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How To Achieve True Peace
(Isaiah 11:1-9)
Mari Ikeda
It is the second Sunday of Christmas. Christmas is a time to celebrate Jesus who was born to bring peace to this world, but with the recent world situation only increasing wars and conflicts, it may be getting harder and harder to believe that a King of Peace was born.
Today, I would like to read Isaiah 11 and consider what the King of Peace prophesied in the Bible is like and what true peace is. I’d like to divide the passage into two parts. Firstly let’s read verses 1-5.
A. The One who brings true peace (1-5)
1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him―
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD―
3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
As explained in last week’s message, social conditions at the time these words were written were difficult for the people of Israel. The once prosperous kingdom of David was divided into north and south, with the northern kingdom conquered by Assyria and the remaining southern kingdom barely remaining as a tributary state of Assyria. Isaiah means that he spoke these words to a people who were facing the pain of civil war and the threat of a powerful nation.
It eventually became, ironically, a prophecy that has been passed down through all ages. For in this world there is constant war. Isaiah speaks to us who cannot stop war, telling us to believe and wait for the true King of Peace to appear. So let’s check out Isaiah’s words verse by verse to see what he is like.
1. He comes from the line of David. (1)
Verse 1 says, “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.” Jesse is the name of David’s father. He was a shepherd, and his youngest son was David. Not only did God choose David, who came from a lowly shepherd family, to be king of the Israelites, but He also promised that a savior would eventually be born from David’s descendants.
I think there is a reason why it is said here that the Savior will be born “from the stump of Jesse” instead of “from the house of David.” I think the prophet Isaiah wanted to emphasize that the lineage in which the Savior is born is not that of David, the king, but that of Jesse, a lowly shepherd. The Savior will not appear from a dynastic lineage that was once prosperous but corrupt, but through God’s election and power to choose a king from among the poor shepherds. Thus, it was prophesied that a special king who would bring true peace to our world would surely appear, based on God’s promise.
2. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him. (2-3a)
In the following verses, verse 2 and the first half of verse 3, it is said that the Sprit of the Lord will rest on that king. The Spirit is “the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD,” “and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.” Saul and David became kings because God poured out His Spirit on them, and they lost their office because they disobeyed or stopped relying on God’s Spirit. The true King of Peace who will eventually emerge is the one who makes no such mistakes, always fears God properly, and the Spirit of the Lord is always with him. It means, in fact, that he is one with God, one with God’s spirit, and he is beyond the ordinary human being.
3. He sees the unseen truths. (3b)
The second half of verse 3 says, “He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears.” This means, in other words, to see what the eyes cannot see, to sense what the ears cannot hear, and to see the truth and render a verdict. I think this is very difficult. Justice and truth cannot be separated.
Only when we can see the truth can we do justice. But it is impossible for human beings to always see the truth perfectly and do perfect justice in everything. Only an omniscient and omnipotent God can do that. In other words, the king who can bring about true peace is God Himself.
4. He’s not influenced by political power, military power, or economic power. (4a)
And the first half of verse 4 says, “but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.” When I was reading a Bible commentary on this verse, I found an interesting comment. It said that even in the ancient Near East where these words of Isaiah were written it was nominally known in principle that it was the duty of kings and nobles to protect the interests of the weak. But in reality, the comment explained, no king can remain independent of political power, military power, or economic power, because no king can remain a king without protecting the interests of powerful nobles, soldiers, and wealthy people. In other words, even if it is the duty of those in power to protect the weak, no one in power can remain independent of the interests of the strong.
So does this mean that we should no longer expect politics to make the world a better place at all? No. I think it is important to keep the laws in place so that those in power do not use their power for their own selfish purposes, and that citizens keep an eye on those in power. And what Isaiah is teaching here is that the true King of Peace is the one who protects the interests of the weak and suffering, completely independent of human political power, military power, or economic power.
5. His words judge evil. (4b)
Moreover, the second half of verse 4 says, “He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.” This means that the Savior who brings peace to this world will judge evil with words as weapons. I’d like to introduce some words from the letter to the Hebrews in the New Testament regarding this. Heb. 4:12-13.
12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Before God, human hypocrisy and deceit have no power. No one in authority can deceive others, but not God.
6. He is righteous and faithful (5)
That’s why it is said in the following verse 5, “Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.” As in English it is translated as “faithfulness” while in Japanese it is “truth,” to say that God is faithful is the same as saying that God is true. It can also be said that H is faithful in upholding truth and justice.
It is also His faithfulness to the first prophecy that a shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse. God never break his promise. The King who brings true peace to this world through righteousness and faithfulness has indeed come to this world as God promised. That is what happened on Christmas two thousand years ago.
Jesus is God’s promised King of true peace.
