 |  |
"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 it
shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh . . . . ."
Is it any wonder the apostles asked, "Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore the kingdom
to Israel?"
Amos, with all his denunciations, does not finish without the promise of restoration:--
"And I will bring again the captivity of My people of Israel . . . . . and I will plant
them upon their land' (Amos 9: 14, 15).
Micah 2: 12 reads: "I will surely gather the remnant of Israel", and although one
more strong denunciation is made against Israel's sin, yet Micah concludes with the
pardoning love of God, and says:--
"He will turn again . . . . . Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy
to Abraham, which Thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old"
(Micah 7: 19, 20).
Zephaniah says:--
"I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back
your captivity before your eyes, saith the Lord" (Zeph. 3: 20).
Haggai must be read through to catch the spirit of the closing verses.
Zechariah simply burns with the spirit of restoration; so complete will be the
redemption of the people, so holy will that kingdom be, that he can say:--
"In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE
LORD . . . . . yea, every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of
Hosts" (Zech. 14: 20, 21).
Malachi concludes with the promise of the sending of Elijah before the coming of the
great and dreadful day of the Lord. Speaking of John the Baptist, the Lord said to His
disciples, "If ye will receive (it) this is Elijah which was for to come" (Matt. 11: 14).
Do we still wonder that the apostles, remembering with divinely opened
understanding all the Lord's teaching, and all the teaching of the O.T., should say, "Lord,
wilt Thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?"
It is impossible here to pursue the theme. He who would know something of the full
import and bearing of the matter must search of the whole of the Prophets and Psalms,
together with much of the Law. So far as our present study is concerned we must be
satisfied to awaken the already interested reader to further enquiry. Those who already
know the subject will agree as to the fullness of the Scriptures on the theme.