ESOCS Devotional 16 October 2025 – The Reign of the Messiah
MEMORY VERSE: “In that day the heir to David’s throne will be a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations will rally to him, and the land where he lives will be a glorious place.” Isaiah 11:10 NLT
TEXT: ISAIAH 11:1-10
There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 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 of the fear of the Lord.
3 His delight is in the fear of the Lord,
And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes,
Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;
4 But with righteousness He shall judge the poor,
And decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins,
And faithfulness the belt of His waist.
6 “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,
The leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
The calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze;
Their young ones shall lie down together;
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole,
And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den.
9 They shall not hurt nor 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 “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse,
Who shall stand as a banner to the people;
For the Gentiles shall seek Him,
And His resting place shall be glorious.”
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The prophet describes a time after the judgment upon Israel, when God will bring a Messiah to restore the Davidic dynasty—once great, but now nothing more than a stump. Although human eyes may see a bleak picture, God prepares roots to burst forth in a new shoot of hope. This peaceful realm is only possible when the knowledge of the Lord fills the earth. In that day, all the nations will gather around the banner of Messiah, the root of Jesse.
Of course, Jesus emphasizes this theme when He reads from the Isaiah scroll in the synagogue in Nazareth on the Sabbath, declaring that He has fulfilled the prophet’s promise (Luke 4:16-21). Jesus’ ministry bears out this proclamation. He heals the sick, casts out demons, and forgives the sinner. Jesus ignores the social distinctions of His age, proclaiming the good news to Samaritans (John 4:1-42), healing Gentiles (Mark 7:24-30), teaching women (Luke 10:38-42), and ministering to both rich (Luke 19:1-10) and poor (Luke 8:43-48) alike. He rebuked the powerful for their lack of justice (Matthew 23:23) and their failure to care for the poor (Luke 16:19-31).
Jesus’ own choice of disciples demonstrated that the wolf and the lamb could live together in peace: you couldn’t get more politically incorrect than asking a tax collector (Matthew) and a zealot (Simon the Zealot, Luke 6:15) to work together. Tax collectors worked for the Romans, and the Zealots advocated armed rebellion against Rome and its collaborators. But somehow the messianic King brought peace among his diverse followers. When this king declared at the Last Supper that He was making a new covenant, pouring out His blood for many for the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:28),
He did not limit this covenant to Jews or men or the elite of society. Rather, as the Church later came to understand, all people could receive this sacrifice of atonement through faith (Romans 3:21-31).
After His death and resurrection, Jesus’ followers—now empowered by the same Spirit of the Lord—carry on the work of the Messiah in the world. The Church itself, drawing in both Gentiles and Jews, demonstrate that the wolf and the lamb can lie down together in peace. For those who “once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both into one.”
CHALLENGES
- Are you in doubt about the reign of the King of kings?
PRAYER POINT
- Thank you Oh God for giving us Jesus our Lord and Saviour.
FURTHER READING: 2 Kings 1:19-38; Galatians 4:21-31; Revelation 4:1-7
ESOCS Devotional 16 October 2025
