1.4.26 ~ In His Kingly image

Many of you already know, as your life becomes more saturated with His presence, you’ll find yourself focused more on the things you love, spending less time on the things you tolerate and none of the time on the things you dislike the most! Consequently, the breaches in our walls that have occurred in the past will then be able to be repaired.


And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.

(Isa. 58:11, 12)


Man was created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-28)! That can raise some interesting pictures in our mind. In of ourselves we are not holy, or righteous, or omniscient, or omnipotent, or omnipresent, or...What we are,  is in His image/tzelem and likeness/dumut, which emphasizes His creative abilities and restorer/shuv of 'things' chaotic. Everything in the opening chapters of Genesis are all about His creative work and restoring that which has fallen, back to its original (Acts 3:19-21). Hence, when we look at one another we see functional similarities, but those similarities are expressed through unique personalities.


Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

(Acts 3:19-21)


On Yesterday's zoom call, we finished the book of Genesis for this year's Torah cycle. In our study, the theme of creativity and restoration rang true as well as determining specific truths in the blessing of Reuben and Judah (Gen. 49). Why would we focus on those two? Enquiring minds want to know :-) 


Hint: First, like the old TV show dragnet, "only the facts ma'am"; the truth behind both of their blessings and secondly, why the kingship was placed on Judah and not on Reuben (the firstborn)...and most likely it's not what we would have imagined. Thirdly, how the image and likeness of God was revealed in their lives, but only one's expression was worthy of the kingly line of the firstborn. It's an eye opener with 21st century practical ramifications!


As in the Reuben and Judah stories, Isaiah 58 takes us from acknowledging our sin, being broken before Him, not playing hide-n-seek, being a servant, crying out in prayer, following His lead, being saturated with His loving presence and as a result of those first 11 verses, now a restorer/shuv of the breech and restorer of the streets (Isa. 58:12); the purposeful image and likeness of God (Gen. 1:26-28)


And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.

(Isa. 58:12)


To restore/shuv is to do again, to bring back, to answer, to recompense, to reestablish, to restore and much more. All throughout Scripture we see Yahweh Elohim’s heart is bent on recovering what was lost and fixing what was broken. That’s really the ultimate goal of ‘salvation’! It’s not an indoctrination of denominational belief systems, but rather deliverance from one realm to another. We are brought back from death to life. It’s not about reeducation to be a better person; it’s about restoring us to where we once were.


Since the creation of mankind and his subsequent fall, Yahweh has been restoring individuals back to him. He could have ‘scrapped’ His plan and started over completely, but He chose to restore instead (2 Cor. 5:19-21). 


To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

(2 Cor. 5:19-21)


Sometimes in life we, speaking of me, myself and I, need to leave behind and let go of what is dead and build into the things that remain (Rev. 3:1-5). But Yahweh has the ability to resurrect. He has the patience to restore His handiwork to its original state and He’s not willing that any should perish, but that all would be restored (2 Pet. 3:9).


Most of us have breaches in the walls of our lives, and our spiritual streets where we walk and drive are filled with potholes. He desires not only to restore us but also to use us to be instruments of restoration in the days ahead. May the year 2026 bring that reality in your life!


Shalom,

Alan

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