RESTORATION OF A
NATION
INTRODUCTION
Restoration of a nation is a recurring biblical theme that describes God renewing a society's spiritual, physical, and social well-being after a period of crisis or exile; when the people turn back to God in repentance and humility.
Passages in God’s Word describe ruined cities repopulated, wasted land made fruitful, and communities restored to safety; mentions the return of the Jewish exiles to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple serving as a model of national renewal; that God's plan for restoration brings justice, peace, and wholeness not just to individuals, but to entire communities and nations.
Restoration of a Nation
Due to Wickedness
Restoration of a nation; in this case was the city of Nineveh an ancient capital city of the Assyrian Empire, the royal residence of Assyrian kings, a great city whose wickedness had come up before God. God forewarned Nineveh of its coming destruction, as he does to all who are no longer under His protective shield due to wickedness having been allowed to reign and forsaking allegiance to God and His Word.
Scripture reveals: As Jonah (a prophet of God) began to enter into the city a day’s journey (a city of three days journey), he cried out, yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown (destroyed). And the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth (a sign of repentance), from the greatest of them to the least of them (Jonah 3:4-5).
It was noted that God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented (relented) of the evil, that he said that he would do to them, and he did it not (Jonah 3:10). God did not change in His ultimate intention towards the Ninevites; rather they changed in their attitude toward Him. On the basis that that change, God could deal with them in grace, rather than in judgment as their failure to repent would have necessitated.
Nations that Forget God
The Psalmist wrote: The wicked shall be turned into hell and all the nations that forget God (Psalm 9:17). Hell is the place of torment which consists of everlasting separation from God. It was noted that all nations that forget God refers to the wicked who do not acknowledge there is a God, who sees and knows all things, and that the wicked shall be held accountable. The Psalmist cried out: Put them in fear, O Lord; that nations may know themselves to be but men (Psalm 9:20).
It was a bold, impudent, and fearless generation of men who neither feared God nor regarded man, that the Psalmist prayed that God would inject fear into them; for them to know that they have no power against Him; and that they were frail, mortal, and miserable without Him. The restoration of a nation is not only a need of moral cleansing but to reinstate one’s familiarity with God and His Word.
What Prompts Restoration
Apostle Paul wrote: Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God (2 Corinthians 7:1). This is in regard to humanity as a whole but fits in the restoration of a nation as well. Paul revealed the makeup of what prompts the need for restoration of a nation or individual.
He identified the ungodly characteristics: Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness (immorality), idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance (contentions), emulations (jealousies), wrath, strife, seditions (dissensions), heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness, reveling, and such like; they that do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God (unless repentance comes into focus) (Galatians 5:20-21).
Righteousness Versus Sinfulness
Scripture reveals: Righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach (disgrace) to any people (Proverbs 14:34). It was noted that this indicates a need for the restoration of a nation or people, that national righteousness and national sin have opposite effects; exaltation verses reproach. Justice at the forefront exalts a nation, bringing high esteem of God, attended with the privileges and blessings of God, which makes a nation or people great and honorable.
Whereas sin is a reproach to any people, iniquity (lawlessness) abounds, and immorality of all sorts prevails. Sin is dominate in nations with no heartfelt need towards restoration; with many relishing the immorality that entertains them on a daily basis, through electronic and other means so readily available.
Enemy from Within
We are being threatened due to allowing the ungodly to gain an upper hand while the people remain passive. Years ago I received a thought that we would be overcome; not by an enemy from without, but from within. We are witnessing this increasingly more as secular and cultural changes outweigh biblical values previously ingrained in our society.
The restoration of a nation is a message that cannot be ignored or past and present warnings will become a reality. It was noted that no nation can continue to ignore God and sin freely without suffering its consequences. No matter how blessed a nation has been, if it forsakes God, it faces His great displeasure. The sum of the whole matter is that our civilization cannot survive unless it is redeemed spiritually (Woodrow Wilson).
Corrosive Immoral Breath
Many nations face the reality of restoration of a nation injunction; and if ignored, will suffer consequences of being removed from the blessings of Almighty God, His umbrella of protection, that is so needed in the times in which we live, being discontinued as in the Parable of the Vineyard which became a Parable of Judgment (Isaiah 5:1-5). It was noted that we are suffering from the corrosive immoral breath of the 21st century.
The secularism, humanism, materialism, liberalism, and commercialism of our day have devastated our resources of security. A question was asked: Which will it be Christian Biblical Values or secular values? Many today want secular values (doing what is right in their own sight) without reference to God. Scripture reveals: There is a way which seems right to a man; but the end thereof are the ways of death (Proverbs 14:12).
Biblical Warnings
The destiny of nations is still in the hands of a sovereign God. It was noted that sin shortens the existence of both governments and individuals. Unless we heed God-given warnings, a calamity can come upon us suddenly with devastation.
The need for restoration of a nation, or people, was expounded upon by Apostle Peter, who wrote: God turned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemning them with an overthrown (destruction), making them an example to those that afterward should live ungodly (2 Peter 2:6). Have we learned from the warning or has Sodom and Gomorrah risen again, guilty of homosexuality and immoral living, being pursed with pride, through condemned in God’s Word?
Voices of the Past
Voices of the past have reflected on the need for restoration of a nation, when certain conditions prevail. It was noted that our ancestors established their system of government on morality and religious sentiment. Moral habits, they believed, cannot safely be trusted on any other foundation than religious principle, nor any government be secure which is not supported by moral habits (Daniel Webster).
God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever (Thomas Jefferson). It is impossible to enslave mentally or socially a Bible-reading people. The principles of the Bible are the groundwork of human freedom (Horace Greenly).
The strength of our country is in the strength of its religious convictions. The foundations of our society and our government rest so much on the teachings of the Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in these teachings would cease to be universal in our country (Calvin Coolidge). Our institutions of freedom will not survive unless they are constantly replenished by the faith that gave them birth (John Foster Dulles).
Recipe for Restoration
Scripture gives a recipe for the restoration of a nation: If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14). It was noted that while this promise was originally given regarding the people of Israel it is applicable to all who will call on the Lord in repentance and faith.
Scripture reveals what happened when God’s offer of repentance was rejected: If you turn away, and forsake my statues, and my commandments which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them; then will I pluck you up by the roots out of my land which I have given you; and will cast you out of my sight, and will make it a proverb and a byword among all nations (2 Chronicles 7:19-20).
Jesus, in speaking the church at Laodicea, offered a recipe for salvation or restoration: I stand at the door (door of one’s heart), and knock; if any man hear my voice; and open the door (only you can), I will come into him, and will sup (fellowship) with him, and he with me (Revelation 3:20). It was noted this was addressed that they might receive Christ genuinely as Savor and Lord and enjoy His blessings.
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