The Saving King – part 2
Isaiah 11:1-16 (2b-5)
May 28, 2023
Tonight we want to jump right back into where we left off this morning.
• We are looking at Isaiah’s Holy One.
• We are looking at the King who came to Save Israel.
• We are looking at the One they formerly despised and abandoned.
And we are seeing why He is the ONLY certified and competent Savior.
Right now we are looking at the first point about Him.
#1 HIS REPUTATION
Isaiah 11:1-2
This is where we find who He is.
We find His character here.
WE SAW that He fits the divine requirement because He comes from David’s line.
• He is “a shoot…from the stem of Jesse”
• He is “a branch…from his roots”
HE IS ALSO the provider of the righteousness we need.
• He is “a shoot”
• He is “a branch”
• He bears “much fruit”
• Through Him we also bear the fruit of righteousness.
We also saw that He holds divine approval.
“The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him”
• He is God’s anointed.
• He is God’s selected Savior King.
And we are currently looking at what that means in His life.
Since the Spirit of the LORD rests on Him, what does that mean for Him?
1) COMPETENCE
“The spirit of wisdom” – He has skill and ability to accomplish what He sets out to accomplish.
2) COMPREHENSION
“The spirit of…understanding” – He knows what to do. He gets it.
3) COUNSEL
“The spirit of counsel” – His advice and direction is flawless.
We have here a King who knows what to do,
Knows how to do it, and knows how to instruct you too.
THAT’S WHERE WE LEFT OFF THIS MORNING.
THERE’S MORE.
Competence, Comprehension, Counsel
4) CONFIDENCE
“The spirit of…strength”
The Hebrew word here is (GHEB-OO-RAW)
It can mean “valor” or “might” or “bravery”
In the book of the kings you read this phrase over and over and over.
1 Kings 15:23 “Now the rest of all the acts of Asa and all his might and all that he did and the cities which he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? But in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet.”
1 Kings 16:5 “Now the rest of the acts of Baasha and what he did and his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?”
Over and over with the kings we read,
“what he did and his might”
It speaks of a king’s GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENTS
And the strength with which he did them.
When God addressed Job, He asked:
Job 39:19 “Do you give the horse his might? Do you clothe his neck with a mane?”
It just speaks of the strength and power of the King.
AND WE THINK OF THE “might” OF THIS KING.
• How He spoke to a storm “peace be still” and it obeyed.
• How He repeatedly cast out demons, one time even facing an entire legion of demons and still overcoming.
• How he took on disease and sickness and death yet still overcame.
• How He silenced rulers and all His enemies.
• He satisfied the wrath of God on the cross.
• He conquered sin and the grave.
Perhaps John summed up His might better than anyone when he wrote:
John 21:25 “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.”
HE COULD DO ANYTHING.
• There was no foe He could not handle.
• No problem He could not solve.
• No dilemma too big…
I personally like this story:
Matthew 14:15-18 “When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and the hour is already late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!” They said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” And He said, “Bring them here to Me.”
Can’t you just picture the disciple’s faces when Jesus said, “you give them something to eat!”
Talk about an insurmountable problem.
And then this King says, “Bring them here to Me.”
And that is all that was needed.
Of course no story will ever top this one.
Colossians 2:13-15 “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.”
• On the cross Jesus fully satisfied the wrath of God for all who will believe.
• He totally fulfilled God’s righteous requirements on their behalf.
• He then engaged in a full-blown frontal assault on death in which He arose victorious.
• He ascended to heaven where He would secure the salvation of His bride by daily interceding on her behalf.
• And eventually He will return to judge the living and the dead.
And we might say:
“Now the rest of His deeds and His might, are they not written in the gospel accounts.”
Throughout all of human history,
No man has come close to His accomplishments.
This King can do anything!
He faces every threat and the threat fades away.
Competence, Comprehension, Counsel, Confidence
5) CAPACITY
“The spirit of knowledge…”
It is the Hebrew word (DAH-ATH)
It speaks of perception and discernment.
And it is very important for the King to possess this trait
Based on what we read back in Isaiah 5.
