{"id":76681,"date":"2020-06-30T10:54:36","date_gmt":"2020-06-30T07:54:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=76681"},"modified":"2020-06-30T10:54:36","modified_gmt":"2020-06-30T07:54:36","slug":"a-new-sort-of-repentance-and-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/a-new-sort-of-repentance-and-return\/","title":{"rendered":"A New Sort Of Repentance And Return"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[],"acf":{"old_id":"76681","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":36277,"related_cahpter":"514","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Developing a connection as stable as the dew\r\n\r\n","content":"

The end of Hosea is a paean to <\/span>Teshuvah<\/span><\/em>. Hosea calls, \u201cReturn, O Israel, to the Lord your God,\u201d and the appeal seems to succeed, for God answers, \u201cI will take them back in love, for my anger is turned away from them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But this is not the first time in this story that Israel has tried to return to God. Twice in the book, Israel attempts to repent \u2013 in chapters 6 and 14. It is fascinating to compare them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chapter 6 opens: \u201cCome, let us turn back to the LORD: He attacked, and He can heal us\u2026 we shall be whole by His favor\u2026 His appearance is as sure as daybreak, And He will come to us like rain, Like latter rain that refreshes the earth\u201d (6:1-3).<\/span><\/p>\n

Israel expects that if she returns to God, God will return to her overnight. Like a rainstorm, bringing rivulets of reviving water running over the parched land, filling up cracked cisterns; so too, they expect that God will flood His people with renewed love.<\/span><\/p>\n

To which, the prophet laments that God does not work like that. \u201cWhat can I do for you, Ephraim, What can I do for you, Judah, When your goodness is like morning clouds, Like dew so early gone? \u2026 For I desire goodness, not sacrifice; Obedience to God, rather than burnt offerings\u201d (6:4-6).<\/span><\/p>\n

He wants enduring love and lasting commitment, not fleeting gifts. Israel\u2019s superficial change of heart is not the faithfulness that God seeks.<\/span><\/p>\n

In our chapter, by contrast, Israel repents again, and this time their contrition is accepted: \u201cReturn, O Israel, to the LORD your God, For you have fallen because of your sin. Take words with you And return to the LORD. Say to Him: \u201cForgive all guilt And accept what is good\u2026 I will heal their affliction, Generously will I take them back in love; For My anger has turned away from them. I will be to Israel like dew\u201d (14:2-6).<\/span><\/p>\n

This time, their contrition is accepted. Israel returns with words, not sacrifices; she vows to forsake her paramour idols and commit to exclusivity.<\/span><\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s first, failed effort at <\/span>Teshuvah<\/em> <\/span>was an attempt to have with God the kind of intermittent ecstatic relationship, likened to rain, that she had enjoyed with the lovers of the early part of the book. God subtly corrects the people: \u201cYou think you desire a relationship with me full of the passion, uncertainty and excitement, that you know from idolatry? I will give you instead dew, the stable assurance of My loving presence.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":76683,"id":76683,"title":"hos14-dew","filename":"hos14-dew.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos14-dew.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/a-new-sort-of-repentance-and-return\/hos14-dew\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"hos14-dew","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":76681,"date":"2020-06-30 07:53:39","modified":"2021-02-14 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