Thanks very much, Al. Good evening, everyone.
As Al and others have said, it is a real privilege to be back with a smallish but real congregation in the church this evening.
I had the privilege at the end of the first lockdown of speaking on the Sunday evening we came back,
and I'm delighted to be doing it again, although I hope there won't be a third time that I'll be saying that.
But great Dota Deas, I think for all of us, it makes us look forward to a better day.
Yes, it's good for some of us to be able to meet together tonight, and for others to be able to join us on Zoom.
But one day, we'll all be together as a church in the building.
One day, we won't be wearing face coverings and socially distancing.
One day, we'll be able to sing heartily rather than just listen to songs.
And on that day, we'll be able to greet one another with a hug or a handshake, whichever we prefer.
We'll be able to be reunited with people who we haven't seen for many months, family and friends.
And we'll be able to praise God as we look back at how he has taken us through the time of crisis,
and as we look forward to the future.
Life will be back to normal.
But maybe on that day, we will then look forward to another day.
A day when the Lord Jesus will return.
A day when we'll go to be with him,
and the troubles and trials of this life will be behind us.
A day when there will be justice done on the earth.
And in that day, we'll rejoice in our Savior and our salvation.
In that day, we'll gaze on the face of our Savior,
and be able fully to express our appreciation of him.
In that day, things will really be back to how they should be.
And I wonder if we look forward to that day,
with as much excitement as we look forward to the day
when life will return to what is called normal in our society.
Are we really thrilled at the thought of the Lord Jesus returning,
and going to be with him?
So there's a day coming when things will be better,
when we won't be so affected by the virus,
and we'll be living life as we used to live it.
But how much better that there's a day coming
when everything will be returned to the way it should be,
and when Jesus is seen to reign.
And who knows?
Maybe the day of Jesus' return will be sooner
than the day when we're free from the virus.
It could be any time.
Why am I saying that?
Because when we come to Isaiah chapters 11 and 12,
we have exactly the same situation.
You may have noticed in the reading
that several times it said,
in that day.
And it said it at key points in the passage.
If you have your Bible in front of you,
and you have a Bible that indents poetry,
you may notice that verses 10 and 11 of chapter 11
are actually prose.
And actually, Archie told us a couple of weeks ago
that when we see prose in the middle of poetry,
as there was in his passage too,
that is something that we should be paying
particular attention to.
So Isaiah is pointing out that
that day is really important.
And then in chapter 12,
in verses 1 and 4,
he talks about in that day
and what people will say.
Again, he's saying,
here's something we look forward to,
and it's going to be really important,
and here's what's going to happen.
And as with our illustration
from current situation,
there are the two perspectives
of what that day means.
There is a day in the time of Isaiah,
actually probably a couple of hundred years later,
but there is a day in the relatively short term
when much of the prophecy
in these chapters was fulfilled,
particularly when the Israelites returned
from their exile.
But even then,
even looking back on that,
as they read Isaiah 11 and 12,
they must have thought,
is that it?
Is there not more to it than this?
It doesn't all seem to have been fulfilled.
And of course,
when we look at it,
we see particularly
the day when the Lord Jesus will return,
and the day when everything
will be under his rule,
and everything will be perfect.
So the perspective here,
the ultimate perspective here,
is exactly the same
as the ultimate perspective
I was talking about
a few minutes ago.
And the bulk of what we want to learn
from this passage
is looking forward
to the Lord's return
and what will happen then.
But there is an immediate context,
and let me just take a short time
to talk about that.
So you remember,
in this section of Isaiah,
what's happening is
you've got the nation of Israel,
the northern kingdom,
the nation of Judah,
the southern kingdom,
now separate since the days
of Rehoboam and Jeroboam.
And round about,
you've got quite a number
of other small nation states.
So you've got Aram,
and you've got Philistine,
and you've got Moab,
and a number of others.
And they're all relatively
insignificant countries
in terms of the world of their day.
