A Root of Jesse

Of Him Shall the Nations Inquire

(Isaiah 11:1-10, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, December 8, 2013)

[11:1] There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
[2] 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.
[3] And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.Jesse was the father of the famous King David who reigned over God's people 1000 years before the coming of the Messiah. This great King David had been promised a descendant who would reign forever. A dead stump is not a likely candidate for the emergence of a fruitful branch. The recovery of David's line to produce another man who would reign over a sovereign state of Judah again seemed like an impossible dream in 2 BC when Jesus was born. But then Isaiah had written that there would come forth a shoot from David's roots that would bear fruit. That was a promise from Almighty God. At just the right time, when the faith of many would have been waning, the Prince of Peace was born.

Isaiah wrote that the Spirit of the Lord would rest upon Him. John 3:34 puts it this way: “He whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.” Jesus came as the perfect representative of the Father. He had the wisdom and power of the Spirit of God in Him. He did not need to be reminded that He needed to love His Father; that was His continual delight. He had the perfect fullness of the Spirit. He gives that Spirit generously.

He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide disputes by what his ears hear,
[4] 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.
[5] Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,
and faithfulness the belt of his loins.In the dark days of the eighth century BC, the announcement of God's intention to send His Spirit-filled Son to reign would have been a great aid to those who were waiting for the consolation of Israel. Isaiah wrote that this great King would have the immediate knowledge and strong moral conviction that would enable Him to judge righteously and effectively in ways that no other king had done. He would not be yet another clever or manipulative man of arrogance that used His words and influence to rise to power. He would know the right thing to do and His voice would have the power to bring about a new world.

Because of His reign the weak would not have to live at the mercy of the strong. The rich would not be able to force their will on the poor by using money to get their way. This great King would have righteousness and faithfulness as His garments. The wicked would have no opportunity to fool or manipulate Him. He would bring the justice of God against them and save the Lord's faithful servants from their own cynicism and despair. In His birth, hope would come.

[6] 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.
[7] The cow and the bear shall graze;
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
[8] The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,
and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.
[9] 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.What began so modestly at a time when there was no room at the inn would not be finished until the world was so thoroughly changed that natural predators among animals would stop killing each other. This King would bring a world into existence where a mother would no longer have to worry about the safety of her child. No more would people have to try to figure out what to say to people in situations where there is nothing good to say. The holy mountain of the Lord and of His Christ would take over this present creation, beginning with the souls of lost sinners, and ending with a cosmic transformation that many would first scoff at when they heard of it.

The reign of this Messiah would not only transform the instincts of lions, bears, and cobras. The message of the LORD would overrule the enemies of the human soul lurking within skeptics, cynics, and other bruised and battered insecure human beings until the earth would be full of the knowledge of the Lord just as thoroughly as the ocean is full of water. There would simply be no room in the human heart for the exaltation of any pretender claiming to be the greatest and demanding our allegiance. The Lord God Almighty would reign over even us.

[10] 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.

All of this would come from what appeared to be a very small beginning—a root of Jesse. That root would become a shoot. That shoot would become a new branch. That branch would bear fruit and become a mountain—a kingdom that would fill the earth and fill the hearts of a new mankind. This root of Jesse, this King from the line of David, would give a new spirit to people and would stand as a signal for all the people groups of the world. He is our banner. We have nothing to be ashamed about when we give our lives entirely to Him.

How would Jesus become our banner. In John 12 he told us that He would be lifted up on a cross, and that He would draw all people to Himself. The suffering of the cross, also foretold by Isaiah, would be a victorious banner from heaven that would change the earth. It would break the pride of the arrogant, and conquer enemies as intractable as arrogant cynicism and unbelief.

Isaiah told the people of Israel in a very dark century that this would all end very well. The Jewish Messiah from the line of David would be the Lord over all. He was telling them that despite the sin of their leaders, despite the brutality of the Assyrian Empire, despite the exile of Judah at the hands of the Babylonians, despite the legion of powerful enemies that stood against them from foreign lands and even within their own harassed souls, the God who spoke the worlds into being had a powerful Word coming that would make all things new. This Word has come. Let us adore Him forever and ever.

The righteous Son of God

Became the Lord of all.

The nations shall inquire of Him.

O Come, Let us adore!