The Breach and The Paths

The nation of Judah and the city of Jeruselam were conquered and carried into Babylonian captivity in 606 BC because they failed to keep their covenant with God. There were many reasons for the judgment that came upon the people of God, they were involved in all kinds of idolatry and immorality. However, the breach between Israel and God began long before open sin found its way into their lifestyle. II Chronicles 36:21 points back to the foundation of the judgment when it states that the captivity of Judah would last until the land had enjoyed all the Sabbath years that it had missed – seventy years worth of rest for the land.

In order to grasp the significance of that you must understand a little about the Land Sabbath that God instituted in His law. God commanded Israel to let the land rest every seven years. When Israel failed to do that she opened the door to evil, greed, and oppression. The law of the Land Sabbath freed every Israelite from their debts every 7 years and prevented their downward spiral that would lead to destitution. The endless cycle served as a check and balance to keep the rich from taking advantage of the poor. It also enabled those with financial problems to have another chance and eliminated the rich from forming monopolies. It was an ingenious method of governing a nation.

At the end of every 7 Land Sabbaths or every 50 years there was mandated a year of jubilee. In that year ownership of all lands reverted back to their original owners. The price of land was determined in relation to the year of jubilee. Its value was derived from the expected harvest between the time of purchase and the year of jubilee. This promoted a good work ethic and exalted industry. Land was not viewed as mere real estate but was regarded as the source of food, its value was based upon its ability to produce. If Israel had continued in God’s plan then eventually their nation would have known no poverty and every person would have been a productive part of society.

However, they broke God’s law. If you count backwards from the year of captivity, counting 7 years for each of the 70 sabbaths that God declared had to be fulfilled you discover that the breach of God’s law began in the first year of King Saul’s reign. If you will remember the people wanted a king so that they could be like other nations. But, apparently, they wanted a king so they could cast off God’s laws. Saul usurped the land, debts were no longer cancelled and the land was no longer returned to its rightful owners.

Shortly after Saul became king we are introduced to a new problem in Israel, problem they never had before. When David hid in the caves in his effort to escape Saul, just 40 short years after Saul became king, the bible tells us in 1 Samuel 22:2 that the group of 400 men that gathered around him to make him their captain were discontented, distressed and in debt. They were outlaws because of their indebtedness. The whole situation never would have existed under God’s original plan, their debts would have been canceled every 7 years.

The countdown to captivity began when Saul cast off God’s laws creating a breach between God and his chosen people. It culminated 70 Land Sabbaths later when the Babylonians invaded. In the course of that 490 years the Nation of Israel was so transformed and broken down by sin, idolatry, immorality and greed that it was barely recognizable from what it once had been.

The prophecy of Isaiah 58 takes place as the 70 years of judgment is drawing to a close. God is setting the stage for the return of Israel to her beloved promised Land. Ezra is on the scene, anointed by God, returning to Israel with priests and other Jews with a promise to turn back the hands of time and restore the former glory. God has raised up a Nehemiah and he is following in Ezra’s footsteps returning with pilgrims and a desire to rebuild what had been laid to ruin. God has even given him the favor of a Pagan king that will finance his expedition, underwriting the whole thing at his own expense. And Isaiah has found his prophetic voice and begins to prophecy that about the restoration of Israel. There’s a certain feeling in the air, it is evident to all that revival is immanent. God is getting ready to restore what the canker worm has eaten, to return the years that have been stolen from the people of God. Restoration and healing are coming to the people of God.

Isaiah 58 reveals dramatically the keys to this process. He admonishes the people of God to seek the Lord, to cry out to him and not to forsake his commandments. Remember, they got into this situation because they ignored God’s commandments. So Isaiah stresses how important it is to ask the Lord to show them the right way, to delight in approaching the Lord. To seek his face and find his favor. Then he begins to pronounce blessings upon them. They are going to shine. They will grow in strength. The Lord will return to them. He will restore his glory and majesty and he will prosper them in all that they do. In the curse of his prophecy, Isaiah bestows upon them two titles. They shall be called the repairer of the breach and the restorer of the paths. (Isaiah 58:12 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of the paths to dwell in.)

Today, you and I live in a world that has cast off the laws of God and is reaping the results of that. We live in a world that is held captive by sin, immorality, idolatry and greed. Many years ago the laws of God were usurped and today the world is reaping the effect of the breach that exists between man and God. As the church we have a kindred calling to that of Nehemiah and Ezra. God has determined in us to restore his glory and his majesty in this present world. God has chosen us to be light in the darkness, and he desires to crown us with his glory and majesty. I believe that, in the year 2010, we find ourselves in much the same atmosphere as the one that Isaiah prophesied in. There’s a certain feeling in the air, it is evident to all that revival is immanent. God is getting ready to restore what the canker worm has eaten, he’s getting ready to return his glory to the church. He’s getting ready to turn lose a revival the likes of which we have only dreamed. Those people that followed Nehemiah back to Jerusalem were embracing a land they had never known, they were putting their hopes into a dream that they had never experienced for themselves. They lacked the wealth, they lacked the prosperity, they probably lacked even in the skill but they determined to build a city and a tabernacle that would be worthy of the glory of God. And that humble temple that they built would be crowned with a glory like none before it, because it would be the temple that would see God manifest in the flesh walking through its doors.

