Restoration

In that day, declares the LORD, I will assemble the lame and gather those who have been driven away and those whom I have afflicted; and the lame I will make the remnant, and those who were cast off, a strong nation; and the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion from this time forth and forevermore. And you, O tower of the flock, hill of the daughter of Zion, to you shall it come, the former dominion shall come, kingship for the daughter of Jerusalem. Now why do you cry aloud? Is there no king in you? Has your counselor perished, that pain seized you like a woman in labor? Writhe and groan, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor, for now you shall go out from the city and dwell in the open country; you shall go to Babylon. There you shall be rescued; there the LORD will redeem you from the hand of your enemies. Now many nations are assembled against you, saying, “Let her be defiled, and let our eyes gaze upon Zion.” But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD; they do not understand his plan, that he has gathered them as sheaves to the threshing floor. Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion, for I will make your horn iron, and I will make your hoofs bronze; you shall beat in pieces many peoples; and shall devote their gain to the LORD, their wealth to the Lord of the whole earth.
Micah 4:6–13
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Restoration
The Lord who triumphs over enemies and destroys death by his work on the cross gathers together his holy people. But the holy people of God are an odd bunch. They are lame and afflicted. They are cast off and rejected. They are the pre-born. They are those suffering from chronic pain and illness. He gathers those who have been driven away. It is in this Word of God that we see that human life is not measured by quality and skill, but instead by the holiness of each person. We call this the sanctity of life. When the world measures our worth by our works and our contributions to society, God measures our worth by the work of Jesus on the cross. The work of Jesus is that by his shed blood all sin would be taken away and life restored to God’s people. The world still sees this haphazard group of lame and afflicted and laughs. They do not know the plans of the Lord of Hosts. But we know the plans of our God. He has plans to fit us for mansions and for us to live with him forever in heaven and serve him in everlasting innocence, blessedness, and righteousness—just has our Lord has risen from the dead and lives and reigns to all eternity.