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 paths to dwell in. (Isaiah 58:12)
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the city shall be built to the Lord from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner. (Jeremiah 31:38)
And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. (Amos 9:14)
Isaiah 31 is quite a chapter, well, Isaiah is quite an impressive book, but chapter 31 is one of its most impressive chapters. Coming across it here is like bumping into an old friend.
The next few verses after 38 go on to describe that the city to be built will be much bigger than Jerusalem though in the same place. This seems to be a prototype of the New Jerusalem, which comes down from heaven, there is even a reference here to the ashes of the dead, as there is in relation to the New Jerusalem.
Also the Amos reference is the New Earth, where the redeemed will be able to live life as it was meant to be, and will not be confined to a city.
So what do we make of this connection between building the old waste places and the New Jerusalem? I don't think they are describing the same thing, I think this building is more spiritual. Jesus is preparing New Jerusalem, (John 14:2) not saints. We however are called to "stand in the breach" (Psalm 106:23) and intercede for others. We are to work with the Holy Spirit to reform the church and proclaim the gospel to the world. If we are going to do this we will need to saturate ourselves in the Word and apply it to our lives. We can't just keep on business as usual, it hasn't worked in the past, why should it work today?
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