Year 8, Day 361: Isaiah 11

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From the perspective of the church, Isaiah 11 has much to say about what the Messiah looks like when He comes.  This chapter is even used by some of the New Testament authors when speaking about Jesus as the Messiah.  The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him.  The wolf will lay down with the lamb.  They shall not hurt or destroy on my holy mountain.  All these verses and more are used in the discussion of the Messiah.

Having said that, these verses were written in their own context prior to being applied to the Messiah.  Isaiah has watched Israel be taken away into captivity.  These verses are written as the people of Judah also wonder about their own fate.  Will they too end up in exile?

Through Isaiah, God tells the people that there will be a righteous leader who comes and pulls the exiles back to the Promised Land.  This person will lead fairly.  He will create rules and regulations that are good for the people, not good for the leaders.  Just as there was an exodus out of Egypt, God will once again create a nation of His people out from under the oppression of a worldly nation.

As much hope as these verses give, reading through the chapter today there is a focus on the stump of Jesse.  Obviously, the stump of Jesse is a way of referring to David’s lineage.  What hit me was the concept of a stump.  In order to have a stump, a tree must be chopped down – or perhaps fall over because of its own lack of health.  In order for there to be a stump, the tree died.

This is deeply meaningful, because God brought it out.  God laid the axe at the foot of the tree.  God brought Assyria to dominate over Israel.  We don’t see it in Isaiah, but God will bring Babylon to dominate over Judah.  God can deal with rebellion.  He’s done it over and over again.  God is quite skilled at taking mature trees that are rotten and turning them into stumps.

This realization simply adds power to the concept of the remnant.  God can turn the tree into a stump.  God can also cause a new shoot to grow up out of the stump.  God may execute punishment and judgment, but that doesn’t mean He’s done with us.  There is always repentance and forgiveness.  There is always room for rebirth.  We may have to deal with the consequences, but God is not a God who shuts the door and walks away.  With God, even in the midst of judgment, the door is still open.

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