That Day

Thanks very much, Al. Good evening, everyone.

As Al and others have said, it is a real privilege to be back with a smallish but real congregation in the church this evening.

I had the privilege at the end of the first lockdown of speaking on the Sunday evening we came back,

and I'm delighted to be doing it again, although I hope there won't be a third time that I'll be saying that.

But great Dota Deas, I think for all of us, it makes us look forward to a better day.

Yes, it's good for some of us to be able to meet together tonight, and for others to be able to join us on Zoom.

But one day, we'll all be together as a church in the building.

One day, we won't be wearing face coverings and socially distancing.

One day, we'll be able to sing heartily rather than just listen to songs.

And on that day, we'll be able to greet one another with a hug or a handshake, whichever we prefer.

We'll be able to be reunited with people who we haven't seen for many months, family and friends.

And we'll be able to praise God as we look back at how he has taken us through the time of crisis,

and as we look forward to the future.

Life will be back to normal.

But maybe on that day, we will then look forward to another day.

A day when the Lord Jesus will return.

A day when we'll go to be with him,

and the troubles and trials of this life will be behind us.

A day when there will be justice done on the earth.

And in that day, we'll rejoice in our Savior and our salvation.

In that day, we'll gaze on the face of our Savior,

and be able fully to express our appreciation of him.

In that day, things will really be back to how they should be.

And I wonder if we look forward to that day,

with as much excitement as we look forward to the day

when life will return to what is called normal in our society.

Are we really thrilled at the thought of the Lord Jesus returning,

and going to be with him?

So there's a day coming when things will be better,

when we won't be so affected by the virus,

and we'll be living life as we used to live it.

But how much better that there's a day coming

when everything will be returned to the way it should be,

and when Jesus is seen to reign.

And who knows?

Maybe the day of Jesus' return will be sooner

than the day when we're free from the virus.

It could be any time.

Why am I saying that?

Because when we come to Isaiah chapters 11 and 12,

Isaiah 11 · chapter mention

we have exactly the same situation.

You may have noticed in the reading

that several times it said,

in that day.

And it said it at key points in the passage.

If you have your Bible in front of you,

and you have a Bible that indents poetry,

you may notice that verses 10 and 11 of chapter 11

are actually prose.

And actually, Archie told us a couple of weeks ago

that when we see prose in the middle of poetry,

as there was in his passage too,

that is something that we should be paying

particular attention to.

So Isaiah is pointing out that

that day is really important.

And then in chapter 12,

in verses 1 and 4,

he talks about in that day

and what people will say.

Again, he's saying,

here's something we look forward to,

and it's going to be really important,

and here's what's going to happen.

And as with our illustration

from current situation,

there are the two perspectives

of what that day means.

There is a day in the time of Isaiah,

actually probably a couple of hundred years later,

but there is a day in the relatively short term

when much of the prophecy

in these chapters was fulfilled,

particularly when the Israelites returned

from their exile.

But even then,

even looking back on that,

as they read Isaiah 11 and 12,

they must have thought,

is that it?

Is there not more to it than this?

It doesn't all seem to have been fulfilled.

And of course,

when we look at it,

we see particularly

the day when the Lord Jesus will return,

and the day when everything

will be under his rule,

and everything will be perfect.

So the perspective here,

the ultimate perspective here,

is exactly the same

as the ultimate perspective

I was talking about

a few minutes ago.

And the bulk of what we want to learn

from this passage

is looking forward

to the Lord's return

and what will happen then.

But there is an immediate context,

and let me just take a short time

to talk about that.

So you remember,

in this section of Isaiah,

what's happening is

you've got the nation of Israel,

the northern kingdom,

the nation of Judah,

the southern kingdom,

now separate since the days

of Rehoboam and Jeroboam.

And round about,

you've got quite a number

of other small nation states.

So you've got Aram,

and you've got Philistine,

and you've got Moab,

and a number of others.

And they're all relatively

insignificant countries

in terms of the world of their day.

