December 5, 2004 Isaiah 11:1-10
1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
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 of the fear of the LORD -- 3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
6 The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. 7 The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8 The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest. 9 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.
10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious. (NIV)
Isaiah’s Stump Speech
I. Dead trees deserve to be cut off into stumps
In the parable of the unfruitful tree, Jesus wanted to demonstrate the patience of God. For three years the tree remained unfruitful, and the owner wanted to cut it down. But the man who took care of the vineyard asked for one more year. Then he said, “if it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.” God is not a tree hugger, but I wouldn’t necessarily call Him a logger either. You can see this in the case of the Southern Kingdom of Israel. In 722 B.C., God “cut down” the Northern Kingdom, by sending in the Assyrian army to wipe them out. Ever since it’s inception by a rebel slave named Jeroboam, this kingdom was unfaithful to God. This was supposed to be a warning to the Southern Kingdom. For a while it had shown some hope. Occasionally it had a faithful king who wanted to reform the people. All of those hopes went smashing down when the evil Ahaz was crowned as king. So Isaiah’s prediction for today said that Jesse’s tree would only be a “stump”. In other words, this reign of kings descended from David would be chopped off, made into firewood, toast.
This would have been hard to believe for Ahaz. Even though he was evil, he reigned during a very prosperous time for Israel. Their economy was good. They didn’t have any nearby enemies to really threaten them. Yet they failed to realize that without God on their side, they had no future. Egypt had no enemies to defeat it, so God used the hail, the water, and the sky to bring down judgment on them. So with the Southern Kingdom, by the time 586 would roll around, God would have enough of this tree. Even though it was about 400 years old, it would be time for God to chop some wood. Zedekiah was the final king of Judah at that time. He saw Jerusalem fall when the Babylonian army broke down the walls of the city and burned the temple. The Babylonians marched Zedekiah’s sons all before him and slaughtered them before his eyes. Right after that, they plucked his eyes out of their sockets, so he would never see again. “King” Zedekiah was then carried off in chains to die in Babylon. The family of David, the royal house of Judah, looked like a hewn down tree with nothing but the stump remaining.
The sad thing about this whole history was that it DIDN’T HAVE to be that way. We could be reviewing the great history of the Israelites - how their kingdom lasted for generations and expanded throughout the Middle East. We could be talking today about how Jesus was born in a royal palace to royalty! But the Israelites - the descendants of David didn’t flip their side of the bill - they didn’t hold their end of the bargain. They wanted to worship other gods. They wanted to produce thorns instead of figs. So Jesus was born of Jesse’s STUMP - poor little old Jesse - just a common farmer.
Zedekiah, Ahaz, Saul - all of these kings - it wasn’t as if they weren’t warned. God had a very simple message for them. “Don’t you dare get too big for your britches. Don’t you dare try to live without me. If you do, I’ll cut you off. Don’t think that I’ll give you preferential treatment just because there’s a temple in Jerusalem or just because you come from a royal line of kings through the house of David. It doesn’t matter if I promised David his line would rule forever. I’ll still cut you off.” Within ONE generation, David’s own son - Solomon - RUINED the promise of prosperity for him and his family. Within ONE generation, Eli lost the promise that his family would have the priesthood through all generations. Why? Because their children did not remain FAITHFUL to God.
GOD’s warning is the same to you and me. GOD says, “I don’t care if your name is established in the community. I don’t care if you’ve got all your house paid off and a good retirement saved up. I don’t care been to church every Sunday since childhood. I don’t care if you know your catechism and your books of the Bible. If you decide to ignore me, to turn aside from me, I will cut you off.” Here’s God’s message to husbands. He says, “I don’t care if your wife goes to church and your children are faithful. I want YOU to be faithful too. I want you to put Bible class as a priority. I want you to make sure YOU know your Bible. I want YOU to pray to me. I want YOU to put the SPIRITUAL care of your family FIRST. If you don’t want to take on your responsibility as a HUSBAND and a FATHER, don’t think that I won’t or I can’t take your job away. Don’t think that I won’t dare to take your health down. I will cut you down quicker than you can say “Paul Bunyan.” To the wives he also says, “don’t assume that just because you take your children to church or Sunday School that you have all your bases covered. I expect you also to support your husband, pray for him, and encourage him to be the spiritual man I want him to be. I expect you to do your best to make up for the lack of spiritual care your husband isn’t giving you. I expect you to grow in faith as well. Don’t excuse yourself out of Bible class or home devotions just because you’re too tired or you don’t get any help. I can cut you off too or your children.” These are harsh words. But they’re time testedly true. It’s not that God is EAGER to cut us off. But unfaithfulness has it’s own natural results - and they can happen more quickly than we would expect. David’s United Kingdom only lasted one generation. If you think that God would never dare to cut you or your children off - get off your high horse. God will use the ax.
