“…and you will return to Adonai your God and pay attention to what he has said, which will be exactly what I am ordering you to do today – you and your children, with all your heart and all your being.”
Deuteronomy 30:2
In Deuteronomy 30:1, Moshe records that when the time arrives that the people, who had been driven to other nations come back to Adonai, that at that time they will re-enter the land. I don’t know about you, but I feel like I have been in this position before. I know that there have been times when I have strayed from what He has commanded in the Torah. The interesting thing, and the point at which I am grateful of, is that Adonai knew this would happen to His people. Here we do not read if you slip into this time of falling away from Me, but rather we read when the time comes and these things have happened. Adonai knew His people would turn their backs on Him.
While I am thankful that my back-turning moments have not surprised Him, I am more thankful that He has made a way for my return. In verse 2 we read that if we return to Adonai, pay attention to what He has said, and do as He has ordered with all our heart and being, then He will reverse the exile we have been in. What is this change known as? This is teshuvah – repentance. In the Hebrew language, the term repent stems from the verb ‘shuv’, meaning more accurately to turn around. If going left, we turn right. If headed north, we go south. It is the making of a 180 degree turn around. Teshuvah is not merely a change of mind, but rather includes also a change of behavior.
As we see in this passage, when one is sincere about leaving the sin behind and following after Adonai, He does not say, “Too bad,” but rather says He will take us back. Adonai receives sincere repentance, and reconnects us to Him when repentance is sought. On this note, I encourage you, as I know I need to do as well, to go and seek His forgiveness. Whether on purpose, or by accident, we have probably sinned. So then let us make teshuvah. Let us now, before it is too late, seek Him while He can still be found.
Deuteronomy 30:1-6
Deuteronomy 30:7-10
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