How does God restore?

I was in discussion about how God restores in the context of broken relationships a few weeks ago. In the end we couldn’t understand this God-restoration. I decided to do some research into restoration in the Bible.

What does the web say about biblical restoration?

I did a quick internet search first to see what came up – hey, maybe someone did the research for me! What I found was the frequent title along the lines of ‘God is abundant in restoration’. The theme of these articles was that God gave double to Job, so he will abound for you as well (Job 42:10). Or they quoted from Joel 2 and the abundance of crops and how God will repay the loss from locusts in abundance. Ok, so we have two verses that talk of God abounding in response to difficulties. What else does the Bible say? What is the context of these verses?

Biblical restoration occurrences

In English, the word ‘restore’ and its other forms (restoration, etc), appear over 100 times in the Old Testament. It appears over 20 times in the New Testament. Hmm… So, two verses are oft quoted but that is less than 2% (two percent!) of the times it appears in the Bible.

Restoration in the Old Testament

Fifty-three (53) occurrences of restore in the Old Testament are about restoring the Israelites to God or restoring the temple or Jerusalem. Another nine speak of restoration as being right with God. The restoration of the Old Testament does not speak of abundance in return for what was lost or taken away. Restoration in the Old Testament speaks of God’s people returning to him and his re-establishment of his people and the blessings that he intends to bestow upon them.

The Old Testament Hebrew is actually several different words that we translate to ‘restore’ in English. The most common, /shub/ means ‘to turn back, return’. In context, we see that it is God who brings his people back (Jer. 33:11), he calls the captives, he saves them through ‘a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line’ (Jer. 33:15).

Restoration is the spiritual alignment that comes when we turn to God, when we call on Jesus as Savior. God brings us back to him first, like in Ezekiel 36:26, he gives us a new heart and new spirit first. Then God speaks of the land and fruit, material items. He does not mention that we will be returned to good relations with others, nor does every verse talk of abundance, but of sufficiency. His priority is our spiritual health, not the material.

Restoration in the New Testament

Of the 22 references to restoration in the New Testament, eight are directly referencing God and faith or our spiritual walk in His strength. Another 3 refer to restoration of his kingdom, and so are also spiritual restoration references. Of the remaining, 9 refer to Jesus’ healing powers to restore sight and a hand or to cast out demons. I see reference to spiritual health in these as well.

The Greek from these references are similar to the Old Testament, but actually go a step farther. The word /apokathistémi/ means ‘to set up again, restore to its original position or condition’. More often (13 occurrences to the 8 above), the word /katartizó/ is translated to ‘restore’ and has an underlying meaning of ‘fit or join together’ or ‘prepare, perfect for its full destination or use, bring into its proper condition (whether for the first time or after a lapse). This is also the word that is used in a medical situation where a join is dislocated and must be re-positioned. Once the joint is set again, it is ready for its original use or purpose. The joint is made complete (or perfect) again.

Interestingly, the second word from Greek is also translated into other words in English, including in Hebrews 3:11: ‘By faith, we understand the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.’ We can consider ‘was formed’ more closely as ‘was prepared or set into its proper condition for the use of humankind’.

The word is also translated as ‘equip’ in Hebrews 13:21, ‘equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.’ We see in this usage that the restoration that is prayed for is the completion of us spiritually to carry out God’s will.

The New Testament takes the idea of the Old Testament restoration a step beyond in that it says the restoration happens so that we can return to usefulness. We return to God and are equipped or perfected for his good will, his glory and ultimately to spread his word and life through the land. We are not only returned to God, but we are also returned to our purpose.

Abundant restoration

So, biblical restoration is not about gaining back the material possessions or even relationships that we have lost. God’s restoration is about gaining Him, getting right with him and once we have found our right place with Him, we work with him into our purpose.

To me, this is abundance. Having God is all I need. Others may disagree. Others may claim the promises of God and say that he has called us to live abundant lives and that includes material. Jesus di not live with abundance, why should we have that expectation? My abundance is the grace of our Lord, the life of the Spirit in me, and the work of God through me.