God’s calling the church of this generation to go to a place we’ve never been. To embrace a dream that we’ve never experienced. We’ve heard about old time revival, we’ve celebrated the stories of brush arbors and moves of God that transformed entire regions and impacted whole cities. I believe that God is calling you and I to commit ourselves to a move of God that will far outshine anything God has done before. Sure, times are different. Sure, the it’s a different generation. Sure we are up against a different mindset and culture. But god is still God and my bible still says that the latter shall be greater than the former. God can, and God will build a church in this last day that will tower far above anything he has ever done before.

In light of that I want to take a short look at the two titles that are characteristic of the people that God will use in this endeavor.

Repair The Breach
First they will be repairers of the breach. A breach is the perfect definition of the condition that exists between humanity and God. It speaks of a rupture, a gap, a broken relationship. We live in a world that is separated from the mercy of god and the grace of God by a breach. It’s a breach that results from breaking God’s law. It’s a breach that results from discarding God’s commandments. And it permeates every aspect of life in this world.

You and I, if we are going to see the revival that God has reserved for us, must embrace the role that he has given us. We are the repairers of the breach. We have been given the ministry of reconciliation. Its our job to stand in the gap between lost people and heaven and bring them together! We are called to make up the hedge.


The Bible is filled with examples of people that fulfilled this calling. The most striking example is Abraham who stood between God and Sodom, pleading not just for the life of his nephew but for the lives of a whole region that steeped in sin and immorality. Abraham cared enough to stand in the gap, even though he knew how thoroughly wicked Sodom was. Moses also stepped in when God was angry, standing in the gap in the most literal sense : offering his own life for that of his nation. What this world needs is more men and women of God who are willing to lay their lives aside in order to see a lost people saved! This is what it means to be a repairer of the breach. Somebody that is willing to set aside your selfish pursuits and pour out your life that someone else might be saved. God is looking for that kind of person in this generation:

So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, 
and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; 
but I found no one. Ezk 22:30

So often we question why revival tarries. Many times the answer lies in us. Before the Glory of the Lord would be renewed in Jerusalem, somebody had to step up and become the repairer of the breach! God is looking for a man that will make up the wall, that will stand in the gap. God is looking for a Lady that bridge the breach that exists between this world and God! Ezekiel portrays a God that is reluctant to judge, but has no choice since he can find no intercessor. I believe it breaks God’s heart every time a soul slips into eternity lost. God will judge, because he is just. But I believe mercy weeps when God looks for a man to make up the hedge and fails to find one before its too late!

We have a calling. We are the repairers of the breach! Its our job to stand in the gap, to make up the wall, to connect people to God! I want to challenge you to renew yourself in the role of repairer of the breach.

Restore the Paths
The second thing that Isaiah calls the generation that will see this great revival is the restorer of paths to dwell in. At first glance it would appear that God wants them to restore paths so folks can live in the paths. But the intention of the original language was not paths that became dwellings but rather paths that led to dwellings. The paths that were to be restored were the paths that would lead them to dwelling in the land. They were the paths by which they would obtain the revival that God had promised. They were old paths, they were neglected paths, they were the once well-traveled roads home. But years of neglect have caused them to fall into disrepair. Isaiah prophesies that the generation that will experience the restoration of God’s glory will be a generation that will restore those old paths.

If we are going to see the revival that God longs to give us, it will be because we restore some old paths. The same roads that led to revival before are still the only way to get there today. They are roads that are paved with sacrifice. They are the old paths of prayer and fasting. They are the old paths of becoming students of the word. They are the old paths of denying the flesh and taking up the cross. As much as the world changes, some things will always remain the same. The roads that lead to revival are still the same today as they always were.

If we are going to see the move of God that He longs to give us, we will have to make a conscious effort to get back to the old paths. We need to restore things like the Word and Worship. We need to restore paths like Righteousness and Anointing. You can’t sidestep them if you hope to see revival. We need to be diligent to restore the paths of Prayer and Fasting. These are the old paths that must be restored. Paths like Godliness and Sacrifice are still the only roads that lead to a move of God.

If we are to fulfill our role as repairers of the breach then we must embrace the role of restorers of the paths.

I truly believe that God has prepared us for such a time as this. Just as he raised up Ezra. Just as he called out Nehemiah. I believe that God has positioned us. If we will repair the breach and restore the paths, God will move.

2 Chronicles 7:14 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.