They get involved in skirmishes

with each other,

but they weren't nations

at that time of great significance.

Below them to the south,

you have Egypt,

but more significantly,

to the northeast of these nations,

you have the great nation of Assyria.

And Assyria was a really scary superpower

in its day.

It was one of the most vicious powers

in human history.

It was treacherous,

it was cruel,

and it overran countries

with no thought at all

for their good.

And Assyria had become a big threat

to all these small nations

sitting in the Middle East.

And they had a choice to make.

So Israel and Aram,

seeing Assyria on their borders,

they joined together,

they joined forces,

and they tried to raise Israel,

tried to raise Judah rather,

to join them.

It seems that Judah said no,

and so there was a bit of a skirmish

between Israel and Aram and Judah.

And in that situation,

as the king of Judah,

as Ahaz wondered what to do,

Isaiah said to him,

trust God.

Don't enter into a pact with Assyria.

Trust God for the future.

And Ahaz didn't listen to him,

and there are consequences in that

for Judah,

which are listed.

And at the same time,

because of Israel's sin,

the northern country of Israel's sin,

there was a judgment from God on it.

So chapters 7 to 11 are about that,

and we just put a little picture up.

And this is kind of summary

of where we've been

over the last few weeks.

So it's bookended by chapter 6,

which is the call of Isaiah

when the Lord appeared to him,

and chapter 12,

which is a celebration

we'll look at later on.

And then there's a section

which is particularly

about the kingdom of Judah,

and there's one that's particularly

about the kingdom of Israel.

And we can say both of them

have broadly the same pattern.

There's a challenge,

a decision to be made.

Following on from that decision,

there's a judgment from God,

a judgment against Judah,

a judgment against Israel,

a judgment also against Assyria,

described as God's tool.

There's a remnant.

There is a small number of people

who don't turn away from God

and provide hope for the future.

And then there is

the forward-looking ending of it.

So chapter 9 is the chapter

we're all so familiar with

that points to the birth

of the Lord Jesus,

unto us a child is born,

unto us a son is given.

And chapter 11 was drawn

at the bulk of the passage

that we're looking at this evening.

It looks forward,

as I said, that bit further,

and it looks forward

especially to the return

of the Lord Jesus.

But the immediate context,

what people would look at

and perhaps in the centuries

to come would take from it

as having happened,

was that after the exile,

after Israel was taken over

by the Assyrians

and Judah by the Babylonians

and the people were taken away,

there would be a return

which came under Ezra and Nehemiah,

and there would be

a partial fulfillment

of what is said here.

People were able to live

in peace in the land

and to, again,

worship God as they wished to,

but only a partial fulfillment.

So let's spend the rest of the time

thinking about what this has to say to us

as we look forward from now.

What is it that is the ultimate fulfillment

of the prophecy here?

And four things about that

that I think we learn

from these chapters.

In that day, first of all,

there will be a rain.

So this is chapter 11

Isaiah 11 · chapter mention

and the first five verses.

It is about a king

who is filled with God's spirit

and who rules justly.

And of course,

it's about the Lord Jesus.

So let's have a look at that

and draw some thoughts from it.

Chapter 11 and verse 1 says,

a shoot will come up

from the stump of Jesse.

Now, if you remember way back

to chapter 6,

in chapter 6,

because of the sins of the people,

God had prophesied,

Isaiah prophesied from God

that the tree would be cut down.

The tree that was Israel

or Judah would be cut down

and there would only be

a stump left.

Isaiah says,

looking forward,

that stump will produce a shoot.

Just a shoot,

but a shoot that will grow

to be a branch

and to bear fruit.

And that fruit will come

from the stump of Jesse.

Now, Jesse, of course,

was the father of King David

in the Old Testament.

Interestingly,

he says from Jesse

rather than David,

perhaps something to do

with the obscurity

from which the Lord Jesus

would come,

perhaps also pointing to him

being the second David,

the great David's greater son.

