Second Sunday of Advent 2024

We continue on in our Advent series. We are spending Advent in Isaiah's prophecy.

Last week we looked at chapter 2, and with it, that beautiful declaration that at the end of the age,

swords will be beaten into plowshares, spears will be beaten into pruning hooks.

It's this wonderful picture of the reign of Christ and his judgment on the living and the dead,

ushering in this remarkable, wonderful, eternal reality.

Today we're in Isaiah 11, and we're going to look at this mysterious prophecy.

It doesn't necessarily seem mysterious for us. Here we are recognizing that this is going to be about Jesus.

Nevertheless, let us put ourselves into the boots, the sandals, the shoes, whatever,

of the ancient Israelites centuries and centuries before Christ showed up on the scene 2,000 years ago.

And what we're going to read here is about a king.

And this king is a remarkable king. He is a king that comes from David's line.

And if you are familiar at all with the biblical story, you'll know that King David wasn't just a king of Israel,

but he was the king of Israel. In fact, he was the most high and lifted up king of Israel.

And this prophecy says that a king like David would come again.

So we're going to take a look at this king.

We're going to ask the question, who is this king?

And we're going to ask the question, what is the nature of his rule?

And finally, we're going to ask the question, how will his reign affect the world?

So kings do. They reign.

And as a result, their kingdoms look a certain way.

So if you have a Bible, you can turn with me.

Isaiah chapter 11, starting in the first verse.

Isaiah 11 · chapter mention

There is only one more Bible left, but if you want to grab it before anybody else does, go for it.

But it would be great if you could follow along with me.

Look at verse 1 of Isaiah chapter 11.

Isaiah 11 · chapter mention

This is what it says.

Again, we're asking the question, who is this king?

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

and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.

Chapter 11 opens with the image of a clear-cut forest.

If you go back to chapter 10,

it's a very grim picture that is painted of an arrogant,

a rebellious people who are, in God's judgment, lopped off.

It's for sure referring to the people of Israel,

but also to the neighboring superpower at the time, the Assyrians.

And what we see here in chapter 11,

and we can picture it in our minds,

the picture is a clear-cut forest.

I actually like the imagery,

and I'm not trying to impose my own stuff,

but just it helps me here,

of thinking about post-wildfires in Jasper.

If you remember this earlier this year,

I mean, it looked like a hellscape.

It was a terrible thing.

Jasper burnt to the ground.

Or if it helps you, a clear-cut forest,

but in a not sustainable way,

just completely, a forest completely torn up.

And out of this utter destruction

that is the cause of judgment

because of rebellion and arrogance,

out shoots this one tiny green sapling

out of this big, lopped off stump.

And if you can picture the Jasper imagery with me,

I like it because it's like all grayscale, right?

All the ash.

There's not much even color.

There's nothing.

But you can picture complete gray,

ash, black,

and out of it shoots this bright, vibrant sapling.

And friends, right off the bat,

Isaiah chapter 11

Isaiah 11 · chapter mention

speaks of the Lord's mercy

and of His grace

and of God's inability

to allow arrogance and rebellion

to endure forever.

This sapling, this shoot

that's going to come from the stump of Jesse,

we will see that it is a king.

But it's significant that Jesse here is mentioned

because Jesse, if you know the story

of King David's line,

he is the father of King David.

He is the beginning of the Divinic dynasty,

so to speak.

So even though it mentions Jesse here,

what we are understanding

is that a second David

is about to come onto the scene.

A David 2.0, if you will.

King David is returning.

Now, King David,

he lived centuries before this.

All the kings that came from King David,

some were good,

some were horrendous,

none were perfect.

Here we're going to see

that this king,

who will come as the shoot

out of the stump of Jesse,

out of this act of grace and mercy

from the rebellious and arrogant people Israel

that have suffered judgment

because of their actions.

This king will not be like

any other king that Israel has ever known.

He is not simply a great king,

but he is the king.

If David is his father,

this king is something like David,

but even more so.

There's a bit of a mystery

surrounding who this king is.

Like I mentioned before,

the imagery is of the mercy

and grace of God,

his love expressed in redemption.

It starts small.

It is insignificant,

but will grow bigger and grander.

And here's the wonderful thing

about what we see here,

is that it is this little sapling,

this king,

it is an expression

of the grace and mercy of God,

not because God has somehow acquired

excellent skills of grace and mercy,

but because God himself

is mercy and grace.

What do I mean by that?

We are a collection

of our attributes, so to speak.

We are complex people.

We can learn and grow

and acquire different skills

and abilities.

Nobody here was born

with the ability to read,

to do math.

