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40 Days Of Teshuvah To Yom Kippur |
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Day 12
Al Chet Prayer
The Goal Of Al Chet Is To Get To The Root Of The Problem. To become more like Yeshua and to become conformed to His Image and Torah is a process, it does not happen over night. The key is never to give up, because He does not give up on us. We are all under construction and a work in process and this is the time to do spiritual house cleaning.
#11 For the sin that we have sinned before You through insincere confession.
How many times as children, or young adults, we only confessed our misdeeds "after" we were caught. We thought if I plead and cry and say I am sorry, I will never do it again, I can avoid the punishment I know I deserve. I know I did! But guess what, my parents always knew when it was sincere and when I was just trying to get out of the punishment that was awaiting me.
Or, as a believer you sinned against God and His Word and you felt 'guilty' so you confessed your sin, but the very next day you were doing the same thing again! If we are sincerely repentant we will not go back to our sin but turn our backs on it and walk with God.
Pro 26:11 Just as a dog returns to his vomit, a fool repeats his folly.
Mat 12:43 "When an unclean spirit comes out of a person, it travels through dry country seeking rest and does not find it.
Mat 12:44 Then it says to itself, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house standing empty, swept clean and put in order.
Mat 12:45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they come and live there - so that in the end, the person is worse off than he was before. This is how it will be for this wicked generation."
2Pe 2:20 Indeed, if they have once escaped the pollutions of the world through knowing our Lord and Deliverer, Yeshua the Messiah, and then have again become entangled and defeated by them, their latter condition has become worse than their former.
2Pe 2:21 It would have been better for them not to have known the Way of righteousness than, fully knowing, to turn from the holy command delivered to them.
2Pe 2:22 What has happened to them accords with the true proverb, "A dog returns to its own vomit." Yes, "The pig washed itself, only to wallow in the mud!"
Repentance must come from deep within the heart, if we are only mouthing words and do not mean what we are saying then we are truly not repentant.
Again, God sees our hearts, we might fool those around us by saying we were sorry for the hurts we have caused them but do we sincerely mean it?
In other words our motives were not pure. To be sincere, means purity of heart so to be insincere (or with guile) is just the opposite.
Sincere (Vines Expository)
A. Adjectives.
1. adolos (G97), "guileless, pure," is translated "sincere" in 1Pe_2:2, KJV, "without guile," RV. See GUILELESS, No. 1.
2. gnesios (G1103), "true, genuine, sincere," is used in the neuter, as a noun, with the article, signifying "sincerity," 2Co_8:8 (of love).
Guile
dolos (G1388), "a bait, snare, deceit," is rendered "guile"
Php 1:10 so that you will be able to determine what is best and thus be pure and without blame for the Day of the Messiah,
Php 1:11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Yeshua the Messiah - to the glory and praise of God. (Complete Jewish Bible)
Psa 34:12 Which of you takes pleasure in living? Who wants a long life to see good things?
Psa 34:13[If you do,] keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceiving talk;
Psa 34:14 turn from evil, and do good; seek peace, go after it!
Isa 1:16 "Wash yourselves clean! Get your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing evil,
Isa 1:17 learn to do good! Seek justice, relieve the oppressed, defend orphans, plead for the widow.
Isa 1:18 "Come now," says Adonai, "let's talk this over together. Even if your sins are like scarlet, they will be white as snow; even if they are red as crimson, they will be like wool. (CJB)
Mic 6:8 Human being, you have already been told what is good, what Adonai demands of you - no more than to act justly, love grace and walk in purity with your God. (CJB)
Sincere Confession;
According to Jewish practice, if someone commits a sin, a forbidden act, he can be forgiven for that sin if he performs teshuva, which includes:
- confessing the sin;
- if the sin was committed against another person, asking that person's forgiveness;
- ceasing to commit the sin;
- regretting the sin;
- firmly resolving never to repeat the sin.
The first, third, fourth and fifth stages are "before God" and are the standard process of teshuva, a matter to be dealt with between the sinner and God. But if someone has committed a crime against another person to achieve atonement he must first ask the wronged person for forgiveness, and make it up to them. For example, if one stole an object, the stolen item must be returned, or if one has pained someone else in any way, he must be placated. This is an integral part of the teshuva.
Again, we see this principle time and time again in the Torah and Brit Hashah/New Testament.
May we truly be "Sincere and Pure" before Him who see's our hearts and longs for us to return to His Ways and His Truth because of His great love for us that He has shown us through Yeshua our Messiah.
*Journal - Food For Thought
On Yom Kippur when we say each line of the "Al Chet" prayer, we gently strike our heart -- as if to say that it was "passion and desire" that led to these mistakes. Do we really mean it?
Ask yourself:
Did I ever apologize without being sincere?
Have I committed myself to "change" without seriously following up?
Exploring the "Al Chet" Prayer by Rabbi Shraga Simmons (Aish Hatorah) |
