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Key
#7 - The Key of Teshuvah
What has existed before time Is more than just a change of mind Allows man to know the Almighty And returns man to how he should be? Remorse, confession, and a plan too To turn from sin and change the path To make some changes that really last?
What is this thing, what could it be? Teshuvah is the answer you seek.
Teshuvah is the answer you seek if you truly desire to draw near to the Holy One of Israel. Sadly it seems that when genuine people decide to approach a church altar for repentance that they never really experience a lasting change in their behavior. This is due in part to a false understanding of the concept of repentance. In most English Bibles the word “repentance” is translated for the Hebrew term “teshuvah.” Teshuvah cannot be simply equated with repentance. Teshuvah includes repentance but it means more than just repenting. Teshuvah means to “turn from sin and return to the Creator” and more yet.
Repentance is generally a changing of the mind with a hope to do right someday. Repentance is regret and saying you’re sorry. Repentance is a mental decision not to do something. Repentance is a sad event.
Teshuvah on the other-hand is greater than repentance. True teshuvah is a total abandonment of an evil act and a direct effort to correct the wrong and do the right. True teshuvah includes regret and sorrow but does not stop there. Teshuvah is characterized by joy – joy found in the renewal to connection with Yahweh. True teshuvah doesn’t just promise to do better next time; it rights the wrong and really does do better next time. And true teshuvah is a direct command for every follower of the Bible, “Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices,” Ezekiel 14:6. Notice this verse includes repenting and turning from sin also notice the use of the word “repent.” Though teshuvah is more than just simply repenting, it is the English word “repent” found in most English Bibles.
Because the scope of its meaning covers such a wide range of area it is hard to fully grasp the power of understanding. Teshuvah is like restarting over in the Gan Eden, it’s like tapping into who you really are spiritually, it is making Yahweh’s kingdom full reign and power in your life. Teshuvah is rising above earthly limitations, correcting the problem, fixing the broken, and returning what was stolen. Teshuvah occurs when something has gone wrong and teshuvah restores life to before the something went wrong.
Teshuvah is essential for a believer to have a relationship with Yahweh, for it encompasses the broken and contrite heart the Almighty seeks in His people. During these end times, it will be the restoration of teshuvah in the lives of Bible believers that reaches the heart of Elohim and the hearts of man. To prove this point, the word “repent” can be found more times in the Book of Revelation than in any other book in the Bible. Teshuvah will play a huge part as the events of the end times unfold in the coming future.
“Great is Teshuvah for it makes the redemption of the Messiah come near,” says the Talmud. Teshuvah will also usher in the coming full restoration of the nation of Israel, “and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong and acted wickedly’; and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their captivity where they were taken, and pray toward the land you gave their fathers, toward the city you have chosen and toward the temple I have built for your Name; then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their pleas, and uphold their cause. And forgive your people, who have sinned against you,” 2 Chronicles 6:37-39. The great teacher Rambam once said, “Israel will be redeemed only through teshuvah. The Torah has promised that ultimately Israel will return towards the end of her exile.”
Teshuvah is happening everyday as people believe the words of the Bible and return to Yahweh, the Sacred Name, the Torah and the Biblical festivals.
Even the book of Acts speaks of this when it says to Israel, “Repent, then, and turn to Elohim, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from Yahweh, and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Yahshua. He must remain in heaven until the time comes for Elohim to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets,” Acts 3:19-21. This popular Messianic verse about the “restoration of all things” is based upon Israel doing teshuvah! Simply put, the motivating and benefiting factor of the restoration of all things is that teshuvah must come. Teshuvah will bring about, will usher in the restoration of all things!
The
Power of Teshuvah
Thousands of years ago, Yahweh gave man specific and direct instructions on how to live a life that is both spiritually and physically fulfilling. This set of loving instructions and teachings, much like a blueprint for living, is what the Hebrew language calls “torah.” The Torah is the teachings found in the first five books of the Scriptures, often mistranslated as the word “law.” There are laws in the Torah but the Torah is not just law, it is teaching. It is the way Yahweh desires His people to live.
As man obeys the Torah through heartfelt love and devotion the natural result is blessing, fulfillment, and closeness with the Creator. But, there are times when man disobeys the Torah. There are times when mankind chooses to pay no attention to the Torah and do what feels right at the moment. There are times when the doctrines of man have so confused people that the Torah is ignored. There are times when the torah is forgotten and disregarded as meaningless laws for a generation past. These times of rebellion are what the Torah calls “sin.” 1 John 3:4, “Everyone who sins breaks the Torah; in fact, sin is torah-lessness.”
