Restoration

Restoration; the process of putting something such as a piece of art or a building back into its original condition so that it looks cleaner and better; re-establishment, reinstatement, return, restitution. Is there any other word in the English language that soothes as much as the calming, cool, healing waters waiting within the vowels and constantans of this word restoration? 

When woodlands are reduced to ash in a catastrophic wild fire it takes time for the landscape to heal. However, given enough time, water, wind, sun and rain a dramatic change occurs as new life begins to sprout and rise out of the ashes. When God created the first man and gave him free will to make choices He already knew what choices he would make. Setting the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the garden was not an accident. God has a plan and it was always to restore what was lost when the first man and woman chose to disobey God. While the curse might have sowed seeds of thorns and thistles into the four winds, God’s own Son paid for our debt in full.

God had always planned to restore people back to their original condition before sin entered the world. Even before the foundations of the earth were formed He had a plan to send His own Son into the world to redeem it. The cross was not a tragedy but God’s ultimate accomplishment, as the curse of sin was broken forever. The debt was paid in full as God’s own son’s blood became our restoration, redeeming us forever. Death would no longer sting or be an impassable wall but rather it has become the sinner’s most cherished, blessed of all hopes, keeping the faithful on their knees.

Grab your bibles and turn to 2 Samuel chapter 9. God inspired the writers to leave behind a beautiful picture of restoration for us to read and enjoy in the story of King David and Mephibosheth. Saul and his three sons were killed by the Philistines and then brutally impaled to the city wall at Beth Shan. Mephibosheth’s father Jonathan and David were kindred spirits motivating David to show kindness to the house of Saul for Jonathan’s sake.

David inquires and discovers that there is a remnant of Saul’s house that is still alive, Jonathon’s son Mephibosheth.  Mephibosheth is lame in both of his feet and his family’s inheritance has been confiscated. Dependent upon relatives for his daily needs David restores all of Saul’s land back to Mephibosheth and orders that Saul’s servants work the land for him and keep it in good order. 

David then invites Mephibosheth to eat at his own table for the remainder of his life! “As for Mephibosheth, ‘said the king’, he shall eat at my table like one of the king’s sons” David was a passionate man who loved God and desired to show other’s  the same goodness that the Lord of Hosts has showered down on him.

This beautiful story of David seeking out Mephibosheth and lovingly restoring his father’s inheritance is a clear picture of what God has accomplished for us. Though we have been defeated by sin and our inheritance given to Satan, our Creator relentlessly searches us out.  We are wounded, lame and left for dead with no hope for redemption within our own strength.  We try and disappear into the social fabric hoping no one will come looking for us when God comes along searching for that one little lost lamb. When He finds us, He picks us up off our broken legs and carries us on His shoulders where He sets us down at His own table, encouraging us to eat the bread that He broke for us and drink from the cup of His might. The Good Shepherd then restores our inheritance and invites us to dine with Him forever. 

God has chosen all of us to be partakers in His grace and mercy by inviting us all to come to Him! By giving His One and only Son, God created the only way by which a man can be saved. From His own lips while hanging from a cross, Jesus said “It is finished” and immediately the sting of death was taken away forever. Meanwhile the curtain in the temple, that separated us from His presence, was ripped apart, torn down from the top to the bottom. 

Purchased with a price, the bride of Christ now awaits and prepares for the groom’s return. Let us not be caught off guard but eagerly awaiting Christ’s return. We have drunk from the cup which is a binding covenant in His blood and now are looking forward to our inheritance which is eternal life in the presence of an awesome King!

Godly Choices

Our lives are filled with endless opportunities to choose this or choose that. Some choices we make are as benign as picking out a color to paint the walls of our bedroom while others can mean life or death. We make these choices every minute of every day sometimes without even giving it much thought. But the fact is the choices we make can have long lasting consequences if we choose to go down the wrong road.

Before letting the Israelites cross over the Jordan and into the Promised Land, God not only gave Moses the law and statutes but told him to tell the people “Therefore you shall be careful to do as the Lord your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. You shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall posses.” Deuteronomy 5:32

The next section of text in Deuteronomy 6:4-9 is called the “Shema” which is Hebrew for “Hear!” The text tells us to love only God, by loving Him with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength.  “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

God was making it clear how important it is to follow His directions. His instructions should be the first thing we see out of our eyes and the first thing we think of as we hide His laws in our heart. God goes on to predict that when the Israelites are in the Promised Land and have eaten and are full that they should not forget that it was the Lord who brought them out of bondage in Egypt. That He is our Sustainer-Creator.

