The Days of Teshuva, Part 2
If the Days of Teshuva sound foreign to you, that is not a surprise. Most pastors don’t preach on the subject. And if they do, they tend to associate it with Easter and the days more commonly known as Lent. That’s understandable since they are both relating to the same thing. So, why the change from Teshuva to Lent? We’ll get to that in part three.
What are the Days of Teshuva?
The word teshuva is usually associated with the act of repentance, but it’s much more than that. Teshuva means “to return.” So instead of just asking for forgiveness of our sins, the act of teshuva is to examine ourselves for any wrongdoings and to return to the paths of righteousness. In the story of George Washington and the cherry trees, legend has it that George would cut down one of his father’s trees and then confess, “I cannot tell a lie. I cut down your cherry tree.” The father would forgive young George because of his integrity. The version of the story that I heard went on to say that George did this more than once. This is not an example of teshuva.
By confessing, George was essentially asking for forgiveness but then would go out and do it again. True teshuva means that we recognize the wrong and move onto the path toward what is right; to return to what we were taught or to return to the righteousness of God’s Word.
We have all heard Proverbs 22:6. “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” But what if your parents didn’t teach you to follow the paths of righteousness? You’d be returning to what you were taught but still missing the mark of teshuva. That leaves returning to the paths of righteousness as defined by God’s Word as the meaning of teshuva.
Psalm 25:4 “Make me to know Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths.”
Psalm 119:35 “Lead me in the path of Your commandments, for I delight in it.”
Deuteronomy 6:25 “And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the Lord our God, as He has commanded us.”
The paths of righteousness are defined as following the commandments of God, the opposite of which is considered sin. Paul reiterates this point in Romans 7:7 when he says that if it weren’t for the Torah, he wouldn’t know what sin is. Deuteronomy makes it clear that following the commandments is righteousness and disobedience to the commandments is sin. See chapter 28 on the blessings and curses associated with the Torah.
So teshuva really means to return to God’s Torah, but it even goes deeper than that. Matthew 5:23–24 says, “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” In these words by the Messiah, He’s talking about not having unresolved conflict with someone, but the principle is the same when we have unresolved conflict with, or sin against, God. What good is it to bring an offering to the altar, sing our praises to God, or even proclaim His Name when we have sin in our lives? That is what the Days of Teshuva are all about, recognizing the sin in us and repenting of that sin, and then returning to the paths of righteousness as defined by God.
These are the Days of Teshuva. Today is the day to get our lives in line with His Word.