As we come out of Is.10, the impending destruction of Judah is pictured as deforestation on a massive scale (remember 6:11-13 from last week, using the same imagery). ‘The lofty trees will be felled, the tall ones will be brought low. [The Lord] will cut down the forest thickets with an axe…’ (10:33-34). The sense of ruined former glory is palpable. All that is left is a remnant that serves to remind us of what once was a super-power.
The scene is evocative: bleak, hopeless, inviting us to despair at what has occurred, and at a lost future. And yet, the LORD is a God who brings hope where there is no hope. He’s been doing that since Israel found themselves hemmed in on the shores of the Red Sea. And against all hopelessness, from the stump of the family tree of Jesse, a shoot will come up (11:1). A fruitful Branch will grow up from the midst of this desolation. He will be anointed (christ-ed) with the Spirit, through whom ‘He will delight in the fear of the Lord’ (11:2-3). As we read through the Gospels we find how literally this prophecy is fulfilled, but Isaiah lifts our gaze beyond the ‘days of Jesus’ life on earth’, and to the great Day when Jesus returns to his earth in glory. The Incarnation sets in motion a drama that finds its resolution only at the end of the age. The wisdom, understanding, counsel, might knowledge and fear of the Lord that Jesus has by virtue of His unique relationship with the Spirit are brought to the task of judging the living and the dead (Rev.20:11-15).
Isaiah is at pains to underline the fact that this Righteous Branch can be trusted with the epic task of bringing justice to bear on all of human history. For us, who can barely make right judgments in any given single situation, the complexity of judging everyone who has lived throughout all of history is breathtaking. Yet we are reassured that Jesus will see to the foundational truth, that He will not be swayed by appearances, or intimidated by status. His judgments will be exhaustive, accurate, just and final.
But such cosmic judgment is not an end in itself. Isaiah’s vision extends beyond even this great and terrible Day. He perceives the profound reconciliation and renewal that awaits the entire creation in Christ, and through His death (Col.1:19-20). As all things are reconciled to Christ, so they are reconciled to each other. Humanity’s relationship with the rest of creation, throughout the animal kingdom, and throughout the nations of the world, there is fully and finally shalom. And ‘the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea’ (11:9).
Questions:
Why is it critical that as Judge, Jesus fears the Lord (11:2-3)?
How far can our own ‘anointing’ with the Spirit reflect the experience of Jesus? What would it look like if we were characterized by wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, fear of the Lord? How would that affect our dealing with people?
What is wrong with judging by what we see and hear (v.3) How else can we judge?
Who are the ‘needy’ and the ‘poor of the earth’ (v.4)? Why do they get preferential treatment?
Why is it important that we know Jesus will judge the worl in this way?
Why is it good news that Jesus will ‘slay the wicked’? Who do you think constitute ‘the wicked’?
In Ps.36:1, the ‘wicked’ are defined as those who have no fear of God. Does that change your sense of what Isaiah is anticipating?
How does this connect with Jesus as one whose ‘delight is in the fear of the Lord’? What is the ‘fear of the Lord’? How can we cultivate it as a Church? Would you want to?
How can we explain such a radical re-ordering of the world? How can this speak into our world’s concerns about our relationship with our environment?
What is the centerpiece of the New Creation? What is the goal of Christ’s work of redemption?
Look at Is.11:1 & 10. What is the significance of the Branch being both a shoot from Jesse, and a Root of Jesse (see also Rev.22:16, and less obviously Mk.12:35-37)?