They get involved in skirmishes
with each other,
but they weren't nations
at that time of great significance.
Below them to the south,
you have Egypt,
but more significantly,
to the northeast of these nations,
you have the great nation of Assyria.
And Assyria was a really scary superpower
in its day.
It was one of the most vicious powers
in human history.
It was treacherous,
it was cruel,
and it overran countries
with no thought at all
for their good.
And Assyria had become a big threat
to all these small nations
sitting in the Middle East.
And they had a choice to make.
So Israel and Aram,
seeing Assyria on their borders,
they joined together,
they joined forces,
and they tried to raise Israel,
tried to raise Judah rather,
to join them.
It seems that Judah said no,
and so there was a bit of a skirmish
between Israel and Aram and Judah.
And in that situation,
as the king of Judah,
as Ahaz wondered what to do,
Isaiah said to him,
trust God.
Don't enter into a pact with Assyria.
Trust God for the future.
And Ahaz didn't listen to him,
and there are consequences in that
for Judah,
which are listed.
And at the same time,
because of Israel's sin,
the northern country of Israel's sin,
there was a judgment from God on it.
So chapters 7 to 11 are about that,
and we just put a little picture up.
And this is kind of summary
of where we've been
over the last few weeks.
So it's bookended by chapter 6,
which is the call of Isaiah
when the Lord appeared to him,
and chapter 12,
which is a celebration
we'll look at later on.
And then there's a section
which is particularly
about the kingdom of Judah,
and there's one that's particularly
about the kingdom of Israel.
And we can say both of them
have broadly the same pattern.
There's a challenge,
a decision to be made.
Following on from that decision,
there's a judgment from God,
a judgment against Judah,
a judgment against Israel,
a judgment also against Assyria,
described as God's tool.
There's a remnant.
There is a small number of people
who don't turn away from God
and provide hope for the future.
And then there is
the forward-looking ending of it.
So chapter 9 is the chapter
we're all so familiar with
that points to the birth
of the Lord Jesus,
unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given.
And chapter 11 was drawn
at the bulk of the passage
that we're looking at this evening.
It looks forward,
as I said, that bit further,
and it looks forward
especially to the return
of the Lord Jesus.
But the immediate context,
what people would look at
and perhaps in the centuries
to come would take from it
as having happened,
was that after the exile,
after Israel was taken over
by the Assyrians
and Judah by the Babylonians
and the people were taken away,
there would be a return
which came under Ezra and Nehemiah,
and there would be
a partial fulfillment
of what is said here.
People were able to live
in peace in the land
and to, again,
worship God as they wished to,
but only a partial fulfillment.
So let's spend the rest of the time
thinking about what this has to say to us
as we look forward from now.
What is it that is the ultimate fulfillment
of the prophecy here?
And four things about that
that I think we learn
from these chapters.
In that day, first of all,
there will be a rain.
So this is chapter 11
and the first five verses.
It is about a king
who is filled with God's spirit
and who rules justly.
And of course,
it's about the Lord Jesus.
So let's have a look at that
and draw some thoughts from it.
Chapter 11 and verse 1 says,
a shoot will come up
from the stump of Jesse.
Now, if you remember way back
to chapter 6,
in chapter 6,
because of the sins of the people,
God had prophesied,
Isaiah prophesied from God
that the tree would be cut down.
The tree that was Israel
or Judah would be cut down
and there would only be
a stump left.
Isaiah says,
looking forward,
that stump will produce a shoot.
Just a shoot,
but a shoot that will grow
to be a branch
and to bear fruit.
And that fruit will come
from the stump of Jesse.
Now, Jesse, of course,
was the father of King David
in the Old Testament.
Interestingly,
he says from Jesse
rather than David,
perhaps something to do
with the obscurity
from which the Lord Jesus
would come,
perhaps also pointing to him
being the second David,
the great David's greater son.
