In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof, and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old. Amos 9:11
Many years ago, a rundown old house stood beside newer and more modern-looking houses on Sunset Drive in Fredericton. The old house had not seen paint for many years, and its shingles, clapboards, and verandah were in bad shape, as were the windows and doors. As the neighbourhood grew and improved all around it, that old house stood out as an eyesore. The owners were getting old, and simply didn’t care what the place looked like, although people who had seen the house in decades past said it had been a fine-looking place in its day. Then one day, the owners sold out and moved away, and we all expected the new owners to tear down the old house and build a new one. Instead, the renovators arrived and went to work. The exterior of the house underwent a total overhaul, with new shingles, siding, trim, doors, and windows, and a handsome new verandah. The shocking change had the old house looking as good as it ever had, to the delight of the neighbours. It was like the promise that God gave to Israel of a return to the worship that the nation had abandoned.
Some of the older Christians who have been in our Assemblies since their youth will often speak of a wish to return to the way things were back then. In many ways, they are right. Certainly, our lives are much more comfortable now, with better roads and cars, nicer homes, better clothes, better health care, and many other things that come with a modern lifestyle in the western world. And we are thankful. But the old folks remember a time when spiritual conditions were so much better. They remember when morality in society was not as open and pervasive as it is now, a day when the sins of marriageless unions and homosexuality were not even mentioned. They remember when even outside the Assemblies, reverence for the Word of God and for everything that pertains to God was normal and accepted, and when the reverence for God among His people was deep and precious. They remember a time when the reverential language of the King James Version was a sharp dividing line between the profane and the holy, and the old English pronouns added the hush of reverence to prayers. All of these things they remember and would love to see return. But will they?
Our text speaks of a day when the things of the days of old will be restored. Sadly, it is not speaking of tomorrow, or of next month, or even of next year. Our society has passed the point of no return in these matters, and I believe we will see a continued deterioration in spiritual knowledge and appreciation. The Bible games we played as young people are forgotten because young people today don’t know their Bibles well enough to play them. The reverence of the old language is now missing and will likely never return because so many have opted for the modern-language Bibles translated from corrupted texts. We must await a coming day in the Glory for the return of the things of the days of old. -Jim MacIntosh