Category: Dogmatics & Ethics

Esegiël hoofstuk 18 is ’n baie besondere hoofstuk in verband met stryd en lyding in ’n gelowige se lewe.  Maar let veral op die volgende verse:

Verse 1-3; 20; 31-32:

Verder het die woord van die Here tot my gekom en gesê:

Wat is dit met julle dat julle hierdie spreekwoord gebruik aangaande die land van Israel, naamlik:  Die Vaders het groen druiwe geëet, en die tande van die kinders het stomp geword?

So waar as Ek leef, spreek die Here my God, dit sal julle nie meer in die gedagte kom om dié spreekwoord in Israel te gebruik nie.

Die siel wat sondig, dié moet sterwe, die seun sal nie die ongeregtigheid van die vader help dra nie, en die vader sal nie die ongeregtigheid van die seun help dra nie, die geregtigheid van die regvredige sal op hom wees, en die goddeloosheid van die goddelose sal op hom wees.

Werp julle oortredinge waardeur julle oortree het, van julle weg en maak vir julle ’n nuwe hart en ’n nuwe gees, want waarom wil julle sterwe, o huis van Israel?

Want Ek het geen behae in die dood van hom wat sterwe nie, spreek die Here my God: Bekeer julle dan en lewe.

Introduction

In Christian tradition, and especially that of the Western church, the creation event is generally presented as only a six days’ work, while the completion of creation on the seventh day is much neglected, or even overlooked altogether. Therefore it is necessary to present a more complete perspective on the Sabbath as presented in the Biblical creation narrative, the history of Israel in the Old Testament, and that of the church in the New Testament.   This perspective is in correlation with the progressive revelation of God as seen from Creation, the Fall, the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Return of Christ, up to the eternal heavenly rest of God (Sabbath).

In order to deal with this threefold view, the Sabbath is divided into three categories:   

• The Creation Sabbath (Creator – Creation narrative).
• The Covenant Sabbath (Israel – Old Testament).
• The Atonement Sabbath (Church – New Testament).

The intention is not to differentiate between three different and autonomous Sabbaths, but to appreciate the one Sabbath of God from these three phases or accentuations in the progressive revelation of God:

The act of forgiveness is one of the most powerful occurrences conquering the reality of sin and its destructive fruits as manifested in broken relationships with God and man. No wonder the strong biblical emphasis on forgiveness as an act of God, but also expected from man.

Forgiveness is sometimes identified as an act of “sending away”. God “sends away” what man has done in violation and disavowal of his will, and receives man back into uninhibited fellowship. Also man’s forgiveness to one another is seen as an act of “sending away” what has become between him and his neighbor. To “send away” is indeed an important aspect of forgiveness, and relates to the Greek verb άϕιέναι (to send away; to forgive) as mainly used in the gospels. However, that which is central to forgiveness cannot in the first instance be determined by semantics, but rather what God has done in Christ to move towards us in brokenness and sin whilst inviting our repentant response.