Sabbath: Repentance and Forgiveness
Daily Lesson for Sabbath 30th of May 2026
Image © Pacific Press
Read for This Week’s Study
Isaiah 61:10; Hosea 6:1-11; Acts 3:18-19; Exodus 34:1-10; Romans 6:23; Matthew 22:1-14.
Memory Text:
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, NKJV).
The Promised Land seemed so far away to the Israelites, who camped beneath the pillar of cloud on the plain. Moses had ascended into the thick darkness, which had covered the top of the mountain many days earlier. Surely their leader had died by now, they reasoned, if not from starvation then perhaps from the consuming fire on its peak. This mixed multitude (the Israelites along with those who left Egypt with them on the Exodus) felt restless and impatient, ready to move on to the land flowing with milk and honey. Although these same people had, just a few days earlier, made a solemn covenant with God to obey Him, they wanted an image they could see. And so, they rallied around Aaron’s tent and demanded that he create an idol for them. Fearing for his own safety, Aaron agreed. In Exodus 32:1-35; Exodus 33:1-23; Exodus 34:1-35, we read how this sad story unravels.
This account is just one story from Scripture that teaches us about repentance and forgiveness, the theme of this week’s lesson study. Keep the theme of this week’s memory verse in your mind as you go through each day’s study. Yes, we sin, but thanks to Jesus’ death on the cross, forgiveness is there for the sincere confessing and repentant sinner.
The Lord’s prayer and its subsequent explanation in Matt 6 should set a challenging background to our study this week:
Do we understand its implications?
This is nice!
The build-up this quarter is quite interesting, and I find this text to be the connecting thread for this week’s study.
It is also interesting that where we have stopped above in the story of the children of Israel is just before they broke their relationship with God, again, by making a Golden calf for worship. However, repentance created room for forgiveness, which in turn opened the way for the restoration of their relationship with Him.
I simply marvel and give God thanks for ALL He is doing for my salvation. My repentance and forgiveness are divine initiatives. If the Holy Spirit did not first awaken me to my sinful condition, how could I even begin to confess and repent? My repentance for my sin is a gift of God’s grace. My response to the grace of God was enabled by God’s desire that I may be saved. My salvation and our salvation are a mystery hidden in God’s eternal love.
“But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.” (1 Corinthians 2:14, NLT).
Sin destroys human understanding of spiritual things, and, in fact, it destabilises our conscience and weakens our will to do the will of God. While we are in a state of helplessness and powerlessness, God steps in to rescue us from the free fall into sin (Romans 5:5-11). Repentance is not a human achievement; it is enabled by God’s mercies that are new every morning. Our repentance is a response of an enabled heart by God’s grace. The Holy Spirit calls us, convicts us, draws us, and our part is to respond by confession “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” (John 6:44).
From the start to the end, our salvation is completely embedded in the mercies of God.
“By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8).
Omwenga, you made the observation that “Sin destroys human understanding of spiritual things,” which is surely true. But it seems to me that sin often destroys even mundane “understanding.” It makes people do stupid things from a purely logical standpoint. In a state of sin, people do things that harm themselves.
Am I the only one who has observed that?
“But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.” 1 Corinthians 2:14.
That’s where we come in. Are we meek according to the Greek meaning of the word praus(strength under control, or are we mousy). I do believe Christ was the former, strong, yet always in control. Imitate Christ. Speak to those you come in contact with about your faith, don’t be mousy.
One of the hardest things to do is forgiving, psychologists point out that we seek to avoid being hurt again whenever someone hurts us. Thus the easiest way to not be hurt again is to simply avoid those people who hurt us to deny them a chance of hurting us again or even more often is to seek and explain why we are right and they are wrong. The Bible says, “Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction… Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:3–12). This warning is clearly seen in the story of the Israelites when they worshiped the golden calf while Moses was on Mount Sinai they thought Moses was wrong …no wonder they gave an excuse that he overstayed in the mountain yet again finding a reason not to repent. Instead of trusting and waiting on God, they turned away from Him and made an idol, falling into sin and disobedience. Their actions brought judgment, but God also called them to repentance so that they could return to Him and restore their relationship with Him.
The church today is often caught up in methods and techniques of repentance and forgiveness, with many people turning to seminars, support groups, and self-help books in search of healing from hurt, while churches focus on strategies for growth and success. Yet what we truly need, both personally and corporately, is a genuine and ongoing experience of repentance and forgiveness that draws us into the presence of the living God. Just as the Israelites needed sincere repentance after worshiping the golden calf, we also need hearts that turn back to God wholeheartedly, seeking not merely solutions but God Himself, for only in His presence can there be true healing, forgiveness, and restoration. As Scripture says in Holy Bible, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalms 51:10
Montanya, you wrote, that we “seek and explain why we are right and they are wrong.” Notice that this started in Eden. Adam shifted blame to Eve, saying that the woman, whom God created, was the one who caused him to eat. So he was essentially saying that God was at fault!
That same spirit of self-justification is at work in us today. Maybe we need to start by humbling ourselves before we can truly repent? Every time we try to justify self, we can see that we need a change in attitude.
Thanks for the week’s lesson. It helps me to grow to Christ’s ways . I request for prayers to overcome personal challenges. May God’s goodness and favor be upon me this sabbath and day to come. Amen
I would like to say that the writer’s premise that it was the mixed multitude is flawed in that we saw in the previous study on Joshua that in his parting words, he told Israel that their fathers worshipped the gods of Egypt. So please start with the right premise or else we will draw the wrong conclusion. Despite this, Moses still interfered for them and it was on Moses’ intercession that Israel was not destroyed. This is what CHRIST does for us because by law we were bound for destruction but CHRIST interfered on our behalf. That’s why our sins are forgiven through CHRIST. Just wanted to clear that up.
To receive pardon, I know I must also learn to forgive. So, Lord, I ask for your help in truly forgiving those who’ve hurt me. Every day presents a new chance to practice forgiveness.
Out of despair and frustration, children of God today, like the children of God in Moses’era, often forget the promises of God’s presence and provision. This attitude results in disobedience to the will of God.But God is merciful and gracious to forgive if they genuinely repent of their sins.