Sorry or Really Sorry?

Pharaoh Said “I Have Sinned”

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During the plagues, Pharaoh said he was sorry more than once. After the hail he said, “I have sinned this time. The Lord is righteous, and my people and I are wicked” (Exodus 9:27). Those are good words. So what went wrong?

He changed his mind. As soon as the hail stopped, “he sinned yet more; and he hardened his heart” (Exodus 9:34). His sorry lasted only as long as the storm.

It happened again. After the locusts, Pharaoh said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. Now therefore, please forgive my sin only this once” (Exodus 10:16-17). But again, when the trouble ended, he went back to saying no.

What he really wanted. Pharaoh asked Moses to pray, “that He may take away from me this death only” (Exodus 10:17). He wanted the trouble gone. He did not want to stop disobeying God.

Sorry I got caught. Have you ever said sorry just to get out of trouble? Pharaoh's sorry was like that. It was about stopping the punishment, not about turning back to God.

Two kinds of sorry. The Bible says, “godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation… but the sorrow of the world produces death” (2 Corinthians 7:10). Godly sorrow is sad about the sin itself. Worldly sorrow is only sad about what the sin cost.

What repentance means. To repent means to turn around. It means you stop going your own way and start going God's way. It is more than words. It changes what you do.

Fruit you can see. John the Baptist said, “bear fruits worthy of repentance” (Matthew 3:8). Fruit is what grows on a tree. Real repentance grows real changes you can see.

Bargaining. Pharaoh kept making deals. He said the people could worship, but only nearby. Then only the men could go. Then they had to leave their animals. Real sorry does not make deals with God.

Covering up. “He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13). To forsake means to leave behind.

Saying it to people. Pharaoh also said he had sinned “against you” to Moses (Exodus 10:16). Real sorry to people works the same way. It means we stop doing the thing that hurt them.

What to do. Next time you say sorry, ask yourself, “Am I sorry I did wrong, or only sorry I got caught?” Ask God to help you be truly sorry.

Pharaoh's confessions in Exodus 9:27 and 10:16-17 sound almost exactly right. He names his sin, calls the Lord righteous, and asks for forgiveness. Yet what he did next shows that none of it was repentance.

The test of time. “When Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet more” (9:34). True repentance shows itself after the pressure is gone. Pharaoh's confession disappeared with the storm.

The motive. Pharaoh's request was that God would “take away from me this death only” (10:17). His concern was the penalty, not the offense against God. That is the mark of what Paul calls “the sorrow of the world” (2 Corinthians 7:10).

Two sorrows. Paul contrasts “godly sorrow,” which “produces repentance leading to salvation,” with worldly sorrow, which “produces death.” Both involve feeling bad. Only one turns toward God.

The bargaining pattern. Pharaoh offered partial obedience at every stage (8:25, 28; 10:11, 24). Partial obedience keeps the self in control. Repentance surrenders control to God. Moses refused every partial offer: “not a hoof shall be left behind” (10:26).

The Hebrew idea. The Old Testament's main word for repentance, shuv (say: SHOOV), means to turn or return. It describes a change of direction, not only a change of feeling. Isaiah 55:7 uses it: “Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him.”

Fruit as evidence. John the Baptist demanded “fruits worthy of repentance” (Matthew 3:8). Fruit does not earn forgiveness, but it shows that repentance is real. The same is true in the New Testament church: Paul preached that people “should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance” (Acts 26:20).

Covering versus confessing. Proverbs 28:13 sets the two paths side by side: covering sin leads to failure, while confessing and forsaking it leads to mercy. Pharaoh confessed without forsaking.

Repeated confessions. Pharaoh confessed after the hail and again after the locusts. Repetition is not the problem; believers confess sin often (1 John 1:9). The problem was that each confession left his course unchanged. Over time, empty confessions can make a heart harder, not softer.

The heart behind the words. God sees beneath speech. “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). Pharaoh's words were right, but his heart had not moved.

Application. Sorry that shows up only under pressure is worth a closer look. Is there a sin you have confessed many times but never truly left behind? Ask God to help you turn from it.

Real Repentance

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Pharaoh shows us what fake sorry looks like. The Bible also shows us what real sorry looks like, and how God answers it.

A broken heart. After King David sinned, he wrote, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise” (Psalm 51:17). Contrite means truly sorry. God never turns away a heart like that.

Telling God everything. David also wrote, “I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden… And You forgave the iniquity of my sin” (Psalm 32:5). He did not hide anything from God.

The son who came home. Jesus told a story about a son who ran away and wasted everything. When he came home, he said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son” (Luke 15:21). His father ran to meet him and hugged him.

A changed man. Zacchaeus had cheated people. When he met Jesus, he said, “I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold” (Luke 19:8). His sorry changed what he did.

Inside, not outside. “So rend your heart, and not your garments” (Joel 2:13). In Bible times people tore their clothes to show sadness. God says the real change has to happen on the inside.

God is kind. Joel 2:13 goes on: “Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness.” We do not have to be afraid to come back to God.

Forgiven. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). God forgives because Jesus took the punishment for our sins on the cross.

A fresh start. “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19). Blotted out means wiped away.

God's kindness helps us. The Bible says “the goodness of God leads you to repentance” (Romans 2:4). When we see how good God is, we want to turn back to Him.

What to do. This week, if you do something wrong, tell God about it right away. Then make it right with the person you hurt, if you can.

Pharaoh is not the only example the Bible gives us. God's Word also shows us real repentance and how God answers it. Each of these people failed badly, and each one found mercy.

David's contrition. Psalm 51 was written after David's sin with Bathsheba. Verse 17 shows that God values “a broken and a contrite heart” above ritual sacrifices. The Hebrew dakah (say: dah-KAH), crushed, describes a heart humbled before God.

Confession that hides nothing. Psalm 32:5 links full acknowledgment of sin with forgiveness. The psalm begins, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,” and describes the misery of keeping silent.

The returning son. In Luke 15 the younger son's confession is humble and unconditional. He asks for no deal and expects nothing. The father's response, running to meet him, is Jesus' picture of the Father's welcome.

Restitution. Zacchaeus' promise to restore fourfold (Luke 19:8) matches what God's law said about paying back what was stolen. His repentance reached all the way to his money. Jesus responded, “Today salvation has come to this house” (Luke 19:9).

Inward change. Joel 2:13 contrasts torn garments with a torn heart. Outward signs of sorrow mean nothing without inward turning. This is the difference between Pharaoh and David.

The ground of forgiveness. God's forgiveness is not earned by the quality of our sorrow. It rests on Christ, who died for our sins, “and not for ours only but also for the whole world” (1 John 2:2). Repentance receives what Christ has accomplished.

Kindness that leads. Romans 2:4 says God's goodness, forbearance and longsuffering lead to repentance. Pharaoh experienced God's patience through nine plagues and despised it. The same patience is offered to us.

Joy in heaven. Jesus said, “there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). Repentance is not only a duty. It brings joy to heaven.

Repentance as a way of life. Repentance is not a one-time event. In 1517 Martin Luther wrote that the whole life of believers should be one of repentance. Those are his words, not Scripture, but they fit the New Testament call to turn back to God every day.

Application. Read Psalm 51 slowly this week as a prayer, and consider whether there is anyone you need to make things right with.

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