"Repairer of the Breach"
Isaiah 58:9-12
It was about 700 B.C. Because the people had fallen away, and
despite the calls issued by prophets sent by God to them to repent and to return
to the Lord, the people of the land, for the most part, continued to ignore the
righteousness and justice of God. Because of this, the nation would suffer great
losses at the hands of cruel enemies. But there was hope; hope that tragedy
would give way to repentance; a seeking for God and a spiritual renewal. The
prophet Isaiah, in the midst of national turmoil, said this: "Then you will
call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If
you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking
wickedness, And if you give yourself to the hungry, And satisfy the desire of
the afflicted, Then your light will rise in darkness, And your gloom will become
like midday. And the Lord will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in
scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered
garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. And those from
among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old
foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of
the streets in which to dwell." (Isaiah. 58:9-12).
Today, as then, a great and necessary part of our security as a nation is a
strong moral and spiritual foundation. Without that, of what use is it to try
and save the structure if the foundation is weak? Men and women of faith who
love their nation and the righteous principles upon which it was built are not
ashamed to look to God for strength and guidance, not only in times of stress
and tragedy, but also on good days of prosperity and joy.
Rebuild With God
There are often calls to rebuild in times of destruction and tragedy. When such
destruction comes as a result of efforts by evil men, there is also justified
anger that accompanies the sorrow and resolve. All these emotions are
understandable.
Also, to be admired during such times, are qualities such as courage, generosity
and compassion. These are good qualities; qualities that ought to belong to us
all. They are Christ-like, and as disciples of Christ we ought to have the faith
upon which these qualities can be ours and grow.
But without dependence upon God, a nation who pledges to rebuild after disaster
is rather arrogant. In recent years, some of the very source of our national
strength has been sapped by unrighteous government leaders. In a nation where
the prime time media constantly belittles moral and spiritual principles found
in the Scriptures of God, the very foundation has been undermined. God cannot be
mocked! As Thomas Jefferson once asked, "Do we think that His righteousness will
sleep forever?" He felt far too little attention was being paid by our nation's
leadership to the justness of God.
Ingredients For Success
The Bible records times men have sought to rebuild without God. Tom Daschle,
Senate majority leader, quoted from Isaiah concerning the rebuilding process in
our own nation's present tragedy. He picked an unfortunate passage, evidently
not understanding that the context is very negative. He quoted Isaiah 9:10. The
context reads this way: "The Lord sends a message against Jacob, And it falls on
Israel. And all the people know it, That is, Ephraim and the inhabitants of
Samaria, Asserting in pride and in arrogance of heart: 'The bricks have fallen
down, But we will rebuild with smooth stones; The sycamores have been cut down,
But we will replace them with cedars." (Isaiah 9:8-10). He only quoted the final
part (starting with "The bricks...", not bothering to notice that this was an
obstinate statement made by the faithless that they were going to rebuild apart
from God. He probably did not even know, and probably few people do, but
certainly one of his speech writers needs a good talking to.
The nation of Edom also had the idea that they would rebuild. The Lord said
that, because of their wickedness, He would not allow their rebuilding be
successful. He said, "Though Edom says, 'We have been beaten down, but we will
return and build up the ruins"; thus says the Lord of hosts, "They may build,
but I will tear down; and men will call them the wicked territory, and the
people toward whom the Lord is indignant forever.'" (Malachi 1:4).
The point is not that our nation should not respond to tragedy with compassion,
courage and resolve; of course we should! But rather, that we should rebuild on
the same foundation upon which our founding fathers built; principles of
righteousness, justice and faith recognized as universally true because we are
creatures of a righteous and just Creator. "Righteousness exalts a nation, But
sin is a disgrace to any people." (Proverbs 14:34). It takes more than lip
service to God during times of tragedy to be truly blessed by Him.
Repairing the Breach
There will be massive efforts to rebuild from the ruins after tragedy. As we
saw, Isaiah referred to the success of those who rebuild when their efforts are
combined with faith and righteousness. He said, "And those from among you will
rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you
will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which
to dwell." (Isaiah 59:12).
For repairing injured bodies, physicians, nurses and medical know-how are
needed. For repairing ruined buildings, contractors, steelworkers and engineers
are needed. For protecting freedom, military and civil law enforcement personnel
are needed. For good and righteous civil laws, there is need for good and
righteous civil lawmakers and judges. Our nation certainly needs all these
things.
But it is not enough if our nation is to be as great as it can be. To work upon
the moral and spiritual foundation upon which something good can be built, where
would the workers be found?
If you are a faithful disciple of Christ, that would be you, standing for truth
and righteousness every day. In short, it is up to each Christian (and it always
has been) to live for Christ in a meaningful and dedicated way each day. Just as
a doctor needs to be committed to his work in healing the injured, the Christian
needs to be dedicated to his or her faith in order to be useful in his or her
field; which is the field of discipleship (1 Corinthians 3:9).
Jesus once said, "Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes, and look on the
fields, that they are white for harvest." (John 4:35). Look around. They still
are! Will you be called a "repairer of the breach"?
By Jon W. Quinn
From Expository Files 9-4; April 2002
