You will be called repairers of the breach. That’s what Isaiah told Israel, if they would follow in the ways of justice and mercy, then they would be called repairers of the breach. Now, when I hear repairer of the breach, my mind goes to sci-fi and fantasy where the castle wall is breached or the hull of the ship is breached, and the enemy comes pouring in. They gotta work at getting rid of the enemy then, and they also gotta repair the breach so more of the enemy don’t keep coming in.
For Israel, that the enemy coming in was largely their own behavior. “You oppress your workers,” Isaiah said, “you fight and strike with a wicked fist.” Israel was bringing all of this hurt, anger, fear, and shame onto itself because of how the people were treating one another. What was the remedy, Isaiah said? “Loose the bonds of injustice, let the oppressed go free, share your bread with the hungry, bring the homeless poor into your house, when you see the naked, cover them, and do not hide yourself from your own kin.”
Kindness, mercy, compassion, love. That is how Israel was to be repairers of the breach, and kindness, mercy, compassion, and love is how we get to be repairers of the breach.
