Why repent in dust and ashes

Therefore, we must assume that in some cases the covering of ashes and dust was a way to mourn. The idea of returning to dust also comes up in the book of Job.

After Job repeatedly vents at God for his apparent indifference in this situation and describes how he wishes someone could hear his defense of himself Job , God does in fact respond. Rather than telling Job exactly why these things have happened and how he got into this situation, God gives Job a wide view of all the things he does as creator and maintainer of the universe, things which Job knows nothing about. After God asks Job if he will accuse him of being unjust, Job admits he is unworthy Job Would you discredit my justice?

Would you condemn me to justify yourself? God describes his wrath against wicked people, challenging Job to see if he has the kind of holy power God has to strike them down Job and then describes the mighty animals he has created and rules over.

As I said earlier, this is the outstanding confession of Job in response to his suffering. I want to point to two things here, two means that God uses to produce this confession and this response in Job, two ways that God will work in our lives as well. First, God used the trials and sufferings that Job experienced to bring him to this confession.

I understand much better what it means that God rules over all things and what it means for me to trust in His sovereignty. Before I had heard of Him with the hearing of the ear. With my mouth I was able to express it, but now I see it. I know it experientially, I know it from my own life. Before I had heard about God, but now I see Him. And, dear believer, this is the knowledge of God that we as Christians should all desire, not just a knowledge in our head, not just something that we express on our lips, but something that lives in our life, something that is practical.

God put Job through all these trials to help him to see the application of His sovereignty. Along the way Job learned many things about himself and his sin. And with the clouds of sin now removed, Job sees God. And so, if you are going through a dark trial, understand that God sends it for your spiritual profit, so that you may learn more about Him, what it is to trust in Him, and that God is trustworthy.

What a different man Job will be from what he was before—mature in faith now, grown up through difficult experiences. And that is what He is doing to each of us as His children in the troubles and the trials that He sends. But, as you well know, trials and troubles all by themselves do not work this response and this vision of God. And we know that the unbeliever, when he goes through trials, will curse God.

He will defy God. And he will rob God by refusing to acknowledge the sovereignty that belongs to God. So we must see another way that God worked this response and this confession in Job, the way of divine revelation. In the chapters leading up to this confession in the beginning of chapter 42, God has spoken. I will demand of thee, declare thou unto me. And thou art right. We must learn that this is what confession is. Confession is not to come up with your own ideas about things.

It is not to give your own explanation of circumstances in your life. It is not to invent your own ideas about who God is. It is not to give your opinion of yourself to God. But confession, true confession, is to repeat back to God what He has said to us in His Word about Himself, about us, and about all things.

That is true confession—to say with God what He has said to us. God has spoken. God is a God of truth. And so, true confession is to tell back to God what He has said to us. That is what Job is doing here.

After God has spoken, Job repeats back to God His own words. You said those words, and, Lord, You were right. I confess Your word. So their confession is not true. Today, we do not have to wait as Job did to hear what God will say. God has said it all. English Revised Version Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. Additional Translations Genesis Then Abraham answered, "Now that I have ventured to speak to the Lord--though I am but dust and ashes-- Joshua Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown before the ark of the LORD until evening, as did the elders of Israel; and they all sprinkled dust on their heads.

Job And Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself as he sat among the ashes. Job My ears had heard of You, but now my eyes have seen You. Imagine yourself having a similar experience to one of these men mentioned above. How do you suppose you would react, and why? In our modern society how can this-repenting in dust and ashes-be applied? In other words, do we still have repentance of such magnitude? I have repented in dust in ashes. The Lord has been good to me, faithful to me and revealed Himself in glorious ways to me.

Like Job, I get spiritually tested by satan in the worst of ways. Each time, ending in anger towards The Lord whom I supposedly loved so much. A test of my heart and sadly I have failed over and over. Until I hold tight to faith and love in Him, my life will be treacherous and a constant battle.

We are not strong enough, good enough, worthy enough, smart enough nor loving enough to compare to Him and His Glory. For some, the hardest lesson to learn. At first I ponder in my mind about how would I have react if I was in these men mentioned above shoes, then I realized that without Christ our saviour I would be damned.