If a Man Will Not Repent

There once was a hunter named John. Like all outdoorsmen John would impatiently endure the long summer, waiting for fall to bring its refreshing cool winds. Once the fall did arrive he spent every available moment scouting new ground, preparing hunt plans, and organizing his gear before opening day. John loved the entire process of the hunt, not just the moment of pulling the trigger. 

On one occasion while John was hunting in a new location he decided to take a walk around mid-day. He thought it would be a good excuse to stretch his legs and explore this new terrain. He climbed down from his stand, retied his boot laces and trekked deeper into the woods. 

After climbing the first ridge he noticed an old man hunting from a rusty ladder stand. The old man seemed to be taking a break from his hunt, so John decided to walk over and introduce himself. Once he drew near he noticed that the man’s tree stand was loosely strapped to a tall rotting pine tree. There was no life in the tree at all and it appeared that a stiff breeze would break the tree right in two. John had made plenty of his own blunders in the woods, but he knew that if he did not say something the old man might get hurt the next time he tried to hunt from that stand. 

After introducing himself to the old hunter, John said, “Sir, I don’t know if you have noticed, but your stand is attached to a dead tree. The top is about to fall out and the straps you’ve used look worn and thin as well. You should move your stand to another tree and use some new straps. If you don’t, I’m afraid you might get hurt or worse.”

The old man stood in disbelief that a young man such as John would try to correct him. The old man responded sternly, “Who are you to tell me where to hang my stand? I have been hunting these woods longer than you have been alive! Do you know how many deer I have killed from this tree? It has always been good to me and I haven’t been hurt yet. Why don’t you just mind your business and let me hunt where I want to!” 

John tried to respond, “But, sir the tree is dead! If you don’t move your stand to a different tree then -.” The old man cut him off once more, “Enough! I don’t even know who you are. Leave me alone. I will hunt where I want and how I want.”

After this the old man climbed back up into the rickety stand and John continued his walk through the woods. 

When John found an old creek bed he decided to stop and take a break. Soon a young boy came strolling through the woods carrying a single shot 20 gauge shotgun. He was squirrel hunting and already had a leather stringer filled with bushy tails hanging from his hip. 

He spotted John and walked over to say hello. The two engaged in friendly conversation for about an hour while the mid-day sun warmed up the woods. John told the young boy that he too had a single shot 20 gauge just like that when he was a boy. The boy said his father had given it to him for his birthday, so he could go hunt squirrels and rabbits. John noted that the boy seemed to be very proficient with it already. 

Before the two separated the boy unknowingly stuck the muzzle of the shotgun into the soft dirt of the old creek bed and the barrel packed with sediment. John saw this take place and tried to make the boy aware. John said, “Son, you have stuck your barrel in the mud. You need to unload and clean it before you shoot it again. If you don’t then you’ll hurt yourself.”

The boy seemed shocked that a stranger would try to correct him. He said to John, “No offense mister, but I think I know what I’m doing. Don’t you see this stringer full of squirrels? If I had a problem I think I would know it by now.” 

John pleaded with the boy to heed his warning, but the confident youngster went his merry way with a barrel full of mud. 

Worried for the old man and now the young boy, John then decided he would start making his way back towards the access point where he had parked his truck. Once he was nearly back to the truck he met another hunter along the path who was not wearing his blaze orange. 

The man stopped to meet with John. After a few minutes John politely encouraged the man to put on his blaze orange vest. John said, “Be careful out here not wearing any orange. You should wear a vest or at least a hat. If you don’t then another hunter might mistake you for a deer and you could end up shot.”

The man offered no response. He rolled his eyes at John and brushed past him along the path. John wondered what kind of woods he had stumbled into. No one seemed to heed his warnings. He never tried to be overbearing, but he couldn’t help but warn his fellow hunters of the danger they were in due to their own folly. 

Later that night, John turned on the news which reported that three different hunting related accidents had occurred in the very place where he had been earlier that day. The first was an elderly man who had fallen from his tree stand when a strong wind snapped the rotten tree in half. The second was a young boy who was squirrel hunting when his shotgun blew up in his hands while shooting at a grey squirrel high up in the tree canopy. The authorities said his muzzle was blocked by debris from the forest floor. The last was a middle aged man who was shot by another hunter, who mistook him for a deer because he was not wearing his blaze orange. All three of these tragic incidents were fatal. 

