Isaiah 11:1-10
In the sermon recap, we already took a brief look at this week's passage from Isaiah. Now, I would like to look into it a bit deeper. In this passage we encounter some familiar poetic language:
6The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. 7The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. 9They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
Once again, just as we have been encountering throughout Advent, Isaiah is pointing to a future time to come. This poetic language tells us that it will be a time of peace where even the most dangerous of animals live in harmony with one another and with humans. Violence and destruction will be no more. Well, this all sounds great, but how do we get there?
The verses leading up to this poetic passage speak of someone who will come and usher in this coming time of peace and harmony. This person will be a shoot coming out of the stump of Jesse, who will judge with righteousness and faithfulness. So, there are a couple of things going on here for us to think about. 1. What on earth is the shoot out of the stump of Jesse and 2. What is this judgement all about?
First, the shoot coming out of the stump of Jesse is an heir to the kingly line of David. Jesse was King David's father, so the tree of Jesse would represent the line of David. That leaves us with the question, why is it a stump and not a full tree? The line of David was no longer ruling in Israel. If the tree is a symbol of the royal family, then the tree being cut down to a stump symbolically represents that the line of David no longer is in power. (This might seem like a small detail to spend time on here, but it will become more important when we turn to the passage from Matthew later in the week.) So, the shoot coming out of the stump of Jesse is a renewal of the rule of the line of David. A new king from the line of David will usher in this time of peace and harmony.
So, now we come to the major theme for the week; justice and judgement. This time of peace will come about when the coming one judges with righteousness and faithfulness. This all seems pretty straightforward, but there is one line that really stands out as a radical interpretation of justice, "but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth." The judgement that this coming king will bring will be a lifting up of the poor and the lowly. It is not often that kings are associated with bringing equity to the poor and oppressed. This judgement for the poor is a radical sign up the upside down kingdom that is to come. Isaiah is pointing to a time when economic systems are overturned and the poor are treated with fairness.
This king from the line of David, whose coming Isaiah says will bring about a time of peace, does not look like any king as the world to that point had understood it. Something new was coming; a new shoot coming out from the stump of Jesse.
The verses leading up to this poetic passage speak of someone who will come and usher in this coming time of peace and harmony. This person will be a shoot coming out of the stump of Jesse, who will judge with righteousness and faithfulness. So, there are a couple of things going on here for us to think about. 1. What on earth is the shoot out of the stump of Jesse and 2. What is this judgement all about?
First, the shoot coming out of the stump of Jesse is an heir to the kingly line of David. Jesse was King David's father, so the tree of Jesse would represent the line of David. That leaves us with the question, why is it a stump and not a full tree? The line of David was no longer ruling in Israel. If the tree is a symbol of the royal family, then the tree being cut down to a stump symbolically represents that the line of David no longer is in power. (This might seem like a small detail to spend time on here, but it will become more important when we turn to the passage from Matthew later in the week.) So, the shoot coming out of the stump of Jesse is a renewal of the rule of the line of David. A new king from the line of David will usher in this time of peace and harmony.
So, now we come to the major theme for the week; justice and judgement. This time of peace will come about when the coming one judges with righteousness and faithfulness. This all seems pretty straightforward, but there is one line that really stands out as a radical interpretation of justice, "but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth." The judgement that this coming king will bring will be a lifting up of the poor and the lowly. It is not often that kings are associated with bringing equity to the poor and oppressed. This judgement for the poor is a radical sign up the upside down kingdom that is to come. Isaiah is pointing to a time when economic systems are overturned and the poor are treated with fairness.
This king from the line of David, whose coming Isaiah says will bring about a time of peace, does not look like any king as the world to that point had understood it. Something new was coming; a new shoot coming out from the stump of Jesse.