The KING Reigns!

”There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 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. 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, 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. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. 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. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. 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. 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. In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea. He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart, and those who harass Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah, and Judah shall not harass Ephraim. But they shall swoop down on the shoulder of the Philistines in the west, and together they shall plunder the people of the east. They shall put out their hand against Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites shall obey them. And the Lord will utterly destroy the tongue of the Sea of Egypt, and will wave his hand over the River with his scorching breath, and strike it into seven channels, and he will lead people across in sandals. And there will be a highway from Assyria for the remnant that remains of his people, as there was for Israel when they came up from the land of Egypt.“ (Isaiah 11:1-16 ESV)

Key verse: ”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.“ (Isaiah 11:10 ESV)

Simple Outline:

1. God uses Assyria for His purpose of judging Israel and Judah, but God judges Assyria’s arrogance

2. God always preserves a believing remnant and Assyria will be cut down

3. The root of Jesse is alive and bears fruit, and the Spirit of the Lord rests upon Him

4. The King will triumph and raise a standard to which people from all nations will come and rally under Him

Devotional Thought: God uses men, good and evil, to accomplish His eternal purpose. The question is not whether God will achieve His purpose, it is whether or not we will humbly obey and bring honor to Him and be among the remnant who receive His grace and love or be the object of His wrath and judgment.

Yes, I know… another very long focal passage. I only quoted Isaiah 11 above, so go back and read Isaiah 10:5-34 too. Isaiah tends to use very lengthy descriptions and numerous analogies to make His point. But it is also important to Isaiah to properly balance God’s wrath and judgment with His grace and mercy. It is far too easy to focus on the wrath and judgment to the exclusion of hope, grace and mercy. But it is also far too easy to focus on the hope, grace and mercy of God to the exclusion of His wrath and judgment upon the ungodliness and pride of man. Isaiah wants us to see a proper balance of both: judgment and hope, wrath and mercy.

The first part of our focal passage is a familiar theme. The threat of Assyria against the northern kingdom of Judah. As you’ll recall, last week we heard the repetitious phrase, “for all His anger has not turned away, and His hand is stretched out still.” God was not finished with His people, He was not finished in judging their unbelief but He was also not finished in using them to achieve His purpose.

Now, Isaiah’s attention turns toward the God’s judgment upon His instrument of wrath, Assyria. But before we plunge into God’s judgment against Assyria, we are reminded that they are simply an unwitting tool in God’s hands. God is using the military and political aggressions of Assyria to achieve His own purpose of judgment against Judah. The king of Assyria is completely unaware of how God is using Him, and he begins to brag that he will do to Jerusalem the same thing he’s done to Samaria. But the king of Assyria isn’t in control of this situation, the LORD of Hosts is.

This brings us to the question, can and does God use evil kings and political rulers to achieve His own purpose? Yes, of course He does. But as I said above, they do so unwittingly. There’re completely unaware that God uses their unholy desires, selfish pride and even their evil ambitions to achieve His own holy plans and just goals. Isaiah then tells us of the king’s boastful claims: “By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I have understanding; I remove the boundaries of peoples, and plunder their treasures; like a bull I bring down those who sit on thrones.”

God may use these unholy rulers to achieve His own purposes, but He doesn’t ignore their sin. They must still stand before the Holy One of Israel, the LORD God almighty and be judged for their sinful self-reliance and prideful boasting. “Shall the axe boast over Him who hews with it, or the saw magnify itself against Him who wields it? …Therefore the LORD God of Hosts will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors, and under his glory a burning will be kindled, like the burning of a fire. The light of Israel will become a fire, and his Holy One a flame, and it will burn and devour his thorns and briers in one day… The remnant of the trees of his forest (warriors) will be so few that a child can write them down (record them or count them on his fingers).”

So, while God may use the unholy, selfish and even evil actions of men to achieve His own purposes and plans those men will be held accountable before Him for their evil deeds, selfish ambitions and prideful boasting. If God uses their actions to achieve His purpose then why does He hold them accountable? God holds them accountable for their pride, selfish ambition and refusal to bow before Him. Notice Isaiah’s comparison to the axe boasting about its work or the saw magnifying itself above the one who wields it. The Assyrian king boasts, “I have done it.. my wisdom.. I have understanding.. I remove boundaries and plunder.. I bring down.. I have gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved a wing or opened the mouth or chirped.”

God may use the king of Assyria to achieve His purpose of judgment against Israel, but God will also hold the king of Assyria accountable for his pride, arrogance and refusal to bow before the King of the Universe. God will “cut him down” and he will have so few warriors left a child could count them. The glory of his forest and fruitful land, the LORD will destroy both. God’s gonna cut him down. God may use you and I, but if we grow prideful, boastful and arrogant before Him we will also be cut down. He alone deserves glory. He alone deserves praise. He alone deserves honor and worship. He’s GOD and we are His creation.

Next, God identifies a remnant in Israel and survivors in the house of Jacob who will no longer trust in the king of Assyria but will trust only in the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. His fury against them will end and His anger will turn and be directed towards Assyria. It is important for us to note and understand the references in 10:26-27 regarding “when he struck Midian” and “his staff will be over the sea” and “He will lift it as He did in Egypt.”

I’ve already mentioned the story of Gideon and how his small army obeyed God and struck fear into the hearts of the Midianites and caused them to destroy each other. I’m sure you are familiar with the story of the crossing at the Red Sea in Exodus 14. God instructs Moses to avoid the land route out of Egypt and he is to lead God’s people into the wilderness and towards the Red Sea. As you know, Pharaoh pursues them and traps them at Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon. If you’ve never realized it before, this is a showdown between the god’s of Egypt and the LORD God of Israel. Who will they trust? Who will they follow?

But Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see the Lord’s salvation He will provide for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you must be quiet.” (Exodus 14:13-14 HCSB)

The story continues with God commanding Moses to lift his staff out over the waters of the Red Sea and divide them. The people were to pass through on dry ground, but God would harden Pharaoh’s heart and cause him to pursue the people of God, but God will receive glory by means of Pharaoh and all his army. ”The Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh when I receive glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.” (Exodus 14:18 HCSB) Next comes the important part, God commanded the angel to move from in front of them and to stand behind them, between the Egyptian and Israelite forces. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove back the sea with a powerful east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land.

Now, here’s where we often mess up. The sea was not divided by Moses and his staff, it was the power and presence of God. The word for “wind” is the same word for “spirit” in Hebrew. God and His Spirit accomplished this miracle and God is the one who deserved the glory for what happened. ”When Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and believed in Him and in His servant Moses.“ (Exodus 14:31 HCSB)

But the problem is not with what God is capable of doing as demonstrated in these stories. No, the problem is what often happens afterwards. We are obedient, successful and things are going well for us. Then, we grow arrogant and prideful before God. Moses knew the power and presence of God’s Spirit. He had experienced what God was capable of doing. But when Moses stood before these thirsty people in Numbers 20, all of what Moses knew and had experienced with God fell away and his pride emerged. ”Moses and Aaron summoned the assembly in front of the rock, and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels! Must we bring water out of this rock for you? ” (Numbers 20:10 HCSB)

Listen to these words: ”But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust Me to show My holiness in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land I have given them.” These are the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the Lord, and He showed His holiness to them.“ (Numbers 20:12-13 HCSB)

When we stand with arrogant pride before God, He will cut us down. (Johnny Cash, God’s Gonna Cut You Down)

God uses the king of Assyria to destroy the pride of Jacob, but there’s a remnant who still believe. There’s a remnant who still lean on Him. So, He doesn’t leave them in shambles. No, He gives them with these words of incredible hope:

”Then a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him — a Spirit of wisdom and understanding, a Spirit of counsel and strength, a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. His delight will be in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what He sees with His eyes, He will not execute justice by what He hears with His ears, but He will judge the poor righteously and execute justice for the oppressed of the land. He will strike the land with discipline from His mouth, and He will kill the wicked with a command from His lips. Righteousness will be a belt around His loins; faithfulness will be a belt around His waist.“ (Isaiah 11:1-5 HCSB)

When we trust Him, when we lean on Him, when our pride and arrogance fall away then His glory and His power will shine through. Hear me. God desires for His glory and His power to be evident through His people. But for that to happen, we must be humble and obedient not prideful and arrogantly disobedient. We tend to view the next verses as a future hope, an idyllic and utopian state that will only be known in some distant, future state. But I need you to hear me, today! We gather for worship on this glorious LORD’s Day and we celebrate the greatest event in history – the resurrection of Jesus, the One promised in the verses cited above.

If we are to know the fulfillment of the promises of idyllic peace and tranquility that Isaiah cites (see 11:6-9), we must begin to live in the power of Jesus’ resurrection. In verse 10, the root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples and they will seek Him and His “resting place” will be glorious. Notice, the people who will seek Him and will rest in Him are from “the nations.” Isaiah goes on to say that on that day the Lord will extend His hand again, a second time to recover the remnant of His people from every land, from the east, from the west, from the north, and from the south. And they will all gather together under the banner of the root of Jesse, Jesus – the promised One.

The people of God will not be identified by their ethnicity or their Jewish heritage. They will be identified by the banner under which they gather and they will stream to Him from every nation, every tribe, every people, and every language. Jesus told us, “by this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another (Jn. 13:35).” Isaiah says it this way, “Ephraim’s envy will cease; Judah’s harassment will end.” The passage ends with God dividing the waters to south and to the north so that the people streaming to Him can do so on foot, with nothing hindering them from getting to Him. “He will wave His hand over the Euphrates with His might wind (or Spirit) and will split it into seven streams, letting people walk through on foot.”

While some see this as an event to be literally fulfilled through the nation of Israel in the last days, I see it fulfilled in the events of Acts 2. The Holy Spirit of God blew through those disciples gathered in that upper room and He fell on each of them. Then they went out and began to proclaim the Good News regarding Jesus death and resurrection. The banner of the root of Jesse was raised up and the people began streaming to Him. A highway was opened up and the world has never been the same. The history of man revolves around the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Everything in your life hinges on whether you believe in Him and trust Him!

Oh church, our task is no different today. We are to be a city set on a hill, a light lit and lifted up in a dark room. We are to be a people who purposely and passionately pursue the LORD of life. We are to raise up the banner of the root of Jesse, Jesus the resurrected and living LORD of life, and we are to call people to Him. Not to our church, but to HIM! We are not the ones who can give them hope, HE is! We are not the ones who can defeat their addictions, He is! We are not the ones who can bring healing to their hearts and hope to their souls, He is! We are not the ones who can give them life, He is!

So, let me leave you with this final thought. Only one king has ever been worthy of worship. Only one king has ever been worthy of emulation and adoration. Only one king has ever been worthy of the title KING of kings. And only one king has ever shown us how to live in humble submission, obedience and service to our God. He alone gave Himself as a sacrifice for our sin and He alone is worthy to be called the Son of God.

How do I know?

Because the tomb was empty and He REIGNS!