Exposition by Max A Forsythe
In the Crimean War where the British Army was as mismanaged as most churches in our time, there were several occasions where victory was won by mere handfuls of the thin red line of Empire troops. These victories were won much in the manner of Gideon's small gallant handful who took on impossible odds to see the Lord provide the victory. One such victory involved a small cavalry brigade. The Horse brigades were run down to barely 1,000 men each. The Russian hordes as usual were massed in terrible numbers. Well over ten thousand assorted Guards and Cossacks were poised at the top of a hill ready to ride down the small brigade of Empire horse.
The British units trotted onto the field and began to assemble their line. Occasional shells burst amongst their formations. Mere miles distant, the Russian horde began its preliminary trot to gather speed down the slopes. Never minding the terrible threat, the King's officers cantered up and down the line as if on parade. Every hat had to be cocked just right, every horse's nose must be lined up, and lances and sabers must be held at just the correct angle. They acted like they expected Victoria herself to ride by before they could be committed to battle. The Russians in their thousands were amazed.
Didn't the little band of horsemen know their fate? Didn't they realize they were about to be ridden down and slaughtered? In their amazement the Russians reigned in their squadrons to watch the soldiers of the Queen prepare for their last review. Finally, the thin red line was ready and they cantered immediately to meet the foe. Uphill they galloped towards the crowded Russian regiments. The Russians were caught by surprise and as the lines crashed together the sabers and lances slashed their target. The Russian columns hesitated, backed off and very soon fled from the terrible fury.
Such is the "glory" of combat sung and reported time after time in the history of the continental wars both small and large. Impossible victories the odds makers would calculate, and yet the glory of unexpected victories has been passed down in the histories of countless regiments.
Fifty-two years ago the Japanese were capturing island after island during the early months of the war. Only one tiny island fortress successfully resisted an amphibious assault. That was Wake Island, which eventually fell. In Washington, where the President grasped at any victory however small and temporary, the press corps gathered at the War Department to ask why this victory? One military spokesman. with his white hat, stood up ramrod stiff and spoke proudly:
"After all, they were Marines". La Gloria - the French call it! Against all odds, our providential God in heaven granted unanticipated victory.
And so we come by round about means to the glorious text before us in the eleventh chapter of Isaiah:
"A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit." The implication here is that the House of David, much like the forest of Assyrian hordes would also be cut off. The images of chapter ten display the spoilage of the neighboring forests that are laid low. Royal power has been cut off; even the Davidic line will be brought down. But the root and stump of the tree that once stood so proud will remain.
And out of that stump will grow a tiny little shoot from which will develop a Branch, a sturdy and healthy branch that will bear fruit. Every time in history that Satan thinks he has triumphed, every time that God's people Israel or the Church is laid low, Satan just glows. Victory for the dark forces seems almost nigh! Terrible times indeed are coming to Israel and to Judah, their earthly sovereignty as an independent people are running down. The throne of David is passing by.
Yet, there will one day be an heir, and Jesse's stump will bloom again more gloriously than before. No earthly King is He, but a heavenly prince will come, whose glory will eventually fill the earth even as heaven is already filled. Isaiah will live to tell of the end of the earthly kingdom which was to be a foreshadow of the eternal and invisible kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Will Christ's kingdom be a kingdom of the Spirit, or a glorious kingdom in the midst of the world for a time and eternally in heaven after the end? No matter, how the kingdom is organized I suppose, the whole focus ought to be upon our King and God.
On Him Isaiah waxes poetic for the next four verses. On Him will rest the Spirit of the Lord! This is not a human spirit within a man, but the Spirit of the living God coming down and resting upon the eternal branch of Jesse. This is the understanding given to John the Baptist when he reported,
"I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. ... I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God".
Perfect wisdom and perception shall be His. The emphasis here is that the Spirit is the source or cause of wisdom. Certainly the emphasis here allows for perfect intelligence, it also suggests that the Messiah has the ability rightly to appraise situations and to render right decisions in all matters. How often I wish that whenever I walk into a sticky situation with the students at School, that I could have perfect knowledge of what was going on and who exactly was to blame. Only our Lord has been granted that perfect wisdom. Sometimes, I can get close to a particular problem, but I have to be careful because the gifts given to me are far less than perfect.
