Isaiah 11:1-12:6
Two weeks ago we tackled some pretty rough chapters, 9&10: judgement on Israel, the terror of Assyria which will wipe them out – then the judgement on Assyria “who do you think you are – you’re just a tool, like an axe. Is the axe greater than the arm that wields it?” – and bam – you who were a great forest will be just a few sticks in an open field.
After seeing the sinfulness of man, whether in Israel or Assyria - After seeing what happens when God’s patience runs out and he moves in terrifying righteous judgement - after all that, we finally get some words of hope.
In the mess and the suffering and the confusion of a broken world, a world filled with war, with refugees fleeing for their lives, sitting in foreign countries longing to go home – into that situation God speaks. Sound familiar?
Is there hope for today? Is there hope when we see millions of people fleeing from their homes because of the sinfulness of man expressed in war? It is not just. It is not right. It is evil. It is sin.
I love this church – all of you that make up this church – I love each and every one of you. You are my family, my brothers and sisters. But it saddens me that the reason that many of you are here is because you are refugees, fleeing for your life. Because war has overtaken your homeland and ruined it.
That was the situation in Israel: the Assyrians would stomp on everyone, removing the Northern Kingdom of Israel entirely. Everyone moved. The land emptied. And most of the Southern Kingdom would be equally destroyed. Towns, villages, empty. Fields and farms deserted, abandoned. People taken into captivity or fleeing into neighbouring lands.
Israel will be nothing more than a stump. The kingdom has had bad kings who have lead them to ruin. The great promise of the King like David, David’s son who would rule well and would bring peace and prosperity – that, like a great tree, had fallen. What was left was just a stump. But God speaks. And there is hope.
1. V1-5 Our hope: Jesus, the divine Davidic King
11:1 Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot— yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. (Some translations say out of the stump of Jesse – Jesse was David’s father).
A new King will arise! The promise God made to David will be fulfilled. Even in the mess, even in the chaos of war and refugees and fear – God’s promises remain. They are a never-changing fixed point that will never fail. And what a King! This King will be filled with God’s own Spirit. He will be a godly king. 2 And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
Isn’t this the type of leader we want? Wise. Understanding. With counsel and knowledge. But not a push-over, a weakling – someone with might (power) – able to do what is right. And he does what is right because he fears the Lord – that is, the Lord is his boss. V3 He will delight in obeying the Lord. He not only obeys the Lord, but he delights in obeying Him. It is His joy to love the Lord, to obey Him, to do His will. What a king!
And because of this His rule brings justice and peace. He will not judge by appearance nor make a decision based on hearsay. 4 He will give justice to the poor and make fair decisions for the exploited.
How much injustice is there in this world! How evil when the State abuses its power! When there is corruption or just laziness and justice is not done. When children are taken from their parents. When you’re forced to fight in the army. When the police arrest you and throw you in prison for being a Christian. When your village is bombed because you are suddenly in “rebel” territory. When you are wrongly accused and are put in prison for something you didn’t do.
But this king is not like that. He sees the truth. He looks beyond appearances. He sees into the hearts of men.
Who can this be? Who sees through the lies and into mens hearts but God alone? v4 continues The earth will shake at the force of his word, and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked. 5 He will wear righteousness like a belt and truth like an undergarment.
A little bell should be ringing in our minds. We just read about a child that would be called God. Is this King the miracle child, the sign promised to Israel? Come back with me to chapter 9.
6 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!
There is a King, a King who will be born, the Prince of Peace who will rule forever, and he will be called Everlasting FATHER, MIGHTY GOD. God Himself will be born a child and will rule forever. That is the sign of the woman back in chapter 7:11 Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).
This is the son, the boy Immanuel “God with us”. The Spirit will rest on Him and He will delight in obeying the Lord. He will bring justice and righteousness.
THIS IS JESUS.
Matthew 1:18 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit….v20 “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Here is Isaiah 7:11 the virgin with child. Here is Isaiah 11:2 the Spirit-filled King.
