Read: Isaiah 11:1-10 (NIV)
1A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him — the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord — 3and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 4but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. 5Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. 6The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. 7The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. 9They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. 10In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.
2The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him — the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord — 3and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 4but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. 5Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. 6The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. 7The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. 9They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. 10In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.
Reflect:
This
is one of Isaiah’s prophecies of the coming Messiah. The one who would rise
from the root of Jesse, the family of David. Though Isaiah didn’t know his name
would be Jesus, he knew what He would be like. Isaiah saw that He has the
Spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, and might. He has knowledge and fear
of the Lord. He wears righteousness and truth. He is the peace-bringer. Because
of His wisdom and righteousness, peace will reign. There will be safety in even
the most precarious places.
For
me, one of the most precarious places is on social media. Yes, I know it’s a
time-suck and not always the most edifying space; however, the draw of cat
videos and pictures of my friends’ kids made it a little bit of a haven from
the real world for me. Lately though, it’s been more stressful and less fun for
me. Kindness, civility, and peace are hard to find out there.
Yes,
I could (and maybe should) just shut it off. But I also think there’s a lesson
here in Isaiah for our social media world. In verse 3, he says, “He will not
judge what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears.”
Rather, He looks deeper than words or deeds, He looks to their need. I think
that sometimes we are too quick to jump at what we hear and see and don’t take
the time to look for the need. We react rather than dig to find out the need.
We dismiss rather than ask why. I’m not saying that we can’t have or express
opinions. What I am saying is, I think Jesus wants us to be measured in how we
do it, thinking of the need of the other person first (Romans 12:10, Ephesians
4:29, James 1:19). This doesn’t just apply to the virtual world on my phone or
tablet, but to my real-world interactions as well.
I
know that Isaiah says it is the rod of His mouth and the breath of His lips
that will slay the wicked, but this is a prophecy about Jesus, the one whose
righteousness and justice is never self-seeking. His goal was to bring about
righteousness and peace. I think many times our goal is to win, to be right, to
be the smartest. What is more important: being right or being righteous? What
will bring about peace?
Act:
So,
in the coming days, it’s likely many of us will get together in the real world
with some of the same people we disagree with in the virtual world. Through
your words and your actions, will you allow Jesus, the Root of Jesse, to be the
banner that draws all people to Him? Will you be the one who brings peace or
the one who brings strife?
Pray:
Father,
thank You that You always look to my deeper need and don’t just take me at face
value. Help me in the coming days in my interactions with people to look to
their needs first, to listen and see with my heart and not just my ears and
eyes. May I be able to bear Your banner of peace this Christmas season.
Chris Cepulis
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