THE BOOK OF ISAIAH
The Rule of Christ on
Earth
ISAIAH 11 SCC 4/21/13
INTRODUCTION
The passage was
clearly laid out as the hope for the people troubled by wicked rulers and
endless wars. Isaiah expected the birth of a child in a matter of years,
and the destruction of Israel in about a dozen years, and the judgment on
Assyria not too long after that. But in chapter nine the fulfillment
comes seven hundred years later when God sent the Son into the world. But
the peaceful reign of this wonder king has not happened yet. And what
chapter eleven promises will come later with the second coming, some 2700 years
and counting after Isaiah declared it. This section gives the positive side of
the deliverance of God’s people that is to come in contrast to the negative
side in chp 10. God would put Assyria down, but the
Messiah would lift Israel up by serving her ideally. The hope introduced at
various points earlier in this major section (chp 7-10) comes to fruition
in chapter 11. Having promised
Him, Isaiah now presented Messiah as ruling.
WHEN CHRIST RULES IT
WILL BE IN THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD
Verse 1 we have an announcement of a ruler from Jesse
The ancient writers
used the imagery of a tree to symbolize a kingdom. This passage uses the image
of "a shoot out of the stock of Jesse" and "a branch out of his
roots"--both building on the comparison with the tree. At the judgment
of God at the exile, God cut down the tree, leaving only a stump--the holy
remnant. But in time there would come forth from the stock a branch that
would become a great king over the restored nation.
The
reference to Jesse is deliberate. Had it said from David, one would have
concluded that he would be born into the royal family as a crown prince and
grow up in the ruling class. But Jesse was never king; born to Jesse
means He will not start out as royalty. He would inherit the kingdom some
day, but not at first. The name “Jesse” focuses our attention on His
humble origins.
Verse
2-3 his reign will be by the Spirit of the Lord
After the initial announcement that
that the Spirit was resting from upon him we have three sets of qualifications
coming from this Spirit as He rules:
1. A
spirit of wisdom and discernment refers to his judicial abilities.
"Wisdom" is practical, ethical, and moral skillfulness, the ability
to act within circumstances so that the results are productive and beneficial to
the community. "Discernment" refers to the ability to
distinguish or decide between things, such as different choices. Then the
Spirit would be said to produce “discerning wisdom.”
2. A
spirit of counsel and strength assures that the king will need no advisors.
He will make the right plans and have the power to carry them out. We
have already seen in chapter nine that he will be a "wonder of a
counselor".
3. A
spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord describes the one who is rightly
related to God. The king will show in his every act that he is accountable
to God--he will only do that which pleases the Father.
According to v 3 he
will not judge by sight, and not reprove by hearing. He will have the
ability to see and judge things as they really are. He would make
decisions on the basis of reality rather than appearances, having the ability
to see through issues.
Verse 4-5 his reign will be righteous
In both verses his rule is characterized as one of ‘righteousness’—conforming
completely to God’s law:
1. It will enable the Messiah to
champion the rights of the poor and the needy. Justice for the
poor was hard to find in the ancient world because the poor could not afford to
bribe their judges, and they possessed little political influence. But Israel’s
coming king would do what was right for the poor and be fair with the afflicted
2. It will enable him to punish or
destroy the wicked. His words of judgment would result in the death
of the wicked rather than giving them preferential treatment for what they
could do for the judge.
3. It will enable the
Messiah to bring justice to the earth and be faithful to His word and to His
mission and to His people v 5.
LESSON: If you are
committed to the Bible then you can never place your hope in world peace until
Jesus reigns on the earth. We can only hope for damage control. That is the
best we can get until then. We will never fix the worlds problems. As long as
we ignore God we will have the presence of evil. We push God out of the
equation at our own peril. When Messiah
reigns, for the first time evil is on the run.
WHEN CHRIST RULES
THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE WILL BE AT PEACE
Verses 6-8 the nature of the world will change
There follows
then a series of examples of life under this king's reign. Peace means a
condition in the world in which all things can follow their divinely intended
purposes or destiny uninterrupted. These three verses illustrate that
condition.
The animals
represent predators and prey, violent and peaceful, cunning and innocent.
But it will take a change in nature for the lion to feed on straw rather than
meat, or for a child to lead animals out to graze and back them back again, or
for a nursing child can play where once only danger lurked. Isaiah clearly
foresees that when the Messiah comes there will be a change of conditions in the
world order--in the curse. Paul also observes that the whole earth
groans, waiting for the day of redemption (Rom. 8). Obviously, such
changes did not occur at Christ's first advent. The second coming will
bring major changes.
Verse 9 there is no more danger or destruction
When
righteousness will truly prevail, the world will be brought into the condition
that God had first intended it to have. With the cessation of evil comes the
cessation of harm that it brings. All that is corrupt and all that ruins
and destroys, will end with the reign of the Messiah. The reason is clear: the
knowledge of the LORD will cover the earth.
Not now—it is hated with an irrational vengeance.
LESSON: It is evident
that the entire world and mankind lives under the brutality of a curse. Every
time we think we advance we take two steps backward. Advances have been made
and in some sectors mankind has improved it’s chances. And yet the world seems
to be falling apart at the seams. Greed, hatred, evil, oppression, and human
carnage still take incredible tolls. When Messiah reigns, and the curse is
reversed, and the universe will flourish as God originally designed and
intended.
WHEN CHRIST RULES
ISRAEL WILL BE HEALED AS A NATION
Verse 11-12 a remnant will return to the land
The standard He lifts up for the nations is the flag of His kingdom;
His will be an earthly kingdom. He will assemble under this banner a remnant of
Jews from both the Northern and the Southern Kingdoms who will be living all
over the earth then.
Verse 13-14 internal strife will cease and
together will defeat all enemies
Instead of fighting among themselves the Israelites will subdue their
common enemies and gain the whole Promised Land. Evidently this conflict will
precede the peace pictured in verses 6-9.
Verse 15-16 God’s judgments will allow Jews to
return from all over the world
His judgments on Egypt and Babylonia will involve the drying up of
major barriers, the Red Sea and the Euphrates River. This judgment will allow the
Jews to return to the Promised Land from those parts of the world unhindered.
They will be able to leave the territory of Assyria, where God had said He
would send them captive, as easily as their forefathers left Egypt and crossed
the Red Sea in the Exodus. Israel will re-gather in the Promised Land from all
over the world trusting in God.
SO WHAT?
1. Christians have been given the same Spirit that governs and controls
their King. And that Holy Spirit can produce wisdom, might, and fear of
the Lord in our lives even today.
2. We who are in His kingdom, which is a kingdom of righteousness, ruled
by righteousness, must promote righteousness wherever we are. It all depends on
how righteous you want to be today!
3. Spirit filled believers will also promote and extend peace in the world, insofar as they can. We must champion righteousness, and righteousness will enjoy peace. We will not usher in the age of righteousness, but we will bring others into the kingdom by emulating the reign of the glorious King.