But Isaiah is saying

there will be in the future

a shoot that becomes a branch

that bears fruit.

And this person,

this shoot,

which will ultimately be the king,

it will have some

very special qualities.

So verse 2,

the spirit of the Lord

will rest on him,

the spirit of wisdom

and of understanding,

the spirit of counsel

and of power,

the spirit of knowledge

and the fear of God,

and he will delight

in the fear of the Lord.

He could perfectly

be describing the Lord Jesus,

couldn't he?

Of course,

with the eye of prophecy,

he is.

the one on whom

the spirit of God

came to rest

at his baptism,

but throughout his life

who was filled

with the spirit

and who displayed

the qualities

that are those

of someone

who is truly

spiritual.

So Isaiah talks about

a spirit of wisdom

and understanding.

So that is being able

to see the world

around about us

and to see it

for what it is

and to know

what to do

in every situation.

And is that not exactly

what we see

in the Lord Jesus?

Whoever came to him,

he could discern

what was in their hearts,

he could discern

their needs,

and he could act

in a way

that was for

their good.

For some people,

it was to heal them

physically.

For some people,

it was to assure them

of salvation

and of forgiveness.

For some people,

it was to condemn them

because of their hypocrisy.

But in every situation,

the Lord Jesus,

through the spirit,

was able to discern

what was the right thing

to do

and to do it.

Spirit of counsel

and of power,

which is the next thing

described here,

would typically be

the kind of expression

that was used

in terms of

a king

and managing

the affairs

of state.

So it is

understanding again,

but understanding

the big picture,

being able to see

everything

in its context

and what needs

to be done

and having the power

to do it.

And again,

is that not exactly

what we see

in the Lord Jesus,

both in his life

on earth

and now

as he is our advocate

in heaven

with the Father.

He understands

our situation.

He understands

our world.

He is able to

guide us

as we seek

to navigate

through it.

And he has

had in his life

and has now

the power

to make a real

difference

in every situation.

And of course,

ultimately,

as he went

to the cross,

he had the

understanding

and the wisdom

to know

that that was

the only way

of salvation

for us.

And he had

the power,

he had the

desire

and the ability

to go to the cross

and because

he was sinless

to take our sins

on himself

and to emerge

victorious,

to rise again

on the third day.

The spirit of wisdom

and understanding,

the spirit of counsel

and power,

and then thirdly,

as the spirit

of knowledge

and of the fear

of the Lord.

So the Lord Jesus

had a perfect knowledge

in every situation.

Not head knowledge

really particularly

being talked about here

although that comes

into it.

It is the knowledge

that comes from

being able to see things

the way they are

and being able

to act on them.

And particularly

knowing God

and fearing him.

Fear, of course,

not being terror

in this context.

It is respect

and reverence

for God.

And that is the description

of the Lord Jesus.

I wonder how well

it describes us.

We all have

the spirit

of the Lord.

Unlike

people in the Old Testament

where the spirit

would come and rest

on someone for a while

to do a specific task

and would then

not be with them.

We have the spirit,

the Holy Spirit

in our hearts,

in our lives,

guiding,

leading,

directing us,

helping us to live

the way that

Jesus does.

Jesus did

and Jesus would

want us to.

And do we then

display wisdom

and understanding,

counsel, power,

knowledge,

and fear

of the Lord?

And then verses

3 to 5

talks about

what this shoot

will do,

what this king

who is coming

will do.

And it is a message

of judgment

but of righteousness

and of justice.

Verse 5,

I think,

is key.

Righteousness

will be his belt

and faithfulness

the sash

round his waist.

The things,

if you like,

that hold him together,

that make him complete

are righteousness

and faithfulness.

Doing what is right,

helping others

to do what is right,

enforcing justice

where necessary,

but always being

faithful to God

and to his word.

This is the king

that Isaiah

is able to look

forward to.

This is the one

who ultimately

will reign.

and this is the one

who is our saviour

and our lord

and we should be

serving him

and seeking

to follow

his example.

