Dear church,
we are all looking for a perfect world – a world where peace reigns, where we can truly never be anxious for the future, or afraid of crime, where we may life in safety and security. No worries for the rest of our lives. A problem free philosophy. This is why some people immigrate. They are looking for a better country.
And to have a perfect world you need perfect leaders. this is why some people are so passionate about politics, because they know for South Africa to succeed the leaders must be righteous, wise, and good. But also very powerful – able to do what is righteous wise and good.
But we all know the problem. Sin. Sin infects every human heart and affects every level of human society. Thanks be to God for Isaiah 11. It is not us that sought this country, and builds this country, it is God that comes to us in our poverty, and establishes this kingdom.
The Kingdom of God is Here
- The King
- Identity
- Wisdom
- Justice
- The Kingdom
- Peace
- Growth
The Reign of King
His identity
Remember this is a whole section from Isaiah 7-12 with Isaiah 6 functioning as a hinge between the two. And Isaiah 6 ended with the words of hope, “The Holy Seed is its stump.” And the first words of chapter 11 is “There shall come forth a short from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from its roots shall bear fruit.” The holy seed is bearing fruit! Here we find out who he will be – the son of Jesse! Jesse who was the father of King David!
But more that, look down at verse 11, which bookends the description of the king and kingdom, “That day the root of Jesse…” Verse one says he is the shoot of Jesse, and verse 10 says he is the root! He is both the son of Jesse, and He existed before Jesse! How is that possible?! He is both Davids Lord and Davids son! He is both man – entering space and time, and God who was before all things! He is the promised one that is the reason for the line of Jesse. This is none other then Jesus Christ. This is the great and exalted one – high and lifted – who was spoken of in Isaiah 6! This is God himself – becoming the Son of David!
Amidst all the wars and destruction of that time when empires were tearing through the nation of Judah and Israel. And all that was left was a stump. Imagine cutting down a magnificent tree, and all that is left is the stump. Who would imagine that the stump would ever resemble the tree that was cut? Villages are burning, and your family taken captive, the land taken away! And God reminds his people it is not over! Here is the word of the Lord – there is a king coming who is unlike any king before or after.
His wisdom
The sevenfold elaboration of the Spirit and his work gives theinication that this person will receive the fulness of the Spirit “And the Spirit of the LORD will rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of Might, the Spirit of the knowledge and the fear of the LORD.” They had been ruled by kings who were weak, prideful, disobedient, rebellious. Even the strongest of them fell and made unwise decisions. But not this king. He would have perfect wisdom and understanding and the power to carry out his perfect plan.
Counsel and might refer to military strategy and might. But this wisdom, counsel and mightwould not be like the wisdom of the world, but it would look like foolishness to the world. The world’s wisdom says that if you want to build a world changing movement you need to get the smartest people together, then put your vision and end goal on the board. After that you need to start planning. If your vision and end goal was to have your teaching being central to half the world’s civilizations, to have 2.5 billion people say that they believe in you, and to change the direction of world history. What would you do to reach those goals.
You would not be born in manager with the smell of urine and dung hanging around, in poverty. You would not stay out of all economic, social, political, or academic centers of power. You would not start ministry at 30 and then die three years later on a cross. The foolishness of man is the wisdom of God, and the wisdom of man is the foolishness of God.
Here was a man of wisdom and understanding. He knew how to live perfectly in this world, and rule – making the exact right decisions. His rule is perfect. This is so different then the political leaders of our time – even then wisest make foolish decisions. Even the wisest and those that want the best for their people, make decisions that are not in their country’s best interest. Not this King. This is your king.
The wisdom of man says trust in man's way of doing things, trust in your chariots and horses. Trust your cash, lean on your own understanding. Make sure people like you. But here is man who lived not for people or lived out of fear of people but for God. For the beginning of wisdom is not the fear of man, but the fear of the LORD. V. 3, “And his delight shall be the Fear of the LORD.” That is amazing – someone who delights in the fear of the LORD. Fear and delight don’t go together in our vocabulary. We don’t delight – we dread that which we fear. But he all his capacity for delight is om the LORD and obedience and fear of him and no one else .
His Justice
And because his wisdom is perfect, his power is almighty, he is able to set things right. “He shall not judge by what his eyes see or decide by what he ears hear.” This reminds us of how David was chosen. He was not chosen based on what man sees, but the heart. Most of the bad mistakes we have made in our life have come about simply because we judge by what we see and hear, and we do not get to the heart of the matter. But he sees to the heart. “With righteousness he shall judge the poor and decide with equity for the meek of the earth.” When we hear the word “judge” we think punish – but it means basically to set right! The poor are the first to suffer, the first to be abused when injustice is done. They will work for lower wages, because they have no choice so one can easily take advantage of them. But not this king! The first to be crushed, are the first to be lifted. He will lift up the poor, and humble, and crush the self-sufficient and prideful. You see the upside-down values from the world!?
But all rich and poor will be judged with equity.
This is what the king himself says in the New Testament, ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit for there is the kingdom of heaven.” Or later, “Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth!”
But what will he do with the oppressor! The same thing he did with Egypt! But this time with the ultimate oppressor. “he will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.” The king needs no display of power, and no weapon to enforce his word besides his Word. The breath of his mouth, indicates the power of God to effect change, and impose his will! The wicked here is singular. The great oppressor of God people will be removed! This is the removal of the enemies of man once and for all. Ultimately Satan – as we read in 2 Thessalonians 2:8: And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
So we see the identity of the king, the wisdom of the king, and the justice of the king, lets now look at the kingdom.
The kingdom
Peace
And because of his rule there will be peace. Flourishing. Joy. And the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.
