Characteristics of the Promised King – A Messianic Prophecy

“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.” –Isaiah 11:1-5(ESV).

An heir of David and his father Jesse shall be the future Messiah.  So wrote Isaiah about 740 B. C., centuries before the coming of Jesus.  The prophet had written in the chapter prior to this one that destruction of the arrogant nation would come like setting an axe to the trees in the forest and felling them.  But out of the “stump” of Jesse, the remains after the tree had fallen, would come a shoot that would spring up.  The shoot springing up is coming not from a cedar tree, whose stump does not bear fruit.  By implication the prophet means a mighty tree to symbolize the root out of David’s line which will be like a mighty oak.  Its strong stump will come the ideal Ruler.  Here, expressly stated, is that the Messiah will be from the house of David, going back to the father of David, Jesse.

The coming of such a stalwart shoot will bring much good.  He will be filled with understanding, wisdom, and sound judgment, to name a few of His characteristics.  When it comes to judgment, he will not be bound by what is heard or seen, but his judgments will be characterized by righteousness and equity.  In whom are all of these paragons of virtue found?  Who can possibly measure up to such high standards except the Messiah Himself?  The gifts the Holy Spirit bestows upon the divine leader will be perfection of intellectual endowment,   ruler’s practical qualities, and religious or spiritual knowledge led by the Spirit.  These characteristics will mark the Messiah who will spring from Jesse’s stump.  He shall practice the qualities and girt them about Himself as though putting on a belt.  This passage, using metaphor and simile to describe the wonderful Messiah, remains positive throughout in listing the traits that set the Messiah apart from others.  All the characteristics are strong but some are especially noteworthy.  One is that His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord” (v. 3).

Prayer:  Lord, Your coming to earth set a pattern for us of how we should be obedient.  What better emulation of Your life could we have than that we “delight in the fear of the Lord?”  “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge”(Proverbs 1:2).  “The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever” (Psalm 19:9).  We want to assimilate these characteristics into our own life, Lord.  Help us so to do. Amen.

Keys to Successful Living

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; but fools despise wisdom and instruction…My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you.  Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.  So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.” –Proverbs 1:7; 3:1-4 (ESV).

Many view Proverbs 1:7 as the key to the whole book of Proverbs.  Indeed, to hold God in awe and reverence and to have a personal relationship with Him is the beginning point of successful living. And what can we count as success?  Not necessarily accruing possessions or earning prestige and acclaim among peoples.  The wise man who penned the Proverbs knew that to seek the Lord and to please Him was the ultimate pursuit.  Jesus also emphasized “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).  In advising that his son should follow the way of steadfast love and faithfulness all of his life, the writer of proverbs called to mind a covenantal tradition of binding love and faithfulness about the neck and writing them on the tablets and wearing them close to the heart.  This was a symbolic way of emphasizing the importance of the commandments.  In that way they symbolically made the fear of the Lord, love and steadfastness a part of daily living.  The promise is that this lifestyle will produce favor in the sight of God and man.

The writer of Proverbs makes this way of life seem simple and attainable.  Was he aware of all the pitfalls of daily living?  Of the struggle to make a living as well as to make a life?  The buffets and setbacks that occur along the road of attaining goals?  My thinking is that because he did know the struggles involved in living a good life, he could speak authoritatively about how to set a course for successful living.  He is talking about the things that really matter here:  peace, contentment, favor with God and man.  To follow sound instruction and to live by the principles of God’s Word are major keys to a life of contentment and peace.  Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe, a noted Bible scholar, states:  “Obedience to the Word can add years to your life and life to your years”  (The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: Old Testament.  Colorado Springs:  Cook. 2007, p. 1063).

In this forty-day period of concerted prayer for our nation, we have talked about and pled for America to turn again to the Lord so the He will hear and answer our pleas.  Here in Proverbs are the keys to successful living for individuals who make up our nation.  The basis for changes must of necessity begin with individuals, people, one-by-one, as we evaluate our own lives and seek to align our way of living with those we learn at the feet of our Master Teacher, the Lord Jesus Christ.  What will we give up?  What changes will we make?  What difference will this call to repentance and faith make with us?

Prayer.  I confess, Lord, that I have been selfish and self-seeking.  I have many times thought more of my own welfare than the welfare of others.  May my resolve to be steadfast and prayerful, faithful and responsive to Your will make a difference day by day where I live.  Thus, You have promised that one-by-one, we can be as light in the darkness.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Seek After Wisdom and Knowledge

“To know wisdom and instruction to understand words of insight, to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity, to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth—Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles.  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” –Proverbs 1:1-7 (ESV).

Solomon opens the book of Proverbs with the above-stated introduction.  In it he makes clear that persons should seek after wisdom and knowledge, necessary to living a worthwhile life.  And such a pursuit is certainly highly recommended to those who are in positions of leadership, whether in the work force or in governmental positions.  I like the way Solomon gets to the heart of pursuing wisdom.  We may have instruction to hear, proverbs, wise sayings and riddles to decipher, but the real crux of pursuing knowledge and wisdom is “The fear of the Lord.”  This is at the core and heart of the quest for wisdom.  To reverence and hold God in His place of Sovereignty is to recognize His importance in the affairs of men.  He cares about the areas of knowledge we pursue.  We can waste our time and energy on trivial pursuits or we can decide to pursue knowledge that will be helpful and fulfilling.

