To restore ordinarily means to give back to someone from whom something
valuable has been taken away, sometimes unlawfully, as in the case of Zaccheus the
Tax Collector, Luke 19:8.
But God is not Zaccheus. Unlike man, He is not prone to sin. Never. He does not take
away from anyone what belongs to him except as punishment for sin, which is
understandable because His righteousness prevents Him from condoning sin in any
form, John 9:31, Jer. 9:23-24.
As creator He gave man dominion Ps. 8:6, over everything else He made on earth,
Gen. 1:26-28. Moreover, He allowed Adam to name these other creatures including
His wife who he called “Woman”, Gen. 2:23.
What a privilege! What uncommon generosity! What an act of mercy, for someone,
according to David, the great Psalmist, He had made “… a little lower than the
angels”, Ps. 8:5.
However, despite God’s fatherly warning to Adam, Gen. 2:17, he took His love and
care for granted. He gave in to satan’s tricks and lost all that God had invested in
him-his place of comfort and, above all, his dominion, Gen. 3:1-6, 17-19. He became
a refugee from the Garden specially made for him and his wife, Gen. 3:23-24.
Whatever effort man made thereafter, to return to God, was futile. He could not
fully obey the Mosaic Law, which was designed by God himself, Ex. 20:1-17, John
7:19. And even when the Jewish leaders sought to implement it they emphasized
the letter and ignored the spirit of the Law.
A clear example was the Sabbath which was held as sacrosanct even when the work
of mercy called for its breach, John 7:21-24. The woman accused of committing
adultery was dragged before Jesus but not the man who committed the act with
her, John 8:3-11. Under the Mosaic Law both were supposed to have been guilty,
Ex. 20:14, Lev. 20:10.
The sins of man actually multiplied when what was required was repentance. Many
of the priests and prophets sent by God to preach the values of righteousness were
ignored or killed, Matt. 23:30-31.
Although He is a God of judgment He never really gave up on man. He finally tried
to reconcile him to Himself, by sending His only begotten son to redeem man to
Himself, I Cor. 15:45-47. He still desires that His own beloved creation should return
to spiritual Eden. That is restoration. The One who sits on the Mercyseat is still
waiting for the New man. He will elevate him to a position of honour and glory. He
will judge the angels, I Cor. 6:3.
