A shoot from the stump #2
| A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him-- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD-- 3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. (Isaiah11:1-3) |
We've already seen that this is a double-prophecy, partially fulfilled by Hezekiah, but ultimately fulfilled by Christ. It is important that this prophecy applied also to Hezekiah, otherwise we will have to assume that these aspects of the Spirit's work are only available to Christ.
Isaiah believed that the gift of wisdom could be bestowed on people. He gives a full explanation of what it means to have the wisdom of the Spirit.
- Understanding: The ability to have insight into circumstances, to penetrate the story behind the story. To understand the forces behind the surface issues.
- Counsel: The ability to give good advice - to be strategic. Particularly to be able to listen, discern and direct.
- Power: In this context, I would suggest that power has to do with self-mastery and self-control. People who are exceptionally wise are usually people who don't let their tempers or tongues get the better of them.
- Knowledge: This may refer to supernatural knowledge (knowing things that we would not know by normal means) or an exceptional ability to assimilate knowledge. Elisha demonstrated supernatural knowledge when he knew in advance where one the enemy kings was going to launch surprise attacks. Solomon was renowned for his botanical knowledge (demonstrating the ability to assimilate knowledge)
- The Fear of the Lord: This has to do with doing things God's way and interpreting life with the clear understanding that God is the Sovereign and Supreme ruler over all and that we are answerable to Him.
This Spirit-given Wisdom resided in Jesus, but He is the same Spirit who would work in us if we would allow Him to...
