Restoration Principles - Their Biblical Basis (7)
RESTORATION PRINCIPLES - THEIR BIBLICAL BASIS (7)
Yeow Chin Kiong
The religious restoration work of Judah's kings Hezekiah and his great-grandson, Josiah, were the two examples of royalty-motivated moves to return the people of Judah to the worship of God according to the law of Moses and the state elimination of the idolatry which had rept in since the reign of King Solomon.
The praiseworthy effort of both kings, however, bore fruit only during their respective reigns. Upon replacing them on David' throne in Jerusalem, their sons reverted back to false worship and influenced the people of Judah to follow.
The other segment of God's people, Northern Israel, having been lured to false worship by their first king, Jeroboam (1 Kings 12:26-33; 13:33-34), never had a religious restoration. Collectively, God's chosen people of (Northern) Israel and Judah stood facing Divine punishment for their religious infidelity.
For Judah (as well as those from (Northern) Israel who chose to return to Judah before the northern kingdom fell to the Assyrians in 721 BC), God's punishment would be 70 years of exile in Babylon, as prophesied by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 25:11-12; 29:10; 2 Chronicles 36:21 see also Daniel 9:2; Ezra 1:1; Zechariah 1:12; 7:5).
It was after the 70-year exile, when the Medo-Persian conquerors of Babylon allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem; that a more wide-ranging restoration of worship according the Law of Moses was undertaken. The results of this restoration would, for the most part, last for over 400 years, until the coming of our Lord (as anticipated by Malachi 4:4-6).
After the 70 years of exile, the temple of Jerusalem had to be rebuilt and refurbished with appropriate furniture and fixtures for true worship of God (which had been removed by the Babylonians at the beginning of the Jews' exile in Babylon).
By God's providence, local opposition of the entire project of the temple's rebuilding and refurbishing had the full support of the Persian king (see Ezra 7:11-26) for the oversight of the project by Ezra, the scribe and priest (Ezra 7:1-10, 27-28).
The rebuilding of the temple of Jerusalem was of prime importance to the restoration of true worship of God because He had decreed to receive sacrifice from His people at that temple (Deuteronomy 12:13-14; 1 Kings 8:10-13). This physical structure had to be completed before the Jews could keep the Law of Moses under the Mosiac Dispensation.
But, more important than physical restoration of the Jerusalem temple (and the defensive walls of Jerusalem city by Nehemiah the governor later) was the restoring of the mind and heart of the Jews who had returned from the exile in Babylon. This crucial work of personal transformation of the people who were then ready to worship God correctly needed the assembly of the people to receive instruction directly from Moses' law, as recorded in Nehemiah 8:1-12.
During that lengthy assembly, Ezra read the contents of Moses' law and, with the help of the Levites and other capable men, "... gave the sense (of Moses' law) and helped (the people) to understand the reading." (Nehemiah 8:8). This was no just teaching them content but also moving them to conviction and commitment of the heart.
For the crowd present, listening attentively (Nehemiah 8:3) was one thing, as was saying "Amen" repeatedly while standing upon hearing what was read (Nehemiah 8:6-7); weeping in sorrow upon hearing God's word with understanding was altogether another thing! (Nehemiah 8:9-10).
Until the hearts of the many are thus moved by scriptures to do good and right, there can be no restoration of the faith!