“Teshuva”

THE HEALING POWER OF REPENTANCE
  Ken Graydon
kennygee@bigpond.com

IT MAY BE TOO LATE FOR THE NATIONS TO REPENT AND RECEIVE THE BLESSINGS OF THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE. IT’S NOW UP TO FAMILIES, COUPLES AND INDIVIDUALS TO FIND AND USE THESE VITAL TRUTHS WHILE THERE IS JUST ENOUGH TIME!

The scriptures used in this study are from the Jewish Publishing Society, Tanakh, 1999 edition. If you are using the ‘Old Testament’ there may be a slight variation in chapter and verse numbers.

Throughout this study we use ETERNAL or the CREATOR of the Universe instead of any misleading names for YHVH.

PHYSICAL HEALING AFTER REPENTANCE

There is a very sound basis for healing of physical complaints spelled out in the Tanakh, that we may apply to our lives. It’s about understanding the very basis of our relationship with ETERNAL, the covenants He has established and our response.

The promises are clear and simple. Unfortunately, simple to understand does not always mean easy to do. The Tanakh is the ‘manufacturer’s handbook’ and offers clear directions for the basics of life, diet, hygiene, health, work and worship. It is not the way of life that most western nations follow,  so our level of health and longevity does not measure up to the Tanakh standard.

If the CREATOR of the Universe says (as He has) that it is bad for your health to eat pigs, rabbits, shellfish, shark and crustaceans, because their role is to dispose of other dead animals and rubbish, if you have been eating these items you should expect to be unwell, even to the point of death. You should not expect that ETERNAL could heal you of a diet produced illness - unless you repent and change your lifestyle and eating habits NOW. ETERNAL chooses to be bound by His words in the Tanakh.

Exodus 15: 25b-26. There He made for them a fixed rule, and there He put them to the test. He said “If you will heed the ETERNAL diligently, doing what is right in His sight, giving ear to His commandments and keeping all His laws, then I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians, for I the ETERNAL am your healer.”

This is clear and specific. Follow ETERNAL’s commandments and laws. These are not just some nice suggestions or even ways to make you miserable. These are instructions that will save your life. If you are obedient He will heal you. Notice that He describes Himself as your healer – this healing work is ongoing, it’s available anytime, if you meet the conditions of obedience. Disobedience is a choice – it will kill you but it is your option.

No one in the Tanakh was taken by surprise if they became ill. There was a reason, not always a personal reason – sometimes a family group or tribe would come under punishment. The consequences would depend on whether there was true repentance within the group or if the illness was a punishment for a clear and obvious act of disobedience to ETERNAL.

As you might imagine, ETERNAL does not tolerate His people worshipping other g-ds. We will deal with this subject in more detail later.

Deuteronomy 32: 39 See, then, that I, I am He; There is no g-d beside Me. I deal death and give life; I wounded and I will heal: None can deliver from My hand.

Here ETERNAL makes it very clear. Life and death are in His hands and no one can cause a person to be delivered from the consequences of His actions, against the will of ETERNAL.

If we seek healing for ourselves, we must ensure that our life is in tune with the specific instructions of ETERNAL. Do we keep all of the commandments? In the way they were originally written, not some twisted later version changed by people who thought they knew better than the CREATOR of the Universe?

Not all healing will bring about a complete cure - although many miracles do happen. Bad things do seem to happen to good people. The prayer for healing, delivered by a person who is in obedience to ETERNAL, allows ETERNAL to put some healing into the situation. It may be a complete and miraculous physical cure, sometimes the relationships involved are healed, sometimes the community is changed. There is always an answer.

We struggle to understand the presence of evil in the events around us. It is a very primitive cry to ask “Why does ETERNAL let that happen?” He has given us free will (everyone else too). We see the influence of ETERNAL in the reactions to evil events. The courage, the co-operation, the love, the outpouring of the best of human reactions such as generosity are ways in which ETERNAL works through people of good will after an act of evil.

 The only qualification you need to pray to ETERNAL is your obedience. If you are being obedient you are within your rights to ask ETERNAL to remember His promises to you.

Isaiah 43: 25-26. It is I, I who – for My own sake – wipe your transgressions away and remember your sins no more. Help Me remember! Let us join in argument, tell your version, that you may be vindicated.

Let me share a personal story with you. Some time ago I had been only able to find casual work in my usual field of work – and that was becoming more and more scarce. My wife went before ETERNAL to remind Him we had been as obedient as we understood to be and that our situation did not bring any glory to His name. The very next morning I received a phone call offering me a job at some fifty percent higher salary than I had ever received. Economic healing is healing too!

Isaiah 19: 22 The ETERNAL will first afflict and then heal the Egyptians; when they turn back to the ETERNAL, He will respond to their entreaties and heal them.

