In The Word
Read: Isaiah 11-12
Righteous Reign of the Branch
11 Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him,
The spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The spirit of counsel and strength,
The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
3 And He will delight in the fear of the Lord,
And He will not judge by what His eyes see,
Nor make decisions by what His ears hear;
4 But with righteousness He will judge the poor,
And decide with fairness for the humble of the earth;
And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.
5 Also righteousness will be the belt around His hips,
And faithfulness the belt around His waist.
6 And the wolf will dwell with the lamb,
And the leopard will lie down with the young goat,
And the calf and the young lion and the fattened steer will be together;
And a little boy will lead them.
7 Also the cow and the bear will graze,
Their young will lie down together,
And the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra,
And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den.
9 They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
As the waters cover the sea.
10 Then on that day
The nations will resort to the root of Jesse,
Who will stand as a signal flag for the peoples;
And His resting place will be glorious.
The Restored Remnant
11 Then it will happen on that day that the Lord
Will again recover with His hand the second time
The remnant of His people who will remain,
From Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath,
And from the islands of the sea.
12 And He will lift up a flag for the nations
And assemble the banished ones of Israel,
And will gather the dispersed of Judah
From the four corners of the earth.
13 Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart,
And those who harass Judah will be eliminated;
Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,
And Judah will not harass Ephraim.
14 They will swoop down on the slopes of the Philistines on the west;
Together they will plunder the people of the east;
They will possess Edom and Moab,
And the sons of Ammon will be subject to them.
15 And the Lord will utterly destroy
The tongue of the Sea of Egypt;
And He will wave His hand over the Euphrates River
With His scorching wind;
And He will strike it into seven streams
And make people walk over in dry sandals.
16 And there will be a highway from Assyria
For the remnant of His people who will be left,
Just as there was for Israel
On the day that they came up out of the land of Egypt.
Thanksgiving Expressed
12 Then you will say on that day,
“I will give thanks to You, Lord;
For although You were angry with me,
Your anger is turned away,
And You comfort me.
2 Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
For the Lord God is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.”
3 Therefore you will joyously draw water
From the springs of salvation.
4 And on that day you will say,
“Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name.
Make known His deeds among the peoples;
Make them remember that His name is exalted.”
5 Praise the Lord in song, for He has done glorious things;
Let this be known throughout the earth.
6 Rejoice and shout for joy, you inhabitant of Zion,
For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
God revealed to Isaiah that a future king would rule His people and would be characterized by six attributes of the Holy Spirit’s presence. This king, Yeshua, would not take pleasure that these traits would make Him wiser or more powerful than other people. Rather, His true delight would be a deep reverence and respect for God. That reverence would lead Him to forsake His own desires and to only carry out the Father’s will.
When we get saved and as we grow in the Lord, God’s spiritual gifts, riches, and supernatural power are made available to us. God “has blessed us with every spiritual blessing” and has given us “the unfathomable riches of Christ.” (Ephesians 1:3, 3:8) But sometimes Christians become arrogant with God’s blessings and their holy status, and they consider themselves better than other people. Instead, we should be humble that God has saved us and blessed us with supernatural benefits. The blessings and abilities are not self-created but given by God.
The first five attributes of wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, and knowledge that are provided by the Spirit could lead to pride if not governed by the sixth trait of the reverential fear of God. “Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. (Psalm 2:11 ESV)” The fear of the Lord keeps us humble and securely within God’s boundaries of His Word and perfect will. We should take advantage of all of God’s gifts, wisdom, and power, while doing so with humility and reverence for God.