But Isaiah is saying
there will be in the future
a shoot that becomes a branch
that bears fruit.
And this person,
this shoot,
which will ultimately be the king,
it will have some
very special qualities.
So verse 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 the fear of God,
and he will delight
in the fear of the Lord.
He could perfectly
be describing the Lord Jesus,
couldn't he?
Of course,
with the eye of prophecy,
he is.
the one on whom
the spirit of God
came to rest
at his baptism,
but throughout his life
who was filled
with the spirit
and who displayed
the qualities
that are those
of someone
who is truly
spiritual.
So Isaiah talks about
a spirit of wisdom
and understanding.
So that is being able
to see the world
around about us
and to see it
for what it is
and to know
what to do
in every situation.
And is that not exactly
what we see
in the Lord Jesus?
Whoever came to him,
he could discern
what was in their hearts,
he could discern
their needs,
and he could act
in a way
that was for
their good.
For some people,
it was to heal them
physically.
For some people,
it was to assure them
of salvation
and of forgiveness.
For some people,
it was to condemn them
because of their hypocrisy.
But in every situation,
the Lord Jesus,
through the spirit,
was able to discern
what was the right thing
to do
and to do it.
Spirit of counsel
and of power,
which is the next thing
described here,
would typically be
the kind of expression
that was used
in terms of
a king
and managing
the affairs
of state.
So it is
understanding again,
but understanding
the big picture,
being able to see
everything
in its context
and what needs
to be done
and having the power
to do it.
And again,
is that not exactly
what we see
in the Lord Jesus,
both in his life
on earth
and now
as he is our advocate
in heaven
with the Father.
He understands
our situation.
He understands
our world.
He is able to
guide us
as we seek
to navigate
through it.
And he has
had in his life
and has now
the power
to make a real
difference
in every situation.
And of course,
ultimately,
as he went
to the cross,
he had the
understanding
and the wisdom
to know
that that was
the only way
of salvation
for us.
And he had
the power,
he had the
desire
and the ability
to go to the cross
and because
he was sinless
to take our sins
on himself
and to emerge
victorious,
to rise again
on the third day.
The spirit of wisdom
and understanding,
the spirit of counsel
and power,
and then thirdly,
as the spirit
of knowledge
and of the fear
of the Lord.
So the Lord Jesus
had a perfect knowledge
in every situation.
Not head knowledge
really particularly
being talked about here
although that comes
into it.
It is the knowledge
that comes from
being able to see things
the way they are
and being able
to act on them.
And particularly
knowing God
and fearing him.
Fear, of course,
not being terror
in this context.
It is respect
and reverence
for God.
And that is the description
of the Lord Jesus.
I wonder how well
it describes us.
We all have
the spirit
of the Lord.
Unlike
people in the Old Testament
where the spirit
would come and rest
on someone for a while
to do a specific task
and would then
not be with them.
We have the spirit,
the Holy Spirit
in our hearts,
in our lives,
guiding,
leading,
directing us,
helping us to live
the way that
Jesus does.
Jesus did
and Jesus would
want us to.
And do we then
display wisdom
and understanding,
counsel, power,
knowledge,
and fear
of the Lord?
And then verses
3 to 5
talks about
what this shoot
will do,
what this king
who is coming
will do.
And it is a message
of judgment
but of righteousness
and of justice.
Verse 5,
I think,
is key.
Righteousness
will be his belt
and faithfulness
the sash
round his waist.
The things,
if you like,
that hold him together,
that make him complete
are righteousness
and faithfulness.
Doing what is right,
helping others
to do what is right,
enforcing justice
where necessary,
but always being
faithful to God
and to his word.
This is the king
that Isaiah
is able to look
forward to.
This is the one
who ultimately
will reign.
and this is the one
who is our saviour
and our lord
and we should be
serving him
and seeking
to follow
his example.
Him says,
Sing we the king
who is coming
to reign.