Isaiah also teaches us that counsel and might shall be His. Here, Dr Young tells us we enter the practical sphere. Not only is perfect wisdom and perception given to our Lord, but also in every case our King chooses the right means and renders the right decision.
The one time that I went out to play golf I made the mistake of assuming that the first club I was given would be used for the whole game. I didn't do too well, but my friend who kept changing clubs to meet every situation didn't do too much better. He got mad and threw one of his clubs up into a tree. When he threw a second up to knock the first down, it too got stuck. I wanted to ask which club was the specific one for that task, but I kept quiet. Thankfully, our Savior is not a frustrated golfer and His counsel and might are used appropriately for every task in the working out of His providence.
Third, Isaiah shows us that the Messiah's knowledge and fear of the Lord are the foundation of His wisdom, perception, counsel and might. This is the first principle of the true faith. There can be no knowledge unless one knows God. Well spoken were the words of Jesus recorded by
Matthew (11:27b): "No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom", Solomon tells us in
Proverbs (1:7).
The Spirit in those to whom He gives knowledge produces this fear or awesome respect. Even the Messiah will be filled with the fear of the Lord in order to accomplish His mighty work. This is the King who will establish the Kingdom, not the contemporary ruler of Judah in Isaiah's time who would deny the revealed counsel of Isaiah.
By contrast the coming King of Kings and Lord of Lords will rule earnestly, carefully and all who accept His rule will know indeed His righteousness and faithfulness. When He finally rules, perfect peace will reign in His presence. The whole natural order will be changed as Isaiah compares the list of earthly adversaries.
One of our teachers at school has a picture on her door of a gray Persian cat sitting perfectly with a baby duck cuddled in a paw. Now, if you know anything about the current nature of felines, you immediately get suspicious about that poster. Either one or both of the animals must have been stuffed, or the cat must have been just fed and exercised to the point of putting up with this photo opportunity. But when Christ comes to reign, all sorts of former adversaries will lie down in green pastures together. Wiley Coyote and the Road Runner may even become friends.
In this time of the year when the world dreams of peace on earth, it is well for us to point out that the often desired peace must be granted and given by our Father in heaven. The very politically correct people who demand perfect peace in our day have in fact demonstrated that their methods of obtaining peace actually produce more friction and fragmentation.
Only God can change human hearts and hold back the ethnic and economic conflicts which plague mankind, even new age peoplekin! Ever and always will adversaries in this life continue in their natural worldly way. Only with the final coming of the Messiah will there be a perfect New World Order. And when He comes "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."
Until then, like the sprout of Jesse's stump, the spiritual Kingdom will grow and progress as the perfect will and wisdom of the Father are worked out under the authority of His Son and His Spirit. Until that grand and glorious day may we be content with the small part of the Kingdom that we have been granted to see. And may we live and hope for the glorious increase in His Kingdom through His wisdom, perception, counsel, might and knowledge.
Even as our Lord Jesus Christ feared God and obeyed perfectly, may we be given the guidance and counsel to reflect His greater glory in our lives day by day. But you say, I am weak and miserable in the sight of the world, what can I ever do to advance the heavenly Kingdom?
Ah, my friends that is our true calling to Glory - to do just those little things of which we are capable. This is how the Kingdom grows and increases! Just as the glories of Christ's Kingdom were won in the midst of apparent defeat, just as Satan's triumphs seemed secure, just when you think yourself to frail and weak - then the Kingdom advances. Not by might, not by power but by His Spirit are we empowered. May the Spirit make it so in each of us today. Amen.
Resources Used:
Ellis, Charles..
The Wells of Salvation.
Thomas, Derek..
Welwyn Commentery Series: God Delivers
Uprichard, Harry. A
Son is Given: Christ in Isaiah.
Young, Edward J.
The Book of Isaiah.
The Holy Bible.
New International Version (1984 Edition)
NOTE: I am not able to automatically
recommend any future editions.
Christ Covenant Reformed (Presbyterian Church in America) -
Box 13926 - Columbus, OH 43213
(c) 2001
12 December 93
Permission granted to redistribute unedited versions with this notice.