Like many, I have been spending a lot of my time looking ahead to the new year (2022). Please allow me to be clear…there is NO magic timeframe to how God will suddenly work within a word that is looking ahead. Everything that was spoken of last year, will not suddenly come to an end on December 31st at Midnight, and everything looking ahead will not suddenly move into action on January 1st at Midnight either. These type of words do not begin and end with our Gregorian calendar. When I share these kind of words I am simply stating that this is what I believe God is setting into motion. In other words, God will use our timeframe to set things into activation, but is never limited to a date on our calendar. We could see this activated and go on for a number of years.

With that, I have specifically been asking the Lord what He would be speaking to me concerning the new year. As time passed, nothing came to me in my prayer times. That is until recently when I heard the Lord say, “The New Year will be a year for The Repairers of the Breach”.

“Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will raise up the age-old foundations; and you will be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of the streets in which to dwell.” — Isaiah 58:12

What is Isaiah Specifically Describing…

When Isaiah defines the “ancient ruins”, he is specifically speaking of regions that had been ruined by sin, and not a location that had become desolate because man was no longer present. Isaiah also describes how the age-old foundations will be raised up, referring to the fact that all the promises of God given in past years will now be brought to pass, because of a present move of God. Where the verse gets very interesting is how Isaiah describes those who are called to be The Repairer of the Breach, the restorer of the streets in which to dwell,’ proclaiming the people back to God’s Word. 

We have to remember that the Prophet Isaiah was a very bold and uncompromising man of God. Isaiah wasn’t someone who softened words in order to seek the applause of the people, or the religious leaders of Judah. Isaiah served his life to be one who only sought the favor of the Lord. The ministry of Isaiah was to Judah, which is what we might consider to be the representation of the Church of that day. Contrary to many mentalities today, the message given by Isaiah was not a positive feel good, motivated speech to make people feel comfortable with their sinful nature. When we study the writings of Isaiah we can easily recognize the rebellion that the Lord spoke of through the abandonment of the Word of God. When the Lord spoke of the “head” and the “heart” of Judah it was to represent the intellectual and moral decline of the people of Judah. In another passage, Isaiah speaks of deadly “bruises” and “sores” concerning Israel as a spiritual type-n-shadow, that could not be cured by anything except by the hand of the Lord.

This ultimately leaves us with the ultimate question, what is the breach in the case of Isaiah 58:12? To be specific, Isaiah is referring to the sins of man. Look at Isaiah 30:12-14 —  “Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, “Since you have rejected this word and have put your trust in oppression and guile, and have relied on them, therefore this iniquity will be to you like a breach about to fall, a bulge in a high wall, whose collapse comes suddenly in an instant, whose collapse is like the smashing of a potter’s jar, so ruthlessly shattered that a shard will not be found among its pieces to take fire from a hearth or to scoop water from a cistern.””

Sin is certainly to be understood as a breach.

Repair the Breach?

By definition, a breach is a gap in a wall, barrier, or defense. When studying warfare and/or agriculture defenses, a breach is a place where the enemy breaks through to destroy its intended target. 

King Jehoash, King Josiah, and the rebuilding of the wall in Jerusalem (in Nehemiah) remind us about how and why we are to rebuild what has been breached by an enemy. Today, we must learn to be on guard (spiritually speaking) to what we have been building. Watchmen were needed in the natural, and we must recognize the importance of how they are needed today (spiritually). We have to become a people who are willing to be prepared to repair any weak areas of our personal lives. We can too easily become fools if we don’t think sin will be an ongoing spiritual battle in our lives. We have to be diligent in our growth with the Lord. Along the way we will learn that specific things can be improved or strengthened, for the purpose of preventing the enemy from having opportunity to create a breach in our defense.

The challenge before us is to simply look at Jesus to be our Repairer of the Breach. Is Jesus a repairer of the breach…YES. Through Christ, we have all that we need to endure the spiritual battles of our lives. However, it is YOU and I that are called to be His hands and feet. You and I are meant to be the ones that seal up the holes in the wall. We are to repair His House, through His Grace and Mercy. Look at how Isaiah begins chapter 58…

Isaiah 58:1-8  “Cry loudly, do not hold back; raise your voice like a trumpet, and declare to My people their transgression and to the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways, as a nation that has done righteousness and has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me for just decisions, they delight in the nearness of God. Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice? Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, and drive hard all your workers. Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high. Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it for bowing one’s head like a reed and for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord? Is this not the fast which I choose, to loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free and break every yoke? Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into the house; when you see the naked, to cover him; and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light will break out like the dawn, and your recovery will speedily spring forth; and your righteousness will go before you; the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.”

Reality is this…the “people” are in rebellion, and the House is in sin. Through Isaiah, the LORD is truly speaking about intimacy, or the lack thereof. There is a genuine desire from the people wanting to know why the Lord isn’t any closer than He seems to be. The problem is a heart issue due to their desire to embrace sin, rather than embracing the Word of the Lord. The people may be doing what is required by law, but because they have embraced a sinful nature, their motive is all wrong. Isaiah is detailing how the Lord is sharing how their fasting has been purely for selfish reasons. 

How many times have we called out to the Lord, only to feel like He isn’t listening to our cries. We often find ourselves stumbling through life in the darkness. Many are dealing with depression, oppression, and doom/gloom of everyday life. We become victims of sin, wallowing in self-pity. How do we so easily go off the deep end, not knowing what to do? We have quickly become a people that are unsatisfied, isolated, and fearful of so many things today. We judge our “christian life” by others and often convince ourselves that everyone else “has it together”, but we don’t. 