Sin results in separation from things holy or set-apart, including Yahweh Himself. Sin makes a person unclean and “dead” or void of life spiritually speaking. “The wages of sin is death,” Romans 3:23. Because Yahweh is holy and full of life, things that are dead or unclean cannot approach Him.
This issue of sin presents a perplexing problem without some type of way to bridge the gap between holy and sinless Yahweh and unclean and sinful man. A bridge is needed to cross the chasm to connect man with Yahweh.
Teshuvah is that bridge. Teshuvah is the bridge Yahweh has graciously provided man for relationship and closeness. Teshuvah is the bridge, built by Yahshua Himself.
“Turn thou us unto thee, O Yahweh, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old,” Lamentations 5:21. Through teshuvah sinful and disobedient man is returned to the state of obedience and righteousness. It is teshuvah that stops man from being overcome by evil and wickedness and restores man to the life before the sin occurred. “Repent, then, and turn to Elohim, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come,” Acts 3:19. Each individual must do teshuvah, yet it requires Yahweh’s power to do so. The book of Ya’akov hints towards this also when it says to “Come near to Yahweh and he will come near to you.”
Teshuvah is like restoring the relationship of man and Yahweh before sin entered the world in Gan Eden. Teshuvah returns man to the state before the fall, before the curses, and before the eviction from the garden of Yahweh. For teshuvah totally wipes out all remembrance of sin and returns the individual to the actual point and stage of where the idea of sin is worthless and empty. Teshuvah is not only crossing the bridge to the past but also erasing any memory of the past. It is totally returning and starting over. Rabbi Nydle has written, “Teshuvah is changing the past so that yesterday is no longer yesterday.” This is not natural – it is supernatural.
This supernatural phenomenon happens because of a total reversibility of thought, action, and even character by the person repenting and turning. Teshuvah though does not occur if the individual who has sinned is not truly sorry. “He who says, “I will sin and repent and sin and repent,” will be denied the power of teshuvah,” says the Talmud. When it comes to teshuvah, Yahweh is looking at the sincerity of the heart.
It is the heart and the intent of the believer that brings forgiveness and touches the heart of Yahweh. From Psalm 1:17, “the sacrifice of Elohim is a broken spirit,” – repentance is like going to Jerusalem, building the temple, erecting an altar, and offering upon it all the sacrifices written in the Torah,” says the Talmud.
This truly sorrowful person is called in Hebrew a “ba’al teshuvah.”
You
Must Be Born Again
Through trusting belief, the ba’al teshuvah has died to his sins and torah breaking and is born anew into the kingdom of light through totally rejecting a life of rebellion and accepting Torah obedience in return. “What is a ba’al teshuvah,” Rabbi Yehudah said, “a ba’al teshuvah is one who has the opportunity to do the same sin and this time he does not do it. This is a true ba’al teshuvah.”
This born again person is brought near to Yahweh, under the wings of the Almighty. “Repentance brings man under the wings of Yahweh, the words of Ezekiel, ‘They had the hands of Elohim which extended beneath the wings of the cherubim to receive the penitents from the power of judgment,” says the Talmud. This rabbinical reference clearly points to how Teshuvah brings man near to Yahweh as found in Psalm 91:1, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the wings of the Almighty.” The person doing teshuvah submits himself to the rule and reign of Yahweh.
You see, this closeness is only possible by a person being truly sorry for their sin and changing their behavior. It’s the sin that prevents this closeness from occurring. This born anew, master of teshuvah, turns from the sinful act and returns to a new life with Yahweh, reminiscent of that in the Garden of Eden.
“Submit yourselves, then, to Elohim. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you,” Ya’akov (James 4:7-8). Before a person can resist the devil, or resist the yetzer hara or fleshly inclination, a person MUST submit to Yahweh through teshuvah. Too many people try to ride the fence between submitting to Yahweh and resisting the Adversary, never really doing teshuvah but thinking their sins are forgiven. These are people who continue their transgression yet, seemingly and constantly ask forgiveness for the problem area. This is because they are not fully submitting to Yahweh, or they have sin strongholds that need to be dealt with. A friend once said, “He who rides the fence gets a sore crotch.”
One example of a real ba’al teshuvah is the prostitute woman Ra’hab who helped protect the Israelite spies as they reconnoitered the land. Because of Ra’hab’s teshuvah she and her family were spared from death as the Israelites conquered the city. Ra’hab is remembered in the scriptures a person who came near to Yahweh and His people through turning from sin and returning to Yahweh through words and actions. Ra’hab is even one of the women in the direct lineage of the Messiah Yahshua.
