The Ideal King

Isaiah 11: 1-10 (December 5, 2010)

1) The Text

11A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. 2The spirit of the Lord shall 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. 3His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; 4but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 5Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins. 6The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. 7The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. 9They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

10On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.

2) The Context

This reading needs to be considered in the context of Isaiah 10:24 in which the people are told not to fear the Assyrians because God is in control. In contrast to the lopping down of the branches of Assyria and the majestic tress of Lebanon falling, God will send forth a branch from the root of Jesse, that is, the House of David. Isaiah was preaching in the time of Ahaz who lived in fear of an Assyrian invasion which threatened Judah and later totally destroyed the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom in 721 BCE. The prophecy of Isaiah 11:1-5 was fulfilled in Judah in the persons of Kings Hezekiah and later Josiah. It was a message of hope to a people who were facing possible destruction and the answer lay in the power and authority of God. The constant message of Isaiah was to trust in God alone. If Isaiah was preaching this message in the time of Hezekiah there was very little left of Judah, and the Davidic kingdom could be depicted as little more than a stump. The message relates back to the promise given to David in 2 Sam 7 in which God promises unconditionally that David's house will last forever.

In each of the units (vv.1-5, 6-10) which make up Isaiah 11:1-10, God reigns within sociopolitical order through the Spirit of the Lord resting on the king and in vv.6-10, God reigns in the order of creation. Although the move from v.5 to v.6 appears abrupt, it is depicting a picture of what would happen in everyday life when a king reigns who has the Spirit of God resting on him. V.9 completes the unit by referring back to the knowledge of the Lord filling the earth. This ideal king deals with people in the same way as God deals with humans - with justice and compassion.

3) Interpretation

As we look toward Christmas, we anticipate not only the birth of a baby but the coming to fruition of God’s new creation. In Advent, we prepare not just for Christmas, but for the feast of the reign of Christ. The beginning of the Christian year anticipates its end, while its end and the celebration of Christ’s reign over all, can only be fully understood as we reflect on the nature of the incarnation of Christ, his death, and resurrection etc. Isaiah 11:1-10 looks toward the rule of one whose life is shaped by the ‘spirit of the Lord’ (vv. 1-5). It envisages a world in which peace will also be experienced in the world of nature (vv. 6-9).

The passage falls into two sections. Verses 1-5 use the metaphor of the shoot coming from the stump of the tree to speak of the continuance of the royal dynasty of David in Jerusalem. After the disappointments of the rule of King Ahaz, the prophet’s words are put together to stress that hope in a just and faithful rule by a descendant of David is not in vain. The image of the tree stump carries the idea of removing what is corrupt and getting back to secure beginnings. This future ruler will be guided by the spirit of the Lord.

The gifts of the spirit are spelled out in terms of the royal domain. They include wisdom and understanding, a gift thought given to Egyptian and Babylonians kings by the gods as well as to Israel’s kings. The king was to judge not only with equity and fairness but with a concern for what we would call social policy and welfare. In other words, the law was there to address the social and economic inequities in society. While this king possessed power (‘might’ in v. 2), he is not described here as a battlefield hero or conqueror. What will drive this king is the ‘fear of the Lord’ (vv. 2-3). In contrast to King Ahaz, faith in God is to be at the heart of this king’s actions. His garb will not be that of power, or wealth or battle, but that of faith (v. 5).

There are points of both difference and continuity as we move to the second section, vv. 6-9. This idyllic picture of peace and harmony seems almost not to require one who will rule and ensure equity is established. The reference to ‘God’s holy mountain’ in v. 9 helps broaden the image. The idyllic image of vv. 6-9 is one for the whole earth. This is underlined in v. 10 and connected back to the metaphor at the beginning of the passage by mention of ‘the root of Jesse’. The messiah described in vv. 1-5 is a messiah for all peoples, just as the image of peace is one for all the earth. The messiah in this passage is not seen as an oppressor of the nations, but as an advisor. This messiah is not one concerned for glory or power, but in the removal of all evil.

Isa 11:1-9 points us to a vision of an ideal world, in both political and natural terms. It stands in sharp contrast to the image of a young family, with a new born child, forced to make do in an animal pen behind an inn. Yet, the images are not unrelated. Isaiah speaks of equity for the meek, justice for the poor, of righteousness and faithfulness, and the ascendency of what is powerless and vulnerable. All these things are embodied in the story of the birth of Jesus. On the other hand, in our anticipation of the birth of Jesus, with all its earthiness and inclusion of what is commonplace, we also anticipate the coming of the fullness of the kingdom of God, with all its glory and hope for what is ‘uncommon’ in our world – peace, justice, equity and security in both the worlds of human society and nature.

4) Thought Exercise

What is your vision of an ideal ruler?

How can we incorporate these traits in our own actions?