John the Baptist announced his coming in Mt 3:3 The prophet Isaiah was speaking about John when he said, “He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the LORD’s coming! Clear the road for him!’ ” Who is coming? The Lord – Yahweh – Israel’s God is coming! Mt 3:13–17 Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. ..16 After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”
Jesus was in the line of David, a son of Abraham. He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, to the people shouting Lk 19:38 “Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the LORD (Yahweh)! Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven!”
Jesus said to Pilate Jn 18:36–37 “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.” 37 Pilate said, “So you are a king?” Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”
Have even just a quick read of the gospels and it’s clear that Jesus is the promised King. And because he is our king we have hope. Our future is secure. Because he is the King of the far future of the prophecy, the future yet to come for us. And he is the King of the near future of the prophecy, that for us has already happened and is happening.
Remember that prophecy works on multiple times: now, future, far future. Isaiah could not see which was which. We, because we live in between these two times: the coming of Jesus, and the Return of Jesus – we can see what belongs to what time.
2. V6-9 Jesus: King of the far future
Our future is secure. This King, this promised King, secures a perfect future. This has not happened yet – although we get some foretastes of it. But it lies in the future.
Re 21:1–4 (NLT) Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
Re 22:3–5 (NLT) No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. 4 And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. 5 And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever.
A Day is coming, the Day of Christ’s return, when there will be no accursed thing! Everything that is evil will be dealt with, destroyed, never to rise again. Jesus says Rev 21:5 “Look, I am making everything new!”. There will be a new heavens and a new earth. A new creation. A return to Eden – but better. Instead of two people, Adam and Eve, there will be millions upon millions. Instead of a Garden, a whole City. Instead of God walking in the cool of the day, he will live among us. There will be no tree of the knowledge of good and evil – only the tree of life!
Brothers and sisters, that is what we long for! That is what we were made for! When we see natural beauty – when we look around at this country, this amazing country – it is only an echo, a faint shadow of the glory of the Real Norway, the Norway in the new creation. And when we get just a glimpse of that beauty, our heart aches.
When we see human kindness, when we see people rescuing people, when we see the joy of someone accepting Christ Jesus as Lord and Saviour for the first time. These are echoes of the new Creation.
Brothers, we are made for eternity. We are not made for this fallen world. We are not made for evil. That is why we react to it, fear it. There is something wrong with the world. This is not the way things are supposed to be! And we are right. And Christ will set the world right. The lion will lie down with the lamb. The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra. And the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord. Our future is secure.
But is this all just pie in the sky when you die? Do we just struggle through life waiting for the day Christ finally returns. No, because he is active now. He rules now, and all around us we see evidence of the work of Christ.
3. V10-16 Jesus: King of the near future (or as we would call it: Jesus: King of the now, for we live in Isaiah’s “near future”)
10 In that day the heir to David’s throne will be a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations will rally to him, and the land where he lives will be a glorious place.
In that day? Which day. The First day or the Final day. Well, this is both isn’t it. For on that Final Day the nations will stand before him at the final judgement. Those who know him will go in. Those who do not will be shut out forever.
But we see this in action now. From that First Day, we see his banner raised all over the world. We see the nations gathered to him each Sunday in churches all over the world. Right now, millions of brothers and sisters are gathered in Jesus’ name: in Beirut, in Paris, in Darfur, Iran, Pakistan, India, Eritrea, South Africa, New Zealand, Canada, US, and on and on across the world: some in secret, some openly, but all in His Name. Our King! And this church family we have is a glorious place. It is not a perfect place, not yet! But it is glorious.
Here we are, from all across the world. We have nothing in common. Except Jesus. He is our Lord and Saviour. God is our Father, and we are brothers. Praise God!
11 In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to bring back the remnant of his people— those who remain in Assyria and northern Egypt; in southern Egypt, Ethiopia, and Elam; in Babylonia, Hamath, and all the distant coastlands. 12 He will raise a flag among the nations and assemble the exiles of Israel. He will gather the scattered people of Judah from the ends of the earth.
