Restoration

God has created with hearts for restoration. We long for restoration with families, friends, and even enemies. Think of Esau and Jacob. Twins separated not even by seconds as Jacob came grabbing Esau’s heal – each feeling betrayed and defeated by the other. Esau could have said, “Jacob grabbed and stole everything from me,” and Jacob could have said, “Why should you have all those blessings when we were born at the same time?” At the height of their stealing and fighting, they separated. Jacob fled to his uncle’s house for fourteen-plus years. When he returned, Jacob was a torn man – cheated by his father-in-law and wounded by God. He feared Esau would still hold grudges and harm him. But Esau saw Jacob afar, ran to meet him, and hugged him. He threw his arms around Jacob’s neck and kissed him. They both wept (Gen 33:4).

Restoration is at the heart of humanity because we are created in the image of God, and God’s essential nature is restoration. Page after page, we see God rushing to restore those he hurt or was hurt by. Sure, the righteous Zechariah doubted Gabriel and his message and was temporarily punished with an inability to speak, but God once again rushed to restore him to ministry. He filled him with his Holy Spirit, and Zechariah prophesied a message of restoration.

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel! (1:68a)

He has returned and brought redemption to his people. (1:68b)

He has raised the horn of salvation in the house of David, his son – just as he has spoken through the mouths of his holy prophets – to bring deliverance from our enemies and the hands of all those who hate us and to show our fathers mercy and remember his covenant. (1:69–72)

He had made an oath to Abraham, our father, to enable us to be unafraid of our enemies, be redeemed, and serve him in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our lives. (1:73–75)

For nearly six hundred years, God had seemed silent to the Israelites. Zedekiah was the last king of Judah, a son of David, ruling between 597 to 586 BC, and Micah was the last of the prophets to speak, around 400 BC. In their minds, God had abandoned them.

“Not so anymore,” said Zechariah. “YHWH had returned and brought redemption (litrosis) to his people.” The law explained the meaning of this litrosis:

“If poor Israelites, out of their poverty, sell themselves as slaves to non-Hebrew rich people, fellow Israelites have an obligation to redeem (litrosis) them – those who sold themselves to others – with the redemption (litrosis) money.” (Lev 25:47–48)

Zechariah, too, saw his contemporary Israelites as slaves to foreign nations and people, and God had come to rescue, deliver, and redeem (litrosis) them. This was in accordance with God’s nature, covenant, promise, and commitment to forefathers and them.

The greatest joy I ever received when I became a Christian was finding God’s character (or attribute) of restoration. I grew up guilt driven because I couldn’t do anything right. Sadly, I felt the same in church and Christianity – I wasn’t a perfect Christian. I know that; I don’t want others to remind me of that. But nothing was more freeing to me than to know and feel God’s character of restoration! He always was there and will be there with open arms – running to meet me, hug me, throw his arms around me, and kiss me just like Esau and Jacob.