John turned off the television and he knew immediately that these were the same three that he encountered during his hunt. John wept. He took no delight in knowing that these met a dreadful end. He warned them. He told them what would happen if they did not listen and change their practices, but they did not listen and now it was too late. 

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Psalm 7:12 says, “If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow;”

I read this verse earlier this week and it has not left my mind after nearly three days. It is not a verse that many preachers quote. It is not one that we recite before bedtime to bring comfort after a long and trying day. It is not used as a memory verse for children in the Church. It is, nevertheless, the word of the Lord, so we must take time to let it penetrate our hearts and minds just as we would for our favorite verses of scripture.

The imagery of this verse stops us in our tracks and forces us to read again to make sure we heard it right. God will whet his sword? He has readied his bow? It sounds like God is preparing for war and we must not deny the truth, he is. 

A close inspection of this verse will show that God has not readied his bow and taken aim at the sin, rather he has steadied his aim on the sinner, the man who persists in wickedness. Our God is just, unable to let sin go unpunished. This is not because he delights in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11), but because he is Holy, a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29).

We speak out against unjust judges in our own culture who do not bring justice to those who have done wrong. It is not right to see someone commit atrocity and not face the penalty of their error, but we are slow to accept that God too will enact judgement on those who do evil. God’s grace and mercy do not erase his justness. 

Even now God sharpens his sword and makes ready his instruments of war to bring an end to all evil and evildoers. However, the trumpets have not sounded from heaven yet. The skies have not opened yet and therefore the hope of the gospel remains. Do you see it? Do you see the hope of the gospel in Psalm 7:12? It is found in the opening word. 

“IF a man does not repent” is how this verse begins. The word “if” implies that there is still time to make a change. There is still time to remove yourself from the sure aim of God’s righteous judgement. There is still time to feast on grace, rather than wrath. 

“If” is a gracious word. We know from scripture that all men have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are therefore guilty under his law and deserving of his judgement (Romans 3:23). We are owed no second chance, no opportunity for escape. God would be equally just to execute immediate judgement as opposed to delayed judgement, but he takes no delight in the death of the wicked. He longs to see him turn from his wicked ways and live (Ezekiel 33:11). He gives us the opportunity to change even when he doesn't have to, that’s grace. I hope you see by now that “If” is a gift.

So, how is a man to escape death and enter into life? The Psalmist makes it clear, repentance.

We do not naturally like the word “repent”. We associate it with condemnation and judgement, but all it really means is to change, to go in a different direction. A call to repentance is not the same as pronouncing judgement. It is the warning call that gives a way of escape from judgement.  A call to repent implies that we are not as we should be. It reminds us that we are not going the direction we need to go. It tells us that we need to change and a sinful man will resist a change towards holiness, oftentimes as long as he can. 

What a gift it is that God gives us time to repent. Praise him that he sent messengers to warn us of our trajectory apart from his saving work in Christ. God wants to see all men come to a knowledge of the truth and be saved (1 Timothy 2:4). 

We have not understood the gospel if we have not understood repentance. It is the message John the Baptist preached. It is the message that Jesus, himself, preached. It must be the message that we preach today. Repent and believe. A gospel with no call to repentance, to leave a life of sin and follow Christ, is no gospel at all. 

Think back to the short story at the beginning of this post. John the hunter saw the danger that the other three hunters were in. He pronounced no judgement, he did not condemn, he simply warned. He said, “If you do not change, then something bad is going to happen.” In that story the three hunters did not change their ways and they perished in the end. 

So it is with millions of people today, they hear the warning and they despise, ignore, and laugh at it. Many will say similar things to those in the story above, things like “Who are you to tell me how to live?” Or “mind your business, I am doing well enough without your judgement.”

Friend, if someone calls you to repentance today it might not be because they are a bigoted, self-righteous, fear mongering hypocrite. It might just be that they see the danger that you are blind to. It might be that they love you and do not wish to see you perish. It might just be that they once needed to be corrected and now they know how freeing it is to die to self and life for Christ. 

If you hear the voice of the Lord today, do not harden your heart (Psalm 95:7-8). Every second we are closer to the trumpet sound and every second we lose time to take hold of his gracious gift. Praise him that he says “if a man will not repent.” There is still time, but soon there will not be. He gives us a means of escape. Yes, the same God who whets his sword and readies his bow is the same one who provides the escape, for he is both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Romans 3:21-26). 

The message of the gospel has always been the same: Repent and Believe. Turn and live. The warning is not the judgment. Praise him for the “if”. 

“If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow;”

Psalm 7:12