Isaiah 5:13 “Therefore My people go into exile for their lack of knowledge; And their honorable men are famished, And their multitude is parched with thirst.”
God’s people go into exile for a failure to have this knowledge.
• Their rulers had been totally void of it.
• They knew nothing.
• They perceived nothing.
They were under the wrath of God and couldn’t tell.
God was sick of their sacrifices and they didn’t know it.
Job was rebuked by God for daring to question Him without having this:
Job 38:2 “Who is this that darkens counsel By words without knowledge?
It was foolish for Job to assume he knew what God knew.
But this king has “knowledge”
He knows what is going on.
He perceives the mind of God and He knows the heart of man.
John 2:23-25 “Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.”
• How many other times do we read of Jesus “knowing their thoughts”?
THIS KING KNOWS.
Think about Him IN THE GARDEN.
• The soldiers come…
• Judas betrays…
• They go to arrest Jesus…
• And Peter pulls the sword to buy Jesus time to escape…
And Jesus stops him.
Matthew 26:53-54 “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? “How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”
Jesus knew what was going on.
He had a handle on the entire situation.
And this is the King who has come to save.
THIS IS THE HOLY ONE
You want a taste of His knowledge?
Isaiah 55:8-9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.”
Romans 11:33-35 “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN?”
Listen to Jesus speak to the fact that HE ALONE KNOWS these things.
Luke 10:21-22 “At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”
No earthly King ever knew what Jesus knows.
• He is set apart.
• There is none like Him.
His capacity for knowledge exceeds all.
Competence, Comprehension, Counsel, Confidence, Capacity
6) CONSIDERATION
“The spirit of…the fear of the LORD”
This Hebrew word is (YIV-AW)
It is “fear” or “respect”
The most famous:
Psalms 111:10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever.”
In Psalms 2 it is translated “reverence”
Psalms 2:11 “Worship the LORD with reverence And rejoice with trembling.”
In Ezekiel 1 it is translated “awesome”
Ezekiel 1:18 “As for their rims they were lofty and awesome, and the rims of all four of them were full of eyes round about.”
And it speaks not only to His wisdom, but also to HIS MOTIVE.
All that He does He does for the glory of God.
He stands perfectly in awe of God.
John 5:19 “Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.”
John 12:27-28 “Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. “Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
Or the famous:
Matthew 26:39 “And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”
THIS IS SO IMPORTANT.
How many kings in Israel’s history had such a disregard for God that they actually led their nations into judgment?
• Ahaz is the one who actually called Assyria.
• Later we find that because of Manasseh God refused to forgive Judah.
• How often we read “did not depart from the sin of Jeroboam son of Nebat”
We had kings who had no fear of God
And therefore they led their nations into sin and judgment.
How wonderful to have a king who fears God.
NOW YOU PUT ALL THOSE TOGETHER and the picture emerges
Of exactly who this Saving King is.
• He is God’s prophesied King.
• He is the One who provides righteousness for His people.
• He can accomplish anything He desires.
• He knows what is going on and His intuition is spot on.
• His counsel is always right and true and timely.
• He has a resume of mighty things longer than you can read.
• His knowledge of God and man is deeper than any other person.
• He leads the nation into blessing because He fears the LORD.
THAT IS THE SAVING KING.
It seems so absurd that the nation had rejected Him.
But Isaiah has only just begun.
That was just His REPUTATION or His character or nature.
There’s more.
#2 HIS RULE
Isaiah 11:3-5
We know what makes Him tick, we saw that in verse 2.
Now let’s examine what His rule will look like.
If you want to sum up His rule in one word
That word has to be RIGHTEOUSNESS
And that is refreshing!
We have seen so much in our day of corruption and deception.
• We live in a time where politicians enter office with average income and leave as millionaires.
• We know about lobbyists and special interest groups.
• We have learn to live with campaign promises that candidates have no intention of honoring.
It is a broken and corrupt system
And we just sort have to make the most of it.
BUT THE DAY IS COMING!
The day when the righteous and wise King will take the throne.
(3) And He will delight in the fear of the LORD”
There will be no lip-service given to God.
It won’t just be religious jargon meant to appease the religious right.
This King will have tunnel vision.