Nobody here was born

with the ability

to love perfectly well.

And yet,

we've acquired it.

God is not so.

God has always existed

in his perfection,

which is to say

that when we read

that God is love,

we can also say

that God is mercy

and God is grace.

God is justice.

That he isn't,

he isn't merely a composite

of his qualities,

but he is.

Therefore,

his qualities

are inherent to him.

They are essential.

There's a whole doctrine

around this.

I think it's wonderful

and exciting.

I also know that it can get,

it can,

it can cause people

to fall asleep prematurely.

But I'll just mention

the name.

It is the,

God's simplicity.

It's divine simplicity.

And this is significant

for us

because what is happening

isn't just that God

went into

a season of judgment

against Israel

and thought,

I was a bit too heavy-handed.

I was a bit too harsh.

What I'm going to do is

I'm going to

give them a bit of mercy.

I'm going to throw them a bone.

I'm going to show them

some grace.

I don't want them

to think of me

as too mean.

I want to show my love.

I've made a mistake.

I need to correct it.

It's not like that at all.

But what we see here

is something that God

cannot not do.

He cannot not show mercy.

He cannot not

show grace.

He cannot not show love.

He has to.

So when we see

this destruction,

this judgment

that has happened,

not because he is

this vindictive God,

but because

rebellion and arrogance

can only last so long

before God's judgment

has to deal with it,

what we are seeing here

is God being God

and proclaiming mercy

and grace and love

to people that do not

deserve it.

And this is what

this little sapling,

this green,

bright,

vivid shoot

that's shooting out

of this lopped-off stump,

this is what it means.

This is who this king is.

He's an expression

of God's grace

and mercy.

Later on,

at the end of Isaiah,

close to the end of Isaiah,

Isaiah 65, 24

says this,

just to highlight

how merciful

and gracious

this God is

and how quick he is

to rush

towards redemption.

Isaiah 65, 24

says this,

Before they call,

I will answer.

While they are yet speaking,

I will hear.

It's a beautiful picture

of what God does

and who God is.

There's a prayer also

that we prayed,

I guess it would be

sometime this summer,

it's smack dab

in Trinity season

and we were previously

just in Trinity season.

It's from the colleague

for the 12th Sunday

in Trinity

and it reads this,

Almighty and everlasting God

who is always more ready

to hear than we are to pray.

That's a beautiful line.

He is always more ready

to hear than we are to pray

and is always more ready

to give more

than we desire

or deserve

and then it continues on

praying for God's mercy.

This shoot,

this little bit

that is Jesse's offspring

is just that

and like I mentioned before,

it is a king,

it is going to be

a king like David,

this king,

this shoot

that this king

is represented in,

it's going to be like David

but also not like David.

What do I mean?

And this is where

we're going to continue on,

verse 2.

This is what it says

of this shoot,

this king that is to come.

Verse 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.

Verse 3,

and I'll just read

the first part of verse 3.

And his delight

shall be in the fear

of the Lord.

King David

was an anointed king

and he certainly did

delight in the law

and the fear of the Lord.

Psalm 119

is a beautiful psalm

that highlights that.

It'll take you

about 25 or so minutes

to read.

And I know this

because I was driving

with Steve Griffin

who you will know,

he's guest preached here

a number of times.

We were driving

to Pembroke

and as soon as

we hit the highway

at Palladium,

he said,

I want you,

I'm going to be preaching

on Psalm 119.

Would you read it for me?

I was like,

yeah, yeah, yeah, sure.

Which verse?

He's like,

go ahead,

just read the whole thing.

And when I put up my head,

we were an arm prior.

So it's about like

25, 30 minutes

to read it.

What's unmistakable

about Psalm 119

and King David wrote it

is that he was

delighting in the Lord.

Delighting in his laws,

delighting in his ways.

This was King David.

He loved the Lord.

However, David sinned

in no small way.

He was an adulterer.

He was a liar.

He was a murderer.

He wasn't exactly

a great father either.

As great as David was,

this offspring of Jesse,

this David 2.0,

is something far better

and greater.

It is remarkable

these seven-fold spirits

of the Lord

that will rest upon him.

David 2.0,

empowered by the Spirit

of God himself

so that he is a king

who is wise and just

in all his decisions

and pronouncements.

So that means

he's not a liar.

And it's not that

he just doesn't lie

very much.

It means that

he's not a liar.

Truth,

and only truth,

is spoken from his lips.

He doesn't fudge numbers.

He doesn't reframe

the narrative

to fit him

or his agenda.

He is marked

by honesty and truth.

That's that first part.

The Spirit of the Lord

shall rest upon him.

