Tuesday
The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest.
They will neither harm or destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
(Isaiah 11:6-9, NIV)
As noted in Sunday’s devotional, the first thirty-nine chapters of Isaiah record God’s judgment against Israel and her neighbors for their sins. Yet even in the middle of pronouncing God’s judgment, the prophet Isaiah offers a word of hope to those who are faithful.
Chapter 11 begins with the verses about a “shoot” from the “stump of Jesse” (which we will read next week) and then leads into a graphic portrayal of a peaceable kingdom. Today’s verses bring to mind what the Garden of Eden must have been like, and what the Kingdom of God will be like when it comes in all its fullness. What God originally created, and then the sin of men and women distorted, God intends to recreate.
The natural state of shalom that will exist between animals that might otherwise be predators, or between animals and little children, reflects God’s desire for his creation. There will be no harm or destruction in the Kingdom of God. Why? Because Jesus Christ will rule in justice and righteousness and the “earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord” (v. 9).
Prayer
Creator God, the One who designed a world of harmony and order, we praise you for your love for us, we who constantly distort the world in which we live. We rejoice in the fact that you are about the task of recreating us and your world for your glory. Help us, as your disciples, to be agents of re-creation along with you. Amen.