He will undo the effects of sin. When sin entered instead of the world being filled with the glory of God, it was filled with violence, sin, and death (Gen 6:5-6, 11-12). But now through the Sovereign King, God promises through a human being to restore the rightful rule of a human over creation by defeating the dark Lord and sin and death, reestablishing a world where peace and justice would reign, where the lion would lie down with the lamb, where a little child would lead them, and every serpent would shed its harmful nature (Gen 3:15).
Verse 6-9 recall the pristine beginnings of creation and the imagery of the garden of Eden. Here under the rule of this perfect king, is perfect peace, and joy. Here is God’s final intent for human beings. A new and new earth. Real. Tangible. Touchable. Enjoyable. Taste. Touch, see, and hear. In verse 6 there is reconciliation between old hostilities. In verse 7 there is the chance of nature within creatures. Cow and bear eat the same food, as do the lion and the ox, and third the curse is removed. It not only echoes but even surpasses Eden. This is about the restoration of all things to God through the king!
But it was not till the first Christmas that this began to happen. He did not just preach the gospel, he fed the hungry, healed the sick, and raised the dead. The arrival of our lord, the shoot and root of David was the arrival of the kingdom on earth. With Jesus the kingdom of God has come! We now begin to life as part of that kingdom.
And he has come to establish. True peace! Lasting peace. Creational peace. This is not just about humans being forgiven, this is about the universe being restored, and delivered from slavery to bondage. It is no wonder that Paul’s says in Romans 8:18-19, “I consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the revelation of the sons of God.” This is what Isaiah is trying to picture for the people of his time. Suffering is coming – but they are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed!
O to be part of this kingdom of the son of David who grants a peace beyond Eden, beyond Solomons. A lasting, total peace. Who normally eats lamb? Wolves! Not here! Who normally eats goats? Leopards! Not here! Who normally eats calves? Lions! Not here!
And who is to rule and guide and practice stewardship over all of it. A little child. Not a strong macho man. Not a king or a prince but a child. This echoes what Isaiah 9 said, for to us a son is born to us a child is given, and the government will be upon his shoulders.
For the least will be called the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. A picture of peace. Of rest. Those that are in most danger here, those that are most abused here are protected, and guarded, and are playing with the adder. No longer will the snake bite, and destroy, and hurt the seed of the woman – but the seed of the woman will never have the least fear. For a “They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain.” And why not? Because we will finally all KNOW the LORD! “For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” There is a certinity that this will happen! Everywhere god will be present in holiness, and in every place knowledge of him will be enjoyed to its fullest extent. O dear church this is a call for mission! This is a call to share the gospel of the king and kingdom! Which brings us to our last point.
The citizens
So how to people enter this kingdom – they enter in and through the king! “In that day the root of Jese who shall stand as a signal for the peoples of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious!” In Isaiah 5:26 the banner was used to call the nations to judgment against Israel. Now the banner calls the nations to the blessings of the Messiah. The Banner is a sign for judgement and blessings! Judgement upon those who will not hear the call, and blessing on all those who hear the call! Jesus is the banner – the signal for the peoples. Come to ME he says to find rest!
And what specifically is the banner! It is the cross! John 12:32-34 says, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.” Dear church, you know what the crowds answer to that was? So, the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted? Who is this Son of Man?” He was lifted and it was no longer just jews, but the nations! The gentiles shall inquire of him! It was the cross of Christ that was preached, his death and resurrection and the means through which he as defeated all things, and is reconciling all things to himself!
And how does he do that? He assembles his people from the four corners of the earth. God would not give up on his people, he would make his people new, and fill them with his own Spirit. Does not chapter 11:11-12 remind you of Acts 2:5-6; 9-11 “Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language….. 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”
No longer is there the judgment of dispersing, but the blessing of gathering! Even Israel who was exiled to Assyria was there at Pentecost! A way had been opened! And the mortal enemies of God will finally bend the knee as a new exodus, the last and greatest exodus takes place, as Jesus himself steps into the river of judgement so that we might go through on dry land!
As the Spirit of God descended on the anointed one, so he descends on us. It is amazing that the words of the beginning of this chapter where we read of the Spirit of wisdom and understanding resting on Jesus – are the same words Pual prays over the church, that has gone through the exodus from sin and Satan, and come into the kingdom of God. Again this wisdom is foolishness in the eyes of the world. When man tells the church to get with the times and stop believing all those silly miracles, and preach those things everyone agrees with. What happens. I think the evidence in those churches speak for themselves. But gospel of Christ – the foolishness of man – continues to spread like wildfire across the continent of Africa, asia, the middle east.
Notice how Paul’s prayer in Colossians echoes what is going on here.
Paul prays, “that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Again in Ephesians 1,” that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,”
It is the LORD who stepped into the battle, who has conquered the enemy for his people. It is the LORD who utterly destroyed the “Tongue of the sea of Egypt (v.15).” It is the Lord’s breath who has dries the sea, so that they could lead us through into this promised land. It is the LORD guiding you and I home. IT IS THE LORD – the one who is faithful to his covenant promises! And he has poured out the Spirit of the covenant – the Spirit of the anointed one - upon you so that you share in the anointing!
The Spirit of wisdom, understanding, might, and the fear of the LORD has been given to you! Are you walking like his children? Is this your experience! Then there will be an abundance of peace, a deep joy as we see experience this truth and long for this truth to be fulfilled. In a world that does not look much different, we live in a reality that is very different. For the king reigns! And the cross is the signal for all people.
For you! Come to him! Be conquered by this king and let his Spirit transform you. Bend the rebellious knees and lay down your arms today. And life for him in the power of the Spirit. Walking as children of the light! Walking as people set free from bondage.
Amen.