Knowing God (6)
Scripture Reading — Isaiah 11:1-9
The earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. Isaiah 11:9
God would not abandon his people in exile as they deserved. He preserved a remnant of them (see Isaiah 1:9) and eventually returned them to their land. God's plan to bring salvation called for "a shoot ... from the stump of Jesse" to "bear fruit" by the power of God's Spirit. This means a faithful leader would emerge to keep God's covenant and defend the cause of the poor and needy. This was a prophecy about the Savior, Jesus, who came to feed the hungry, heal the sick, deliver captives, and give sight to the blind (see Isaiah 61:1-2; Luke 4:18-19). He also poured out his Spirit on the church and empowered God's people to spread the good news and reach out to the needy with the helping hand of God's love.
Our text speaks of a day when the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. This will happen through Jesus and his church.
In fact, it's already beginning to happen. Do you see the Lord's church in action? God's people everywhere are busy volunteering in crisis pregnancy centers, serving food in rescue missions, and discipling prison inmates. That's because they really know the Lord. In fact, God's people are discovering that helping the poor and forgotten is itself a means of grace--and we'll see examples of that in some of our upcoming devotions.
Lord Jesus, thank you for keeping the covenant in our place, for dying for our sins and empowering us to take part in God's great mission of helping people in need. In your name, Amen.
About the author — H. David Schuringa
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