Fruits of Repentance

Verse of the day: Exodus 33:7 Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the LORD went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp.

In the previous verses of this chapter we saw the people moving toward true repentance for their act of idolatry. In the next few verses we see the fruit of true repentance. John the Baptist said this in Luke 3:7-8, while preaching to the people, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.” When the people inquire of him what then should they do to bear such fruits, John tells them to be a giving people, be honest in their dealings with others, do not bully others, or be false accusers (Luke 3:10-14). John the Baptist gets to the heart of what it means to repent. It is not enough to say we repent. True repentance is not just about mourning, but about putting action to that repentance. It means not continuing to do that which we had to repent of. It means that there must be a genuine change in us, and how we live, going forward. This is what we begin to see with the Israelites in this instance. God is making it clear to them that He is very displeased with their actions in worshipping the golden calf. Moses, in pitching the tabernacle of meeting without the camp, was showing the people that God was still in displeasure over their sin. However, at the same time, God was sending them an invitation to come back to Him by remaining in their presence, though at a distance, just as our sin can put distance in our fellowship with God. This is God’s grace. Although He was angry with them, He had compassion toward them and desired that they would come back to Him. However, He was going to do it in such a way that they would demonstrate true fruits of repentance. What we see in the verses of this chapter is God’s people truly seeking after God. Those who wanted to stand with the Lord were allowed to go out to the tabernacle of meeting, outside the camp, to seek the LORD. It was left to them as a personal choice, much like accepting Jesus as Savior is a personal choice, and seeking the restoration of broken fellowship with the Lord is a personal choice. In verse 8, when Moses went out to the tent, the people watched after him. The same people who bad-mouthed the man of God now looked upon him with favor, seeking to hear from God through him. In verses 9-10, when God appeared to Moses in a pillar of cloud, He did so in the presence of the people, signifying that there was still hope for reconciliation between them and their God. The people’s response to this was that they worshipped. The same people who previously worshipped the golden calf are now directing their worship to the one true God. They not only truly mourned what they had done, but they demonstrated their repentance in the change that was taking place in their lives in direct measure to the sin they committed. In other words, their sin was that of idolatry, where they worshipped someone other than God, and now the fruit of their repentance was to give that worship back to God. When we truly repent, we must seek to make right that which we have done wrong. It not about just saying, “I’m sorry.” We must not only seek to be right with God, but also make things right with those we have offended, cheated, or pained. God not only wants to see true mourning, but He wants to see fruits of repentance that demonstrate a true change toward righteousness.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).