Peace in the Land

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:1-9 ESV)

Reading Isaiah this morning is a reminder that we, as followers of the King, are living in the "already, but not yet" age of the kingdom. The kingdom of God is in the heart of believers. We experience peace, rest, and joy in the midst of turbulous times, this we "already" taste and experience something of what the kingdom will be like. But, we have "not yet" experienced the fullness of the coming of the Kingdom. Isaiah describes the peace and rest that will be realized when Jesus Christ is recognized as the King of all Age. In the consummation of the Kingdom, we will experience the fullness of His promised redemption and restoration.