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RepentanceAid to Bible Understanding
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in God’s dealings with him.—1 Sam. 15:10, 11, 26.
The prophet Samuel, in declaring God’s adverse decision regarding Saul, stated that “the Excellency of Israel will not prove false, and He will not feel regrets, for He is not an earthling man so as to feel regrets.” (1 Sam. 15:28, 29) Earthling men frequently prove untrue to their word, fail to make good their promises or live up to the terms of their agreements; being imperfect, they commit errors in judgment, causing them regret. This is never the case with God.—Ps. 132:11; Isa. 45:23, 24; 55:10, 11.
God’s covenant made between God and “all flesh” after the Flood, for example, unconditionally guaranteed that God would never again bring a flood of waters over all the earth. (Gen. 9:8-17) There is, then, no possibility of God’s changing with regard to that covenant or ‘regretting it.’ Similarly, in his covenant with Abraham, God “stepped in with an oath” as a “legal guarantee” so as to “demonstrate more abundantly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of his counsel,” his promise and his oath being “two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie.” (Heb. 6:13-18) God’s sworn covenant with his Son for a priesthood like that of Melchizedek was likewise something over which God would “feel no regret.”—Heb. 7:20, 21; Ps. 110:4; compare Romans 11:29.
However, in stating a promise or making a covenant God may set out requirements, conditions to be met by those with whom the promise or covenant is made. He promised Israel that they would become his “special property” and “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation,” if they would strictly obey his voice and keep his covenant. (Ex. 19:5, 6) God held true to his side of the covenant but Israel failed, violating that covenant time and again. (Mal. 3:6, 7; compare Nehemiah 9:16-19, 26-31.) So, when God finally annulled that covenant he did so with complete justice, the responsibility for the nonfulfillment of his promise resting entirely with the offending Israelites.—Matt. 21:43; Heb. 8:7-9.
In the same way God can ‘feel regret’ and ‘turn back’ from carrying out some punishment due to the fact that his warning of such action produces a change in attitude and conduct on the part of the offenders. (Deut. 13:17; Ps. 90:13) They have returned to him and he ‘returns’ to them. (Zech. 8:3; Mal. 3:7) Instead of being ‘pained,’ he now rejoices, for he finds no delight in bringing death to sinners. (Luke 15:10; Ezek. 18:32) While never shifting away from his righteous standards, God extends help so that persons can return to him; they are encouraged to do so. He kindly invites them to return, ‘spreading out his hands’ and saying by means of his representatives, “Turn back, please, . . . that I may not cause calamity to you,” “Do not do, please, this detestable sort of thing that I have hated.” (Isa. 65:1, 2; Jer. 25:5, 6; 44:4, 5) He gives ample time for change (Neh. 9:30; compare Revelation 2:20-23) and shows great patience and forbearance, since “he does not desire any to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance.” (2 Pet. 3:8, 9; Rom. 2:4, 5) He has kindly accompanied his message on occasion by powerful works, miracles, that establish the divine commission of his messengers and help strengthen faith in those hearing. (Acts 9:32-35) Where his message receives no response, he employs discipline; he withdraws his favor and protection, thereby allowing the unrepentant ones to undergo privations, famine, suffering of oppression from their enemies. This may bring them to their senses, may restore their proper fear of God, may cause them to realize that their course was stupid, their set of values wrong.—2 Chron. 33:10-13; Neh. 9:28, 29; Amos 4:6-11.
His patience, however, has its limits and when these are reached he gets “tired of feeling regret” and then his decision to render punishment is unchangeable. (Jer. 15:6, 7; 23:19, 20; Lev. 26:14-33) He is no longer merely ‘thinking’ or ‘forming’ against such ones a calamity (Jer. 18:11; 26:3-6) but has reached an irreversible decision.—2 Ki. 23:24-27; Isa. 43:13; Jer. 4:28; Zeph. 3:8; Rev. 11:17, 18.
