Isaiah 11:1-16 The Glorious Hope

by Larry Ferrell  |  February 9, 2018
Here for the second time, Isaiah extends to the remnant the hope of the royal Messiah. Again, it is specifically a word of assurance for the dark day of the Assyrian threat but contains in itself clear indications that its fulfillment is for time yet to come. Updated hope is a living, ever-present assurance for God’s people, and it is at this point that the passage speaks as much to the church of today as in Isaiah’s time. Clearly the two major sections of this chapter (vv. 1-9, 10-16) belong together. They both concern the rule of the shoot or Root of Jesse (vv. 1 & 10). But what is first presented in general and symbolic terms in verses 1-9 is then reduced to concrete particulars in verses 10-16.

The movement from the overthrow of the human kingdom (represented by Assyria) to the setting up of the kingdom of God (represented by the Messiah) is a natural one theologically, even though it involves a dramatically shortened view of the historical processes involved. Notice also the movement from the felling of a forest at the end of chapter 10 to the emergence of a shoot from a stump at the beginning of this one. However this is only a surface view. The deeper reality involves a sharp contrast. Assyria is felled never to grow again; Judah is felled only to have new life emerge from its stump. This is not the first time in the book that the transition from judgment to salvation has been depicted as the springing up of a plant, but clearly there is a more particular application of that imagery here.

The expression the stump of Jesse indicates his humble origins, bypassing all the luxurious display of the Davidic house. His fitness to rule will consist essentially in his endowment with the spirit, giving him true wisdom, grounded in the fear of the Lord. The fundamental characteristic of his rule will be righteousness, which in practical terms will mean justice for the poor and meek, something which the current kings had failed to bring about. And he will be in a position to execute perfect justice because he will be possessed of perfect knowledge. The effect of his rule will be universal peace, an ideal described here in symbolic language which recalls the paradise of Eden. It’s a picture of the whole of creation put back into joint. The entire earth, not just Jerusalem/Zion, will be the Lord’s holy mountain. In other words, he will be known, and his rule will be experienced everywhere. Here Isaiah looks beyond the disappointments of his own age to the coming of the one who, in the last analysis, can only be God in the flesh, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The opening words of verse 10 make it clear that this unit has the same end-time focus as verses 1-9, and in view of this the many particular nations mentioned must be understood in a figurative rather than literal sense. Collectively they represent the enemies, great and small, of God’s people.

There are three things that should be noted in verses 11-16. First, the remnant in view of these verses comprises, in one sense, simply the survivors, the people of Israel and Judah who will still be alive, although scattered, when the Messiah comes (v. 12). Secondly, because of the end-time focus of the unit as a whole, the gathering of the scattered people of God here cannot be seen as fulfilled in the later return of the exiles from Babylon, even though both are depicted as a second or new exodus. Thirdly, as Christians it is important to recognize that the nationalistic categories of a prophecy like this are transcended in the New Testament’s vision of the end. In New Testament terms the scattered people of God are all those, Jew and Gentile alike, who gladly acknowledge Jesus as the Christ (Messiah). These are the ones who will finally be gathered from every nation to share in Christ’s rule over those who will only reluctantly bow the knee on the final day. As we see, however, this expansion of the remnant concept to include Gentiles as well as believing Jews is already anticipated within the book of Isaiah itself.

Isaiah 11:1-16 Reflection Questions:
How do these verses encourage you as you go through your struggles here on earth?
Where in the New Testament is it said that Christ was endowed with the Holy Spirit?
Where in the New Testament does Isaiah 11:3 come into play?

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Philippians 2:25-30 The Man Whom God Honors

by Larry Ferrell | February 23, 2018
Of all the men Paul honors in his Epistle to the Philippians, it is the layman named Epaphroditus who gets the most attention. Here is a man who is almost unknown to us. Yet Paul selects him as deserving highest honor because of his self-effacing service to another Christian. Paul spells it out clearly in the first verse that mentions him (v. 25). Epaphroditus is said to have been four things. He was a brother, a fellow worker, a fellow soldier, and a messenger of the Philippian Christians who ministered in their absence to Paul’s needs. These things build toward the final statement. Together they are an important summary of what the Christian life should be.

In the first place, Paul calls his Christian friend a brother. This is striking simply because the ideal of brotherhood was such a new thing in Paul’s day. To be sure, some aspects of ancient life and culture bore a faint resemblance to Christian brotherhood; but these, even at their best, were exclusive. For the most part the ancient world was sharply divided between Greeks and Romans, Jews and Gentiles, aristocrats and plebeians, citizens and soldiers. There was nothing that genuinely united all branches of this greatly polarizes society. Into this world came the gospel of Jesus Christ and with it Christian brotherhood. Christians knew that they had all been under the curse of God because sin and now were brought into a new relationship to God through their relationship to Christ. Due to this new relationship to Christ; regardless of their place in society, the Christians simply overlooked their differences.

Second, Paul praises Epaphroditus for proving himself to be a fellow worker. This reminds me of the praise Jesus Christ had for the little church at Ephesus. This was a working church, and it was praised for it. In Revelation Jesus says to the church, “You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary” (Rev. 2:3). Epaphroditus was this kind of worker. We need to reconstitute a working church in our day. We need to recapture a spirit of hard work in the social realm, for this is where the greatest action has taken place. We also need to work with renewed vigor in the area of evangelism. Perhaps you are saying that this is too much work for you. That may be true. But that is why we are to work with other Christians.

The third term that Paul uses to comment Epaphroditus is “fellow soldier.” Epaphroditus did not only work with Paul; he fought side by side with him also. Paul uses the words “fellow soldier” to say that the work they were doing was more like a battle than the normal labor of a citizen in peacetime. The Bible says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 6:12). This warfare requires the shoulder-to-shoulder, aggressive forward motion of all Christians. We are to work together in harmony against the spiritual powers arrayed against us.

The climactic phrase of Paul’s tribute to Epaphroditus tells us that he was a messenger of the church at Philippi and that he took care of Paul’s needs. Paul says in verse 30 that Epaphroditus nearly died in fulfilling this ministry. Epaphroditus was a man who, Paul says, was to be held in the highest honor. Yet he grew sick in the midst of the most unselfish Christian service. Moreover, he was sick for some time, at least for three months. If the case of Epaphroditus is to teach us anything, it must teach us that sickness is often a badge of honor for God’s children.

This was the high point of Paul’s praise for his friend Epaphroditus – praise for the kind of life that sacrifices its own interests for others. But we must not think that Paul is praising a type of life that he himself did not practice. Paul was in prison, and most of his friends had deserted him. Only Timothy and Epaphroditus were left. These men were in Rome to help Paul. Yet Paul writes that he is going to send Timothy back to the Philippians because he thinks it is necessary for their well-being. He is willing to give him up. He is sending Epaphroditus back also, even though he thinks most highly of him. What was Paul thinking about during the dark days before execution? About himself? About his future? Not at all! He was thinking about the needs of his fellow Christians.

Philippians 2:25-30 Reflection Questions:
Do we have brotherhood and sisterhood in the church of Jesus Christ today?
Have you recently asked the Lord to enable you to become a fellow worker with other Christians?
Do you have challenges with your health that maybe you can work with still doing God’s work?
Are you willing to sacrifice your own interests for the concerns of other Christians?

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