertheless, God makes it plain that sin must be paid for, that sinners must be brought into reconciliation with God.

God will not forgive everyone who sins but only the repentant. It is the quality of repentance (seen in the passage about Josiah in 2 Kings) that determines if one is of God’s remnant. We all turn to our own ways; we are in our hearts depraved in the sense that we put ourselves above God, both from fear and pride.
 

The remnant is repentant. But what is repentance? It is a posture or bearing characterized by spiritual sorrow for sin as well as humility and contrition in the presence of God. (Joel 2:12-13.) Repentance is not righteousness; it is not being a “good” person. Repentance is recognition of an agreement with God’s perfect righteousness and our own inability to be commensurately righteous. How does repentance arise? It arises because of God’s merciful benevolence toward those who do not deserve such benevolence but through grace are brought to a state of deep sorrow and shame for their own unrighteousness by the working of the Holy Spirit, “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged” (John 16:7-11).

We get a wonderful glimpse of true repentance from King David after he had sinned with Bathsheba.

Read (or better yet sing) Psalm 51