The Spirit of wisdom

and understanding.

Also,

the Spirit of counsel

and might.

That is to say

that this king

is going to be strong

and strategic.

He has the ability

to right the ills

of the enemies

of his people.

We'll see

who those enemies are

a bit later.

He is plotting

the right course of action

and also has a skill

in the endurance

to see it through.

This king,

he is not all talk,

but he is brawn.

He has strength,

but also there's a wisdom

and a strategy

about him.

This last part,

the Spirit of knowledge

and the fear of the Lord.

This king,

he knows and loves the Lord.

He deeply delights

in the Lord.

He takes truth

and rightly applies it.

He is reverent

and obedient,

giving glory

to God Almighty.

This is what true,

divine loyalty

looks like

in this king.

He is about

God's business

first and foremost.

And finally,

the first part

of verse 3

says,

and his delight

shall be in the fear

of the Lord.

I mean,

it's really wonderful

we have these

really good translations,

but it doesn't really

catch it.

What we hear

in the original language

would be

something like

all of his delight,

all of his being,

everything about him

just finds

its fullness

and delight

in God Almighty.

There's

just a singular focus,

all of his delight.

The language

also speaks

of enjoying

the Lord's fragrance.

It's like

a deeply personal

relationship

that this king

has

with God himself.

So,

this is the king

that shoots

from the stump

of Jesse.

This is the king

that God is promising

to his wayward people.

So,

we consider again

verse 1

and you see

this clear-cut forest

or this

absolutely charred

hellscape.

This

shoot,

bright,

vibrant,

full of life,

this shoot

springs up

in the midst

of destruction.

And this isn't

just a bone

that's being thrown

to a wayward people.

This is God's

goodness and love

and mercy

on full display.

It's a beautiful picture.

This is who this king is.

This is

the heart

of the Lord

for his people

who certainly

do not deserve it.

So,

it's very clear

that verses 2

and in the first part

of verse 3,

the king is marked

inwardly by godly character.

He's empowered

by the Holy Spirit.

He is delighting

in the Lord.

And this

manifests itself

outwardly

in a commitment

to righteousness

as a good

and godly judge

who establishes

good and godly

rule

and leads

God's people

in good

and godly living.

And this will be

our second point.

What is the nature

of his rule?

Look with me.

The second part

of verse 3

all the way

to verse 5.

And this is what it says.

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.

No hypocrisy

with this king.

Only a deep

consistent

and truly righteous

life.

His inward

his interior life

matches

his outer life

his outward life.

And in a world

that is deeply

conflicted

and incoherent

whether it be

leaders

or institutions

or policies

or world views

whatever may be

education

you name it

the promise

of this kind

of rule

and this kind

of king

it is a deeply

comforting thing.

A righteous

living

consistent

godly

king

who will rule

perfectly.

Only he can judge

with true equity

not the appearance

of equity.

He does not favor

the wealthy

because he is

easily influenced

nor does he take up

the cause

of the poor

overlooking

their sin

their unrighteousness.

Rather he is about

what is right

and just

and fair.

There is no confusion

there is no hesitation

in this king.

He is committed

to righteousness

in all the spheres

of his rule

which turns out

to be the entire earth.

This is not

King David

this is something

greater than King David

someone greater

than King David.

A king

a leader

a ruler

who is consistently

good.

this fall

has been

an interesting

one.

You don't have to be

a news junkie

to know that there

was a significant

election in America.

With the election

of Donald Trump

I mean the narrative

that

that he will only

he would only

get elected

because of

misogyny

and racism

was blown out of the water.

Like him or not

the election

of Donald Trump

was in no small part

due to

a rejection

of progressivism.

And yet

just a few weeks later

in the British Parliament

in the House

assisted suicide

was adopted

as the law

of the land.

Extremely progressive.

Glenn Scribner

we read one of his books

this summer

The Air We Breathe

he commented

on our current

cultural moment

and I think

it's brilliant.

He says

it is marked

by the mask

terrors

and the mask

wearers.

And I think

it's very

it fits

very well.

We live in

a confused

time.

We have people

that have

conflicting

world views

and on one hand

it seems like

progressivism is dead

but on the other hand

progressivism is

alive and well

that conservative

values

they're coming back

with force

conservative values

are being

absolutely

relegated

to the margins.

It's a very

bizarre time

a bit of an

incoherent time

that's not even

to talk about

the influx

of

immigration

and the politics

and the world views

that are brought

with new Canadians

or refugees

it's a remarkable

it's a remarkable

world we live in.

