December 4, 2022
Pastor John Hering
Isaiah 11:1-10
Isaiah 11:1-10
A shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the Lord will 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.
3 He will be delighted with the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, nor will he render decisions based on what he hears with his ears, 4 but with righteousness he will judge the poor, and he will render fair decisions in favor of the oppressed on the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath from his lips he will put the wicked to death.
5 Righteousness will be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his hips. 6 The wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, the calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf together, and a little child will lead them. 7 The cow and the bear will graze together, and their young ones will lie down together. The lion will eat straw like the cattle. 8 The nursing child will play near a cobra’s hole, and the weaned child will put his hand into a viper’s den. 9 They will not hurt or destroy anywhere on my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.
10 This is what will take place on that day. The peoples will seek the Root of Jesse, who will be standing like a banner for the peoples, and his resting place will be glorious.
Our lives are full of surprises. Some are good and some are not so good. We love it when repair bills are less than expected! It’s not so good when we are putting up our Christmas lights and there are strings of lights that aren’t working.
Auburn University had a surprise regarding one of their traditions. Auburn had a tradition called, “Rolling the Oaks.” Before every football game the fans would come and toss rolls of toilet paper to decorate the trees. This has been a tradition for a long time. The trees were over 130 years old. Did you catch what I just said? I said, “were.” The Auburn fans enjoyed this tradition until 2011 when a man by the name of Harvey Updike sprayed the trees with a toxic chemical. The trees were sick and dying and the fans were devastated! They were crying, laying wreaths and pompoms at the base of the trees. The trees had to be cut down. My point is not that people need to cry when a tree is cut down. I’m here to tell that wasn’t the only tree cut down that caused people to shed tears!
Isaiah tells us about a tree that pictures the Children of Israel. Their nation had grown into a huge nation. God uses the picture of this huge tree to describe how powerful Israel had become, and gives a vivid picture of what the future would hold for them. Isaiah was a prophet that lived during the time when that tree was surprisingly sick and dying. God told Isaiah that one of the things they would soon witness was the cutting down of this glorious nation. And while this message was true, it wasn’t a message without hope. Isaiah would show God’s people then and now, that following God means there is surprisingly always hope, even when the situation seems so dark. May the Holy Spirit draw our hearts to rest and peace as we trust in
The Advent Judge Full Of Surprises
His Origin
The Nation of Israel was sick and dying and about to be cut down. God sent Isaiah to bring God’s warning to them. “Go! You are to tell this people, “Keep listening, but you will never understand. Keep looking, but you will never get it” (Is 6:9). After receiving this grim prediction about the outward success of his ministry, Isaiah asked: “For how long, Lord?” And listen to God’s answer:
“Until the cities are a wasteland without a single inhabitant, until the houses are totally deserted, and the farmland is completely devastated, 12 until the Lord has removed the people far away, and the abandoned places within the land are many. 13 If there is only a tenth left in it, that too will be burned in its turn. Like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is cut down, so the holy seed is its stump.”
Isaiah 6:11-13
They received the bad news of falling under God’s righteous judgment, but also they received the surprising Good News that there would be a stump. This stump would be the Origin of the Savior. Yes, it was bad news to be cut down, but God has also given them promises he couldn’t break. A Savior would be born from the line of David! This chosen one would be the King and the Judge of his people. This Judge would sit on a throne and usher in a time of peace. What a surprise! The Origin of the Judge of the Nations would come from the cut down stump of Judah. Yet, he would bring a devastated people hope and peace. How would that be possible when the kings from David’s family were losing power quickly and would soon fall to the Babylonian Empire, the Temple burned down and the people carried into exile? They were sick and being cut down only to leave a stump. But, from this stump and Savior of the Nations would be born. Listen:
A shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the Lord will 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.
Isaiah 6:1-2
We understand this Word of God took place 2,600 years ago, but we need the same Advent Judge now as they did then. We’re just as guilty to turn to other sources for our hope, confidence and peace. But, they don’t last. We easily dream up excuses for doing it our instead of God’s way. We are also tempted to rely on our own strength instead of asking the Lord to make us spiritually strong. Other rely on their finances, or social status but run into trouble when toxic chemicals are thrown on them and ruin them. Do you see why we couldn’t ask for a better Judge? Surprise! Your Advent Judge’s Origin is from the trump of Judah. He is your Savior full of the Spirit of the Lord with perfect wisdom, counsel as he judges us. Our Advent Judge Also Surprises us with:
His Blessings
We often talk about the big blessings we enjoy from the Lord such as faith, forgiveness and eternal life. Listen to Isaiah speak to us about the blessings that come to us from our Advent Judge:
“3 He will be delighted with the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, nor will he render decisions based on what he hears with his ears, 4 but with righteousness he will judge the poor, and he will render fair decisions in favor of the oppressed on the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath from his lips he will put the wicked to death.”
