Reading: Confession and Repentance

2 Samuel 12:1-7a, 13

The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

“Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.” David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”

Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!” Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

Note: David had an affair with another man’s wife and then attempted to cover up his actions. When this attempt failed, David arranged to have the man killed. The prophet Nathan confronted David with his crimes by using a story to stir up David’s sense of justice. When Nathan accused David of his crimes, he accepted responsibility for his actions and repented. Yet, David still had to face the consequences of his actions.

As we have seen in the previous lesson, taking responsibility for our actions is the good and right thing to do. Avoidance or denial of responsibility only adds to the problem and its harmful effects on ourselves and on the injured party. The act of confession and repentance constitutes the first and necessary step in taking responsibility.

Confession means to admit something, to tell the truth about something. Confession of crimes or other harms means to admit guilt, to be grieved or to be remorseful, and to speak the truth about what was done. Truth is an essential part of justice.

Repentance involves confession, but goes beyond it. Repentance consists of turning around and going in the opposite direction. It requires the offender not only to admit his or her wrongful actions. It also requires the offender to turn away from that behavior and seek to repair or rebuild the harm to people and relationships.

When victims of crimes are asked what kind of amends they would like their offenders to make, the answer often includes telling the truth about what happened, apologizing for that, and taking steps to show that it will not happen again. In very practical and relevant ways, these actions constitute confession and repentance, and they can significantly advance the process of building the bridge toward reconciliation between offender and victim.

David asked God to forgive him, to clean him, and to give him back joy. God is willing to do that for anyone who confesses before God and others. Genuine confession and repentance begin to place both the offender and the victim in the dynamic of God’s restoring grace.

Used by permission - www.restorativejustice.org - a ministry of Prison Fellowship International