With thanks to Wikipedia:
“Repentance is the activity of reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past wrongs. It generally involves a commitment to personal change and resolving to live a more responsible and humane life. The practice of repentance plays an important role in the soteriological doctrines of the world's major religions where it is considered necessary for the attainment of salvation.”
“The Reformers, upholding the doctrine of justification by faith, held that repentance consisted in a change of the whole moral attitude of the mind and soul (Matthew 13:15; Luke 22:32), and that the divine forgiveness preceded true repentance and confession to God without any reparation of "works". Rather, "God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance" (Romans 2:4, ESV).”
Repentance to me is between the individual and God and involves a re-direction of one’s life, a re-direction not to be confused with works. In contract is penance. According to the CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: The Sacrament of Penance
www.newadvent.org › Catholic Encyclopedia › New Advent
“Penance is a sacrament of the New Law instituted by Christ in which forgiveness of sins committed after baptism is granted through the priest's absolution to those who with true sorrow confess their sins and promise to satisfy for the same.” Absolution granted by man, sounds like a non-Biblical heresy to me.
After the “schooling” of Job, he more fully understood the absolute awesomeness of God. Job 42:6, “Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent (H5162) in dust and ashes.”
H5162 - A primitive root; properly to sigh, that is, breathe strongly; by implication to be sorry, that is, (in a favorable sense) to pity, console or (reflexively) rue; or (unfavorably) to avenge (oneself): - comfort (self), ease [one’s self], repent (-er, -ing, self).
Hosea has an interesting story with respect to the woman chosen by God to be his wife and the original names of his children. Promised was after national repentance there would be a restoration. Will the Second Coming bring Israel to repentance and a final restoration?
Hosea 13:14, “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance (H5164) shall be hid from mine eyes.
H5164 - From H5162; ruefulness, that is, desistance: - repentance.
Add to that, Zechariah 12:10, "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn (H5594) for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn."
H5594 - A primitive root; properly to tear the hair and beat the breasts (as Orientals do in grief); generally to lament; by implication to wail: - lament, mourn, wail.
Repentance and restoration, applicable on the individual level and on the national level.
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