What is true repentance?

“I have come to call . . . sinners to repentance.”—LUKE 5:32.

1-2. How did two kings differ, and what questions will we consider?

LET us look closely at two kings who lived in ancient times. One ruled over the ten-tribe kingdom of Israel; the other, over the two-tribe kingdom of Judah. Though they lived at different times, they had a lot in common. Both kings rebelled against Jehovah and corrupted his people. Both were guilty of idolatry and murder. However, there was a difference between these two men. One of them pursued a wicked course to the end of his life, but the other repented and was forgiven for his terrible deeds. Who were they?

2 Their names were Ahab, king of Israel, and Manasseh, king of Judah. The differences between these two men can teach us a lot about a very important subject—repentance. (Acts 17:30; Rom. 3:23) What is repentance, and how is it shown? We need to know because we want Jehovah to forgive us when we sin. To find the answers to these questions, we will examine the lives of these two kings and see what we can learn from their examples. Then we will consider what Jesus taught about repentance.