Presented to Corps 614 Regent Park on the second Sunday of Advent 04 Dec 2016 and TSA Alberni Valley Ministries, 07 December 2025, by Captain (Major) Michael Ramsay
This
is the 2025 version; to see the 2016 version click here:
https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2016/12/isaiah-111-10-on-that-day.html
In our
world today we are subservient to politico-socio-economic systems where one
person becomes rich as over 25 000 children die each day due to poverty. Most
get rich just by their investments or inheritance; some people become
millionaires for appearing on a screen or playing sports while many others
cannot afford to feed and clothe themselves. In the United States, pornography
revenue is more than all money made from professional football, baseball and
basketball combined. The money spent on one professional team alone would feed
and clothe the world. This is our world today. But…
ISAIAH
11:1 A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow
out of his roots.
ON
THAT DAY… From a stump – an albeit dead tree – that has been chopped down,
burned down, rotted out or otherwise destroyed, from this stump a shoot, new
life will Spring up.
Isaiah
says this shoot will come from the stump of Jesse; who is Jesse? (King David’s
father) Who was King David? David was one of only 2 or 3 kings of a unified
Israel.
David
was the first king of Judah. Every other king of Judah claimed to be descended
from David. They walked away from God and as they did, they were carried into
captivity. The nation and the people, it seemed, were finished. The Kingdom of
Judah, like Israel, eventually rotted out and became like a burned out, chopped
down stump. It is from this stump that new life will spring. It is a descendant
of David who will rule not only Israel but also the whole world. Who is this
descendant of David who will rule the whole world? Jesus.[1] ON THAT DAY…
11:2
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.
11:3
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;
What
does it mean that he has knowledge of the fear of the LORD and that his delight
shall be in the fear of the LORD? Why does he delight in fear? What does that
mean?
The
phrase ‘fear of the LORD’ can describe dread (Deut 1:29), being terrified
(Jonah 1:10), standing in awe (1 Kings 3:28), or having reverence (Lev 19:3).
With the Lord as the object, this phrase captures both aspects of shrinking
back in fear and of drawing close in awe. It is not a trembling dread that
paralyzes action, but neither is it a polite reverence (Plaut, p. 32).[2]
Strong’s
dictionary and concordance define this ‘fear’ as ‘moral reverence’
acknowledging that the phrase encompasses more than that – it can refer to a
sense of moral dread or even of an exceeding moral fearfulness.[3] What does
this mean? What is the difference between this reverent, moral fearfulness that
leads to knowledge or wisdom and the fearful, panic-stricken, timid phobia that
leads to cowering? What is this fear of the Lord?
Are we
familiar with the word ‘deference’? Deference means respect. People often have
a certain amount of deference (respect) for our uniforms. I have had many
people alter their language and try not to swear in my presence because of my
uniform: it represents my office as a representative of God. Even non-believers
tend to offer this token of deference to The Salvation Army uniform. Even more
than the uniform, I have seen people show deference, a healthy respect in
courtrooms when they are in front of the judge. This kind of thing is what
Isaiah is talking about when he says Jesus will delight in the fear of the
LORD. ON THAT DAY…
11:3
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;
What
does it mean that he shall not judge by what he sees or hears? Isn’t that how
we are supposed to make judgements - by what we see or hear? What is a better
way to judge?
11:4
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.
Jesus
is the great equalizer. The Bible tells us over and over again around the birth
of Jesus and the reign of God, those that serve the world will be deposed when
the systems of the world are overthrown. Capitalism will be overthrown.
Presidents will be overturned and presidential elections will end. Corrupt
politicians will cease to exist. No more will we live in a world where bankers,
athletes, actors, investors, and others live high on the hog while over 25 000
children die every day due to poverty. Jesus makes decisions based on
righteousness rather than by what he sees and hears: he kills the wicked and
provides equity for the meek. ON THAT DAY…
11:5
Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt
around his loins.
Faithfulness
will be his underwear. (Do you get new underwear -or pjs- for Christmas? This
is good underwear) Not only will Jesus rule the world with righteousness.
Faithfulness will guard what is near and dear to him. Jesus, the leader who
pulls down the powerful and raises up the powerless. Jesus will not turn on
those who endorsed and worked for him. How many times have people elected
leaders in this country and other nations who they thought would be their
champions, only to see those politicians seemingly betray the people who voted
for them and act in bad faith. Jesus is not like that. Jesus will not betray
the poor, the widow, the immigrant, the victimized, the marginalized. Jesus
will not betray us. The high and mighty people of today – as they serve our
current socio-politico-economic systems - will be brought low. And those who
have been brought low by our world’s leaders will be lifted up by Jesus. You
can count on that – faithfulness is the belt around his loins. ON THAT DAY…
11:6
The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the
calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.
