Regret: Judges 10:10-14
The children of Israel didn't want God for God; they just wanted him to stop their pain. Regret seeks to mitigate consequences. It is an idolatrous way to approach God because it says, 'let me use you to get out of trouble.' Much of what people call repentance is nothing more than regret in disguise.
Our response to sin needs to be evaluated by asking ourselves, "Am I using God or worshipping God?" When you find yourself in a jam caused by sin, do you return to your previous life once your circumstances pass? If so, you are a textbook definition of regret and far from repentance.
Repentance: Judges 10:15
Did you notice how different Judges 10:15 was from Judges 10:10? In (Jud. 10:10), they wanted peace from God, but in (Jud. 10:15), they wanted peace with God. They wanted peace with God, no matter the cost. True repentance does not care about one's consequences but their relationship with God.
Rejoice: Judges 10:16
This section of Judges ends with a word of rejoicing. After they rid themselves of their foreign gods and began to serve God, he relented his hand. Are there greater words of comfort and rejoicing than those at the end of (Jud. 10:16) "he could bear Israel's misery no longer."
Comments