John A. Davies
This chapter of The Mercy of God in the Old Testament explores the various images of God’s forgiveness in the OT such as the removal of a burden, the erasure of a ledger entry, or the healing of a wound. Forgiveness in its fullest expression entails restoration of a disrupted relationship. Repentance is to be expected in association with forgiveness, involving humbling oneself, sometimes accompanied by outward gestures such as fasting, and maintaining an unkempt appearance. Without genuine contrition and a reorientation towards God and his laws, such outward show is empty. While forgiveness is the joyful experience of individuals, at a national level it is most closely associated with the return from exile and renewal of the covenant. Divine initiative may be seen to lie behind such national repentance and restoration.