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
Jesus will bring peace—the wolf will live with the lamb and leopard will lie down with the young goat. But Jesus is also righteous—He will “strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.” Often, we remember that Jesus is love, but we may forget that He is also righteous and faithful. He decides disputes and punishes the wicked. And what keeps us from being among the wicked? Loving Jesus and accepting Him as our Lord and Savior.
Lord, I am a sinner and worthy of being killed by the breath of Jesus’s lips with all the wicked. Yet You have counted me as righteous because of my faith. Thank You! Instead of the eternal judgment that I deserve, I can look forward to eternity with You because of Your mercy and grace. Give me a grateful heart and lead me in Your ways. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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