Day 3: Read Isaiah 11:1-10
The King Of Peace Is Coming
Isaiah 11:1-10 teaches us that the King of Peace is coming to rescue the people. The King will be born from the family of Jesse and the Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him. The Spirit will give Him wisdom, understanding, guidance, and power. The Spirit of the Lord will teach the King to know and respect the Lord. The King will be happy to obey the Lord. It is said that the King will not judge by appearances or make decisions on what He hears, but He will judge the poor honestly and be fair in His decisions. The King will have great power. At His command evil people will be punished and by His words the wicked will be put to death. Goodness and fairness will be His strength. His reign will see predators and victims of the animal kingdom live in peace. Wolves will lie down with lambs and cows will eat with bears in peace. The baby can play near a cobra's hole and a child can reach into the snake's nest without encountering harm. There will be peace in the kingdom. The people of all nations will come together around the King and the kingdom will be filled with glory.
All of us are familiar with the darkness on earth. We don't have to turn on the news or be the victim of a crime to know that there is evil in our world and we don't need an animal expert to tell us there are natural predators in the wild. Animals have enemies to their health and well being the same as humans, but unlike humans their enemies are born from the need for food. Humans and animals both face conflict and darkness in their daily lives, regardless of motive. If we thought of the death and destruction that each of us face there would be a deep sadness, perhaps even a loss of hope, but Isaiah tells of the coming of the King of Peace and it is His coming that offers us hope.
Isaiah 9 told us that there was darkness, but we would be shown the light and the light would take away our burdens. This gives us an idea of the future, but there is a vagueness about taking away burdens. Isaiah 11 clarifies the extent of peace we will experience when the peace of the kingdom is compared in terms of the peace that will be seen between animals. The nature of animals will actually be changed in such a way that predators will live in peace with their prey. The scripture even says the lion will eat hay. Imagine for a moment a lion eating hay and lying down in peace with a lamb. It seems absurd and yet this is the power of the King of Peace. If He can change the heart of a lion then how much more can He change our hearts and make them peaceful? The King of Peace will gather all nations and the people will live in His kingdom in peace. There will no longer be war or a need to assert one nation as stronger than another. The kingdom will be a great melting pot of peace and ruled justly by the King of Peace.
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