The Glorious Hope of Isaiah (#9: The Kingdom)

You should have your devotions in Isaiah 11.  Every day for a month.  Besides being filled with hope of the world that is coming, you would be inoculated from much false understanding of the New Testament.  You wouldn’t say, as the DTS professor who spoke at my church this morning said, that we the church are the kingdom.  Of course, one doesn’t define the kingdom by a single passage only, but Isaiah 11 is as good a place as any to start. 

There are two ways to understand the kingdom: 1) Read the Book from beginning to end, in which case you ‘ll see a marvelous development as God progressively reveals new and wonderful truths; 2) Read the Book from end to beginning, in which case you ‘ll have to disregard, ignore, or re-define as you continue.  I’m committed to method #1, even if that means I’m called dirty names like “dispensationalist.”  Oh, what an awful term.  I’d much rather be called a “forward” Christian. But, to the happy revelation of Isaiah 11!

It’s probably easiest to focus on the most picturesque portion of this chapter – a wolf dwelling with a lamb and so on (Isa 11:6-8).  But Isaiah begins with the ruler.  It is the ruler of this new age that makes everything else possible. Of course, the prophet has already introduced this ruler to us.  He is the stump of chapter 6, the Immanuel of chapter 7, and the Prince of Peace of chapter 9.  In Isaiah 7:14, the prophecy of a virgin birth was given to the royal house, and in Isaiah 9:7, he rules on the throne of David.  So it is no surprise here that he is “a shoot from the stump of Jesse.”  Perhaps it refers to Jesse instead of David to suggest that this ruler will be like David himself and not like one of his failed descendants.  David had the Spirit of God upon him (1 Sam 16:13), but the shoot of Jesse is described in terms that far surpass any king of Judah.

Isaiah 11:2-5 (ESV) “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. 3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, 4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.”

This is the description of the perfect king.  Whatever one thinks of Obama, Reagan, FDR, Lincoln or any other human ruler, surely none of them could be described in these terms.  Solomon was a great judge, but this one will not be dependent upon his eyes or his ears.  David was a righteous king, but he murdered those who were in his way (2 Sam 11:11-14).  Hezekiah feared the Lord, but he also showed off his wealth to foreigners.  As I said, read this passage many times, and rejoice, for one day this person will rule the earth.

The Isaiah 11 passage is special because it so clearly combines a description of the king (verses 1-5) with a description of his kingdom (verses 6-16).  A modern-day writer might be tempted to state these realities in matter-of-fact terms, but Isaiah paints a beautiful picture of a child leading a calf and a lion, and of an infant playing around a snake’s den.  The prophet is showing us that the fundamental relationships of this world order are altered under the Prince of Peace.  The cause of this is declared simply:

Isaiah 11:9 (ESV) “They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”

The king will be recognized by all peoples, and “of him shall the nations inquire.”  Some shall apparently resist the king (Isa 11:14), but the Lord’s plan will not be thwarted.  He will bring his people back to the land of Israel from all of the nations.  In Isaiah’s day, many Israelites were carried off to Assyria, but in the Ruler’s day, he will make a highway for them to return on (Isa 11:16). 

Here’s a miracle, for those of you who know a bit about Israelite history: “Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah, and Judah shall not harass Ephraim.”  To think that these tribes could get along, one must really believe in the Messiah. One doesn’t even need to know ancient history to be amazed at this prophecy; simply read an Israeli newspaper (or see this list of political parties in Israel).

How does one respond to such a turn of events?  It seems that a Pauline doxology (e.g., Rom 11:33-36) would be quite appropriate.  Isaiah, however, provides his own.  He predicts just what Israel will declare “on that day.”  This song of rejoicing is the sole content of Isaiah 12.  The people rejoice in God, their salvation.  They exult in his glorious deeds, and declare to all the earth his forgiving love.  Isaiah (and other prophets) will later explain how this will happen, for it is not obvious from what we ‘ve read thus far how the hearts of the people will be changed.

But, there’s one more thing.  If you ‘re reading this closely, as Isaiah expected his readers to, they might see something astonishing in the last phrase of the song.

Isaiah 12:6 (ESV) “Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

Who is the one in the midst of the people?  The Holy One of Israel is the special name that Isaiah uses for God.  It is remarkable that a passage that begins speaking about the Son of David ruling in the midst of the people ends by saying that the Holy One of Israel is among them.  Perhaps the original readers would not have equated the ruler with God.  But perhaps some of them would have been wondering, given that the ruler has already been called “God with us” (Immanuel) and “Mighty God” (cf. Isa 2:4-5).  Certainly it is there for later readers who understand that Jesus is the Holy One of Israel.

Are we in the kingdom now?  Only if you deny the fulfillment of nearly every verse in this passage.  Is Isaiah trying to describe some existence in another world or in the eternal state?  Only if everything in this passage is taken metaphorically.  A better conclusion that keeps with the context of the whole of Isaiah (as well as with the whole Bible) is that this messianic kingdom is the earthly fulfillment of the promises made to Israel.  They have not been abrogated, and they are not being fulfilled “in a better way” in some spiritual reality in the church.  For all of the blessings the church now enjoys, the promise of an earthly kingdom of righteousness with King Jesus on the throne still awaits.  We should pray, as Jesus taught us, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10).  One day he will answer our prayers.