Please understand this point. When people repent, that is, turn back from their disobedient ways, ETERNAL can heal them.

If the circumstances of your life, or of your family and friends, needs healing then you must counsel them to repent so that ETERNAL can act in their lives. The events we see around us in the world show us that we are in a time of latter day prophecy. There is not a lot of time to waste!

THE ONE AND ONLY

ETERNAL makes it very clear in the Tanakh that He is the one and only.

Exodus 20:3. You shall have no other g-ds beside Me.

Isaiah 8:13. None but the ETERNAL shall you account holy. Give reverence to Him alone, hold Him alone in awe.

Isaiah 43:10-13. My witnesses are you – declares the ETERNAL – My servant, whom I have chosen. To the end that you may take thought, and believe in Me and understand that I am He: Before Me no g-d was formed and after Me none shall exist – none but Me – the ETERNAL.

Beside Me, none can grant triumph. I alone foretold the triumph and I brought it to pass; I announced it and no strange g-d was among you. So you are my witnesses – declares the ETERNAL – and I am the ETERNAL. Ever since day was, I am He; None can deliver from My hand. When I act, who can reverse it?

Isaiah 44:6. Thus said the ETERNAL, the King of Israel , their Redeemer, the Lord of Hosts: I am the first and I am the last and there is no g-d but Me.

Isaiah 45: 5-6. I am the ETERNAL and there is none else; beside Me there is no g-d. I engird you, though you have not known Me. So that they may know from East to West that there is none but Me. I am the ETERNAL and there is none else.

Isaiah 45: 21-22. Speak up, compare testimony. Let them even take counsel together! Who announced this aforetime, foretold it of old?

Was it not I the ETERNAL? Then there is no g-d beside Me. No g-d exists beside Me who foretells truly and grants success.

Isaiah 46:9. Bear in mind what happened of old; for I am ETERNAL and there is none else, I am divine and there is none like Me.

Isaiah 48: 11. For My sake, My own sake, do I act – lest (My Name) be dishonoured! I will not give My glory to another.

Joel 2:27. And you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel : That I the Lord am your ETERNAL and there is no other and My people shall be shamed no more.

Zechariah 14:9. And the ETERNAL shall be king over all the earth; in that day there shall be one ETERNAL with one name.

ETERNAL makes this very clear. He is the One and Only and He does not share His position or glory with any other. If you have been believing that there are two or three or any number but one in the position of CREATOR of the Universe – you have been cruelly mislead. There is no easy way to put to you the fact that, if a Rabbi called Yeshua (Hebrew version of Jesus) was crucified, then he stayed dead. There have been sixteen different people, all claiming to be ‘saviours’ who have gone to crucifixion or some very unpleasant death who, despite the myths and anxious disciples, also stayed dead.

On a personal note, let me tell you that I spent twenty years as a Priest in the Old Catholic Church. It was shattering news to have this understanding put into my life. I tried very hard to prove the other one was a ‘son of g-d’ and all the other things claimed for him. You cannot, in the face of all the overwhelming evidence.

The Tanakh is very specific about the ministry and identity of the Messiah. It is a study well outside the scope of this work -  but ETERNAL will respond to your prayers and obedience and open up the scriptures to you.

Using the Tanakh does not mean you have to suspend your intelligence. Dig into it, investigate, pray and study. You will be amazed at the depth of your understanding in a very short time.

Repentance is turning away from evil, or from sin and seeking forgiveness. However it is wise to offer repentance and seek forgiveness as part of your daily prayer so that you do not become burdened with the weight of your many transgressions. This work is about the healing power of repentance and I want to urge you to be in a state of repentance so that you are open to receive the healing from ETERNAL.

The truths revealed in this portion of the study lead to another question. What about the pastors, priests, ministers and other clergy – the group that the Tanakh calls the shepherds?

We have seen in the scriptures quoted above that it is bad, dangerously bad, to worship other g-ds, pray to them, burn incense to them or sacrifice to them. What about teaching other people to do that? ETERNAL has a message for the shepherds!

Ezekiel 34:6-12. My sheep stray through all the mountains and over every lofty hill; My flock is scattered all over the face of the earth, with none to take thought of them and none to seek them. Hear then, O shepherds, the word of the ETERNAL! As I live – declares the ETERNAL: because My flock has been a spoil – My flock has been a prey for all the wild beasts, for want of anyone to tend them since My shepherds have not taken thought of My flock – hear indeed, O shepherds, the word of the ETERNAL: Thus said the ETERNAL: I am going to deal with the shepherds! I will demand a reckoning of them for My flock, and I will dismiss them from tending My flock. The shepherds shall not tend themselves any more, for I will rescue My flock from their mouths, and it shall not be their prey. For thus said the ETERNAL: Here am I! I am going to take thought for My flock and I will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when some [animals] in his flock have gotten separated, so I will seek out My flock, I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on a day of cloud and gloom.

