Isaiah 11:1-5 (NRSV)
1 A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
3 His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear;
4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; 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 around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins.
Isaiah wrote this in the middle of economic and political chaos - sound familiar? He speaks in hope of new life coming from that which is seemingly "dead". And that new life is the Messiah.
We have a "bush" outside of our house. It was a tree and then a bad storm revealed what was going on in the inside - the middle of the tree was rotting. The tree broke in half and lay on the ground with nothing more than a stump remaining. So, I went out and cut down the remaining part of the stump leaving just a small stump out of the ground. Over the next few weeks, from that small stump a small bush appeared...shoots coming up from the former tree...it's roots are still good!
Israel was a nation with a "religious" character. They did the things outwardly, but inwardly they lacked the personal character of "love the Lord your God with all of your heart". It is with the heart, not just the head, that we personally relate to our God.
The character of the Messiah - Isaiah prophesies - will be one of wisdom, understanding, counsel, and might (strength), knowledge...and most of all "the fear of the Lord". What is that? The next verse makes it clear - not discerning life around us with what we see, nor by what we see. Just think about that when it comes to culture, media, literature. The character of God is described in vs. 5 - "righteousness" and "faithfulness".
It's so unfortunate that we have no place in our vocabulary for that word, "righteousness". We only hear it used in a negative manner, such as a person who thinks they are so righteous, or describing someone as self-righteous. Yet, it's a word that God's word uses over and over again to describe the character of a person who loves God and risks obedience in living over the conveniences or popular wisdom of those around him.
Case in point, Joseph. Matthew 1:18-19 (NIV)
18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
This man who would become Jesus' earthly father had the character of being a "righteous" man. We must see that this doesn't necessarily lead to pompousness, nor a "I'm better than anyone else around me." Instead, he humbly and quietly was going to do what the law required of him...UNTIL God stepped in and told him what was happening. Matthew 1:20 (NIV)
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
The Messiah would come from good roots! The fear of the Lord is that quality of relationship, that character in the inner being, of the one that seeks to love God more than anything else around us. Henri Nouwen said: "Jesus' message is to say that you are God's beloved child... When you can hear in your heart, not in your head, that you are truly God's beloved child, everything turns around. The mystery?...You were loved before you were born, and you will be loved after you die...Your dwelling in God's heart is a dwelling from eternity to eternity."
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
The Messiah would come from good roots! The fear of the Lord is that quality of relationship, that character in the inner being, of the one that seeks to love God more than anything else around us. Henri Nouwen said: "Jesus' message is to say that you are God's beloved child... When you can hear in your heart, not in your head, that you are truly God's beloved child, everything turns around. The mystery?...You were loved before you were born, and you will be loved after you die...Your dwelling in God's heart is a dwelling from eternity to eternity."
It makes no difference that we are broken people. Our past does not define us, neither does our present circumstances. We are defined by God's heart for our lives. The ancient church father said it best..."God loves each of us as if we were the only one."
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