“And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord, your God, that hath death wondrously with you; and my people shall never be ashamed” – Joel 2: 25-26 (KJV).
Restoration is the act of bringing something back to its original and satisfactory state, to reflect God’s foundational creative value, purpose and plan. It further connotes an idea of a state of chaos, or collapse of system, or loss of value suffered hitherto out of which the Lord recreates, restores to its former condition of goodness.
In Biblical times, the Old Testament prophets looked forward to a day when God would restore His people to their own land in a time of prosperity and bliss (Jer. 27:22). In Christological context, this came to be associated with the Messiah, though Jesus pointed out that it began with John the Baptist (Matt. 17:11).
Jesus did not, however, deny the fact that there would certainly be such a period of restoration of both material and spiritual values (Acts 1:6) and Peter looked forward to it at Jesus’ return ( Acts 3:19ff).
The event that Joel used as his text was a terrible locust plague that was ravaging and devastating the crops of Israel, a situation which culminated into scarcity and famine. This is symbolic of national disaster expressed in catastrophic reality characterised by strange illnesses such as Ebola, natural disasters etc, all leading to death. In another sense, Joel compared it to a massive military invasion against the nation. This is also symbolic of insurgencies in our land today.
In verse 20, the prophet pictured the desolation of Palestine in the day of the Lord. Thus he said: “But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate…” Can we reconcile the above text and prophecy with the present onslaught of Israel against Palestine?
The big picture here, however, is the reality of God’s omnipotence and sovereignty over all circumstances of life. In moments like this, when the whole world seems to be in valley and ditch of crises, and the Nigerian state is at the brink of collapse due to the desolation of moral structures, economic, social and political values by ravaging wolves, we must return to the Lord with all our hearts, with fasting and weeping and mourning. We must rent our heart and not our garments (Vs 12-13).
We must remove our religious lenses and be sensitive to spiritual insights, so that we can see the stark reality of our situation. Satan seems to have blindfolded the priest at the porch, and the sound of the trumpet is no longer heard in Zion. Consequently, the political class daily wallows in corruption and moral depravity.
In the midst of the above situation, Joel’s prophetic words continue to reverberate down through the generations, making the ultimate connection between anything small or large, that disrupts daily routine, and God giving us fresh opportunity to re-orient our lives in faithful obedience.
Joel gives us opportunity for “death bed repentance” before we die, while there is still time and space for a lot of good living to the glory of God.
As a direct response to our repentant spirit, the Lord in His manifold goodness and bliss originally intended for us to restore the people. This is God’s utmost interest. In fact, restoration values are expressed in God’s longings for His people.
God longs to see His people blessed and restored to the glory of creation foundationally invested on them.
God longs to see Nigeria and the whole world at peace with each other.
God longs to see men and women praising Him in the joy and sweet communion of the Holy Spirit.
God longs to see us living happy lives enjoying the prosperity of land equitably.
His plan is that the priest and the Levites in the land will continue to offer sacrifices through quality ministration in righteousness, as a memorial of the sacrifice of Christ.
Jeremiah 33:1-6 collaborates Joel’s prophecy of God’s restoration agenda when he spoke about the external restoration of Davidic throne and the kingdom. Apart from the above eschatology, the reality of this restoration is outlined in the following packages.
(1) Abundant provision of food.
(2) Satisfaction, joy, peace and security.
(3) Health and cure (Jer. 33:6).
(4) Rebuilding of the nation (Nigeria).
(5) Full pardon of sins.
(6) Joyful praise and honour before all nations.
(7) Goodness and mercy (Ps 23:6).
(8) Prosperity for all.
(9) Rolling away the former reproach.
(10) Dwelling in safety, flocks in places and worship of God in the temple or sanctuary, etc.
Dear friends, in strict fulfilment of the prophecy in our text, God is set to break every captivity of your life.
– He will restore every broken and stolen value in your life.
– God has given the month of August 2014 as a platform to restore men and women to a glorious status of “substance and means”.
– He will restore the sick to good health.
– He will restore your financial fortune. Surely, every devastation of your life will give way to demonstration of God’s power upon your head. Whatever the locust, the cankerworm, the caterpillar and the palmerworm have eaten shall be restored to you in hundredfold. Amen.