Glory to Jesus,
the lamb
that was slain.
Righteousness,
peace,
then his empire
shall bring.
Joy to the nations
when Jesus
is king.
So we look forward
to the day
when Jesus
is seen to reign
and restore
righteousness
and justice
in our world.
Let's move on though
and look at
the next few verses
from verse 6
to verse 9.
And I've called
these restoration.
It is the return
of creation
to what it
should be.
Now like a lot
of prophecy,
we have a bit
of a dilemma
with these verses.
Are we to take
them literally
or not?
So will it
really be the case
that lions
will start
to eat straw
rather than meat?
Now it's possible,
but it would require
quite big
biological changes.
Obviously God
could well do,
but it may be
that what
the writer
here is looking
at,
the prophecy
here,
is as much
figurative
as literal.
That is,
looking forward
to a day
when those
who are strong,
when those
who like
to exert
their authority,
have that
taken away
from them
and they are
brought down
to the same
kind of level
as those
who are weak
and those
who might seem
helpless.
So in terms
of the world
of Isaiah's day,
it would be
Israel and Judah
having the same
kind of strength
and the same
kind of relationship
that Assyria did
or Babylon would
or that Egypt did.
The big countries
and the little countries
being able to live
at peace together.
Now maybe that,
or it's maybe
to be taken literally
if you two think
that through
for yourself.
But the key thing is
it is a world
where creation
has been restored
to the way
it should be.
Where everything
is peaceful
and there is not
a dogfight
going on
and everyone
trying to get
their own way.
Where a little child
can lead them.
I think the contrast
is between
a great warrior king
going out to battle
and a little child
being able to lead.
Where there is no fear.
Where the young child
can put his hand
into the nest
of vipers
and not worry
about it.
And how can this
come about?
What are the circumstances
that are required
for that?
Well it's in verse 9
isn't it?
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.
How do the waters
cover the sea?
They cover it completely.
You don't have
bits of sea
and then there's
a bit of dry land
and then there's
another bit of sea
and that is not
what we would
normally expect.
The sea is full
of water
everywhere.
And the prophet
is saying here
one day
the earth
will be full
of the knowledge
of God
in that way.
Not head knowledge
not just knowing
the facts about God
but knowing God
and seeking
to do his will
and to follow
in his good purposes.
One day
everything will change
and a world
where there is
very little knowledge
of God now.
A world where
most people
have no interest
in God
or in eternity.
One day
it will all be different
and everyone
will know
that Jesus
is Lord.
Everyone will know
that we have
a just
and a righteous
God
and creation
will be back
as it should have been
if sin hadn't
entered in it.
Creation
will be
restored.
Let me continue
my hymn.
Knowledge and fear
of the Lord
then shall be
as the deep waters
that cover the sea
all things
shall be
in the splendor
of spring
and all harmonious
when Jesus
is King.
restoration.
Third thing
we look at
I've put under
the heading
of return.
God's people
are reunited.
Interesting
as we come
to verse 10
in verse 1
we notice
that there was
a shoot
coming from
the stump
of Jesse.
In verse 10
it talks about
the root
of Jesse.
Now the root
it needs to be there
for a long time
before the shoot
can come up
or before the tree
can be established
doesn't it?
So we have this
curious paradox
which we can
begin to understand
now
that the Lord
Jesus
who was great
David's greater
son
also was the one
who was there
before David
or before Abraham
or before anything
else existed.
He is the one
who is the root
the source
of everything
in our lives.
and he will
be the banner
says Isaiah
that will attract
people to him
and that will
bring them
all together.
If you're following
on in verse 11
there's a list
of different places
and nationalities
there.
The idea I think
is just from
every corner
of the world.
Some are east
some are west
some are north
some are south
God's people
are being brought
back
from everywhere.
these verses
I think there are
quite a lot of
echoes of the
exodus from Egypt
and of God's
people for the
first time
being brought
to Israel
and saying
this will happen
again a second
time.
