"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; 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. Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist. 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. Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox. The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den. 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" Isaiah 11:3-9.
It is hard to imagine life without fear. There are so many varieties of fear that we've neatly labeled them, "phobias." From acrophobia to xenophobia, fear is pervasive. Can you imagine what would life would be like without fear? If you can, then you have some sense of what the age to come will be like: "Each of them will sit under his vine And under his fig tree, With no one to make them afraid, For the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken" Micah 4:4.
Isaiah paints the most beautiful of all pictures of the coming age when Jesus will rule with perfect fairness upon the earth. In addition to eradicating all fear-inducing circumstances, He will judge and discern with fairness beyond external appearances. Unlike today's flawed judicial systems, His priority will be, not for the wealthy and influential who can buy justice, but for the poor and downtrodden who desperately need it. In sharp contrast to the suffering servant who appeared over two thousand years ago, the conquering Christ will exert decisive and invincible power. So thorough will be the peace process that even the animal world will live in harmony, as before the tragic sin in the original garden paradise.
The future perfect age can be partially experienced today in that the coming King is already working on our behalf with fairness and righteousness. Fully active and engaged at the right hand of our Father, He is administering the good of the kingdom through His people. The invisible kingdom is advancing even as the evil system appears to triumph.
What greater privilege could we enjoy than cooperating today with the One who is actively working to bring ultimate peace and fairness. May He greatly use us to bring good news to the poor and afflicted, even as that good news encourages and empowers us.
©Steve Taylor, 2022 --Used by permission
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