• His chief concern and only focus will be honor God.
• He stands in awe of God.
• He loves God.
• He cares only about pleasing Him in all things.
John 8:29 “And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”
God’s way is not a burden to Him.
He loves it and He lives it.
“And He will not judge by what His eyes see”
If you’ve heard the story of William Tyndale,
• He is the Englishman whose ambition was to translate the Bible from Greek
into English.
• He was hated, condemned, and hotly pursued for this effort.
• When he was finally caught, they sentenced him to death and they strangled
him, burned him, and blew him up with gun powder.
• And his last words before death were, “Lord, open the King of England’s
eyes.”
Men with no spiritual discernment make terrible rulers.
It reminds of the story in the Kings
• When Aram kept trying to attack the nation of Israel
• But Elisha kept foiling him by supernaturally revealing his plans to Israel.
When Aram decided to take out Elisha
He sent horses and armies to surround the city where Elisha was staying.
Elisha’s servant saw the armies and was terrified.
In response Elisha said:
2 Kings 6:16-17 “So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”
That answer reflects the heart of our coming King as well.
He is not intimidated or overwhelmed by visible problems,
He walks by faith, not by sight
He delights in the fear of the LORD.
Others see a storm and say, “help us Lord, we are perishing”.
• He calms the storm and asks, “Why were you afraid, you men of little faith?”
Others see 5 loaves and 2 fish,
• He says, “bring them to Me, and have the people sit down.”
Others see a man dead in a tomb for 4 days,
• He says, “did I not say to you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?”
He is the type of King who can stand before accuser after accuser
He can take their scorn and submit to their flogging
Because He looks beyond the present hardship.
He sees what eyes cannot see.
Hebrews 12:2 “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
1 Peter 2:23 “and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;”
And that is the type of King we see coming to us.
The kind who “will not judge by what His eyes see”
It is He who said:
John 7:24 “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
He told the religious elite:
John 8:15-16 “You judge according to the flesh; I am not judging anyone. “But even if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and the Father who sent Me.”
And all this stems from His fear of the LORD.
John 5:30 “I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”
He isn’t corrupt and He isn’t influenced by what He sees.
HE IS GUIDED BY HOLY CONVICTION.
“Nor make a decision by what His ears hear;”
He is not a King whose policy is dictated by some polling group.
• He does not fear men.
• He does not concern Himself with offending the masses.
• He is not fighting for reelection.
• Social media has no hold on Him.
• It does not matter if it is “in season” or “out of season”
He is not guided by public opinion or majority rule.
What we are talking about here is a man of CONVICTION.
• He fears God and He does God’s will.
• No matter the circumstance…
• No matter the chatter…
• He stands in truth.
How refreshing is a King like that!
(4) “But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth.”
• He makes decisions based upon righteousness.
• He does not favor the wealthy…
• He does not show favoritism to the one who can help Him in return…
When He throws a banquet
He invites the poor, the blind, the cripple, and the lame.
He honors those who honor God.
James described a reality that He learned from Him:
James 2:1-7 “My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives? Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called?”
We see that type of corruption everywhere today.
But not with this King.
From the time He started preaching
• He reminded us that it was the “poor in spirit” who were blessed.
• He praised “the meek”
• He praised those “who hunger and thirst for righteousness”
• He called “the pure in heart” blessed
But He pronounced woe on those
Who love the world and who are loved by the world.
He is the type of King
• Who can show mercy to a woman caught in adultery.
• Who will deliver a woman with 7 demons.
• Who will defend an adulterous woman when she humbles herself.
And He doesn’t care what people think about it.
Remember when He was eating at the Pharisee’s house and that woman started crying on His feet and drying them with her hair?
• The Pharisee said that Jesus would not have allowed that if He had known what kind of woman she was.
But listen to our King!
Luke 7:40-50 “And Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he replied, “Say it, Teacher.” “A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. “When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?” Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.” Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. “You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. “You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. “For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?” And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Or lter when the religious elite thought healing on the Sabbath was sinful.
Luke 13:10-17 “And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And there was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your sickness.” And He laid His hands on her; and immediately she was made erect again and began glorifying God. But the synagogue official, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, “There are six days in which work should be done; so come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to water him? “And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?” As He said this, all His opponents were being humiliated; and the entire crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things being done by Him.”
