Read: Isaiah 10:33-11:10
"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."
Isaiah 11:1-2
Imagine being completely surrounded by an aggressive foreign military. The foreign army is stronger, larger, and better equipped than anything your country has. And in a very short time, the invaders will take over and possibly kill you and everyone you love. At the very least, in such a terrifying situation, you would understand that life as you know it will cease to exist. That’s the situation in which we find the citizens of Jerusalem in Isaiah 10-11. The Assyrian army marches toward Jerusalem. There is little the common citizen can do. From all perceived external indicators, their doom is nigh. At the last possible moment, however, the Assyrians were prevented from taking over the city of Jerusalem. The citizens of the northern kingdom of Israel, though, did not fare so well. They were conquered and eradicated. How would you feel if such a situation happened to you? How would you act?
It is at the moment of utter desolation, that Isaiah makes a well-known prophecy of the coming Messiah. From the ashes, a stump of Jesse will arise; out of the destruction a remnant would survive, and from that would come the hope of all the world. I’m not sure how comforting Isaiah’s prophecy was to a people about to possibly be slaughtered or enslaved–or worse. It is interesting, however, that God chose to give one of His greatest Messianic prophecies during a time of significant upheaval.
Isaiah declares that the Messiah will be wise, understanding, mighty, and knowledgeable. He continues in verse three to say, “And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.” Again, think about the context of this message. I cannot imagine how scared Isaiah’s listeners must have been. Barring a miracle (which happened), they were about to be overrun. And Isaiah says: the coming Messiah will delight in fearing God.
Now this may sound strange, but such a statement should give us amazing comfort. If Jesus, the God/Man, doesn’t fear anything of this world, neither should we. If Jesus, the victor over death and damnation, doesn’t fear total destruction, neither should we. If Jesus, the giver of life and sustainer of all creation, doesn’t fear an invading horde, neither should we. This shoot from the stump of Jesse is mightier than all armies put together. He fears nothing because He has dominion over all. And if we are His, then we too have nothing to fear. Come stress, come anxiety, come roving bands of armies, come death, come life, come sickness, and utter desolation–we who are rooted to the stump of Jesse have no need for despair and fear. Our God is enthroned on high. And His good plan will come to pass. How can we be so sure? We can have confidence in Christ because this prophecy of Isaiah was given 700 years before Jesus was born. And despite the bleak condition of the people of God, hope arrived in the form of a baby born of a virgin in the city of David.
•••
Prayer: Jesus, because you came and conquered, I can have hope. Please give me peace and grace in times of hardship and sorrow that I may find comfort in you and in your mighty hands.