Him says,

Sing we the king

who is coming

to reign.

Glory to Jesus,

the lamb

that was slain.

Righteousness,

peace,

then his empire

shall bring.

Joy to the nations

when Jesus

is king.

So we look forward

to the day

when Jesus

is seen to reign

and restore

righteousness

and justice

in our world.

Let's move on though

and look at

the next few verses

from verse 6

to verse 9.

And I've called

these restoration.

It is the return

of creation

to what it

should be.

Now like a lot

of prophecy,

we have a bit

of a dilemma

with these verses.

Are we to take

them literally

or not?

So will it

really be the case

that lions

will start

to eat straw

rather than meat?

Now it's possible,

but it would require

quite big

biological changes.

Obviously God

could well do,

but it may be

that what

the writer

here is looking

at,

the prophecy

here,

is as much

figurative

as literal.

That is,

looking forward

to a day

when those

who are strong,

when those

who like

to exert

their authority,

have that

taken away

from them

and they are

brought down

to the same

kind of level

as those

who are weak

and those

who might seem

helpless.

So in terms

of the world

of Isaiah's day,

it would be

Israel and Judah

having the same

kind of strength

and the same

kind of relationship

that Assyria did

or Babylon would

or that Egypt did.

The big countries

and the little countries

being able to live

at peace together.

Now maybe that,

or it's maybe

to be taken literally

if you two think

that through

for yourself.

But the key thing is

it is a world

where creation

has been restored

to the way

it should be.

Where everything

is peaceful

and there is not

a dogfight

going on

and everyone

trying to get

their own way.

Where a little child

can lead them.

I think the contrast

is between

a great warrior king

going out to battle

and a little child

being able to lead.

Where there is no fear.

Where the young child

can put his hand

into the nest

of vipers

and not worry

about it.

And how can this

come about?

What are the circumstances

that are required

for that?

Well it's in verse 9

isn't it?

They will neither harm

nor destroy

on all my holy mountain

for the earth

will be full

of the knowledge

of the Lord

as the waters

cover the sea.

How do the waters

cover the sea?

They cover it completely.

You don't have

bits of sea

and then there's

a bit of dry land

and then there's

another bit of sea

and that is not

what we would

normally expect.

The sea is full

of water

everywhere.

And the prophet

is saying here

one day

the earth

will be full

of the knowledge

of God

in that way.

Not head knowledge

not just knowing

the facts about God

but knowing God

and seeking

to do his will

and to follow

in his good purposes.

One day

everything will change

and a world

where there is

very little knowledge

of God now.

A world where

most people

have no interest

in God

or in eternity.

One day

it will all be different

and everyone

will know

that Jesus

is Lord.

Everyone will know

that we have

a just

and a righteous

God

and creation

will be back

as it should have been

if sin hadn't

entered in it.

Creation

will be

restored.

Let me continue

my hymn.

Knowledge and fear

of the Lord

then shall be

as the deep waters

that cover the sea

all things

shall be

in the splendor

of spring

and all harmonious

when Jesus

is King.

restoration.

Third thing

we look at

I've put under

the heading

of return.

God's people

are reunited.

Interesting

as we come

to verse 10

in verse 1

we notice

that there was

a shoot

coming from

the stump

of Jesse.

In verse 10

it talks about

the root

of Jesse.

Now the root

it needs to be there

for a long time

before the shoot

can come up

or before the tree

can be established

doesn't it?

So we have this

curious paradox

which we can

begin to understand

now

that the Lord

Jesus

who was great

David's greater

son

also was the one

who was there

before David

or before Abraham

or before anything

else existed.

He is the one

who is the root

the source

of everything

in our lives.

and he will

be the banner

says Isaiah

that will attract

people to him

and that will

bring them

all together.

If you're following

on in verse 11

there's a list

of different places

and nationalities

there.

The idea I think

is just from

every corner

of the world.