Is. 58:9-12 — “Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness, and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness and your gloom will become like midday. And the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins;
you will raise up the age-old foundations; and you will be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of the streets in which to dwell.”

Let’s Look at the Beginning…

The first occurrence of a breach would be the sin of humanity through the eating of the forbidden fruit. God’s command not to eat the fruit, created a breach and allowed the enemy access to mankind. The moment that Eve began to covet the fruit she was sinning in her heart and mind, by coveting what was forbidden to her and Adam. We understand that Satan told her a lie, therefore she was ultimately deceived. Truth is, she did not have to believe the lie that was spoken to her, rather she could have believed her Creator. Because she chose to believe the enemy, she made her mind up that God wasn’t worth trusting. Therein lies the source of the problem. Believing Satan’s lies, it automatically makes God to be lying and not worth trusting because it appeared to her that God was withholding knowledge from them. 

It was this moment in time that an enemy recognized how he could manipulate mankind. The origin of the breach in mankind’s relationship to God is when man determines to no longer trust God in His Word. When individuals have a misinformed or wrong concept of God’s character, their willingness to trust Him becomes the breach in which sin takes root in our lives. We take the proper steps of overcoming sin by gaining a Biblical concept, and true appreciation of His wonderful character. It is our responsibility to reveal God’s true character to the world. It could be with words but it needs to be backed up by a like-Christ life as evidence.

But let’s be real…like the days in the garden, modern Christianity has many “followers” who feel the liberty to sin, and a majority of cases they habitually practice evil. Many abuse God’s grace and mercy, having made themselves to believe the lie that God’s grace will overlook their willingness to embrace sin and deliberately go against the Word of God. As a follower of Christ, you must be one of God’s faithful watchmen. One who is willing to lift up your voice, recognizing the enemy to God’s people, and their transgressions and sin. God is calling you to love Him, to obey all the precepts of His Commandments.  

What is Before Us…

Sadly, we often try to cure man’s problems with psychoanalysis, religious routines, and ultimately spiritual foolishness. The Word of God is too easily thrown aside. Believe it or not, but today we have churches where people are encouraged not to bring a Bible to church, because they will be told what they need to believe from the leader in the pulpit. We even have Pentecostal and Charismatic churches that won’t allow anyone to speak in Tongues out loud, or raise their hands in a service because it might offend someone. 

Isaiah 56:10-11, — “His watchmen are blind, all of them know nothing. All of them are mute dogs unable to bark, dreamers lying down, who love to slumber; and the dogs are greedy, they are not satisfied. And they are shepherds who have no understanding; they have all turned to their own way, each one to his unjust gain, to the last one.”

Like the days of Isaiah, people have lost their way because of blind watchmen. We are forfeiting the promises of God because of “mute dogs” that are “unable to bark,” which ultimately means we have an abundance of preachers who no longer preach the truth and warn the people of false doctrine. As there was a breach in Judah, there is a breach in the church today. We have embraced gimmicks, fads, strategies, and worldly philosophies. Honestly the breach is not new. It’s been there for sometime now, slowly evolving until the crack has grown. The church must come back to the Bible and to the Cross.

We are the ones who must repair and restore. It’s our responsibility to pray. It’s our responsibility to seek the Lord. It’s our responsibility to know the Word of God, and proclaim Truth. God is revealing to us today that the breach cannot be repaired unless it is repaired through a willing and obedient heart. It is our job to repair the breach. We must come back to the Bible, come back to the Cross, come back to the Blood and reject every foolish wind of doctrine. You and I must repair the breach and restore the old paths.

1. Call upon the name of the LORD. — He hasn’t forsaken you, truth is that you have left Him. Whether it was the loss of a loved one, sickness, abuse, disappointment, or some other major struggle, you have allowed the breach to occur. Call upon the name of The Lord! Call upon Him in your grief. Worship Him even though you don’t feel like it, especially if you don’t feel like it! Make your flesh do what your spirit knows to do.
2. Remove the yoke from your midst (heart). — You must remove any other yoke we have attached ourselves to. The former is nothing but slavery and bondage; therefore the latter is light and easy. The yoke of Jesus brings protection. His Kingdom has boundaries, but His walls ensure your safety and security. In order to receive the Lord’s protection, you must choose to be His bond-servants. 
3. Stop pointing the finger of blame and speaking wickedly. — The flesh always has an excuse and our favorite scapegoat is “everyone else”. They’re not doing what they should be doing. I was provoked. They hurt me. There is always a reason that we don’t do what we know to do. Truth is, we aren’t responsible for their behavior, no matter how horrible they treat you. Likewise, we also have the tendency to tell anyone and everyone “why” you are the way you are. And of course how it’s all someone else’s fault, never your own. STOP IT! You will never find healing and deliverance you desperately need when you are relentless with your defense. Don’t continue this cycle of chaos and destruction, choose differently.

You are called by God to be a “Repairer of the Breach”. One who is willing to warn the world, and especially the Body of Christ to cease living in sin. To love the Lord more than the desires of our flesh. Repair the breach because HE is Holy, HE is Grace, HE is Mercy, HE is Hope, HE is Love…HE is greater than any breach (sin). You are a Repairer…He that is in You, is greater than he that is in the world!