“And
{if you} shall return unto the LORD thy God, and shall obey his voice according
to all that I command thee this day . . .
that then the LORD thy God will have compassion upon thee.” Deut
30:2-3 KJV
What do I consider to be one of the
greatest promises of Scripture – repentance and forgiveness? John wrote, “If we confess our sins He is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” In
Genesis, right after the slaughter of the Shechemites, God tells Jacob to
return to Bethel and dwell there. Bethel was the spot where God had openly
revealed Himself to Jacob some twenty-five years earlier as he fled from Esau.
Now, after all the wandering and sin, highlighted by the recent sin as Shechem,
God said to Jacob, “Return to Bethel.”
What does this mean? It means that
there is plenteous mercy and forgiveness with the Lord. God is always calling
His people to return to the place of rest in God. He is calling them to put
away the idols of this world, to come in repentance and be restored by the
grace of our caring God. Some churches have a part of the service where the
pastor declares the absolution of God for the confessed sins of the people. The
pastor is telling the people clearly what God has done for them – forgiven
them. What greater words can we hear than that we have been forgiven? This is
the call of God to Jacob, “Arise, and go to Bethel. There I will meet with you
and accept you and let you know that I am your God and that you are My child.”
Arise today, friends, and go to Bethel and feel the warm cleansing from the
blood of our blessed Savior.
Dear
Father, Thank You that we are invited to come to You for cleansing for our sins
and not just to hear the anger of Your righteous judgment. Amen.
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