It's difficult

to navigate

at times

but here

there's a promise

that there will

be a king

who will

proclaim

what is truly

right

and it will

be based

not on

the current

fad of the

day

but on

timeless

and eternal

truths of who

God is

and what he

established

and him

calling his

creation good

and proclaiming

human flourishing

on his terms

not ours

and that he

will be

consistent

completely

and a big

part of this

we'll find out

will be

reconciling

humanity

with God

once again.

The rule of the

king however

envisions a

truly just

society that

promotes what

is truly good

but also

punishes what

is truly

bad.

So although

it is a

beautiful marriage

of mercy

and justice

it says of

this king

that he

will

he will

judge the

wicked

and he

will kill

them.

It's

a bit of a

jarring thing

for us to

read.

But I'll

just say

this.

There can't

be a promotion

of the good

of virtue

unless evil

and vice

vices are

dealt with.

It is not

enough to

overlook the

bad in the

pursuit of the

good but the

bad must be

dealt with.

And I think

this is

precisely what

is happening.

The judgment

of God is

not a mean

thing but also

an expression

of his love.

I want to

save the

dignity of my

children so I

won't name

which one but

one of the

ways we at

least I frame

discipline in

our house is

that their life

is like a

beautiful garden

and we

want to see

vegetables and

flowers grow

but what

happens is

that little

weeds shoot

up or

rodents get

in there and

eat the bulbs

or eat the

vegetables before

they're ready to

be harvested.

There's like a

whole kind of

thing we go

through.

But that

discipline is

like pulling

out the weeds.

it's like

attacking and

destroying all

the, sorry,

getting the

rodents in

live traps and

then letting

them out in

a wooded area

for them to

live lovely

lives.

Probably the

former.

But that's

what we say

to our kids

because if we

truly love

them we want

to judge their

behavior to be

wanting.

That is a

loving thing to

do and what

we see here

is precisely

that.

That God

through this

king wants to

cultivate true

flourishing.

He wants to

see life

grow and

spring up and

develop and

that cannot

happen if evil

is allowed to

persist.

So this king

will be a king

marked by

proclaiming and

exacting

judgment but it

will not be done

in a vindictive

way but in a

just and good

way.

So we've

found out who

the king is

we've

understood

what his

the nature

of his rule

but now we

ask the question

how will this

rule how will

this reign affect

the world?

We judge a

tree by its

fruit so what

will the fruit

of this king

look like?

Verses six to

nine read with

me.

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 fat and

calf together

and the 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.

I'll read verse

nine one last

time.

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.

Isaiah 2 verse

Isaiah 2:4

4 swords into

plowshares,

spears into

pruning hooks.

It is an

agricultural

metaphor.

We have

something similar

here in verses

six to nine.

Something that

harkens back to

Eden.

Something I

don't know why I

wasn't as familiar

with this.

I've read the

creation account a

number of times.

Maybe it's

familiar to you,

maybe not.

But Genesis 1,

29 to 30, God

has created

everything.

He has given

dominion over all

of the earth to

mankind, to

Adam.

But verses 30 of

Genesis chapter 1

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

says this,

And to every

beast of the

earth and to

every bird of

the heavens and

to everything that

creeps on the

earth, everything

that has the

breath of life.

So it's

everything.

I have given

every green plant

for food.

And it was so.

It would seem

that the way

God created the

world meant

that even

creation was at

peace and not

at war with

each other.

That there was

such peace that

it extended well

past humanity but

into every aspect of

the created order.

And I think that's

what it's getting at

here.

I think we could

get lost and

maybe it would be a

great study but we'd

get lost if we say

well listen, you

know, this is just a

literal thing that we

need to, we can only

read Genesis 1

literally and I think

we should read it in

some cases literally.

But I think it speaks

to something greater

than that.

That the peace of

God was always the

plan of creation.

The curse that came

into the world because

of rebellious sin, it

seems like it will be

no more when this

king comes in the

world that he will

reign.

Peace will be known.

Creation no more

given to frustration

and brokenness.

So this true vision

of a biblical peace

is, I've heard it

said before, it's not

just the absence of

war but the righting

of all wrongs, the

reconciliation of all

hostilities and what

it truly means to live

to the fullest.

The peace will be

marked with tranquility

and holiness.

And how will that

come to pass?

We'll see this again

in verse 9.

For the earth shall be

full of the knowledge

of the Lord.

That's it.

This is the key

section in this, in

verses 6 to 9 and

maybe even the entire

section of chapter 11.

So once again, we see

that the mercy and

grace of a loving God

is making it possible

for true peace to

exist between us and

him.

And then it continues

to flow out.

