Worthy Brief - 9/5/2025
Friend, a season of restoration!
Philippians 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
It is no coincidence that two of Israel’s great works of restoration — the rebuilding of the Temple in Haggai’s day and the repairing of the walls in Nehemiah’s day — are both marked in the month of Elul.
In Haggai 1:14–15, the Spirit stirred the leaders and remnant of Judah to begin rebuilding the House of the Lord in the sixth month, Elul (520 BC). Worship, the very heartbeat of Israel’s covenant, was restored in the season when hearts were being prepared for repentance before the High Holy Days.
Generations later, in Nehemiah 6:15, the wall around Jerusalem was completed in just fifty-two days, ending on the twenty-fifth of Elul (445 BC). The people’s protection, dignity, and identity were reestablished — again in the very month when Israel examined itself before God.
Thus, Elul becomes a prophetic reminder: God begins and completes works of restoration in this season. The Temple points us to renewed intimacy with Him, while the Wall speaks of His covering, security, and holiness around His people. Both remind us that as we turn our hearts back to Him in repentance, He establishes both our worship and our defenses.
As Paul writes, "He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil. 1:6). Just as He did for Israel in Elul, so He does for us: beginning and completing His restoration work in the lives of His people.
Take heart in this: the God who moved His people to lay the foundations of the Temple and to raise the walls of Jerusalem in Elul is the same God who is stirring your spirit in this very season. He not only begins His work — He finishes it. He restores worship where it has grown cold, and He builds walls of fire around His people where there has been breach and vulnerability. Elul is your invitation to yield afresh to His hands — to let Him clear the rubble, restore His altar in your heart, and set His watch over your life. What He began in you, He will not abandon. What He stirs in you now, He will surely bring to completion.
Friend, so lift your eyes and strengthen your hands, for the season of restoration is upon you. The same Spirit who rebuilt a temple and raised a wall is breathing upon you today. Yield to His call, and watch Him restore both your worship and your defense — for the King is coming, and His Bride must be ready.
Shabbat Shalom -- have a great weekend! We'll see you on Monday!
Your family in the Lord with much agape love,
George, Baht Rivka, Elianna and Obadiah
George & Baht Rivka (Spartanburg, SC), Obi (Baltimore, Maryland), Elianna (Married living in Missouri)
Editor's Note: This devotional is part of an ongoing Elul series. If you’ve just joined us, or happened to miss some earlier entries, I encourage you to start with the first one from August 25th. Each devotional builds on the last as we journey together through the month of Elul, preparing our hearts for the Fall Feasts — beginning with Yom Teruah (the Feast of Trumpets) and culminating in the Feast of Tabernacles.
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