But now in 2 Samuel chapter 6 King David is beginning to forget about the Lord’s commandments and statutes. David, desiring to have the Ark of the Covenant brought to Jerusalem, picks thirty thousand of his best men to go with him to retrieve it. The Philistines had returned the Ark on a cart, so David thought that this new and improved way to transport the ark seemed more efficient. He carelessly commands that the Ark be loaded onto a new cart and hauled by oxen rather than the way God commanded by the hands of the priests holding onto poles. At one point the oxen stumble causing the Ark to rock back and forth. Uzzah, one of the men walking along side, puts his hand out to stabilize the Ark and is struck dead by God on the spot.

It’s so important that we know what God requires of us. It’s so important that we do things the way that God has instructed us within the pages of the book. It’s so easy to want to follow the way the world conduct business, to do things in a more efficient way but the reality is that God has warned us to stay close to Him and to follow only Him. If we keep applying His commands daily then He promises to prolong our days and that it will go well with us.

So if we walk with God on a daily basis and if we keep His word as close as frontlets on our forehead we will be less likely to follow the world down a path to personal destruction. Paul, a bondservant of Jesus, in 1 Thessalonians 5:17once encouraged us all to “pray without ceasing”. Many have been taught that this means to take quiet time and pray inside of a dark closet. While this practice has its place, we can’t walk every minute of the day with God while locked up in a dark room. 

Make your fellowship-relationship with God a priority throughout your day. Talk to Him the way you would a close friend and you will discover the richness of walking through life with God at your side. God loves us and desires the very best for us and so He has given us rules to make our pilgrimage through life less bumpy. God desires love and affection from His children. Make it a point to talk with Him throughout your day in a very personal way listening for His most awesome reply.

The second mile

David had refused over and over again to lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed. David recognized that God was in total control and would take care of Saul. He chose to take the high road and not inflict any harm on the Lord’s anointed. Now with Saul and his sons dead, the people of Judah begin to see the anointing God had already put onto His servant David years before. 

In 2 Samuel 2:1-32 there is a very obscure story that will have significant consequences for the nation of Israel. The seeds for Israel’s civil war and division were being sown. What would someday turn out to divide the nation into two states had its beginning in the mind of Saul. God’s anointing and blessing had been placed on David to be king over a united kingdom of Israel. Now, behind the scenes a spiritual battle was raging that would one day send the nation into some very dark days of bondage. 

As David declares his intentions to rule over the nation, Abner made Saul’s son Ishbosheth king over the Israelites living in the north.  Now the division between the houses of David and Saul are widening. Envy will lead to hatred, and hatred will eventually lead them to war with each other. In 2 Samuel 2:12 the stage is set for the first battle between the newly divided factions. 

Twelve young men from the tribe of Benjamin who represented Saul’s side faced off against twelve young men from the followers of David. Brother against brother sat poised to battle to the death at the pool of Gibeon.  We find in 2 Samuel 2:17 that after these twenty-four men kill themselves a fierce battle ensued between Ishbosheth’s and David’s men. In the end it was David’s men who came out on top. At the end of the day, three hundred and sixty of Ishbosheth’s men died to only twenty of David’s men.

Abner, the commander of Ishbosheth’s men, flees the battle.  Asahel, one of David’s men, chases after him with the hopes of striking him down. Eventually, the two men face off as Abner ends up killing Joab’s brother Asahel. The two groups line up for battle but cooler heads prevailed that day as a bloodbath is averted.

We can glean so much from reading our bibles. We have the privilege of having the story to read in its entirety right in our hands. We can learn from the mistakes of others and take the high road to freedom avoiding the pitfalls our flesh can lure us into. As we continue to study 2 Samuel we will see where all this strife, hatred and killing will lead.

Jesus once stood on a rolling hill above the Sea of Galilee and spoke to His disciples as well as a large multitude that were following Him. There He told everyone how God expects us to treat one another.  The law had been a very important part of each Israelite’s life for over fourteen hundred years but now this carpenter from Nazareth was changing the way that they were to treat one another.

In Matthew 5:38 Jesus tells everyone that they had been living by ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’. But now He tells them not to resist an evil person. If someone slaps you on the right cheek then turn the other towards them. If someone wants your tunic give them your cloak also. And finally if asked to go one mile then go an extra mile with them. 

As the wind was blowing through his hair, Jesus faces the crowd gathered on that hillside and tells them “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.”

Just as in David’s case, if we obey God’s commands and follow Him then He will lead to safety. His rod and staff will comfort us and we will dwell with Him forever. David had refused to take out vengeance on Saul for himself but instead let God be the One to bring utter and complete destruction on his family.

All too often we want to be like Asahel and chase after our enemies causing them as much pain as we can heap upon them. But from our study of David we learn that it is far better to let God handle our enemies. After all He has more assets and infinite wisdom to get the job done. So make peace with your family, friends and everyone who spitefully uses you!