There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
2 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.
3 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,
4 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.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,
and faithfulness the belt of his loins.
6 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.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze;
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,
and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den.
9 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.
10 In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious. – Isaiah 11:1-10
Everybody longs for Utopia where everything is just perfect. Maybe we don’t consciously think about it, but I believe that deep down in our hearts all people want a world without poverty, war, vicious rivalry, oppression, enslavement, hatred, and rebellion. We really do want everyone to be able to live in peace and prosperity and personal fulfillment. It doesn’t matter whether you are a liberal or conservative, left-wing or right-wing, we all want these things. So, why can’t we get them?
Is it possible to have a government that can do all of this? Yes, it is, but it’s a government that has yet to begin to rule in its fullness.
We seem to have proven over and over again throughout human history that we are incapable of delivering on the promise of Utopia. Communist regimes that started with a vision of Utopia turned into massive and oppressive murder machines. Fascist regimes that had a dream of the same ideal also turned into devilish human slaughterhouses. We simply can’t pull it off.
While I believe our democratic republic is the best form of government on earth so far, we are still a long ways from the Utopia we would all like to see.
Enter the Real Savior, the True Governor, aka the Son of David, the King of Kings. We are in need of patience, and we will see and live in true Utopia. King Jesus will bring in a righteous government in which with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth.
His rule is so different that the very nature of nature will be changed. Lions will play with lambs; cows will play with bears; the leopard will lie down with a goat. Nature will be changed. Parents will let small children play outside in the neighborhood without fear of kidnapping or human trafficking.
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.
What is different about the character of this Wonderful Government? Of the King is it said, “his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.”
Is this for real? Yes, I believe it is. Scripture declares it as fact. It is future, but it is absolute as the sun coming up in the morning. So, while we may mourn the painful conditions on the earth today, while we long for a Utopia we have yet to see, we have reason to rejoice and be delighted in the King who one day will bring in his righteous and loving Kingdom. He will usher in a New Earth. Utopia will be there for all who will submit to the King of Kings, King Jesus who died for all who will trust in him.
