TOTAL RESTORATION

“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, Thus says the Lord God to the Shepherds who feed themselves, “should not the shepherds feed the flock? You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those that are sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost but with force and cruelty you have ruled them”.

Thus says the Lord, “I am against the shepherds of Israel and I will require my flock at their hand, I will cause them to stop feeding my sheep. They shall feed themselves no more I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down. I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick but I will destroy the fat and the strong and feed them” (Ezekiel 34: 1-5, 10, 15 -16).

The Shepherds of Israel as represented by the kings, rulers, who oppressed the poor, the prophets who prophesied falsely for personal gains and the priests who failed to condemn evil because of what they gained from the nobles.

They are indicted for their failure to care for the nation. Ezekiel 34 uses the metaphor of shepherding to illustrate how Israel’s leaders (shepherds) oppressed the people (flock) within God’s kingdom. The shepherds looked only to their interests by clothing and feeding themselves at the expense of the needs of the flock.

In the midst of this hopelessness, God promised total restoration. Ultimately God will judge between the fat (beneficiaries and participants in oppression) and the lean (the oppressed).

In contrast to the Old Testament Shepherds of Israel, Jesus is the Good Shepherd who layed down His life for the sheep. Jesus the Good Shepherd layed down His life for total restoration of mankind.

Today, especially in African, the rulers, politicians and the few in authority are daily oppressing the common man, through looting of the common treasury, acts of impunity, obnoxious and oppressive laws, detention without trial “peanut salaries” lack of provision of amenities to tax payers, poor conditions of service, police and military brutality. These things are happening under the watch of army of Pastors who, instead of declaring “thus says the Lord” are busy preaching for money and other material gains. God is not unmindful of what those He made in His image are going through in the hands of their fellow men.

Unfortunately, both the oppressor and the oppressed mistake God’s patience for weakness. One thing is sure at the fullness of time, the Righteous Judge will intervene to restore hope to all those who diligently seek and trust in Him.

As in the case of Israel, God will judge between the fat (beneficiaries and participants in the acts that have dehumanized common Africans) and the lean (the emasculated masses).

God is interested in our restoration, not only from the hands of our external oppressors but total restoration from every other thing that does not glorify His name in our lives.

7 AREAS THAT GOD PROMISES TO RESTORE.

1. Your health :In Jeremiah 30:17, the Lord says He will “restore health to you and heal you of your wounds.” The same Jesus that healed thousands in the Bible still has the power to restore your health today.
2. Your life: Ruth 4:15 tells about the way God provided for Naomi’s life to be restored after her husband and sons died: “And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age.”
3. Your joy: David’s cry in Psalm 51:12 is that God will restore the joy of His salvation. God is praised in the psalms as the restorer of joy.
4. The wasted years: ”I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten” (Joel 2:25). God restores the time that we spent living contrary to His truth.
5. Your spiritual walk: Galatians 6:1 describes that if someone is caught in sin, the spiritual community is to restore that person in a spirit of gentleness.
6. Your paths: Both you and your spiritual family will rebuild the breach and fill the places that were once used for rubbish (Isaiah 58:12).
7. Your damaged soul: The Shepherd’s psalm (Ps. 23) elegantly declares that God “restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness.”

Have you done something in your past that you are ashamed of? Have you ever felt that you disappointed God to such an extent that He could never love you again? God is a God of unlimited second chances. He is willing and ready to restore you to your former condition of health.

Just surrender your life to Him in sincerity, for He says “call upon me in the day of trouble, I will deliver you and you shall glorify my name” (Psalm 50: 15).