It may be good to note a distinction between knowledge and wisdom.  Although closely tied together, ‘knowledge’ focuses on what we can learn of the world and all that is in it.  As we learned in school, there are many branches of knowledge: science, mathematics, reading, writing, our list could go on.  Wisdom, on the other hand, is an understanding and the acquired skills for applying and using the knowledge we learn.  We might distinguish them as knowledge being the facts w learn and wisdom being the ability to apply the facts in ways that will make our lives richer and more fulfilled.  Dr. Roy Zuck gave this definition of wisdom:  “Wisdom means being skillful and successful in one’s relationships and responsibilities; observing and following the Creator’s principles of order in the moral universe.” [Biblical Theology of the Old Testament. Chicago: Moody, 1991, p. 232]. 

When I think of some of our American leaders of the past who have demonstrated both knowledge and wisdom in their leadership style,  and who seem to have begun their accrual of wisdom with the “the fear of the Lord” as admonished in Proverbs 1:7, these examples come to mind:  In the extreme weather and hardships at Valley Forge during the American Revolution, George Washington knelt in the snow and prayed for God’s help.  He was not afraid of losing face by humbling himself, praying and calling upon the name of the Lord.  I do not know his words in that prayer at Valley Forge, but from his pen is this declaration:  “It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God and to obey His will.”  On the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D. C. are inscribed these words from that president’s pen:  “”God who gave us life gave us liberty.  Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?” Abraham Lincoln, in his second inaugural address March 4, 1865, with the nation still torn asunder in war, said:  “With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nations’ wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish, a just and a lasting peace, among ourselves and with all nations.”  President John F. Kennedy whose life was cut short by an assassin’s bullet  in 1963 said in his inaugural address in 1961: “With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help but knowing that here on earth, God’s work must truly be our own.”  In seeking wisdom and knowledge, these had at the center of their pursuits the fear of the Lord.

Prayer.  May our country’s leaders and our citizens be unafraid to approach God in awe, seeking the knowledge and strength needed for the tasks at hand.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Proverbs to Live By—Gain Understanding

“…if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.  For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” –Proverbs 2:3b-6 (ESV).

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7a).  “Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding” (Proverbs 3:13).  With these verses the theme of Proverbs is stated.  Add this from Proverbs 4:7 : “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom; and with all thy getting, get understanding” (KJV).  To fear God, to hold Him in deep reverence, is where true knowledge begins.  He will then bless the one who pursues wisdom.  And then comes understanding, the ability to discern, weigh, apply reflective thought.  Understanding is a depth of knowledge beyond mere acquisition of facts; to understand is to be aware, to perceive.  Paul had the right idea about the depth of understanding when he urged Timothy to reflect on his teachings, for in so doing, the Lord will give him insight:  “Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything” (2 Timothy 7).

The wise man who wrote the Proverbs (in this section, Solomon is given credit for teaching these precepts to his son) covered many subjects under the general topics of seeking wisdom and understanding.  He is warned not to fall into habits of perverted speech (2:12, and not to follow those who walk in dark and devious ways (2: 13, 15).A bit of sex education was included in these instructions, with the warning not to go after “the forbidden woman” or “the adulteress with smooth words” (2:16).  Only abysmal failure will come from such behavior, for one following this path cannot “regain the paths of life” (2:19).  I am reminded of the father who wanted to teach his child the effects of falling into sin.  Every time the child transgressed the rules the parents had set for him, they went out to the wooden gate and drove a nail into the solid boards of the gate.  When the child repented of his ways and mended his behavior, the father would go with him and they would draw the offending nail out of the gate.  But alas, a hole remained in the solid wood where the nail had entered, even after it was removed.  The father then told his son, “When you transgress, the scars will always remain upon your life, even when you are forgiven.  So it is better not to walk in evil ways and bear the marks of wrongdoing.”

Throughout these proverbs the admonitions are a father to his son.  It was the Hebrew way to acknowledge the son who would reach the age of accountability and be fully accepted into the way of the Jewish laws.  But this is not to say that the admonitions were any less for daughters.  In that day, it was a masculine world.  But the admonitions to fear the Lord, seek wisdom, and seek understanding were for both genders, male and female as well.  I recall a serious talk my father had with me just before I left home to go to college.  Warning me that I might be taught what my father called “strange doctrines,” and might be tempted to be led astray by those who had not been instructed to follow the Lord’s ways, he said to me:  “Ethelene, always remember where you came from, your upbringing.  All you do will be a reflection upon your family.  So I pray that you will remember your raising and follow the right paths.”  I could never get very far away from my father’s advice.  He sacrificed much to allow me to get an education.  I did not want wrong choices and wrong behavior to reflect adversely on the good rearing I had received.  He had a good phrase for understanding; it was simply “Use good common sense.”