Isaiah 11:1–10 (NRSV)
Read Isaiah 11:1–10 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 11A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. Verse 2The 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. Verse 3His 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; Verse 4but 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. Verse 5Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins. Verse 6The 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. Verse 7The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. Verse 8The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder's den. Verse 9They 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.
Verse 10On 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.
Devotion
To those who first heard this, it must have sounded like madness. The Assyrian Empire is preparing to decimate Judah, and Isaiah wants to talk about the renewal of the nation’s former glory! The stump of Jesse, a sad representation of Israel’s former majesty under Jesse’s son, King David, is not crumbling. It will grow again. Though the promises of God may appear decayed and impotent, memories of an optimistic past whisper, “Just you wait.” Isaiah sees God sending a strong king, the hallmarks of whose rule are peace and security—shalom all the way down, well-being that encompasses and transforms all of nature. God’s promises may require time to work themselves out, but they extend to the whole world. God can change everything.
Prayer
In Jesus Christ, O God, you keep your promises. Strengthen our confidence in your ability to bring about the fullness of your righteousness and peace through him. Amen.