II. Little shoots make dead stumps worth watching
God did use the ax with David’s kingdom. Then Isaiah said, “look at the stump.” Ok, let’s look at the stump. It isn’t too thrilling is it. It’s just a dead piece of wood sticking out of the ground - more or less in the way. That’s all the further many people get in their preparations for Christmas. They send out pictures of their kids with their best Christmas outfits on and say, “look at how they’ve grown!” Then they write about their basketball camps or soccer achievements or how many steps they’re walking. All important milestones to a child - but in the big picture of things - does it really matter? Or aren’t all these things that we like to focus on just another part of a dying and decaying and sinful world that is bound to decay. It’s like putting a nice little bouquet around a stump and saying, “see how we decorated for Christmas!” Big deal! It’s just a stump! That’s not what Christmas is about!
The reason he directs our eyes to the stump is not to focus on the stump - but on what will come out of the stump. God had Aaron’s rod bloom, turned Moses’ rod into a snake, and was even able to make water pour out of a rock! Maybe this might be interesting! But what did Isaiah say would come out of the stump? A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. At first read, this sounds kind of boring, doesn’t it. It’s just a little branch - a weak little green twig that comes out of the stump - and grows a little fruit. Yet notice it grows through the ROOTS - through the foundation of the tree - through the stump. The foundation of David’s line remained - that was the never ending promise of salvation through the seed of David. So the Shoot comes up - this little green twig. It’s nothing too dramatic - but hey - it’s a start! The story of Christmas - the birth of Christ - doesn’t seem to impressive. It’s just a little baby - being born in a cattle stall. Nothing too powerful there. But don’t look away! Don’t quit reading right here. That’s what Jack’s mother thought about the magic beans in the fairy tale. So she threw them out the window. Little did she know that the beanstalk would go up to the sky - and the story goes on. In other words - don’t look away from the Branch yet.
III. Little shoots turn into Beautiful Branches
What would be so special about this Branch? 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 of the fear of the LORD. In his letter to the Corinthians - Paul mentioned that lots of people have spiritual gifts. He wrote, in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. (1 Co 12:28) Notice, however, that everyone had different gifts - but no one had ALL these gifts. This Branch would have ALL of the gifts - gifts of knowledge, counsel, power, wisdom and understanding - all in one great package.
Throughout Jesus ministry he openly displayed his great knowledge of the Bible, even at 12 years old. He had a godly ability to teach the Bible in a very authoritative way. He showed his power in raising the dead, turning water into wine, and freeing the demon possessed. When He used these powers, He had a special heart often for the sick, the diseased, and the spiritually bankrupt people of society. Instead of stoning the woman caught in idolatry, he forgave her. He complimented the widow with her little mite - much more than the rich who put their money in the temple plates. He didn’t judge by what he (saw) with his eyes, or decide by what he (heard) with his ears; but with righteousness he judged the needy, with justice he gave decisions for the poor of the earth. He struck the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he slayed the wicked. 5 Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. Jesus would have a special compassion for the needy and the brokenhearted.
Usually, when someone has a lot of gifts, he or she tends to be arrogant or think he or she is self sufficient - that he doesn’t need God any more. That’s exactly what happened with Satan. What would especially make this Branch unique was the attitude that he had with all these gifts. He will delight in the fear of the LORD. Instead of being arrogant, Jesus constantly prayed to His Father. He constantly asked for guidance and strength. This was what He enjoyed doing - submitting His will to the Father’s - even in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was his pleasure to allow the soldiers to arrest Him and crucify Him. He delighted in showing respect and honor to His Father. That’s what made this man especially unique. A powerful man with humility and spiritual strength. An incredibly gifted man who enjoyed humbling himself to the Father.
