Isaiah 11 — The Righteous Reign of the Branch
Isaiah 12 — The Lord is My Strength and My Song
Thoughts about serving others
This link includes a list of posts about Serving the Least, the Lost, and the Lonely.
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Let the Word evoke words. May your life encourage lives.
Isaiah paints a glorious picture of times to come when the remnant will return “from the roots a Branch will bear fruit” (Isaiah 11:1). Notice the word Branch is capitalized; it’s a proper noun referring to the Messiah. “He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes…but with righteousness” (11:3-4). Three times Isaiah says “the Spirit” (again note the proper noun) is there for Jesus, “the 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 knowledge and fear of the Lord” (11:2). Such wisdom and authority will result in complete peace, the earth restored to its intended glory where “the wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat” (11:6), “they 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” (11:9). God will restore peace through Jesus with the mighty power of the Holy Spirit. The trinity, the triune nature of God, while hard to fully grasp, will “reclaim the surviving remnant” (11:11).
“In that day…” (12:1) Isaiah points to the future in hopes that God’s people will turn back to the Lord Almighty, the true Lord of lords, yet the people continue to worship idols, to make sacrifices to gods of their own making.
These chapters point to the hope that is in Christ, one of the key distinctions we have to hold onto. Christ is the hope for a brighter tomorrow, whenever that might be. God help me to hold fast to that hope as this world becomes darker, let your light shine. We’re not done yet! If Nineveh was saved by Jonah’s preaching, this world can still see revival. So many want to see it come to an end today, but I believe you want to have more and more come to the feast you have prepared. You’re not done yet. You woke me up today for a reason, I pray it’s to help guide even one more person toward you Lord, to your perfect future, your eternal reunion with all who believe and trust in you.