Restoration Principles - Their Biblical Basis (10)

RESTORATION PRINCIPLES - THEIR BIBLICAL BASIS - 10

Yeow Chin Kiong

We have looked at some prominent examples of religious restoration in the Old Testament narrative, particularly the return to worship required by the Law of Moses during the reign of King Hezekiah and King Josiah before the Israelites' Babylonian exile as well as the religious restoration work of Ezra and Nehemiah after the rebuilding of Jerusalem and its temple after the 70-year exile. Although the Law of Moses no longer applies in our Christian Age, having been fulfilled by Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and His subsequent resurrection and ascension (Matthew 5:17-18; Luke 24:44-47). these insidents teach us some important lessons concerning the work of religious restoration in our time.

Fiirstly, restoration must be based upon God's commandments as applied to a particular dispensation and a realization that the Divine requirements have been ignored or wilfully disobeyed, with dire consequences if continually disobeyed. In Josiah's time, such neglect was because the book of the Law has been "lost". In the case of Hezekiah, his son (following the footsteps of his ancestor, King Solomon, 1 Kings 11:1-13) had set up and promoted idolatry and false worship. In the case of Ezra and Nehemiah, Moses' Law was readily available but had to be taught anew to the Jewish returnees from exile. In all our examples, the "pattern of sound words" (2 Timothy 1:13) then applicabĺe had to be declared and obeyed all over again.

Secondly, the whole of God's requirements had to be restored and not just some of it. Idols had to be removed from God's temple but the Divinely-stipulated functionaries who served in it must also be regulated and their needs provided for according to God's command. The feasts of the Israelites' religious calendar had to be implemented as Divinely-ordained. The "whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:27) had to be declared and obeyed (Matthew 23:23-24). There is no such thing as a "partial restoration". Either God's commands are restored or they are not. Much needs to be done as the work of restoration.

Thirdly, religious restoration needs to be initiated by men of authority using God's word. The undoing of false worship begun by the influence of those thought to be of influence among God's people (Acts 20:29-30) has to be torn down and replaced with true worship by those with authority. Some Israelite kings realized this and did what they could, in spite of their age (1 Timothy 4:12). Others who initiated restoration were scribes and priests like Ezra and yet others like Nehemiah were given authority by foreighners. God has always had strong-willed faithful to be in the forefront of restoration work.

Fourthly, thè results of the ŕestoration work of Hezekiah and Josiah tell us clearly that restoration of God's ways among men cannot remain effective wìthout continuous vigilence and commitment to combat error (Jude 3). The son of both kings of Judah re-introduced the false worship that they tore down. The restoration work of both kings only lasted during their reign. The restoration of God-directed worship and life resulting from the efforts of Ezra and Nehemiah appear to have lasted longer but, even then, by Jesus' day, the most religious of Jews were criticized by our Lord for their errors and hypocrisy (Matthew 23).

Fifthly, restoration is as much a function of good followership as it is of good leadership. Hence the importance of a buying-in of the leaders' call to restore by the many who will have to reject past error, sometimes at great cost to themselves. Only after Ezra and Nehemiah obtained their audience's agreement to covenant with God to obey the Law of Moses was it possible to have them undertake as serious a step as to put away their foreign wives!

Restoration of what had been Divinely-revealed is surely the safest path to pursue if we are serious about following God's commandments adulterated. It demands hard work from start to finish and a meeting of minds each step of the way. Above all, once achieved, restoration must be preserved.