Sermon series: The Isaiah Oracles
Introduction
The year was 1928, and the times were hard. The months before the stock market crash that sent our nation into what we know as "The Great Depression" were so uncertain that everybody was looking for a messiah. And in 1928 Louisiana, the messiah showed up . . . at least that's what the grassroots voters believed.
Huey P. Long was elected governor of Louisiana in 1928. He had won the hearts of the people of the state by speaking their language, using means no one had tried before. Long was one of the first politicians to use the radio and sound trucks that would ride through the streets heralding Long as the hope of Louisiana.
What is more, Huey Long drove over 15,000 miles across the state during his campaign, mostly down unpaved back roads. The working class had never seen a political candidate face-to-face. And Huey P. Long wanted to make sure they wouldn't forget him.
So he brought along his own band to warm up the crowd. And then he would take the platform like a man possessed, wearing his signature white linen suit. His campaign banner was "Every Man a King", and the slogan he used sounds oddly similar to our president's campaign promise: "Share the wealth." Huey P. Long cast himself as the benevolent head of state, guaranteeing that there was plenty to go around if the corrupt politicians, the big business interests, the newspapers, and his opponents would just let go of some it and share.
What strikes me as I read stories and see movies about this man is the almost messianic following he seemed to generate. His flamboyance and straight-talking manner made his promises feel possible. Voters were captured by his rhetoric and political savvy. And when the voting was finished, the people gave Huey Long the governor's chair by so large a margin it has never been matched in Louisiana history. Later, when he ran for the U.S. Senate, he was again overwhelmingly elected.
Nicknamed "the Kingfish," Long was fiercely hated by his opponents, and just as fiercely loved by the common people. He had his eye on the White House when he was assassinated at age 42. And even then he had such a following that prior to the funeral, his body lay in state in the building he built: the State Capitol in Baton Rouge. Over 150,000 people passed through the rotunda of that building to pay their last respects. His legacy continues to hold sway in the political philosophies of Louisiana politics. And to this day, every time the LSU football team takes the field and the band plays "Touchdown for Louisiana," they're playing the fight song that Huey P. Long wrote.
The people were looking for a deliverer and thought they found him. To his credit, Huey P. Long accomplished much during his short political career. But like so many before and after him, he proved in many ways to be only human.
The Messiah in Isaiah's day and ours
Like the people in Louisiana in the 1920s, the nation of Judah in Isaiah's time was looking for a Messiah. They were faced with desperate circumstances the likes of which no one in the room has ever faced. Their king had rejected God's clear instruction and firm promises, forming political and military alliances with the Assyrians, only to see them backfire in the worst possible way. Now, it was either going to be death or deportation. It was only a matter of time.
In such grave times, the human heart reaches out for something that transcends the limits of the moment - an escape, a deliverance, a way out. Our longings often turn to cries of the heart: "Is there Anybody out there who cares? Will Someone come to the rescue, turn the tables, take up our cause?" That was the mood on the street in 700 BC Judah, in 1928 America, and in increasing measure, in our time as well.
Isaiah's prophetic message gives us the final answer to those longings. God will send a Messianic King, Isaiah declared with the authority of the Holy Spirit. He is Immanuel - God with us! Though His face is human, His true nature is as a Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of peace. His mission is to heal the scars and wounds of the brokenhearted, to release those in prisons of their own making, and to restore what has been lost in the wasting years without Him. All this we now know was fulfilled by Christ Jesus!
But in Isaiah 11, the prophet takes us further. He pushes forward in time, faster and faster. The passing years compress as the centuries fly by. He takes us well past the earthly life, death, and resurrection of our Savior, by which those who believe are saved. We speed beyond the year 2009 and do not slow until we come to a day yet future when this same Messiah who came 2000 years ago will reign over the entire earth. In Isaiah 11, the prophet holds up snapshots of what it will be when His will is done on earth as it is in heaven.
Why does the Holy Spirit, who gave Isaiah these visions of the future, want you and me to see this? Because we need to understand what kind of king we find in the manger of Bethlehem. In this Christmas week, whether you will come and worship with the shepherds and Magi, or shrug your shoulders like it's no big deal like Herod and his religious advisers, you need to know what you can expect from this infant King named Jesus.
I. He understands what you're going through
Isaiah's opening sentence tells us His earthly roots. Then a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. A stump is all that is left of a tree that has been cut down. Israel is just a clear-cut field of burned out stumps on the landscape of world history, Isaiah writes. But God will be faithful to His promises in regard to His people.
A small, green shoot will spring forth from one of the dead stumps, from the family tree of Jesse. Recall that Jesse was the father of Israel's greatest king, David. Though this royal lineage holds incredible importance to the people of Judah, Isaiah does not mention David's name here. Instead, he refers to humble Jesse, which emphasizes three things.
A. God loves to magnify His grace in mysterious ways
The Apostle Paul noted that God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world - what is viewed as nothing - to bring to nothing what is viewed as something, so that no one can boast in His presence. (1 Cor.1:27-29) We tend to value beauty and strength, influence and wealth. But God brings His Deliverer to this world in the most unpretentious, unpredictable ways.
