Once More on Prophetic Vision

Isaiah 11-12

            Isaiah 11 demonstrates the fluidity of the prophetic vision, moving back and forth through time. Start with a shoot from the stump of Jesse. If we assume that this whole section of Isaiah belongs in the reign of Ahaz, then the promised one is none other than Hezekiah, one of the best, most faithful kings Judah ever had. Still, the description seems a tad exaggerated for a faithful but sinful human being, and certainly Hezekiah did not usher in an age in which the nature of the creation itself was changed, with wolves and lambs living together. Something more must be in mind. So, the promised shoot is seen by Christians as our Lord Jesus, who did do all things well and who in His miracles announced the restoration of creation. But, of course, wolves still eat lambs in our day. (I lived in Montana around the time they re-introduced grey wolves into the Yellowstone ecosystem. That was a controversial time!) So, more must be in mind, namely, the return of Christ and the final restoration of the creation.

            I feel like I’ve made this point several times, and we’ve only just started with the prophets, but I think it’s important. Prophecies had to make sense in the era in which they were made; there must be some historical connection. For the Christian, we follow Paul who says that all of God’s promises find their “Yes” in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20); therefore, we look for the fullness of prophecy in the work of the Messiah Jesus. Because we focus prophecies in Christ, the last step is to ask how Christ is present in our lives or to look to the culmination of His work at His second coming.

            Anything else will just lead us into strange unsupportable places. For example, as I was reading 11:14-15, I was thinking how easy it would be for someone with sloppy ideas about interpretation to take them as justification for the current war between Israel and Palestine. Remember Gaza was historically a Philistine city! But—and let me be absolutely clear on this—there is no biblical justification for modern Israel and her foreign policy! (You are free to support Israel on a host of other grounds, just don’t try to justify her current way on a biblical basis.)