That God's people
who have been
removed from
their land
will be brought
back.
Now as I say
it's probably
in the shortish
term referring
to the return
from exile
from Babylon.
You might also
want to depending
on how you
view things
seeing it
the return
of the Jews
to Israel
in the middle
of the 20th
century
something which
people would
never have
forecast in
previous years
but wonderfully
happened.
But particularly
I think it looks
forward to the
day when all
God's people
will be together
united under
the Lord Jesus.
That those who
were there in
the first century
BC when the
Lord was on
earth, those
who have trusted
him since,
and the saints
from Old
Testament days
who had their
trust in God
will all be
united and
will be together
singing the
praise of the
Lord Jesus.
All separation
is gone.
You may have
noticed the end
of chapter 11
that the prophet
talks about the
seas drying up,
the Euphrates
and the Red Sea
and so on,
and the picture
there of just
everything that
separates being
removed.
See in the Bible
tends to talk
about separation.
So everything
that would stop
us being together
as God's people
is removed and
we're all united
and we're all
together with
the Lord who
loved us and
who died for
us.
And what a day
that should be
as we look
forward to it
when we're with
the Lord and
we're with all
the saints from
down the ages.
All shall be
well in this
kingdom of
priests.
Freedom shall
flourish and
wisdom increase.
Foe shall
be friend when
his triumph
we sing.
Sword shall
be sickle when
Jesus is
king.
And these
skirmishes
talked about
between Israel
and Judah
and the other
nation
dragged about.
They'll be
behind because
everyone who
knows the
Lord will be
brought together.
And finally
let's have a
look at
chapter 12.
So chapter
12 as I've
said is one
of the
bookends of
the section
of Isaiah
I've been
looking at
from chapter
6 to
chapter 12.
And it's a
song of
praise to
God.
Actually it's
two songs
of praise to
God.
But you've
noticed that
verse 1
says in
that day
you will
say and
verse 4
also says
in that
day you
will say.
What you
don't get in
the modern
translations but
would get in
the very old
ones is that
in verse 1
the you is
singular so it
would be thou in
some of the
old translations
in verse 4
it's plural so
it's ye in
the old
translations.
So the first
few verses are
an individual
song of
praise to
God and
the last few
verses are
the company of
God's people
joining together
in praise of
him.
But all
together
recognizing God's
goodness,
recognizing God's
wisdom,
recognizing the
reign of the
Lord Jesus
and praising
God for all
he has done
for us.
So in
verses 1
to 3
it is the
individual
praising God.
Now again
there's something
you probably
don't get from
your translation.
In two places
it talks about
God being
my salvation.
It's the
beginning of
verse 2
and it's also
at the end
of verse 2.
Now what you
don't get from
that is that
the name
Isaiah,
the name of
the prophet
here,
means God
is my
salvation.
So there's a
bit of a
pun if you
like going
on here.
This is Isaiah
as the prophet
saying,
yes my name
is true,
God is
my salvation.
And three
things that
particularly
strike him
as he thinks
about God
his salvation.
The first
in verse 1
is God's
forgiveness.
So God
has rightly
been angry
with his
people.
His people
have failed
him,
they deserve
to be judged.
But our
God is a
merciful and
gracious God.
And when the
people turn
back to him
then he will
forgive them
and they
will be restored
to fellowship
with him.
And that is
something too
that we should
be praising
God for.
We deserve
God's wrath.
We have
done wrong,
we are
sinners,
we don't
deserve
anything
from God.
But through
the death
of the Lord
Jesus and
through God's
grace to us
we have
come to
know him.
And we
know he is
no longer
angry with
us.
Because the
Lord Jesus
has taken
the punishment,
he has
turned away
the wrath
of God.
He has
atoned for
our sins
and we
have forgiveness
through him.
And Isaiah
praises God
for that.
