DIVINE RESTORATION

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In Christ, Mark

NOTE: This is the final devotion from the study of 1 and 2 Chronicles. It’s been a great journey as we have followed the people of Israel in good and bad times. Today, we find the good news of restoration found only in the Lord God Almighty, learning that although we serve a God who corrects, we also serve a God who redeems and fulfills His covenant promises. I pray you will be blessed by this concluding devotion and look forward to the coming look at the Book of Proverbs.

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing:

“This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up, and may the Lord their God be with them.’”

2 Chronicles 36:22-23

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Restoration: noun \ˌres-tə-ˈrā-shən\ - an act of restoring or the condition of being restored.

Restoring: present participle of the verb restore - 1: to give back or return; 2: to put or bring back into existence or use; 3: to bring back to or put back into a former or original state, to renew.

There was little doubt that the people of Israel were in need of restoration. You’ll recall that their stubborn apostasy had fueled God’s wrath to where there was no chance for forgiveness and mercy, only correction and consequence as the Judean Israelites had passed the point of no return. They learned, and we need to learn as well, that God will not stand by and be ignored or mocked or exiled out of our lives. If we insist on going that route, then expect that God is going to do something to discipline us, get our attention, and draw our hearts back to Him.

God’s word shared with us that Jerusalem was attacked and laid to waste by King Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian forces. Many Israelites lost their lives that day for their unfaithfulness to the Lord who made them but not all were killed. Scripture tells us that a remnant was carried away to Babylon, a remnant that would allow for God’s promise to David to be upheld. For He had vowed to not annihilate the house of David but to ensure that his house and kingdom would endure forever before Him, that David’s throne would be established forever (2 Samuel 7:16).

That wasn’t the only promise God had made. Look at this one relayed through the prophet Jeremiah to the Israelite remnant who were carried away:

“This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ‘Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.’ Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. They are prophesying lies to you in My name. I have not sent them,’ declares the Lord.”

“This is what the Lord says: ‘When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.’” Jeremiah 29:4-14

God’s words were clear. The Babylonian captivity would not last forever. There would be a time when the Judean Israelites would be allowed to return to their home land, restored by God to their homeland. God knew the plans He had for His people and did not refrain from letting know what those plans entailed. Exile would turn into return from captivity; banishment replaced by forgiveness and mercy and grace.

As we look at the closing verses of 2 Chronicles, we find God’s covenant being fulfilled. Look at the passage one more time:

In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing:

“This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up, and may the Lord their God be with them.’”

King Nebuchadnezzar and his mighty Babylonian empire had fallen, defeated by King Cyrus of Persia, and as we see, the change was the impetus for change, particularly in dealing with the exiled Israelites.

We shouldn’t be surprised to learn that at the center of the change was the Lord who knew the plans He had for His people, plans for them to prosper. Scripture tells us that the Lord moved the heart of Persia’s King Cyrus to make a special proclamation that was heard throughout his realm. That proclamation centered on returning the Israelites to Jerusalem where they would be able to rebuild the temple of the Lord. They would be able to renew their special relationship with God in the city He chose to make His special dwelling place.

In other words, they would experience divine restoration.

Friends, what joy this had to bring the Israelites! Think about it. Seventy years in captivity. Seventy long years away from the land they had been given by God. Seventy years living in oppression by a foreign leader who in no way cared for them the way God had before their fall.

But now, the exile was over! A new day had dawned, a day when God was ready to renew His relationship with His people, a day when the people of Israel could return to and settle back in the land God had granted them.

Yes, what rejoicing there must have been in Babylon!

Friends, there is good news in this for us as well. For it’s a comfort to know that we serve a God who is willing to bring divine restoration to anyone or any people who happen to fail and fall in remaining obedient to Him, opting for sinfulness over righteousness and invoking God’s correction and consequence. Rest assured that we will be disciplined if we choose to walk off the path that the Lord wants is to walk, possibly even experiencing our own form of exile as God seeks to teach us a lesson in loyalty unto Him. But rest assured as well that the Lord our God will also seek to restore us divinely, as only He can, and return us to a place of good favor in His sight.

Thanks be to God for the promises found in His word, thanks be to God for His mercy, grace, forgiveness, and love, and thanks be to God for His gift of divine restoration that He imparts to us, even when we have failed Him in some way.

Amen

In Christ,

Mark

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