The Messiah Will Come And Bring Worldwide Eternal Peace (Isaiah 11:1-10)
Black Friday was just a few days ago and many of you have been out shopping or shopping online for loved ones. I don’t believe that giving extravagantly is a bad thing at Christmas time. I believe it to be a picture of the extravagant giving that God did for us. But we can forget about the reason for the season this time of year because of all the shopping, sales, and other things that take place.
We are celebrating Advent this year. The word “advent” means “coming”. And this time is a about longing and expectation. Until Christmas we will be thinking about the longing and expectation the people of Israel had toward their coming Messiah. But we will also be looking at our own longing and expectation. Israel was waiting for the coming of the Messiah and we are waiting for His second coming. And in Isaiah 11:1-10, we see all of that placed before us.
Israel would be cut down. The forest of the Kingdom of David would be destroyed. But the family of Jesse would rise from the stump of this decimated family. And through this one would rise from that stump and destroy all those who oppose God’s people, destroy sin and death, and bring about a worldwide eternal peace.
From the stump of Jesse would rise the Messiah who would bring salvation, judge righteously, and bring about Edenic Peace to the entire world.
The Messiah Would Rise From The Decimated Family Of David (Isaiah 11:1-2)
The prophecies of Isaiah 11 should be read in its wider context. This is part of a series of prophecies that begin with Isaiah 7. And in these prophecies, we see the destruction of Israel and rescue of Israel. There are both soon to be fulfilled and end times prophecies in this series of prophecies.
Israel would be destroyed, but she would rise and judgment would eventually fall on those God used to judge her.
“Therefore thus says the Lord GOD of hosts: “O my people, who dwell in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrians when they strike with the rod and lift up their staff against you as the Egyptians did. For in a very little while my fury will come to an end, and my anger will be directed to their destruction. And the LORD of hosts will wield against them a whip, as when he struck Midian at the rock of Oreb. And his staff will be over the sea, and he will lift it as he did in Egypt. And in that day his burden will depart from your shoulder, and his yoke from your neck; and the yoke will be broken because of the fat.”” (Isaiah 10:24-27 ESV)
Many believe that Hezekiah, or a few other folks may have fulfilled this promise. It just doesn’t seem to be the case because the lineage of David had not yet been chopped down. That tree was still standing.
But by Jesus’s day, this family was in rubbles. By Jesus’s day the lineage of David was working in carpentry and living in a town of such ill reputation that Nathanael would say, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46 ESV) The family of David had been chopped down by Jesus’s day, but it rose from the root.
“There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.” (Isaiah 11:1 ESV)
In Jesus we see the prophecy fulfilled. This vivid picture of a chopped down and decimated forest that was once the people of Israel rising form the root of Jesse, David’s father, is fulfilled in Christ.
And here is what we read of this branch that would rise. “The Spirit of the LORD” would “rest upon Him” (Isaiah 11:2aESV) The Spirit of the LORD “rushed upon David” at David’s anointing (1 Samuel 16:13 ESV). And the Spirit of the LORD would also rest upon this branch that would rise from the stump of Jesse. But it becomes obvious fairly quickly that this would happen in a much more special way.
I do not believe, as some people have taught over the years, that this is multiple spirits resting upon one person. Everything that follows is a description of the peculiarly powerful way that the Spirit of the LORD would rest upon this person. This would happen more than anyone else in history. This means that the Spirit of “wisdom and understanding”, “counsel and might”, “knowledge and the fear of the Lord” is a description of the peculiarly powerful way that the Spirit of the Lord rests upon Him. And in Him you have wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, wisdom and understanding, knowing God’s will and doing it and applying it to life. You have counsel and might, wisdom and power, knowledge and fear of the LORD.
We live in a different era than when this was written. We see the longing and expectation of the people of Israel awaiting the coming of the Messiah. They were disobedient, rebellious, and God would bring discipline upon them. But He also promised to them a Savior. And He has come.
The Savior came long ago. God the Son took on human flesh and dwelt among us. He was the Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus lived a perfect life and accomplished all righteousness on behalf of sinners. And He died on the cross and paid the punishment for sin. He rose from the grave three days later and completely accomplished the salvation of all who would believe. And those who respond in repentance and faith are brought into fellowship with God. The Savior has come. The long-awaited Messiah has accomplished the salvation of His people already, but we are still waiting.