B. The Messiah will not be born into privilege
Jesse was never a king. Being born in the line of Jesse means the Messiah will not be born into the royal family as a crowned prince and grow up in the ruling class. He will not start out as royalty; He will inherit His kingdom.
C. The Messiah will be another David
He won't just be the offspring of David. He will be more than an equal to King David. As we're about to see, this baby born in Bethlehem will rise to do what no one has ever done.
II. The Messiah will have God's Spirit in unlimited measure
He knows what you need and how best to meet your needs.
Verse 2: The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him - a Spirit of wisdom and understanding, a Spirit of counsel and strength, a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. We have never known a president like this. The people in Isaiah's day hadn't either. This tender shoot from Jesse's family tree will have the breath of God upon Him. He will not attempt to accomplish His goals by human means, but will be controlled by the Spirit of God.
Therefore, He will exercise His judicial duties with wisdom and understanding. Unlike every world leader in human history, this Messiah will not require a cabinet of advisors or any of the other political machinery seated leaders need to accomplish their plans, for upon Him rests the Spirit of counsel and strength. He knows what needs to be done and has the power to accomplish His plans.
Isaiah adds that everything this Messiah will do will flow from a unique connection with God, for He has the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. In fact, the opening phrase of v. 3 tells us that His delight will be in the fear of the Lord. It will be the defining drive of His life and work.
This combination of attributes springs from a man in whom the Holy Spirit finds no impedance of sin, and is therefore able to empower Him to do all of the will of God. This level of spiritual innocence and unhindered dependence upon the Spirit of God can only be explained by what we call the Incarnation, when God was born a man in the person of Jesus Christ.
III. His reign will bring people face-to-face with the King
Verses 3-5: He will not judge by what He sees with His eyes, He will not execute justice by what He hears with His ears, but He will judge the poor righteously and execute justice for the oppressed of the land. He will strike the land with discipline from His mouth, and He will kill the wicked with a command from His lips. Righteousness will be a belt around His loins; faithfulness will be a belt around His waist.
The hallmark of the reign of God's Messiah is captured in three primary words in this passage: righteousness, equity, and faithfulness. Each of those words is about conforming to a standard, about aligning to a criterion. And it's plain from this passage that the benchmark by which God's final King will rule is not derived from the people over whom He will reign. He is not elected to this office by a vote; there will be no vote. He reigns by the authority of God and rules by the standards of the will of God.
And notice that He means to exercise His rule down to the lowest level. The tone of these verses tells us that He is not legislating for the masses, but in each of our lives. He will render His rule on an individual basis!
So He will judge you according to reality rather than perception. He will not be swayed by emotion or fooled by ignorance of the truth. He will see you for who you really are. No one will be overlooked. He will deal with you with precise justice, evaluating your life in accordance with the holiness of God. And when He pronounces His judgment, it is final. All who are made righteous by faith in Christ will be exalted. And all others, called the wicked, He will wipe from the face of the earth.
IV. He will take the earth back to Eden
In one of the most beautiful descriptions in all the Bible of what life will be life under this King's rule, we see the very nature of the world changed. Predators and prey are no longer natural enemies. Verse 6 says, The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat. The calf, the young lion, and the fatling will be together, and a child will lead them.
But something even more striking will happen. Carnivores will see their very nature altered. Verse 7 says that the cow and the bear will graze, their young ones will lie down together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
Where mortal danger once dominated, there is a stunning sense of comfort and ease, as v. 8 points out: An infant will play beside a cobra's pit, and the toddler will put his hand into a snake's den.
The future world under God's Perfect Son is a picture of the peace that returns everything to its divinely intended purpose. The curse that sunk the world into competitive darkness, fear, and death is vanquished. It is the day that Romans 8 says the whole creation has been groaning together in labor pains for (v. 22).
Verses 9-10 fill out the rest of the picture: None will harm or destroy [another] on My entire holy mountain. Harm refers to all that is evil, all that is bad, all that causes pain. Destroy means decay or ruin. Isaiah tells us that on that day, all crime will cease. Everything that we do to one another that causes pain will be gone. Nothing will wear out or spoil or ruin.
Why? For the land will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the sea is filled with water. Everybody on earth will know God. On that day the root of Jesse (that's Jesus) will stand as a banner (a rallying point) for the peoples. The nations will seek Him, and His resting place will be glorious.
Do you know who is born of a virgin in Bethlehem? Do you realize who you're dealing with this Christmas? The world is divided over this child, for at His birth, God drew a line in the sand. You cannot be neutral about this baby who is God with us, for He will not be neutral about you in the day of reckoning.
His first coming was marked by humility, for He so loved us that, though completely innocent, He willingly took the guilt of our sin and the wrath of God on the cross for our sakes. But three days later, He rose from the dead by the power of God, and later ascended to heaven where the Bible says He patiently waits for the conclusion of His saving purposes. And then, He will come again to this earth, only it will not be in privation and humility. At the sight of Him, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
He will not be some regional king or territorial president, but the World's Ruler in the power and the Spirit of God. And He will rid this sin-weary world of the curse, and by His own Word will return all creation to its God-designed purposes. And God will wipe away all tears from our eyes. There will be no more pain or death or loss, for the former things have passed away. And all our heart's longings will be satisfied in Him forever