Isaiah 11 is one of my favorite chapters of the Bible. It’s a little glimpse into eternity…filled with beautiful imagery about the Messiah and the change that He brings:
“The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat… the nursing child will play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den.”
Certainly a weird picture to consider, right?
But that begs the question, what’s so weird? Because I hesitate to say that the picture Isaiah paints is unnatural. The imagery in Isaiah 11 is weird to us because the consequences, the decay of sin has become normalized for us. Sin has impacted every living thing, every relationship, every aspect of life.
Our problem is that we’re so familiar with how things are, we struggle to wrap our heads around how things are meant to be.
What I like so much about Isaiah 11 is that it’s a glimpse backwards AND a glimpse ahead. Isaiah 11 gives a fuller scope of what the Messiah’s restorative work will do. This is more than just an individual’s salvation…This is healing and hope for every part of creation.
Everything will be restored.
A new beginning. A new Eden. Life as God made it to be. No more predators. No more prey. No suffering. No fear. The Messiah is fixing things. He’s making all things new. And the process has already begun, even if we only get glimpses of it right now.
When He comes again…Then, and only then, will we experience the real fullness of life, peace and harmony with every living thing, as we were always meant to have it.
Come, Lord Jesus.
Amen.
Advent Week 1, 11/28-12/4