We are waiting for the second coming of the Messiah. And in this season of Advent, it is helpful to park here for a moment. Advent is a time of expectation and longing. And we have this expectation and longing for the Messiah’s second coming. We are still awaiting that day when Christ will reign supreme over the whole globe.
The Messiah Will Judge The World In Righteousness And Faithfulness (Isaiah 11:3-6)
The Messiah does not delight in power itself, but in the fear of the Lord. And as I consider what this means, and just how different it is from today, that is incredibly good news.
We live in a day when our political leaders are completely okay with sending an innocent person to jail if that means that their base will get behind them. We have no doubt that our politicians are crooked and incredibly unjust. We have no doubt that many of our politicians have ties to foreign powers because they want power and wealth. We know that many false accusations fly about our leaders, but we are pretty sure that some of them are true.
It will not be that way with the Messiah. His delight will not be in the things of this world, but “in the fear of the Lord” (Isaiah 11:3 ESV). He judges with righteousness and equity.
And this righteous and equitable judgment will not be something that just happens in Israel. His judgment is worldwide, for “He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth” (Isaiah 11:4 ESV). He will go to war with the world and come out on top. He will strike the earth and He will be victorious.
The belt calls to mind an ancient picture. Ancient wrestlers, long before this time, would wrestle a belt away from each other. This form of wrestling is even described way back in the Gilgamesh epic around 2000 BC. The belt took on symbolism in later times for those fighting or going to war. And by this time those going to war would prepare for battle and put on their belts.
Here, the Messiah was going to go to battle against the powers of darkness with righteousness and faithfulness as His belt. Christ has already gone to war once with the powers of darkness and rescued a people for Himself by His sacrificial life, death, and resurrection. When He comes again and His reign is complete, He will judge the world in faithfulness and righteousness.
We live in a time when injustice happens. And oftentimes it is not by accident. Politicians seek power and wealth rather than righteousness. We live in a day when unrighteousness seems to reign over us. So, we long for the day when this will not be the case.
In this time of Advent, we long for and look forward to that day when Christ’s reign will be extended over all. We look forward to that day when wickedness will be no more. Jesus is already on His throne. But there is coming a day when that will be fully realized. When that day comes then our government leader, King Jesus will rule all things with righteousness and faithfulness.
If you are here today and don’t know Jesus then the message for you is clear. There is coming a day when Jesus will judge the world in righteousness. And in that day, if you are still in your sins and in rebellion against the Lord, Jesus will go to war with you. It will be you who my great God and Savior Jesus Christ strikes down in righteous judgment.
“From His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.” (Revelation 19:15 ESV)
Turn from ruling your own life. Turn from your rebellion against God and trust the Savior, Jesus Christ. He has made a way for your to be brought into fellowship with God, trust in Him.
The Messiah Will Bring Edenic Peace (Isaiah 11:6-9)
This section of our text has some extraordinary language to our ears. But it is language that moves us to the beginning of our Bibles. It is a text that when consumed and meditated upon calls to mind the world before the Fall. It takes us to a world with no sin and no shame. It takes us back to a time when there was no sin or death. It takes us back to a time of Edenic peace.
The world was once a completely peaceful place. That changed when Adam and Eve rebelled against God and sin was introduced to the world and all their offspring. And the first animal to die was killed by God to cover the shame of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:21).
Sin changed all of that. When sin came into the world, so did death. Animals killed other animals for food. The offspring of Adam and Eve were ravaged by sin, and one murdered the other one (Genesis 4). And things only get worse from there. That is why the description in Isaiah 11:6-9 is just so shocking to our ears.
But here is what we see in this prophecy. The peace of Eden was one with no bloodshed and the peace of Eden is one that will be ushered in by the Messiah. Look at the description. The wolf dwells with the lamb. The leopard lies down with the goat. The lion is sandwiched by a calf (a favorite meal) and a fattened calf (his absolute favorite meal) and there is no bloodshed. A child leads all these wild animals around because they are just so peaceful that no one fears this arrangement. The bear grazes rather than eats any meat at all and he actually spends time with the cow. And the lion himself eats straw.
My kids play with animal toys and make them talk to each other. But I don’t think they ever came up with a scene as peaceful as the one we see in Isaiah 11:6-9.
And even more amazing is the picture of a nursing child not being harmed by a cobra even though he is playing over the cobra’s den. And then there is a baby putting their hand in the den of an adder and no harm comes to him either.
