One of the lessons for this Sunday will be from the Book of Isaiah. I know that Christians and Jews worship the same God, but we part company when it comes to Jesus who Christians believe is the Christ. There are differences regarding the Suffering Servant text in Isaiah 53. Christians consider Jesus to be the Suffering Servant because we see where he fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah. While some would debate it, I believe that Jesus fulfilled Isaiah 53 better than any other person in history. However, today we are focusing on Isaiah 11:1-10. Some have entitled this scripture the “Peaceful Kingdom.”

It starts out by saying that “from the stump of Jesse,” a branch shall grow. The prophets Zechariah and Jeremiah both talked about “The Branch” as did Isaiah in Isaiah 4:2. Jesse is the father of David, and in Hebrew thought is classified as the father of all male descendants of that person, yet he was called “Father.” In this case, we have David, son of Jesse, who represents Israel. Israel, when it was sent into exile, becomes the tree that was cut down, and now a shoot or branch grows from the stump and becomes larger than the original tree. The American Standard Version says, “the Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding…counsel and might…knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah” (11:1-2). But fear in the sense of loving reverence. “He shall not judge” by sight nor by his hearing. We are told that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge (Proverbs 1:7, 9:10, Psalm 111:10). The fear of the Lord causes those who have it to judge from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in their hearts and not from their own carnal reasoning.

Isaiah 11:6 continues with “Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist and faithfulness will be the belt around his loins” (ESV).

We then begin to hear more familiar words, which are probably spoken around this time of the year when we talk about the coming of the “Prince of Peace.” At that time, the predator will lie down with what at this time is its prey, without the fear of harm. “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The sucking child shall play over the hole of the asp, 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” (11:6-9).

The Christian faith during the season of Advent focuses on the coming of the Messiah. Many of us believe that the Messiah has come for the first time, but we are also told that some day he will return. The first time he came as Jesus. In the end, he will fulfill the words I just shared as recorded in Revelation 19.

Pastor Katherine A. Behrens, pastor of Picture Rocks/Tivoli United Methodist Charge