It continues to reach

and go into every

crack and crevice of all

of creation so that

even the most elusive

peace is realized.

This is all because

the world comes under

the rule of this

king, this offspring

of David.

It is hard for us to

in a very

liberty is kind of

freedom.

It's one of our

it's one of the things

we value the most.

That I am my own

person.

I have autonomy.

I have independence.

And here,

interestingly,

there's a great

irony because it is

saying as the world

comes into subjection

to the king,

that true life

begins.

True life doesn't

begin when we start

to exercise our

autonomy in every

aspect of our life,

but only as we

bend a knee to this

king and be

reconciled to

the God of

creation

will we truly

understand what it

means to be human

and enjoy it.

It's a remarkable

thing.

But let's go back

to this picture

of this king.

This king is

supposed to be like

David.

This king clearly

is not David.

He is better than

David.

He is better than

any human that has

ever existed.

Again, we're wearing

and we're putting

ourselves in the

shoes of the

Israelites that are

reading this centuries

before Jesus comes on

the scene.

Who on earth,

who on earth could

satisfy this

prophecy?

Clearly it wasn't a

human being.

Or maybe it was and

this person was kind

of given a dose of

the divinity in some

kind of way.

Who knows?

But there's some

mystery around this.

This isn't a

regular person.

This is where it

gets really wonderful.

Verse 10, it reads

like this.

In that day, if you

remember last week we

talked about this term

in that day being

shorthand for the end

of the age, this

messianic age when God

would send his

savior to right all

the wrong.

So it's a little

shorthand here.

Verse 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.

Verse 1, it speaks

about the shoot of

Jesse.

Out of Jesse, another

offspring of Jesse, a

shoot of Jesse, a

shoot out of the

stump will appear.

But here, it doesn't

say the shoot of

Jesse, it says the

root of Jesse.

So what's happening?

It would seem that

the shoot of Jesse is

also the root of

Jesse here.

And that means that

the offspring of

Jesse, this David 2.0,

is actually the

creator of the

Davidic line himself.

That this king isn't

just an offspring, but

the creator himself.

This person has to be

God.

You don't speak of

human beings in this

language.

He is the root of

Jesse.

He has come again to

his people, even though

they are obstinate.

God himself is the

Messiah.

It is a remarkable

thing.

It's subtle, but you

see it here.

And for the ancient

Israelites reading this,

there would have to be a

scandal in their ears to

hear this.

That somehow this

Messiah, this promised

king would be God

himself.

There's no chance.

There's no way.

Here's the beautiful

thing about this.

God has not recalled his

promises to obstinate

Israel.

He has promised to be

their God and they his

people.

But here we see that

instead of extending his

mercy and grace just to

Israel, he extends it to

the entire world.

For it says that he will

be a signal for all

peoples.

That God has breached

the divide between him

in his holiness and glory

and us in our sinfulness

and rebellion.

In our cursed state.

That God has set up a

banner.

He has declared it.

He is proclaiming it to

the entire world.

Because the root of

Jesse becomes the shoot

of Jesse.

God becomes man yet

remains God.

So we see this thing

that is very, it's very

mysterious but also very

scandalous but it also is

very exciting if we grasp

what's really happening.

For the king of the

universe becomes a king in

David's line and he

reverses the curse by paying

our debt upon the cross

of Calvary.

And in doing so he restores

us to him so that we may

know and enjoy the Lord's

goodness and peace forever

and then we become his

ambassadors to the nations.

We become a part of that

signal, that banner,

proclaiming that we are in

the messianic age.

That the king has come.

He has come.

He has come in the form of

human flesh, fully man,

fully God and he will come

again to consolidate his

rule.

This is why the incarnation

of our Lord is an

incredible act of mercy and

grace.

So as we continue on in

Advent, help us, we need

to ask the Lord to help us

to prepare for his coming.

Prepare for our long

awaited king, the shoot and

the root of Jesse.

Let's pray.

Father in heaven, we thank

you for these centuries,

millennia old prophecies

that weren't just declared

and became just a relic of

the past.

Just an archaeological bit of

evidence for how ancient

Israelites used to live, but

a prophecy that came true.

Lord, you have declared

something and it has come to

pass.

So let us prepare, Lord, that

we would be ready to receive

the blessed Savior on Christmas

Day.

But Lord, help us also to live

now in the reality that will

come in its fullness when he

returns a second time.

Lord, we thank you that you

don't treat us the way we ought

to be treated.

Instead, you give us mercy and

grace and love abundantly in a

way that is not cheap, is not

little bits, but it is poured

out.

We thank you for this.

We pray all this in Christ's

name.

Amen.

Amen.