“Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me your law graciously.  I have chosen the way of truth: your judgments have I laid before me. I have stuck to your testimonies: O Lord, put me not to shame. I will run the way of your commandments, when you shall enlarge my heart. Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes; and I shall keep it to the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep your law; yes, I shall observe it with my whole heart.” Psalm 119:29-34.

The spiritual restoration of which the work carried forward in Nehemiah’s day was a symbol, is outlined in the words of Isaiah: “They shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities.” “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 61:4; 58:12.

The prophet here describes a people who, in a time of general departure from truth and righteousness, are seeking to restore the principles that are the foundation of the kingdom of God. They are repairers of a breach that has been made in God’s law: the wall that He has placed around His chosen ones for their protection, and obedience to whose precepts of justice, truth, and purity is to be their perpetual safeguard.

In words of unmistakable meaning the prophet points out the specific work of this remnant people who build the wall. “If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” Isaiah 58:13, 14. –Prophets and Kings, p. 677, 678.

Questions to think about:

 What is our special mission in these last days?

Am I among the servants who shall build the old wastes, who shall raise up the former desolations, and shall repair the waste cities?

Are we among those who repair the breach, the restorers of paths to dwell in?