Advent Peace

Intro

Isaiah 11:1-10

Advent is the anticipation of the coming Messiah. We read about it in our Christmas naratives, we see it portrayed in our Christmas plays. In a sense, we illustrate it with presents under the tree, whereby children eagerly anticipate the day when they can rip into the paper and discover what is inside!

The Christmas narrative highlights the anticipation Israel felt for the coming Messiah. Year, after year, my messages often connect this anticipation of the Messiah to the anticipation we ought to have for His return. But how much are we aware that even before Christ came the first time, Israel anticipated His righteous return and the final judgment? Advent means a whole lot more than we give it credit for.

Today’s primary passage will be out of Isaiah 11. For those that might not know, or might need a reminder, Isaiah’s ministry went from 740 - 700 B.C. He ministered during the reigns of King Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. This is hundreds of years before Jesus would partially fulfil his prophesies… I say “partially” because not only are there messianic prophesies of Christ’s first coming, but as we shall see, prophesies about His return and the end times.

Anticipate His righteous reign of peace and the establishment of His Kingdom here on earth!

Endowment (Working Title)

Isaiah 11:1–2 NIV

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—

Isaiah predicts the origins of the coming Messiah. And thanks to both Matthew and Luke, we know that Jesus can trace His lineage back to king David and thus fulfills this prophecy about being from the “stump of Jesse.”

Isaiah is preaching to a group of Israelites who are threatened with exile. The larger kingdom of Israel, which broke away from the kindom established under David’s line would be exiled for their apostasy. The smaller kingdom of Judah, which did maintain that Davidic lineage is now threatened. Several commentaries mention King Ahaz here as being completely inadequate to fulfill the prophetic utterance, as is the king of Assyria that threatens national security. In fact, by mentioning the “stump,” it would seem that Isaiah is giving clear indication that David’s line has seemingly already been cut off, but there is something still beneath the surface… there is life in the roots. And much like the crab apple tree that was cut down in my front yard this past spring, shoots still survive and are trying to re-establish the tree. But unlike the crab apple tree, the shoot that comes from the stump of Jesse is a desirable one… one that will bring about some amazing things and bear amazing fruit! If you know anything about Jesus and His impact on history and the church, you know that He continues to bear good fruit… consider reading John 15 to learn more about fruitfulness in abiding in Jesus, the true vine.

One of the key features of this messianic figure is the connection to the Spirit of the Lord. This Spirit led person will have counsel, strength, knowledge and fear of the Lord. This uniquely qualifies Him to be the best kind of king… the better David, and the people of Israel highly respected David and his rule.

Righteous Rule

Isaiah 11:3–5 NIV

and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

This next part describes the kind of reign that He will have. Notice that He delights in the fear of the LORD. Not only does He have a spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD, but He delights in it. The idea of the fear of the LORD is interesting to dig into. On the surface, you might think that fearing God is a bad thing. After all, isn’t He portrayed as a loving and kind Father? But the more you look into the fear of the LORD, the more you notice that this fear is not the kind of fear you might have for the “boogeyman,” for instance. It is reflective of having a right and humble heart before the Lord. He is God afterall… let me say that again. He is the maker of the heavens and the earth! He spoke everything into existence! He designed it all, He maintains it all! He has established His righteous Law in order to make known His perfect will… and let me be clear here… we have all violated that righteous Law and His perfect will. He is the judge at the end who will determine our eternal fate, and if left to our own devices, we will be judged guilty and pay the penalty for ourselves. But the fear is tempered with eternal gratitude for those of us who have Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior! God became one of us and took the punishment that was justly ours on Himself, if we would but believe and receive that gift! The fear of the LORD is a nuanced idea, but it can roughtly be boiled down to having a right and humble attitude before God, acknowledging that He has all the power and authority to do with us as He pleases. Praise God that He was pleased to provide His Son in the way that He did!

Going back to the text, notice that this Messianic figure is to be a judge. But unlike the judges that we might have here on earth, He won’t use his eyes or ears to pass judgment. He won’t be blinded by greed or deception. He won’t be deafened by loud outbursts. Rather, He will judge righteously and with justice. Even the poor will have perfect justice delivered to them. Again, this highlights how He cannot be bribed into giving biased judgments.

Those who might be tempted to sway this righteous judge need to come to understand the fear of the LORD, as previously described. This righteous judge doesn’t need weapons of war, but can “strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,” and “slay the wicked” with “the breath of His lips.” He wears righteousness and faithfulness like we might wear clothing. And yes, if you were to do a deeper dive on the topic of the Armor of God (see Ephesians 6), you would likely come across this very passage!

Kingdom of Peace

Isaiah 11:6–9 NIV

The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the cobra’s den, the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

The results of the rule of this righteous branch of Jesse is a kingdom beyond comprehension… a kingdom where nature itself is re-written to be more peaceful. And at last we come to our Advent theme for the day! Peace is a good thing, but the kind that God provides surpasses all understanding. Philippians 4:7 “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Try to understand how the wolf lives with the lamb, or the leopard lying down with the goat. Think about the relationship a calf might have with a lion and that a small child will lead all of them. Aside from the kind old Disney movies and children’s programs, you wouldn’t ever see this otherwise. Predators by nature want to eat the very animals that this passage is saying they will lie down with.

It goes on to say that the cow feeds with the bear and their young all lie down together. The lion now eats straw like the ox. Babies will play by snake dens and there are no problems when the children put their hands into the viper nests. To be clear, this is not recommended behavior for here and now. Do not attempt any of the previously described things! Isaiah is painting a picture of what ultimate peace will look like when God’s kingdom is established at the end times!

So complete is this rewritten nature that the whole earth is filled with the knowledge of the LORD. Those who would seek to deny Him will be confronted by Him, but remember how He is also judge and will fulfill that role righteously and justly.

Isaiah 11:10–11 NIV

In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean.

As always, I encourage you to read on and to continue discovering what else Isaiah prophesied about regarding this Messianic figure. I’ve included verses 10-11 here because it pulls back from the prophetic utterance to paint a prophetic picture. But my question for you is this: is Isaiah painting a picture of the end times where all nations come to His banner, or is he painting a picture of when the exiles began to start returning from the scattered places they were sent.

Prophesies sometimes have more than one fulfillment and I wonder if this might be an instance where there are multiple fulfillments.

Conclusion

In wrapping things up in our brief stay in Isaiah, I want to turn our attention to Luke 1 a little bit as we bring things to a close. Luke 1:28–33 “And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.””

Isaiah prophesied the kingdom of the Messiah that would come. Here, the angel Gabriel is telling Mary that the child she is to soon bear will be this promised savior from the line of David. Notice that the kingdom is one that will never end. The anticipation Israel felt for their prophesied Messiah was for temporary relief from the rule of oppresive nations that held little to no respect for the one true God. They didn’t disagree with the idea of a kingdom that will never end, but I’m not sure how many of them were hoping for a Prince of Peace who would seek peace with God over peace between nations. To be sure, the peace will come, but that is the Advent for which we now hope… we hope for the return of Christ, where He will come in power and judge the world as the prophecy we looked at suggested. We long for that day when perfect peace will be achieved… peace with God through the forgiveness of sins, and because of that, peace with one another where our desire to be in conflict with one another is done away with… as the natural desire of a predator is rewritten so that predator and prey could live and play together in peace.

Anticipate His reign and when He comes to establish His kingdom here on earth! May you be reminded of the coming peace that will mark this Kingdom, and may the peace of your Christmas celebrations reflect the peace we have with God!