In the area you live in you will have seen clergy leaving, or being dismissed from the ministry, sometimes even going to jail. If ETERNAL puts a prophecy in His book it will take place – He is dealing with the shepherds! Some churches are putting aside huge sums of money, which the innocent flock have intended for the work of ETERNAL, to deal with class actions over sexual abuse and misconduct among their clergy. The wild animals have been among His flock!

REPENTANCE AND THE HEALING OF THE LAND

2 Chronicles 7:14  when My people, who bear My name, humble themselves, pray and seek My favor and turn from their evil ways, I will hear from My heavenly abode and forgive their sins and heal their land.

The words of the Tanakh are the practical truth. Follow these steps of identifying yourself with the CREATOR of the Universe, pray often and seek the will of ETERNAL, repent and do not repeat the offence. ETERNAL will hear your prayers, forgive your sins and heal your land. In other words, these simple steps will cause your life and circumstances to be healed.

These are ‘bankable’ truths – you can rely on them absolutely. If the people of your community will follow these simple steps sincerely they will receive all these blessings. They will be at peace because they are forgiven by ETERNAL, they will prosper because ETERNAL will heal their land. It will give your local media a ‘good news story’ to beat them all.

Deuteronomy 11: 13-17. If, then, you obey the commandments that I enjoin upon you this day, loving the ETERNAL and serving Him with all your heart and soul, I will grant the rain for your land in season, the early rain and the late. You shall gather in your new grain and wine and oil. I will also provide grass in the fields for your cattle – and thus you shall eat your fill. Take care not to be lured away to serve other g-ds and bow to them. For the ETERNAL’s anger will flare up against you, and He will shut up the skies so that there will be no rain and the ground will not yield its produce; and you will soon perish from the good land that the ETERNAL is assigning to you.

Obedience will bring blessings. Once again these are demonstrable blessings – if you are getting rain at the right times and your land is fruitful in every way – these are blessing you can talk about. Other people will see the change in your circumstances. Obedience to the commandments makes you different!  

“TOWARD THIS PLACE”

King Solomon built the first Temple on, what is now known as, Temple Mount in Jerusalem . The building was magnificent and the glory of ETERNAL was present.

In a moving speech of dedication King Solomon, who at this point of his life was both wise and obedient to ETERNAL, spelt out much of the practical ways and methods of prayer. He also dealt with the need for personal and national repentance.

Like his father, King David, King Solomon was a prophet and in this time of celebration for an awe-inspiring new Temple he alludes to a time when it will not be there. What do they do then?

1 Kings 8: 29 et al
may You heed the prayers which Your servant will offer toward this place.

And when you hear the supplications which Your servant and Your people Israel offer toward this place…..

Should the heavens be shut up and there be no rain, because they have sinned against You, and then they pray toward this place and acknowledge Your name and repent of their sins ….

In any plague and in any disease, in any prayer or supplication offered by any person among all Your people Israel – each of whom knows his own affliction – when he spreads his palms toward this house …..

…. When he comes to pray toward this house, oh hear in Your heavenly abode and grant all that the foreigner asks You for.

When Your people take the field against their enemy by whatever way You send them, and they pray to the ETERNAL in the direction of this city which You have chosen …

… and they pray to you in the direction of their land which you gave to their fathers.

These extracts from various verses (read all of chapter 8 to see all the details) make it clear. Wherever you are or whoever you are, pray toward (that is, facing the direction of) Jerusalem . Pray with your hands raised and your palms toward Jerusalem . That is the place where ETERNAL chose to place His name.

That is the place where the third Temple is to be built when the Messiah comes.

King Solomon was concerned with the “how” of prayer. Which way to face, how to stand. He was also concerned with the “who” of prayer and his conclusion was that everyone should pray to ETERNAL – the individual, the nation and the foreigner. He was also concerned with the “when” of prayer. He did not pick a time of day but a time of life – the time when you repent! When you realise that your way of life is punishing you – repent and pray! When you realise your way of life is punishing the environment or the climate – repent and pray! When you are repenting because you do not know how to repent – pray anyway!

The purpose of this work is to encourage you to repent and to pray, receive healing and share your joy.

Ezekiel 20:23-25 However I swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the lands because they did not obey My rules, but rejected My laws, profaned My Sabbaths and looked with longing at the fetishes of their fathers. Moreover I gave them laws that were not good and rules by which they could not live.

In this group we seek to recapture the simple faith that Abraham followed. If ETERNAL calls you, you do what He says. If the Tanakh forbids something you do not do it. If the Tanakh advocates something – you do it. The men in this group are circumcised and wear beards, [the ladies do not.]

