The Spirit of the LORD Shall Rest Upon Him

15 March • Friday of the Fourth Week in Lent

Isaiah 11: 1-10

1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,

and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.

2 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.

6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,

and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,

and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;

and a little child shall lead them.

7 The cow and the bear shall graze;

their young shall lie down together;

and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,

and the weaned child shall put his hand on the

adder's den.

9 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.

10 In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.

Meditation

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This passage speaks of a new beginning. Not just a new but wonderful beginning. This of course refer to the Messiah that was promised to Israel then and to us today to demonstrate “heaven here on earth”. This shoot growing from Jesse’s stump is best understood alongside the last two verses (vv.33-34) of the previous chapter (Isaiah 10) - “Behold, the Lord GOD of hosts will lop the boughs with terrifying power; the great in height will be hewn down, and the lofty will be brought low. He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an axe, and Lebanon will fall by the Majestic One.” The forest has been cut down and in amongst the jagged stumps, we see a new growth, a new start, a new beginning. In the midst of a difficult, challenging and hopeless situation, something emerges, the Messiah. He sprouts (burst) forth like a shoot and will bear fruit. Not just new growth, he also provides sustained growth for the future—isn’t that great? No matter what has happened, a new start has come and it comes in our God. 2 Corinthians 5:17 reminds us that He is in the business of new beginnings. Remember too the Younger Son in Luke 15.

Verse 2 tells that this Messiah has the fullness of the Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, the fear of God. All the attributes of the Messiah, the Saviour of the world. Verses 3 to 5 tells us that He does not see as we see and do as we do. What a wonderful reality that we have our God who sees beyond the surface. I particularly like verse 5—He wears righteousness and faithfulness—these are his clothes, these are his ways. Verses 6 to 8 gives us a view of the Garden of Eden. It is a place of shalom where prey and predator are alongside each other in peace and harmony, a picture of “heaven here on earth”. There is no evil intent, no personal desire for control and power. More importantly, verse 9 tells that because of the knowledge of the Lord, we will not hurt or destroy at all. We would love like He did, like He is. Finally verse 10 tells us that because of all these attributes, this root (shoot) of Jesse, this Messiah will stand as a signal for the peoples and because He personifies “heaven here on earth”, many will enquire for Him.

Prayer

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Wonderful and Amazing Father, I thank You for not leaving nor forsaking us in an ever-darkening world. Thank You for giving us a signal of “heaven here on earth” in Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. May I follow His lead in bringing hope in an ever-darkening world. May I follow His lead in demonstrating “heaven here on earth” to those I work and serve with. May I be ever- ready to direct others to Him. May I follow Him all the days of my life. I ask all these in the name of the Messiah Jesus Christ, Amen.

Action

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1. Let us live righteously before God and before men.

2. Let us faithfully follow the One who has called us by name, out of darkness into His wonderful light.

3. Let us be ready to direct those who are seeking, to Him who can give a new beginning to them.

The Rt Revd Andrew Shie

Assistant Bishop of Kuching and Vicar of St. Andrew’s Church

Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam

Diocese of Kuching (Sarawak and Brunei Darussalam)