God’s willingness to forgive repentant ones, his mercifully opening the way to such forgiveness even in the face of repeated offenses, sets the example for all his servants.—Matt. 18:21, 22; Mark 3:28; Luke 17:3, 4; 1 John 1:9; see FORGIVENESS.
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RephaelAid to Bible Understanding
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REPHAEL
(Rephʹa·el) [God has healed].
A son of Obed-edom’s firstborn Shemaiah. He was assigned with his brothers as a gatekeeper caring for the storehouses on the S of the sanctuary.—1 Chron. 26:4, 7, 8, 15.
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RephahAid to Bible Understanding
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REPHAH
(Reʹphah) [possibly, rich].
An Ephraimite ancestor of Joshua.—1 Chron. 7:22-27.
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RephaiahAid to Bible Understanding
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REPHAIAH
(Re·phaʹiah) [Jehovah has healed].
1. Second-named son of Tola and head of a paternal house in the tribe of Issachar.—1 Chron. 7:1, 2.
2. A Benjamite descendant of King Saul and Jonathan. (1 Chron. 9:39-43) He is called Raphah at 1 Chronicles 8:37.
3. One of the four sons of Ishi who, likely during Hezekiah’s reign, led five hundred Simeonites against the Amalekites who had escaped into Mount Seir. The Simeonites then took over this territory.—1 Chron. 4:41-43.
4. A descendant of David and Zerubbabel.—1 Chron. 3:5, 9, 10, 19-21.
5. An official in Jerusalem who helped on Nehemiah’s project of repairing Jerusalem’s wall; son of Hur.—Neh. 3:9.
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RephaimAid to Bible Understanding
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REPHAIM
(Rephʹa·im).
A tall people or tribe. There is uncertainty as to the meaning and origin of the name. Likely, they were called Rephaim because of being descendants of a man named Raphah. At 2 Samuel 21:16 ha-Ra·phahʹ (literally, “the Raphah”) seems to employ the father’s name to stand for the entire giant race.
At some early period the Rephaim evidently dwelt E of the Dead Sea. The Moabites, who dispossessed them, referred to the Rephaim as Emim (“frightful creatures”). The Ammonites called them Zamzummim (perhaps meaning “gibberish”). (Deut. 2:10, 11, 19, 20) When King Chedorlaomer of Elam came W to fight five rebellious kings near the Dead Sea (taking Lot captive), he defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim. (Gen. 14:1, 5) This locates the Rephaim at that time in Bashan E of the Jordan. Shortly thereafter God said that he would give Abraham’s descendants the Promised Land, which included territory where the Rephaim lived.—Gen. 15:18-20.
More than four hundred years later, just before Israel entered Canaan, “the land of the Rephaim” was still identified with Bashan. There the Israelites defeated Og the king of Bashan (Deut. 3:3, 11, 13; Josh. 12:4; 13:12), who alone “remained of what was left of the Rephaim.” It is uncertain whether this means that he was the last king of the Rephaim or that he was the last of the Rephaim in that section, for Rephaim were shortly found W of the Jordan.
In the Promised Land the Israelites had problems with the Rephaim, for some of them persisted in the forests in the mountainous region of Ephraim. The sons of Joseph were afraid to drive them away. (Josh. 17:14-18) When David was fighting the Philistines, he and his servants struck down four men “born to the Rephaim in Gath.” One of them was described as “a man of extraordinary size, whose fingers and toes were in sixes, twenty-four.” The description of their armor indicates that they were all men of great stature. One of these was “Lahmi, the brother of Goliath the Gittite.” (1 Chron. 20:4-8) This Goliath, whom David killed, was in height six cubits and a span (c. 9 feet, 6 inches; 2.9 meters). (1 Sam. 17:4-7) The account at 2 Samuel 21:16-22 reads “Goliath,” instead of “the brother of Goliath,” as at
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