Lamb
is a good meal even for a wolf. The wolf will live with the lamb instead of
eating his food. Goat is great food even for a leopard but instead of eating
his meal, the leopard will lie down with the kid. The same with veal; the same
with the baby calf and the lion and the fatling; and a little child will lead
them. Instead of being killed – even to eat – the prey will have nothing to
fear of the predator; let alone powerless people from Superpowers. In a country
that serves God people will not kill each other. ON THAT DAY…
11:7
The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the
lion shall eat straw like the ox.
Predators
will no longer be a threat to traditional prey. ON THAT DAY…
11:8
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child
shall put its hand on the adder's den.
Babies
will not be attacked by animals and animals will not be provoked by toddlers.
You have seen a dog or a cat that is good with babies and toddlers: how they
let a child carry them around and do all kinds of things to them. All animals,
all creation, all of us will have that same patience when Jesus returns to
claim his crown that he was crowned with upon his own death and resurrection.
ON THAT DAY…
11:9
They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be
full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.
We
know what is God’s holy mountain? It’s Mount Zion. It is the mountain where
Solomon’s, Zerubabbel’s, and Herod’s temple’s were built. It is in Jerusalem.
It is the mountain where the Dome on the Rock currently stands. It is the
mountain where God spared the life of Isaac, as he was about to be offered up
to the Lord as a sacrifice. Zion, for many years, was where some people even
thought that God himself lived. God says when the Messiah’s kingdom is fully
realized no one will hurt or destroy on His holy mountain. This can mean two
things:
1. there
will be no hunting there – but this mountain, long before Isaiah lived even, is
right in a large urban centre; it is not prime hunting grounds; so it probably
means,
2. that
as God’s seat of power, when Jesus ultimately claims his throne no one in
authority will ever hurt anyone again. No more will politicians or their
handlers exploit the rest. No more will governments wage war or the powerful
take advantage of the poor and the powerless.
11:10
On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the
nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.
Advent
is about waiting. We remember waiting for the birth of our saviour millennia
ago as we eagerly await his return now. And when He returns what a day that of
rejoicing that will be. When Jesus comes back, we will no longer be subservient
to these brutal politico-socio-economic systems we are today. (The Lord has
already provided more than enough resources for the whole world to be fed and
clothed many times over.) These systems of oppression will end. The rulers of
this world will be brought low. The Presidents, Prime Ministers, money people,
and other rulers of our age who oversee all of this will be brought down. This
will come to an end. Isaiah promises that. Jesus fulfills that.
When
Jesus comes back there will be no more elections. There will be no more
ignorance. There will be no more wars. There will be no more death. There will
be no more tears. When Jesus comes back, everything will be okay. I have to
believe this. He promises it will be okay and that is what Isaiah is telling us
today: everything will be okay on that day.
.
And I
will add to that the truth that as you serve Jesus, as we follow him instead of
the others - politicians, money people and powerful people and their systems -
as we serve Jesus instead, here and now; even while there is so much death,
dishonesty, pain and suffering all around us and so much pain even within us,
Jesus promises that he will comfort us in the midst of all the very real
struggles of this world as indeed we look forward to the day when he will
return; when he will wipe all of the injustice aside and God alone will rule
over us forever more with His righteousness and His faithfulness. In Advent,
this is the day we are waiting for – that day.
.
Let us
pray
www.sheepspeak.com
---
[1]
Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, Acts 15:1-19 - The Chihuahua Barks Again. Presented
to Nipawin and Tisdale Salvation Army, 09 September 2007 and Swift Current, 26
May 2013. On-line:
http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2007/09/acts-151-19-chihuahua-barks-again.html
[2]
Cf. Allen P. Ross, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis
CD-ROM:Proverbs/Exposition of Proverbs/I. Introduction to the Book of Proverbs
(1:1-7)/C. Motto: The Fear of the Lord (1:7), Book Version: 4.0.2
[3]
Yirah, in The New Strong’s Complete Dictionary of Bible Words. (Nashville,
Tenn.: Thomas Nelson Publishing, 1966), p. 395. Cf. also Cf. The New Strong’s
Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. ‘5374: yir’ah’ (Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas
Nelson Publishing, 1995), p.59.
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