We have had a parenting theme for the past couple of weeks and this post falls right in line with that. But it also applies to our own lives and relationships in general. Take a look at Isaiah 58:12 with me:
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.
This verse is part of a passage about living a life of victory, one that pleases God. It covers humility, repentance, serving those who cannot repay you, integrity, revering the Lord -to name a few of the significant topics! I don’t like to take verses out of context (so please read the whole chapter!) but I just want to focus today on verse 12. What does it mean and how can we live accordingly?
First, in order to be a rebuilder, this passage makes it clear from the preceding verses that our own spiritual lives have to be in order. Verse 11 (and subsequently verse 12) appear as the results of living according to verses 1-10. In verse 11, the prophet Isaiah tells us that such righteous living produces an intimacy and satisfaction with the Lord, guidance and strength and an ability to refresh others. Then, verse 12 builds on that…
Such a life is the one that rebuilds.
Rebuilds spiritual cathedrals out of generational ruins. Rebuilds by raising up the word of God as the foundation for life. Rebuilds by repairing the breach of relationships, granting forgiveness even to ancestors long gone. Rebuilds by building a godly heritage, modeling and instructing the generations that follow how to walk - what it looks like to obey Jesus.
What does this mean for us?
It means we first have to be willing to take an honest look at our lives. To survey the ruins, so to speak. Apply Psalm 139:23,24 and ask the Lord to reveal sin in our lives. To let Him show us where have we - either willfully or unintentionally - allowed the Enemy of our souls to gain access to our lives. It helps to understand what Exodus 20:5,6 mean - when God says He “visits” the sins of the fathers on the third and fourth generations, that doesn’t mean He punishes one person’s sins by “zapping” the grandchildren and great-grandchildren with the same evil. The word “visits” means “to take a census, inspect, number”. This helps us understand that God is describing what happens in subsequent generations - not that He puts the sins there but rather explains the natural consequence. The Enemy is not very creative but he is quite persistent - he figures if a temptation works in one generation then he will try it on the offspring that follow and more often than not, it works. We see the same sin show up (and usually to a greater degree) through the years in family lines.
I don’t know about you but this certainly motivates me to deal with my “stuff” - not as much for my own sake as for that of my kids and grands! I want them to walk in victory and to experience the joy of abundant life. To be sure, we are each one individually responsible for our own behavior (see Ezekiel 18 for an exposition on this :) ) but when we don’t confess, repent, and build according to God’s Word, we are in essence laying out the welcome mat for the Enemy to come calling on our posterity.
Once God has shown us our ruins (and if we are honest, we very likely already know about a lot of them - we have just not done the work required to rebuild!) , we seek His Word to replace lies with Truth - we “raise up the age-old foundations”. All sin originates from believing a lie - and then behaving on what we believe. So we must do the hard work of listening to the Spirit and applying TRUTH to replace the lies the Enemy has convinced us to fall for.
Once TRUTH is established in our hearts, then He calls upon us to do more hard work - forgiveness. This “repairing of the breach” might be about people currently alive and present in our lives but it also might include ancestors long gone who tolerated sin in their own lives and consequently opened you up to the schemes of the Enemy. Holding on to that unforgiveness can hold us in bondage to someone who is not even alive - we certainly don’t want to give them that power over us! So, forgive. And thereby, repair the breach!
Finally, rebuilding means “restoring the streets in which to dwell” - building a godly heritage of faith and obedience from this day forward. Pursuing the knowledge of Him, letting His Word transform our lives, keeping ourselves free from sin, instructing our children and grandchildren in TRUTH.
And you know what He does? Instead of being able to “visit” (count the occurrences) the sins of third and fourth generations, He Himself “shows” (the Hebrew word means “constructs, builds, labors) His lovingkindness (faithful, abundant, steadfast love) to thousands because of our faith in Him. Such grace! Such mercy! Such generous kindness!
Let’s be intentional about rebuilding, shall we?