Be Restored

 

    When you think about being restored what comes to mind?  For me it is recovery to full health, full beauty, full energy, full life.  It is finding a place of relaxation and peace.  In other words restoration is getting back to where you want or need to be.

    Through the power of God Elisha had the power to restore the Shunamite boy.  Afterwards he sent the family to visit family that were not being affected by the seven year famine.  Seven is a holy number of completion.  I think God used that time to cleanse the land, so it could be restored.  

    When they returned she had to go to the king to beg to get her land and home back.  That is when she ran into Gehazi, Elisha's shrewd servant.  He was giving the king a report about all the good his master had done.  It worked out well because she got her home and income restored to her.

    King Ben-Hadad of Aram became ill.  He send his  servant Hazael to consult if his health would be restored.  The servant brought nice gifts to try to entice Elisha to help his master.  Elisha informed the servant that the king would recover.  He stared intently upon Hazael until the servant was uncomfortable.  Them Elisha wept because he saw the evil in Hazael's heart.  God showed Elisha all the evil Hazael would do when he became king.  The next day Hazael suffocated the king and Elisha vision came true.  

    King Jehoram of Judah was 32 years old when he began his 8 year reign.  He was an evil king according to God's standards, but he was a descendant of David.  That means that God kept his covenant to David and would not destroy his bloodline.  However, God did allow Edom to rebel and be a nuisance to the king.  

    King Ahaziah of Judah became king at 22 and only ruled Jerusalem for a year because he was so evil.  He was like his father.  He was wounded in battle.  The wound became infected and probably turned septic.  It was a simple wound that claimed his life.   God restores His land and peace, but sometimes it takes discomfort to get there.

2 Kings 8