The Garden Reborn (Isaiah 11:1-10)
Notes
Transcript
I began my sermon prep over a month ago and really have come to favor this passage and it was my intention that I would walk you through verse by verse and expounding upon the Theological implications of this text about the Theocracy that King Jesus establishes. But as I slept into the early morning on Wednesday, the Lord stirred my mind to approach this text in a slightly different way. As I tossed and turned from my mind being made awake that early Wednesday morning, my mind was completely stolen by this passage. As I walked through the verses in my head another passage came to mind- The first three chapters of Genesis. My mind could not stop flipping back and forth between the two texts. If you ever study hermeneutics one of the principals that is employed in interpreting scripture is the principal of letting scripture interpret scripture. Here is what I believe that God was revealing to me a deeper meaning concerning this passage in Isaiah. He was showing me the moment he began to remake the Garden that Adam had destroyed. So I will attempted today to show you what I believe is the Garden reborn.
I. The Garden.
I. The Garden.
Barren Ground
Barren Ground
“The Earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep...” (Genesis 1:2)
God Creates.
God Creates.
5 Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. 6 But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground. 7 Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. 8 The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. 9 Out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The Rule.
The Rule.
15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. 16 The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”
The Fall.
The Fall.
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’ ” 4 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! 5 “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. 8 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Enmity between beast and man.
Enmity between beast and man.
14 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life; 15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
Adam loses the Garden
Adam loses the Garden
23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.
II. The Garden Reborn.
II. The Garden Reborn.
Barren Ground
Barren Ground
33 Behold, the Lord, the God of hosts, will lop off the boughs with a terrible crash; Those also who are tall in stature will be cut down And those who are lofty will be abased. 34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an iron axe, And Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.
The Might One will cut down the old garden that has been cultivated with sin and death and will burn it to the ground, making the earth once again barren but ready for life.
God Plants.
God Plants.
1 Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
God plants the first seed in the new garden. This seed is a man that is set in the midst of the garden who will cultivate and rule in the garden unlike anyone before.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. 3 And He will delight in the fear of the Lord, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear; 4 But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. 5 Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist.
A Better Adam for the Garden:
A Better Adam for the Garden:
God’s Spirit upon man.
God’s Spirit upon man.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
The Man delights in the fear of the Lord.
The Man delights in the fear of the Lord.
3 And He will delight in the fear of the Lord, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear;
The Man Judges and does what is right.
The Man Judges and does what is right.
The Man wields the Word of the Lord to destroy evil
The Man wields the Word of the Lord to destroy evil
4 But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.
The Man is clothed not in shame but with the glory of God.
The Man is clothed not in shame but with the glory of God.
5 Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist.
The Man will make peace between beast and man.
The Man will make peace between beast and man.
6 And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them. 7 Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den.
The Man will fill the earth with the Knowledge of the Lord not seek knowledge for himself.
The Man will fill the earth with the Knowledge of the Lord not seek knowledge for himself.
9 They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord As the waters cover the sea.
The Man will represent all people.
The Man will represent all people.
The Man will keep the Garden.
The Man will keep the Garden.
10 Then in that day The nations will resort to the root of Jesse, Who will stand as a signal for the peoples; And His resting place will be glorious.
III. Implications
III. Implications
1. It’s the Gospel.
1. It’s the Gospel.
People have always been saved by faith. That is nothing new. What is new, and what is good news is that our salvation leads to new life. Resurrection life that is new life that produces eternal benefit and has a lasting effect is now been given in Jesus. Before Jesus came there was only a hope. Now that Jesus has come and gives us power of a resurrected life by the Holy Spirit, we not only have hope but we get to live the reality.
2. It provides security.
2. It provides security.
How do we know that things in this garden will not end up like the first one. Here we are given a picture of what this second Adam will accomplish. We trust that it will be accomplished because the second Adam has come already. So part of this has been already experience which assures us that the fullness of this will also come true.
3. Delighting in the fear of the Lord.
3. Delighting in the fear of the Lord.
The resurrected life begins and remains for those who like Jesus delight in the fear of the Lord. As we have read, the one who delights in the fear of the Lord brings forth in their life righteousness which is the thing that we were created to live out. The rule of the king is executed by this one thing his delight in the fear of the Lord. He trusts in God to be judge not himself.
A word about fear- Let’s talk about fear for a moment. We have heard that the fear of the Lord is having reverence for the Lord. I think the best way we can understand this concept is to think of certain moments in our lives when we had feelings of fear in the presence of others: Think of fear- We feel nervous, unsure, shaken, unworthy, faint, etc. Is this not how some of you feel when you first met your wife? Maybe weak in the knees. In awe. Insecure. Others maybe felt this way in meeting someone you respected or someone famous, or standing before someone in authority. Notice the response of those in the Bible who encounter the living God. They bow, they declare how unworthy they are, they shake, they feel the weight of His presence. They acknowledge his holiness the way you acknowledge the beauty of your spouse unrehearsed and unprovoked offering it up for no reason other than it has to be said because it is the foremost thing on your mind and your tongue couldn’t help itself. Even evil (opposition) quakes in his presence. And here we are told that this stem of Jesse, Jesus, will delight, will smell with joy like the smell of a home with fresh baked cookies, the fear/respect of the Lord.