Some are east

some are west

some are north

some are south

God's people

are being brought

back

from everywhere.

these verses

I think there are

quite a lot of

echoes of the

exodus from Egypt

and of God's

people for the

first time

being brought

to Israel

and saying

this will happen

again a second

time.

That God's people

who have been

removed from

their land

will be brought

back.

Now as I say

it's probably

in the shortish

term referring

to the return

from exile

from Babylon.

You might also

want to depending

on how you

view things

seeing it

the return

of the Jews

to Israel

in the middle

of the 20th

century

something which

people would

never have

forecast in

previous years

but wonderfully

happened.

But particularly

I think it looks

forward to the

day when all

God's people

will be together

united under

the Lord Jesus.

That those who

were there in

the first century

BC when the

Lord was on

earth, those

who have trusted

him since,

and the saints

from Old

Testament days

who had their

trust in God

will all be

united and

will be together

singing the

praise of the

Lord Jesus.

All separation

is gone.

You may have

noticed the end

of chapter 11

that the prophet

talks about the

seas drying up,

the Euphrates

and the Red Sea

and so on,

and the picture

there of just

everything that

separates being

removed.

See in the Bible

tends to talk

about separation.

So everything

that would stop

us being together

as God's people

is removed and

we're all united

and we're all

together with

the Lord who

loved us and

who died for

us.

And what a day

that should be

as we look

forward to it

when we're with

the Lord and

we're with all

the saints from

down the ages.

All shall be

well in this

kingdom of

priests.

Freedom shall

flourish and

wisdom increase.

Foe shall

be friend when

his triumph

we sing.

Sword shall

be sickle when

Jesus is

king.

And these

skirmishes

talked about

between Israel

and Judah

and the other

nation

dragged about.

They'll be

behind because

everyone who

knows the

Lord will be

brought together.

And finally

let's have a

look at

chapter 12.

So chapter

12 as I've

said is one

of the

bookends of

the section

of Isaiah

I've been

looking at

from chapter

6 to

chapter 12.

And it's a

song of

praise to

God.

Actually it's

two songs

of praise to

God.

But you've

noticed that

verse 1

says in

that day

you will

say and

verse 4

also says

in that

day you

will say.

What you

don't get in

the modern

translations but

would get in

the very old

ones is that

in verse 1

the you is

singular so it

would be thou in

some of the

old translations

in verse 4

it's plural so

it's ye in

the old

translations.

So the first

few verses are

an individual

song of

praise to

God and

the last few

verses are

the company of

God's people

joining together

in praise of

him.

But all

together

recognizing God's

goodness,

recognizing God's

wisdom,

recognizing the

reign of the

Lord Jesus

and praising

God for all

he has done

for us.

So in

verses 1

to 3

it is the

individual

praising God.

Now again

there's something

you probably

don't get from

your translation.

In two places

it talks about

God being

my salvation.

It's the

beginning of

verse 2

and it's also

at the end

of verse 2.

Now what you

don't get from

that is that

the name

Isaiah,

the name of

the prophet

here,

means God

is my

salvation.

So there's a

bit of a

pun if you

like going

on here.

This is Isaiah

as the prophet

saying,

yes my name

is true,

God is

my salvation.

And three

things that

particularly

strike him

as he thinks

about God

his salvation.

The first

in verse 1

is God's

forgiveness.

So God

has rightly

been angry

with his

people.

His people

have failed

him,

they deserve

to be judged.

But our

God is a

merciful and

gracious God.

And when the

people turn

back to him

then he will

forgive them

and they

will be restored

to fellowship

with him.

And that is

something too

that we should

be praising

God for.

We deserve

God's wrath.

We have

done wrong,

we are

sinners,

we don't

deserve

anything

from God.

But through

the death

of the Lord

Jesus and

through God's

grace to us

we have

come to

know him.

And we

know he is

no longer

angry with

us.

Because the

Lord Jesus

has taken

the punishment,

he has

turned away

the wrath

of God.

He has

atoned for

our sins

and we

have forgiveness

through him.