He is the type of King who doesn’t care what the powerful think.
• He shows mercy to the afflicted and He pours judgment on the self-righteous wicked.
• He who will call out the religious elite for their hypocrisy, and He will travel with fishermen.
• He will humiliate the powerful for their broadened phylacteries, but He will eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners.
• He will expose the elite for their love of money and inward idolatry, but He will forgive a tax collector who repents.
• He will tell everyone that they are headed to hell and not heaven.
• He will call Herod a fox
• He will refuse to answer Pilate
• He won’t cater to the religious elite or the politically powerful.
HE ISN’T GOVERNED BY PUBLIC OPINION
He will rule by a completely different set of principles.
He will rule with righteousness.
“with righteousness He will judge the poor, and decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.”
Those that humble themselves and turn from their sin He will gently lead,
But the stubborn and wicked “He will slay”
Revelation 19:15-16 “From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
Psalms 2:7-9 “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.’”
And we have seen Him do it.
• Who can forget Matthew 23 with the continuous repetition of “Woe to you scribes and pharisees; hypocrites!”
He fears the LORD.
He is unmoved by other influences.
WHAT A KING HE IS!
(5) “And righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist.”
If you remember Paul’s gospel armor analogy
You remember that the belt is referred to as “the belt of truth”
The belt was used to “gird up your loins”.
That was to tuck all that long tunic in the belt
So you could move about quickly and freely.
The belt meant one was ready for conflict.
The belt spoke of one motivated to act.
And the point here is that “righteousness” and “faithfulness”
WILL GOVERN ALL THAT HE DOES.
• There will never be a scandal…
• There will never be a hint of corruption…
He is simply going to be a righteous King.
• Sin will not be tolerated…
• Sin will not be found…
• This Saving King is a righteous King.
And once again, as we did this morning, we stop and ponder
Why men would have ever rejected this One.
• Why would they have despised Him?
• Why would they have abandoned Him?
• Why would they have turned away from Him?
When Jesus came, He actually explained why.
John 3:19-20 “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.”
John 7:7 “The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil.”
John 15:18-25 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. “But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me. “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. “He who hates Me hates My Father also. “If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. “But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘THEY HATED ME WITHOUT A CAUSE.’”
This King is clearly the most qualified and just King ever seen
AND YET His own people continually rejected Him.
There is still, to this day, only one reason why men reject Him.
THEY LOVE SIN.
They can give you all kinds of other excuses:
• That church wronged me…
• They’re all a bunch of hypocrites…
• I saw a phony Christian…
Those are all reasons why you may not like the church,
But we aren’t talking about accepting the church here.
We are talking about accepting Christ.
And there is only one reason why men reject Christ
And that is because they love sin.
If one thing resonates about this King it is that He is a righteous King.
• He is righteous
• He judges with righteousness
• He honors righteousness
• He condemns wickedness
And it is important for all, even in the church, to UNDERSTAND THIS.
Do you have thoughts of going to heaven?
Do you fancy yourself to live in His earthly kingdom?
Then you had better pursue righteousness,
Because there will be no sin in His kingdom.
What things do you enjoy today?
Do you love greed and sex and money and gossip and drunkenness and foul language and gambling and lewdness?
Do you suppose then that you will enjoy His kingdom?
• Are you supposing that you can buy lottery tickets in heaven?
• Are you supposing that you can view pornography in heaven?
• Are you supposing that you can gossip in heaven?
• Are you supposing that you curse and be selfish in heaven?
• Or add whatever other sin you can think of, do you suppose people will do it in heaven?
This King is the Holy King.
This King is the righteous King.
He will rule in righteousness.
And Israel won’t be saved
Until they learn to love the presence of this righteous King,
And neither will you.
Salvation is for those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness”
If you don’t, you won’t like this King.
He is the Saving King but He is the Righteous King.
His reputation and His rule show nothing but those things.
NEXT TIME, we’ll look at the RESULTS of having a righteous king and it only pushes us to want Him all the more.