4. Because it is not good for man to be alone.
4. Because it is not good for man to be alone.
Jesus rules over creation as king of kings. But he invited us in. Just like God saw that is was not good for Adam to be alone so the second Adam gets a bride as well. The church. The church is the suitable helper to gather people for the kingdom that the king is preparing.
The Parable of the Wedding Feast; Parable of the Wedding Dinner. (Matthew 22:1-14; Luke 14:16-24)
5. Requires to be reborn.
5. Requires to be reborn.
6. We taste the fruit of the right tree.
6. We taste the fruit of the right tree.
Jesus as the second Adam chooses the tree of life instead of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He entrusts himself to the will of God to govern his life and choose the tree of life and eats its fruit. Jesus becomes this tree of life for his bride. He crushes the serpent allowing his bride to hear only the voice of her husband as he delivers to her the fruit that she should eat- The fruit of the tree of life. This fruit is his body and blood. As we come to this table may you know what the spread consists of. It consists of the fruit from the tree of life, the cross, and we take it and eat it and are given life.
I. Context
I. Context
Assyria is destroying all in its wake. The doom upon the people in Jerusalem and surrounding cities and town are being laid waste. They advance all the way until they stand aloft overlooking Jerusalem (The Holy City) and shake their fists at her (scoff and taunt). Terror comes knocking upon their door. But do not sympathize too much with those who will be soon be devastated for they have been foolish and arrogant. They have turned this back against God and God is using the power thirsty and strength of evil men from Assyria to bring them to an end of themselves. So terror is knocking both without and within. But God will keep his covenant and he will remain faithful to them despite their faithlessness. They must lose their life to gain it. Then they are given the “Mighty One”, Lord God of Host who will cut down their enemy like a great timber falls it will making a resounding crash upon the ground. Destruction is all around. Both God and men have vanquished the earth. All has been destroyed but not all is lost. God gets the last word and His Word brings resurrection. For as the world is cloaked in darkness there the first beams of the sunrise begin to shine. It say it like Isaiah, as all the trees have been cut down, there from the stumps, a sprout blooms from Jesse’ seed, a descendant of David. A promise of hope, and that hope salvation. That sprout will grow in a tree, more specifically He will position himself high over Jerusalem, like the Assyrian’s, and instead of bring destruction he will bring life. The Assyrian’s came from the North and stood shaking their fists, Christ came from above and stands opening his arms. (10:32 vs 11:10).
II. Resurrection: New Beginnings (v.1)
II. Resurrection: New Beginnings (v.1)
A. Death
A. Death
1. Frenemies (Isa 2:12-17)
1. Frenemies (Isa 2:12-17)
2. Enemies (Isa 10:33-34)
2. Enemies (Isa 10:33-34)
Theological Lens: Garden trees: The Tree that leads to Death.
B. Life
B. Life
1. Resurrection- Only God can bring that which is dead to live.
1. Resurrection- Only God can bring that which is dead to live.
2. Rebirth- Resurrection leads to rebirth.
2. Rebirth- Resurrection leads to rebirth.
Theological Lens: Garden trees: The Tree that leads to Life.
III. Resume: New King (v.2-5)
III. Resume: New King (v.2-5)
A. Empowered
A. Empowered
B. Embodied
B. Embodied
C. Execution
C. Execution
IV. Result: New Kingdom (v. 6-9,10)
IV. Result: New Kingdom (v. 6-9,10)
A. Creation
A. Creation
B. Community
B. Community
C. Fruits of the Spirit
C. Fruits of the Spirit
V. Implications:
V. Implications:
The coming of King Jesus sets before us an example for how his people are to reign in his stead. We must remember that our King is also a carpenter who right now is building the dwelling places of his people. Our role is to go and find others to come into this kingdom banquet. How do we do this?
First, be a church that reigns in Christ. As the church we must feature in our lives the Spirit filled Jesus that features wisdom, knowledge, counsel, strength, and fear of the Lord. The church gains these things from the word of God which leads us to be the agents of a theonomy where Gods law is the standard for the world to live by. When we build relationships, join our lives to others, we guide them by the word of God.
Second, be a church that rules like Christ.
We execute the rule of Christ by featuring his righteousness and faithfulness to those in the world. We are an outpost of his kingdom that rules as he rules over creation. When we as the church feed the hungry, provide for the needy, visit the prisoners, tend to the sick we execute his rule over the world. So the question is, have you joined your life to His bride that together we may execute the theocracy of Jesus?
Lastly, this all comes through the studying of Gods word which reveals his nature and character. Therefore we must be a church that engages in our personal lives and communal lives in theology. We grow in grace and knowledge of Jesus through God’s Word. In order for us to hide this word in our hearts we must study it. That is theology. How is your search for knowing God going. What is the newest thing you have discovered about god? What has God revealed recently about himself to you that has caused you to change your life? As you discover more about God you discover more about yourself. We are made to image Him and when our vision of Him becomes clearer so does the purpose and actions of our lives. Psalm 34:11 come and Jesus will teach you how to fear the Lord