Hole in the Wall

Today's passage:  Isaiah 58
     My son loves a show on Nickelodeon called "Hole in the Wall".  It is a children's competition show.  The object is for the team of kids to position themselves in a way that matches the cutouts in a foam wall approaching them.  If they fashion themselves right, they will make it through the hole and win points.  It is harder than it looks and highly entertaining.
     "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."  When I read that last part, I think of titles bestowed by royals.  A person who has particularly gained the attention of the king kneels before him and is dubbed, "The Keeper of the Jewels" or "Master of Horse". Israel had a solid beginning.  Along the way, she had allowed influences into her life that began to tear down her walls.  She forgot who had laid her foundation.  She started building with weak materials.  The walls began to crumble.  With time, walls cracked, holes appeared, foundations shifted.  A solid beginning can only go so far, if a person chooses not to build correctly on it. Just like the kid's game show, the holes can be so big, whole people can get through.  In Israel's case, it had been the wrong people.

Rebuilding the Walls of Jerusalem--Taken from Treasure of the Bible (Captivity and Return)
By Henry Davenport Northrop, D.D.
International Publishing Company, 1894

     I am thankful that I was raised in a solid family.  When I say solid, I mean a mother and father who loved each other and kept our family together through good and bad.  I have a close relationship with all my brothers and sisters, a circumstance I have learned since, that is unusual.  We were raised in church and given good examples at home.  We were taught kindness and respect.  We always had clothes to wear (hand-me-downs count), full tummies, and a place to live.  I had a very good foundation.  It has been a foundation that has helped my kids.  I realize not every one has been as fortunate as I have been. A person or nation who has not had a great beginning does not automatically collapse.  With God's help, he can lay a new foundation.  He can patch walls.  He can repair breaches.  When he does, wrong people will not be able to get through the holes.  Wrong influences will not have an opportunity to bring down the next generation.   He will garner the titles "Repairer of the Breach" and "Restorer of Paths to Dwell in" and most importantly, he will have a beautiful structure that will stand strong and not crumble.