In verse 2
he praises God
that he doesn't
need to be
afraid.
Actually a couple
of weeks ago
he was talking
about the
trust,
who do you
trust?
And I think
that is coming
out again
in this.
Surely God
is my salvation,
I will trust
and not be
afraid.
Isn't it
great that
for us as
Christians,
when we go
through the
trials of life,
when things
are difficult
and stressful
for us,
we know
that we
can trust
the Saviour
who loved
us and
gave his
life for
us.
We know
he is in
every situation,
that he is
in control,
and we can
commit things
to him
knowing that
he knows
what is
best for
us.
And then
in verse 3
there is
the joy
that comes
from
salvation.
Our sins
have been
forgiven.
We have a
God,
a Saviour,
who we
can trust
in.
And so
we can
live our
lives with
joy,
with the
well of
salvation
springing up
within us
and rejoicing
in all that
the Saviour
has done
for us.
I wonder
whether we
as individuals,
as we do
as a church,
thank God
regularly for
all these
things that
he has done
for us,
for our
salvation,
for his
daily
provision,
for the
joy that
we can
have in
the Lord
Jesus.
But then
there's also
in verses
4 to 6
there's the
united
worship
together.
This is
addressed to
all God's
people and
encouraging
them to
praise God
and to
tell others
about him.
And the
two go
together.
We praise
God because
we want
to sing
his praises
and
celebrate
all that
he has
done
in our
lives.
But we
also praise
God and
proclaim him
so that
others may
come to
know him
and to
trust him
as well.
And Isaiah
says the
two very
much go
together.
As people
can see the
delight that
we have in
our God,
the relationship
that we have
with him,
then they
will be
attracted to
him and
will be
able to
proclaim his
goodness and
the salvation
that we have
through the
Lord Jesus.
And that's
true both
individually and
corporately.
We should be
rejoicing in
our God and
that should be
in a sense
infectious,
that people
around about
us should
see we're
different and
should want
to come to
trust in
the Lord
Jesus.
So again I
ask myself
and all of
us, are
we rejoicing
in the
prospect of
the Lord's
return?
Do we
look forward
to that
day and
yearn for
it when
things will
be as
they should
be?
And when
we will
be with
our Lord
and be
with him
forever?
And if we
are, does
it make a
difference in
the way we
live?
Does it
make a
difference in
the way we
view our
world?
Does it
make a
difference in
how we
relate to
others and
seek to
witness to
them about
the Lord
Jesus?
When the
Bible talks
about the
second coming
of the
Lord Jesus
it is never
a theoretical
thing that
it is talking
about.
It is always
something that
should have a
practical impact
on our
lives and
make us want
day by day
to live for
the Lord and
to tell others
about him.
Kingdom of
Christ, for
thy coming we
pray.
Hasten, O
Father, the
dawn of that
day, when
this new
song thy
creation shall
sing, Satan
is vanquished
and Jesus
is king.
Come let us
sing praise
to our
king, Jesus
our king,
Jesus our
king.
This is our
song who to
Jesus belong.
Glory to
Jesus, to
Jesus our
king.
Let's pray
together.
our
Father, we
thank you
for this
wonderful
prophecy by
Isaiah.
We thank
you for the
way in which
you enabled
him so
accurately to
portray what
will happen
on the
Lord's
return.
That one
day the
Lord will
come back
and in
that day
everything
will be put
right that's
been so
wrong.
In that
day we
will be
united with
all others
who love
him and
know him.
Above all
in that
day we
will go
to be
with our
Lord and
to be
with him
forever.
Help us
to look
forward to
that day,
to long
for it and
to seek to
win others
for the
Lord Jesus
that they
too may
have the
joy of
knowing that
they will
go to
be with
him.
We thank
you for
your presence
with us
this evening.
We pray
you will
continue with
us now as
we come to
remember the
Lord Jesus
together.
We ask
in his
name.
Amen.