In that day, the First Day, the day of the cross, was when Jesus completed the true Exodus. Remember the Exodus, when Moses lead the people of Israel out of slavery to Egypt, and into the Promised Land. Throughout the Old Testament there have been signs and prophecies looking forward to a second Exodus, a greater Exodus: and that is what Jesus achieved on the Cross. On the Cross he rescued us from slavery to sin, and will take us safely to the Promised Land, the New Creation. This is the second Exodus, the greater Exodus. And all who put their trust in Jesus are part of it.
And this is where we find ourselves today. Christ’s banner is raised. Our Spirit-filled King calls all men to himself. He has achieved the great Exodus: the rescue of people from slavery to sin. This is the hope of the nations. This is the power that can break war, and hatred, and racism, and fear, and lies and gossip and sexual sin and cruelty and murder and bullying and neglect and laziness and cheating and stealing and… all taken by him on the Cross. Borne by him, our righteous King. And we stand united in Him, the church his glorious family, full of love and hope and righteousness and truth.
Jesus is our King now.
4. 12:1-6 Our response: Joyful obedience!
And as his people we should be like him. What does that look like? Well, not like Israel in Isaiah’s time! Actually, we should be like our Spirit-filled King. Turn with me to Gal 5 to see what that looks like.
Ga 5:22–26 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.
What should our lives look like under King Jesus’ banner?
Well, these are some of the things a Christian will be, just taking a few of the fruits of the Spirit:
Love: putting Christ first, and serving others. I love Jesus so I serve my wife, even if I feel like she “owes” me. I love Jesus so I serve my kids even when they annoy me. That service can mean getting up off the sofa to deal with their disobedience. Love is seen in action! I love Jesus so I share the gospel. I love Jesus so I invite people to my home. I love Jesus so I…
Peace: Not causing fights. Looking to reconcile but in truth. Do you have hatred for someone? How can you be like Jesus and take the step to make right?
Faithful: Committed to the right things. Committed in church. Committed to your wife! And that includes sexually purity. Things like not watching pornography. Not having sex with anyone other than their wife. Having sex often with their wife! (If you are having sex with a not-wife – then repentance means stopping. If you’re not married, get married. If you’re married to someone else, you need to confess your sin.)
Gentle: Not given to outbursts of anger. Not being cruel or harsh with your kids or co-workers or wife or anyone else. Not being cutting with your words, belittling people, hurting them with your words. Even on Facebook. Even with your enemies. Even with groups of people like “the Muslims” or “the refugees” or “the Norwegians” or “NAV” or whatever. Let us speak like Christ.
Now remember this is not something that we have to ACHIEVE and then God will like me. You know, you need 20 “love points” and 15 “faithfulness” points to enter the church. This is a by-product of being a Christian. We are with our King and his Spirit starts to change us.
Because this is what we will have if we are with Jesus, and this is hard to fake: Joy! Yes, we should be bursting with joy. We are saved! Jesus is King! There is hope for the nations! Hallelujah
Praise Jesus that there is hope in this world! That his promises still stand. That he is a safe port when the storms rage about us. I think there is no better way to respond than to say the words of chapter 12 together. I have written them on the screen as well.
Let’s stand and say together: “I will praise you, O LORD! You were angry with me, but not any more. Now you comfort me.
2 See, God has come to save me. I will trust in him and not be afraid. The LORD GOD is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.”
3 With joy you will drink deeply from the fountain of salvation!
4 “Thank the LORD! Praise his name! Tell the nations what he has done. Let them know how mighty he is!
5 Sing to the LORD, for he has done wonderful things. Make known his praise around the world.
6 Let all [his] people…shout his praise with joy! For great is the Holy One of Israel who lives among you.”
Let’s raise our voices with the faithful people of God across the world and throughout history from before Isaiah’s time, with Isaiah in his time, and all the way until today – millions praising God! Let’s sing “see what a morning”. What a mighty, amazing, God we serve. The God who saves us. The God who gives us hope and a secure future. Praise God.
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