A
Four Step Plan
Step 1: Stop. Acknowledge your sin area and stop whatever destructive or sinful action you are engaged in. If, for example, you are stealing, you must stop. You simply cannot continue in sin if you want forgiveness.
Step 2: Regret. You should indeed feel regret for your error. It’s wrong to steal. Theft is breaking Yahweh’s Torah and hurting others. You should be sorry for the harm you have cause both man and the Almighty. There should be absolutely NO excuses for the sin – take responsibility and understand how what you have done has hurt people and has hurt Yahweh.
Step 3. Verbalize. Explain your regret to Yahweh out loud. This doesn’t have to be done at a worship center; it can be done in the confines of your home. Just talk to Yahweh in at least an audible whisper, not just in your head. Of course, Yahweh already knows, but you need to hear it. Tell Him that you are sorry for whatever you have done wrong. If you need help overcoming this sin or addiction, now is the time to tell someone and seek advice or help. If your sinful and wrong actions have harmed other people it is absolutely necessary to go the offended person before coming to Yahweh. (Yahshua also taught this in Mattityahu 5:24-26) There is power in confessing out loud, as the book of Ya’akov says, “Confess your sins to one another that you may be healed.”
Step 4. Make a Plan. How can you be sure the mistake or sin won’t happen again? Make a practical plan of action. This last step is helping you “make no provision for the flesh” as the word says. If you know that certain subjects are sources of conflict or areas of temptation simply avoid these places. Your plan might include memorizing scripture verses to combat the evil desire. (Yahshua also battled the enemy with “It is written” statements.”)
This four-step process is so simple and elementary that it may seem meaningless. This is just not so. The heartfelt teshuvah of an individual erases the sinful act from Yahweh’s memory and affects both the earthly and the heavenly realms. When a person does teshuvah about a certain sin and then brings the sinful act up again in prayer to Yahweh, it’s as if Yahweh cannot remember the event ever happening. It’s like Yahweh says, “what sin?” Even the book of Micah speaks of this, “You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.”
The Message of the Messiah “Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign Yahweh. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Yahweh. Repent and live,” Ezekiel 18:30-32.
Notice that it is only after repenting and turning from “all your offenses” that man receives “a new heart and a new spirit.” This renewal or rebirth, a return to the Torah and to Yahweh, is THE message of the Messiah. “From that time on Yahshua began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near,” Mattitiyahu 4:17. Teshuvah is the end times message.
The early followers of Yahshua’s teachings continued spreading this timeless message, “First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to Elohim and prove their repentance by their deeds,” said Sha’ul (Paul) in Acts 26:20. Even in the book of Revelation Yahshua echoes these words:
“Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place,” Revelation 2:5.
“Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you,” Revelation 3:3.
The power of Teshuvah is an amazing thing, for it enables sinful man to fellowship with holy Yahweh because teshuvah actually wipes out all memory and stain of the sin. “Come now, let us reason together,” says Yahweh. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool,” Yesha’yahu (Isaiah) 1:18.
A Personal Action Teshuvah is a personal event for each believer that allows one to “know thyself.” It also brings man face-to-face with the fact that Yahweh is salvation. Yahweh desires for your fellowship and relationship and Yahweh longs to forgive you of your sins. Your little sins or you deepest, darkest sins – Yahweh wants to forgive them all and restore you to your destiny as a ba’al teshuvah. “It was said concerning 'Rabbi' (the title of 'Rabbi' to be explained below) Eliezer ben Duradia that he had a great appetite for sin, and there was almost no sin in the world that he had not done. One day he heard of a sin that he had never done. It was located far away and was very expensive. He decided to do it with a friend, who would help with the expenses and be pleasant company on the way. When they arrived at the location, they immediately made arrangements to do the sin. While they were doing it, his friend said that he thought that Eliezer, because of all the sins that he had done, would never be admitted into the World-to-Come. Since he had never thought so far into the future, hearing this forecast of his fate was very shocking. He went to the mountains and asked them to intercede for him. They said that they had to be concerned about their own future, as it says 'For the mountains and the hills will be moved.' (Yesha’yahu, 54:10) He then went to the heavens and the earth and asked them to intercede for him. They responded that they also had to be concerned for their own future, as it says, 'The heavens will disappear like smoke, and the earth will unravel like a garment." Until he realized that he was the only one responsible for his fate. He put his head between his knees and wept with such force that his soul left him. A Heavenly Voice was heard, saying, 'Rabbi Eliezer ben Duradia is prepared for entry into the World-to-Come.”
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