Isaiah 6:3-4
When you hear the blessing about the way he judges are you comforted? What if our Advent Judge did his judging based on what he would see in your life and hear from your lips? No, Our Advent Judge renders his decisions based on his righteousness when he sits on his throne to judge the nations. Jesus explained this in Matthew’s gospel. The first thing he does is separate the sheep and the goats based on another reason.
“31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left”
Matthew 25:31-33
On what basis does he make this judgment? Mark 16:16 gives us the answer: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16). Our Advent Judge who is the Savior who sprung forth from a stump, comes to save and judge stumps like you and me. His judgment is based on what he sees in your heart, namely, faith. Based on this promise our hearts are filled with his blessing of hope. Imagine! Unlikely hope springing forth from the Stump of Jesse and bursts into eternal life!
Isaiah tells us more about the Advent Judge Full of Surprises. “5 Righteousness will be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his hips.” The tool belt of our Advent Judge are righteousness and faithfulness. He destroyed the power of sin by keeping the law in our place. He obeyed the commands of God perfectly for us all. His faithfulness to God’s commands were offered at the cross to our Father in heaven, as our Substitute, and credited to us. God the Father declared us not guilty and heirs of heaven. From our Advent Judge comes the unlikely blessing of Forgiveness.
Listen to the next blessing: “He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath from his lips he will put the wicked to death.” Jesus used his powerful Word to destroy all our enemies. Our Advent Judge spoke these powerful words from a most unlikely place—right there from the cross! Nailed to the cross he proclaimed his victory over the devil and all the wickedness of the world. With his final breaths from the cross Jesus proclaimed his victory by proclaiming his work to be finished! The devil was crushed, the penalty of sins was paid, and the gate of hell was shut. Yes, our Advent Judge Is Full of Surprises—the Blessing of his Powerful Word!
When we think about Judgment Day we often think of the people gathered before the throne of God and receiving their eternal verdict. For so many such a scene can be quite unsettling, right? Well, Isaiah points for us another blessing from our Advent Judge:
“6 The wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, the calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf together, and a little child will lead them. 7 The cow and the bear will graze together, and their young ones will lie down together. The lion will eat straw like the cattle. 8 The nursing child will play near a cobra’s hole, and the weaned child will put his hand into a viper’s den. 9 They will not hurt or destroy anywhere on my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”
Isaiah 6:6-9
People talk about heaven using all sorts of ideas. When you hear Isaiah describe heaven in these terms what blessing comes to mind? How about the blessing of peace! Leopards, goats, calves and lions next to each other with a little child leading them. Does that scene make you a little nervous? Cows and bears, children playing near a cobra’s hole and children putting their hands into the viper’s den. Would you try that? Not this side of heaven. But, our Advent Judge Comes with Surprising blessings—the blessing of peace. The Advent Judge gave up his life to defeat the power of death and render it powerless against us. You have your place in God’s family secured so you can live out your lives secure in the peace of Jesus.
Did you happen to catch where all of these blessings take place? “on my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” These words are used in Scripture to talk about God’s people, his Church, that’s you and me. Right here where God’s people gather together to worship the Advent Judge brings peace. Look around. What our eyes see doesn’t look like much, does it? Now, look around again through the eyes of faith and see what God sees happening here. On God’s holy mountain a bowl of water becomes a pretty important thing, where the Advent Judge brings us forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and deliverance from the devil forever. A few simple words from your called pastor, “I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit,” are just like drops of water that spring into the Water of Life. A little wafer and a sip of wine is not at all impressive, until you learn that Jesus makes this communion the power of salvation and foretaste of the heavenly banquet in heaven. This sounds like the perfect place to be as we anticipate the day when we will stand before our Advent Judge. Isaiah said, “10 This is what will take place on that day. The peoples will seek the Root of Jesse, who will be standing like a banner for the peoples, and his resting place will be glorious. You get this picture. Jesus is our Savior who we hold up in honor and praise. We know that our life rests secure now and eventually will rest forever in his glorious presence.
So, are you convinced that our Advent Judge Is Full of Surprises? His origin certainly was—he came from a stump. He comes with a bag full of blessings. While there are plenty of traditional blessings we enjoy from day to day whether stars on chimneys or trees on college campuses, there are Surprising blessings that we will never lose. Today and throughout the year, thank God that your life rests in the hands of Jesus, your Savior and your Advent Judge, because our life will continue to be filled with surprise. As you trust in Jesus, be sure to hold on to John the Baptist’s warning to produce fruit in keep with repentance. Don’t use the blessings from our Lord as a license to sin and pour toxic chemicals on those blessings. Rather, come with repentant hearts, trusting in Jesus’ forgiveness and looking to live the Christian life for which God has redeemed you. From him you can look forward to your life in heaven filled blessings beyond your expectations of hope and peace. Amen.
