Isaiah 11:1-5
1 Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
3 And He will delight in the fear of the Lord, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make decisions by what His ears hear;
4 But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the humble of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.
5 Also righteousness will be the belt around His hips, And faithfulness the belt around His waist.
The emergence of the Messiah. He would spring forth from the line of Jesse, being the father of King David. There is a hint here of a “second David, a man of wise leadership and godly character”. The stump is the nation brought very low; this certainly happened at the time of Hezekiah, but the greater fulfilment is in Christ; true man and true God!
The excellence of His character; wisdom and understanding, counsel and power, knowledge and the fear of the Lord God. The Messiah was one marked out as full of the Spirit of God.
The equity of His government, and the exercise of His judgment; to Him is given divine authority, which He will exercise with perfect fairness. He will reign from David’s throne (Isaiah 9:7), and rule all the nations.
The effects of His reign; a period of peace, reconciliation and safety. This is not the work of human effort, nor even the influence of the church, but rather the direct intervention of God in human affairs through His Messiah, Jesus.
The extent of His dominion will be world wide, as nations and peoples will rally to Him.
Prayer
Lord, You have given us this world and everything in it, but as sinful human beings, we squander and waste Your gifts. Grant us wisdom to use what You have provided to serve Your kingdom here on earth until we join You in heaven.
Stay encouraged!
Pastor Mike