If that all seems unbelievable consider that this Edenic peace stretches to mankind. There is complete peace in Jerusalem and the entire Earth. And this peace will exist because the knowledge of the LORD will have filled the Earth. Everyone on the Earth, in the same way that water fills up the space where the ocean is, will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord. The message of God’s grace and His mercy will one day fill the globe, and everyone will be in fellowship with God.
Last year was a year of violence and bloodshed here in America. If ever we longed for peace, it has been over the course of the last few years. It sometimes feels like our society is one court case away from being burned down. And one mass shooter away from being destroyed.
My pastor in Green Forest told me about a phone call he received one day. It was a call for pastors to come to the hospital because there had been a shooting at the school. He was a pastor in Jonesboro at the time and he says that he saw thing there that would haunt him forever. He went to go be with these kids and their families. He went to go pray with them and care for them in any way that he could. And the descriptions he gave me are horrific. For its time that was an extraordinary event, but it doesn’t seem as odd today, does it? The violence and bloodshed of our society has only grown.
We have veterans that are part of our church family, and praise God for them. Thank you for your service. And some of you saw horrible things in your time at war.
Things will not always be this way. Jesus Christ will one day bring about Edenic Peace over the whole globe. It will be a peace that is perfect and a peace that knows no end. There will be no more violence. There will be no more bloodshed. And it will be because the knowledge of the Lord has spread to the ends of the Earth.
There is coming a day when the whole Earth will be filled with people who know and love the Lord. And in that day, there will be no more pain. There will be no more tears. And there will be no more violence. There will be only peace.
But right now, we are supposed to be messengers of that peace. We are supposed to be people who declare the goodness of God, the sinfulness of mankind, and the salvation of sinners through the finished work of Christ. Until Christ returns, we are to declare this message to a lost, dying, and violent world. So, until Christ returns boldly go with this message of peace to a world that desperately needs it.
The Messiah Will Be The Savior Of The Nations (Isaiah 11:10)
In the day when the knowledge of the Lord fills the Earth, the Messiah will “stand as a signal for the peoples” (Isaiah 11:10 ESV). That is to say that the nations will come to Him. Like a mighty people standing under a banner or a flag, they will come to Him. They will stand together in Him. And it is no small amount of people that we are talking about here. The text makes it clear that it is the nations that inquire of Him.
On that great and glorious day, all the Earth will seek the Lord. All people of the Earth will follow the Lord. The whole Earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord. And on that day, He will establish a glorious resting place.
We are God’s people. We are His messengers. We are delivering a message of peace to a violent, lost, and dying world. And it is under His banners that the nations will come, and are presently coming. All those who fill the Earth will be those who come to Him. All those who fill the Earth in that day will be those who seek the Lord and follow Him.
If you are a believer here today, then you have a message to deliver. It’s a message you need to deliver to your children, to your neighbors, to your coworkers, and to the world. It’s a message of peace that was accomplished through the finished work of Christ.
If you are not a believer here today then you are confronted with the reality that unless you seek the Lord and come to Him, you will not be one of those people who participates in this glorious peace. And I pray that you will. I pray that you will come to Him who gives that peace.
We long for the coming of that great and glorious day. We long for the day when there will be no more fear, no more tears, no more sin, and no more death. We long for that day to come. But we also know that we are to be bringing more and more people under the banner of our Lord Jesus Christ for we are a people on a mission. And we have been given an incredible opportunity in our little corner of this growing city. Jesus Christ has accomplished peace and we deliver that message to a lost and dying world filled with violence. We’re going to conquer people throughout the world with the gospel of peace before Jesus comes and brings complete peace throughout the whole world through judgment.
Conclusion
We have the testimony of the first coming of the Messiah in the New Testament. So, we know who the stump of Jesse is, and the salvation that He accomplished. Through Him we have peace with God and life everlasting. From the stump of Jesse would rise the Messiah who would bring salvation, judge righteously, and bring about Edenic Peace to the entire world.
This message should fill us with a sense of longing in our day. We are longing for the day when Christ will return and deliver to us glorious peace. So let this time of Advent fill you with longing and expectation of the coming of Christ. Let it fill you with longing for the celebration of the coming of Christ for our salvation and the longing of His second coming and the complete fulfillment of our salvation.
R. Dwain Minor