There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord . And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord . He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.- Isaiah 11:1-10 ESV
Rev. Charles Han
How do we summarize the story of the Bible? Four words: Creation, fall, redemption, and restoration.
The Prince of peace
The prophet is telling of the sins of Israel and the coming judgment of Assyria. And then from this transitions to speaking of hope. There is a coming Messiah who comes from Jesse. Why the reference to Jesse rather than King David? Jesse was a man of humble means. He is a sprout of Jesse, yet also the root of Jesse. How can this be? Both sprout and root? Jesus is of God and also God incarnated in flesh. Both before, the source, as well as after, the coming one. One of the Holy Spirit, who does the will of God, which we cannot do.
The Paradise he brings
What does heaven look like? Is this a literal description? I believe this is a figurative description. Describing the peace and contentment of heaven. It is a poetic description. Jesus has come and he is coming back to bring a Paradise of perfect peace. He will bring Shalom. Not just inner serenity, but flourishing & wholeness. Justice and fulfillment. The way things ought to be, restored. Lions represent the enemies of Israel, the dangers and rending of all that they held dear. The weak not being bullied by the weak. The children playing by the nest of snakes... a compete reversal of the child of Eve and the serpent from the fall in the garden of Eden. Jesus is the one who will repair broken relationships, hearts, and lives. He brings hope to the citizens of heaven. Regardless of the troubles of this life, it is tiny in comparison to eternity in heaven. Why are we so focused on the tiny sliver of time before eternity?
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