So why is it that peace has not been realized in this world even though Jesus came 2,000 years ago? This is because Jesus entrusted His work to us and expects us to carry on His thoughts. The words of Isaiah’s prophecy that follow tell us well what kind of state Jesus wants the world to be in. let’s read verses 6-9.
B. What is true peace? (6-9)
6 The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
9 They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.
1. A world where the strong do not bring any danger or fear to the weak
What kind of world is a world where wolves and lambs are together, leopards and little goats sleep together, and lions and calves graze together? It is also said that the young child can put its hand into the viper’s nest safely. We can interpret these literally as changes in the natural world, but I think they are a metaphor for human society. Namely, it is a metaphor for a society where the strong do not bring any danger or fear to the weak.
Please do not misunderstand me, but I am using the terms strong and weak here in the sense of those who have more social privileges and those who do not, not in the sense of those who are mentally stronger and weaker. It could be paraphrased in many ways: majority and minority, rich and poor, healthy and sick, able-bodied people and those with disability, etc.
The strong ceasing to pose any danger or fear to the weak is not merely a matter of the strong ceasing to deprive the weak of their rights or cause them harm. The truly peaceful world prophesied here is one in which the strong not only cease to dominate the weak, but in which the strong are willing to protect and learn from the weak.
Have you ever heard the words of someone active in the field of child welfare in Japan, “Let these children be the light of the world”? These are the words of Kazuo Itoga, a Christian who devoted his life to children with mental disabilities in postwar Japan. He did not say, “Bring the light of the world to these children,” but instead he said, “Let these children be the light of the world.” These words are based on his belief that people with mental disabilities are not only weak beings who need help from others, but that they can teach us what is important to us as human beings. It is related also with the last part of verse 6, “a little child will lead them.”
2. A world where the weak lead the strong
The depiction of a wolf and a lamb, a leopard and a goat, a lion and a calf, and a small child guiding them, gives the impression as is it is a cute picture book. But the true peace Isaiah was trying to teach us is not a scene from a cute picture book. True peace is not only a world where the strong do not harm the weak, but also a world where the weak lead the strong. It is a world in which it is more precious to ask for the help of others in a childlike, simple, and naive way, taking for granted the help of others, rather than having more knowledge, more strength, more experience, or more special abilities.It means that those who are weak and need the help of others are the ones who are best suited to be leaders of others and to lead this world to peace. It might be said that it is those who have faith to trust God like a child that can bring peace to this world. It is the weak people who cannot live without the help of others and God that God uses to bring peace to this world.
3. A world where everyone seeks the fulfillment of God’s will rather than their own interests
At the end of verse 9, we are told what the key to a peaceful world is. “They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” It is said that when God is known in this world for who He is, there will be no more conflict in the world.
God is righteous and faithful, and He is the King of Peace who came to this world as a man, as a descendant of David. He is the one who judges the wicked, does not give in to the strong, and protects the weak. In order that people in this world get to know what God is like, there is a need for people in this world to tell people what God is like. It is not just about conveying knowledge about God in words, but about showing what God’s justice, faithfulness, and love are by our actions and embodying them in the way we live.
Now I’d like to summarize my message today.
The true peace that God desires for this world is not simply the absence of war. It is, of course, that there will be no more wars, but that the distinction between winners and losers will disappear, and the structure itself, in which the strong dominate the weak, will cease to exist. It is impossible for humans to achieve that in its perfect form, but it is important that we know that this is God’s desire. And God has already given us the means to steadily approach that ideal. It is for us to forgive and love one another in accordance with the love of Jesus, who gave his life for the sins of others. It is not an evil dictator that prevents us from doing this, but the sin of self-centeredness in each of us. Let us seek to have each one of us transformed from the inside out by God’s love, so that true peace will be realized from all around us.
(Prayer) God, who created this world, please help us to better know the true peace you desire for us at this Christmas time.
Although the current state of the world is far from your desire, please help us to continue to pray and act for your justice to be realized.
Use us to make your peace come true in our families, among our friends, and in our workplaces.
May we know more ourselves that this is what is most important, to ask for your help and to rejoice in our weak state.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, that you came into this world to teach us these things.
We pray this in Your name, Amen.
Summary
The true peace that God desires for this world is not simply the absence of war. It is, of course, that there will be no more wars, but that the distinction between winners and losers will disappear, and the structure itself, in which the strong dominate the weak, will cease to exist. It is impossible for humans to achieve that in its perfect form, but it is important that we know that this is God’s desire. And God has already given us the means to steadily approach that ideal. It is for us to forgive and love one another in accordance with the love of Jesus, who gave his life for the sins of others. It is not an evil dictator that prevents us from doing this, but the sin of self-centeredness in each of us.
For Discussion
- What is the true peace that is taught in this passage?
- What can each of us do to achieve that peace?