And Isaiah

praises God

for that.

In verse 2

he praises God

that he doesn't

need to be

afraid.

Actually a couple

of weeks ago

he was talking

about the

trust,

who do you

trust?

And I think

that is coming

out again

in this.

Surely God

is my salvation,

I will trust

and not be

afraid.

Isn't it

great that

for us as

Christians,

when we go

through the

trials of life,

when things

are difficult

and stressful

for us,

we know

that we

can trust

the Saviour

who loved

us and

gave his

life for

us.

We know

he is in

every situation,

that he is

in control,

and we can

commit things

to him

knowing that

he knows

what is

best for

us.

And then

in verse 3

there is

the joy

that comes

from

salvation.

Our sins

have been

forgiven.

We have a

God,

a Saviour,

who we

can trust

in.

And so

we can

live our

lives with

joy,

with the

well of

salvation

springing up

within us

and rejoicing

in all that

the Saviour

has done

for us.

I wonder

whether we

as individuals,

as we do

as a church,

thank God

regularly for

all these

things that

he has done

for us,

for our

salvation,

for his

daily

provision,

for the

joy that

we can

have in

the Lord

Jesus.

But then

there's also

in verses

4 to 6

there's the

united

worship

together.

This is

addressed to

all God's

people and

encouraging

them to

praise God

and to

tell others

about him.

And the

two go

together.

We praise

God because

we want

to sing

his praises

and

celebrate

all that

he has

done

in our

lives.

But we

also praise

God and

proclaim him

so that

others may

come to

know him

and to

trust him

as well.

And Isaiah

says the

two very

much go

together.

As people

can see the

delight that

we have in

our God,

the relationship

that we have

with him,

then they

will be

attracted to

him and

will be

able to

proclaim his

goodness and

the salvation

that we have

through the

Lord Jesus.

And that's

true both

individually and

corporately.

We should be

rejoicing in

our God and

that should be

in a sense

infectious,

that people

around about

us should

see we're

different and

should want

to come to

trust in

the Lord

Jesus.

So again I

ask myself

and all of

us, are

we rejoicing

in the

prospect of

the Lord's

return?

Do we

look forward

to that

day and

yearn for

it when

things will

be as

they should

be?

And when

we will

be with

our Lord

and be

with him

forever?

And if we

are, does

it make a

difference in

the way we

live?

Does it

make a

difference in

the way we

view our

world?

Does it

make a

difference in

how we

relate to

others and

seek to

witness to

them about

the Lord

Jesus?

When the

Bible talks

about the

second coming

of the

Lord Jesus

it is never

a theoretical

thing that

it is talking

about.

It is always

something that

should have a

practical impact

on our

lives and

make us want

day by day

to live for

the Lord and

to tell others

about him.

Kingdom of

Christ, for

thy coming we

pray.

Hasten, O

Father, the

dawn of that

day, when

this new

song thy

creation shall

sing, Satan

is vanquished

and Jesus

is king.

Come let us

sing praise

to our

king, Jesus

our king,

Jesus our

king.

This is our

song who to

Jesus belong.

Glory to

Jesus, to

Jesus our

king.

Let's pray

together.

our

Father, we

thank you

for this

wonderful

prophecy by

Isaiah.

We thank

you for the

way in which

you enabled

him so

accurately to

portray what

will happen

on the

Lord's

return.

That one

day the

Lord will

come back

and in

that day

everything

will be put

right that's

been so

wrong.

In that

day we

will be

united with

all others

who love

him and

know him.

Above all

in that

day we

will go

to be

with our

Lord and

to be

with him

forever.

Help us

to look

forward to

that day,

to long

for it and

to seek to

win others

for the

Lord Jesus

that they

too may

have the

joy of

knowing that

they will

go to

be with

him.

We thank

you for

your presence

with us

this evening.

We pray

you will

continue with

us now as

we come to

remember the

Lord Jesus

together.

We ask

in his

name.

Amen.

Amen.