Exodus 32:7 ¶ And the LORD
said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out
of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way
which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped
it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O
Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 9 And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen
this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: 10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may
wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a
great nation. 11 And Moses besought the
LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people,
which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and
with a mighty hand? 12 Wherefore should
the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them
in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy
fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy
servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will
multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken
of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
14 And the LORD repented of the evil
which he thought to do unto his people.
God tells Moses to stand back while He destroys the Hebrews for
their idolatry. This gives Moses the chance to argue that to do such a thing
would go against God’s glory. It would not glorify Him in the sight of the
Egyptians. It would even appear that this destruction was the very reason He
led them out of Egypt and would justify the Egyptians rather than Himself.
After all, no one would think what the Hebrews were doing was amiss, now would
they, in the religious conditions of that world?
In verse 12 there is the definition of repent used here. It is to turn
from something. This, then, in context is the definition of repented of the evil which he thought to do
unto his people in verse 14. He turned from this. This is in keeping with a
doctrine found in the Bible that God does not repent as in ‘change His mind.’
As God’s foreknowledge covers every event as if it has already happened we must
look to the context for understanding. In the next two verses repent is linked with lie, the point being that God can be
trusted for the promises He made, and will not turn from them.
Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that he should
lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and
shall he not do it? or
hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
1Samuel 15:29 And also the
Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.
Here are other verses where repent
means to turn from something as
in the passage studied, to stop doing it or not do it, by comparing the
contrast in the verse in which the words repent
and turn are used.
Jeremiah 4:28 For this
shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent,
neither will I turn back from it.
Jeremiah 18:8 If that
nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent
of the evil that I thought to do unto them.
Jeremiah 26:3 If so be they
will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent
me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their
doings.
Ezekiel 14:6 Therefore say
unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn
yourselves from your idols; and
turn away your faces from all your abominations.
Ezekiel 18:30 Therefore I
will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the
Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves
from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
Jonah 3:9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent,
and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
Acts 26:20 But shewed first
unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of
Judaea, and then to the
Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works
meet for repentance.
Sometimes, someone’s behavior can compel you to turn from what you
are permitting or doing. For instance, a child you have given a privilege to
disobeys in a way that compels you to punish them or to revoke the privilege.
In that case their behavior repenteth
you. And, in Genesis 6:6,7 that behavior that compelled Him in something He
already knew was going to happen grieved Him.
Clearly then, to repent of your sins is to turn from them. For the
Christian repentance also suggests being sorry for your sins and for who you
are, a sinner. As Paul noted;
2Corinthians 7:9 Now I
rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance:
for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us
in nothing. 10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance
to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
It has been said that when Jesus preached the following verses He
was stating first that those who realized they were spiritually bankrupt and
mourned for sin were blessed, as are those who humble themselves before God and
hunger for His righteousness, as are those who extend God’s mercy to others,
keep themselves from sin as best as they can with the right attitude, preach
God’s peace with mankind, and are persecuted for it;
Matthew 5:3 ¶ Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall
be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit
the earth. 6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst
after righteousness: for they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of
God. 10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
It is doubtful many modern Christians literally mourn for their
sin against God and others. Repentance is not a casual thing or just a change
of mind.
But,
in this context repent is simply to turn from what was stated to be done.
In verse 13 the promise that God made to the patriarchs is
restated. An immense number of physical descendants is to come through the
Hebrews, a physical promise for physical descendants that has not yet been
completely fulfilled.
Genesis 24:60 And they
blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art
our sister, be thou the mother
of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of
those which hate them.
No comments:
Post a Comment