Yet, in spite of his willingness to slay the wicked and strike the earth with the breath of his mouth, this Branch would do something even more unique. He would bring peace. Isaiah put it this way. The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. 7 The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. When Jesus displays his power and His compassion - His justice and His righteousness - there can be only one of two responses. Either you will fall on your knees and dive into His bloody arms - asking Him to carry you into heaven, or you will despise this little Shoot and try to keep that Branch from growing in your heart. Like Herod, you will get an ax and try to chop down the tree before it grows. But you and I know the truth. Herod swung the ax, but he missed One - a very important One at that.
The Branch grew into a man. When we see this powerful God become man just to live and die for us - go so far as to put Himself on a cross to die for us - it melts our hearts. When we witness this powerful man who had every right to slay us with His mouth say, “son, your sins are forgiven,” it puts peace in our hearts. When we see Him have compassion on the weak and the needy - which is definitely what we are as dead stumps - it as Isaiah says- turns us from wolves into lambs, leopards into goats. When Paul was converted, he went from a Christian persecutor and murderer into a Christian missionary. The wolf ended up living with the lambs, feeding with the cows, eating straw like the ox. That’s where peace is found.
In another awesome illustration, Isaiah says 8 The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest. 9 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. Like helpless infants and toddlers, you and I live among a world of Serpents - that is - Demons - who would like nothing more than to devour us. Often times we unknowingly end up sticking our hands in the very viper’s nest - going places we have no place going to. Yet God preserves us - we aren’t destroyed - because of our knowledge of the LORD - that in spite of our weakness and our sins - we are saved by the blood of Christ. As the waters cover the sea - the waters of baptism covered us with blood - Jesus’ blood - and redeemed us. As long as we know this - believe this - and cling to this through repentance and faith - we have protection from the evil forces that are waging war against our infantile weak bodies. They cannot overpower us.
IV. Rally to the Branch
Therefore Isaiah concludes of this Branch, In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious. When Joshua was fighting the Amalekites, Moses had to hold his arms up in order for the Israelites to keep winning the battle. As his arms grew tired, you may remember that Aaron and Hur had to stand beside him to hold his arms up in place. After that awesome battle, Exodus 17:15 says that, Moses built an altar and called it The LORD is my Banner. The altar was a special place and landmark for the people to gather around and remember the tremendous deliverance that the LORD provided for the Israelites at that time. That Word for BANNER that was used in Exodus is the same Word that is used here. In the same way, this Root of Jesse would stand as a banner for the peoples - even the nations - to rally to him.
As we prepare for this Branch to grow during this Advent, you could compare it to a rally. We didn’t come here to look at a dead stump and talk about how WE can grow. We came here to prepare for the Branch to grow and bear fruit. As the Branch grows, we rally to it and eagerly wait for it to get cut off. Why? Because it’s at the cross that we find our death, our damnation and our sins paid for. It’s at the cross that we find our salvation. Yet instead of remaining dead, the Branch does something even more miraculous than growing out of a dead stump. The Branch grows back! Through faith in that Branch, Jesus Christ, you and I have also been grafted in to the Tree of Life. By rallying to this Branch again, you and I find shade under the Tree of Life.
Last year I tried to translate a little eighteen inch sapling about fifty yards - from my front yard into my west lawn. As I was digging around and trying to preserve the roots for about two hours, the whole base of the tree proceeded to fall apart just as I was preparing to move it. I was furious. In disgust, I tossed my shovel through the air about ten or twenty yards, yanked the thing out with all of it’s roots practically showing, and shoved it into it’s new hole - knowing that it was going to die. All that work gone to nothing. However, after a few weeks of watering, the tree made a seemingly miraculous comeback. It’s now about five feet tall and doing great! Every time I look at that tree I’m thankful it survived.
This Advent season, take a good look at the stump. Remember, if you want to be an Ahaz or a Zedekiah, God can cut you off into a dead stump. But as you look at the stump, remember what God did with that dead piece of wood. One Christmas morning, some 2,000 years ago, God had a Shoot break forth through the virgin Mary. God brought life through the growth of a little Shoot. His name is Jesus. He’s no little Shoot and more. He’s a big Shot. He’s grown to be a Banner. Be thankful that stump survived. Rally to your Banner this Christmas - listen to Isaiah’s Stump Speech - and His Holy Spirit will give you life eternal. Amen.