There are moments and degrees of separation. Each of these is a test. Will you be obedient? It begins with the seventh day Sabbath. Will you keep the day that ETERNAL set aside for His worship and not the day that the pagan sun worshippers chose?

Will you worship ETERNAL? Not any of the counterfeits, alternatives, images or idols. ETERNAL is one – there is no other!

The failure to follow any of these prescriptions of ETERNAL means you have failed the test. ETERNAL seeks your obedience from the moment you begin to understand His ways. Because we are all fallible ETERNAL allows (and encourages) us to repent. He knows if you have been mislead or just followed along after others - but once you know the truth it’s up to you. This is the time to repent and pray toward Jerusalem and allow ETERNAL to bring healing into your life.

Ezekiel 18:21-23. Moreover, if the wicked one repents of all the sins that he committed and keeps all My laws and does what is just and right, he shall live; he shall not die. None of the transgressions he committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness he has practised, he shall live.

Is it My desire that a wicked person shall die? – says the ETERNAL. It is rather that he shall turn back from his ways and live.

ETERNAL wants you to live  so He wants you to repent. ETERNAL wants to forget all your sins and transgressions – even more than you do.

Ezekiel 18: 30-32. Be assured, O House of Israel , I will judge each one of you according to his ways – declares the ETERNAL. Repent and turn back from your transgressions; let them not be a stumbling block of guilt for you. Cast away all the transgressions by which you have offended, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit, that you may not die, O House of Israel . For it is not My desire that anyone shall die – declares the ETERNAL. Repent, therefore and live!

THE REPENTANCE MUST COME

There would not be any point in ETERNAL suddenly bringing healing into a life – if the purpose of the illness was to be the catalyst for change in that person’s life. Take the story of Miriam, the sister of Moses, who, when Moses was born at a time when all the male babies were to be put to death, caused his life to be saved as he was taken into Pharaoh’s household. Later Miriam (and Aaron) speak out against Moses as the Exodus begins. ETERNAL appears before them and summons them to the Tent of Meeting. ETERNAL berates the two of them for speaking against Moses, who has a special relationship with ETERNAL. As ETERNAL departs everyone sees that Miriam has leprosy, the most feared disease of the time.

Immediately Moses cried out to ETERNAL “Oh ETERNAL, pray heal her!” Now the healing was done at that moment but Miriam had not yet begun to repent. She was probably too scared to be sorry. ETERNAL pointed out that for a minor embarrassment, such as having her father spit on her (perhaps not so minor), she would have to wait outside the camp for seven days. Now you can be sure that Miriam did her repenting during that seven days. The whole camp, hundreds of thousands of people, had to wait for Miriam’s ‘time out’ to expire. Now, the picture the Tanakh paints of these Israelites, you can be sure there were people calling out to her, reminding her that they were waiting because of her. [Read the story in Numbers 12: 2-16]

The illness of King Hezekiah, almost to death, is told twice in the Tanakh. The first time, in 2 Kings 20:1-19. Isaiah tells the King set your affairs in order, you are going to die. This news galvanizes Hezekiah into action and he gets into serious prayer and repentance. Hezekiah reminds ETERNAL that he has served Him faithfully. Isaiah is sent back to prescribe a poultice and Hezekiah is healed and lives for fifteen more years. We are left wondering, why was this? A faithful king struck down, who can learn from this?

The second time this story is told in 2 Chronicles 32:24-26. we learn much more. Hezekiah had become arrogant, he failed to tithe or acknowledge ETERNAL. As he became sick he and the people of Judah repented. Isaiah was sent to deliver the poultice, Hezekiah was healed and the people prospered.

“Turn back to Me” means repent. This repentance will lift a curse off your life and bring healing into your circumstances as you are faithful to the direct instructions of ETERNAL.

When Achan stole the  gold and goods that ETERNAL had said were His at the battle of Jericho , he and his entire family were punished by stoning and thirty six other people died. Joshua and the entire leadership of the Israelites had to repent for the punishment to be lifted. There had been an opportunity for Achan to confess and repent but he did not until he was found to be guilty. [Joshua chapter 7 has the full story]

In these circumstances the healing came after a troop of Israelites had been chased off by a smaller group from Ai. If you are being overwhelmed by the struggles you face – there is a need for repentance and prayer so that ETERNAL can restore you with healing.

Repentance is necessary. ETERNAL needs you to change. If the way you live makes you sick – you need to change. Ceasing from work for the twenty-four hours of the Sabbath blesses you with rest and the refreshment that the presence of ETERNAL brings. The food laws of the Tanakh bless you with good health. Go directly to ETERNAL in repentance.