I was reading Isaiah in the Passion Translation the other week and I came across a beautiful prophetic picture of the coming Messiah - our King Jesus. It was written around 700 BC.
Isaiah 11: 1-5, 9 NIV
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
Isaiah 11:1-5, 9 TPT
The cut-off stump of Jesse will sprout, and a fruitful Branch will grow from his roots: the Spirit of Yahweh will rest upon him, the Spirit of Extraordinary Wisdom, the Spirit of Perfect Understanding the Spirit of Wise Strategy, the Spirit of Mighty Power, the Spirit of Revelation, and the Spirit of the Fear of Yahweh.
He will find his delight in living by the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord. He will neither judge by appearances nor make his decisions based on rumors.
With righteousness he will uphold justice for the poor and defend the lowly of the earth. His words will be like a scepter of power that conquers the world, and with his breath he will slay the lawless one.
Righteousness will be his warrior’s sash and faithfulness his belt.
On all my holy mountain of Zion, nothing evil or harmful will be found. For the earth will be filled with the intimate knowledge of the Lord Yahweh just as water swells the sea!
I love these verses and in the Passion translation notes - it mentions that these are the 7 Spirits of God, which got me thinking. We have one God, but we also have the Trinity. In similar vain, we have multiple names for God (? there are also 7 main ones I just read somewhere now), and here in Isaiah we have 7 spirits. The number 7 in Jewish thought reflects the idea of perfection or completion. We do indeed have one perfect God, who reveals himself in many way. Like a perfectly cut diamond maybe?? He is so pure, so powerful and so precious. The multiple names and Spirits help us to understand Him, that we might have an intimate knowledge of the Lord, Yahweh. "He who brings into existence all that exists". Wow - this meaning of the name, Yahweh, blows my mind in itself. We have a God who created each one of us and the world in which we live - all that is seen and unseen. Not only did he create us physically, but he created our stories, our hopes, our dreams, and our thoughts - even before we had them. Everything that exists, existed first in God. That in itself is enough to inspire awe and wonder - 'and the spirit of the fear of Yahweh'.
Deuteronomy 6: 4-5
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
I guess my first memorable encounter with the Spirit of God was when I was around 17yo and I found myself at a Christian conference for young people and just teary and emotionally moved by the community of caring people that I found myself in. Nothing more than that, but back in earlier days - the one mysterious song I used to admire and wonder about was Matt Redmon's song 'Let your glory fall'. It was released in 2002.
Lord, let your glory fall
As on that ancient day;
Songs of enduring love,
And then your glory came.
And as a sign to you
That we would love the same,
Our hearts will sing that song:
God, let your glory come.
You are good, you are good,
And your love endures.
I have had a few encounters with God along my journey, but my undersanding of Spiritual gifts has really only grown in recent years. I love this list in Isaiah, though, that sits well with the fruit of the Spirit in Gal 5:22-23. The Spirit of Yahweh is the spirit of Prophecy - speaking forth and sharing the word of God in love and encouragement. Gifts or operating in the Spirit are primarily for the body of Christ and for comforting, encouraging, and building others up. Wisdom and understanding includes all skilfulness and creativity. Understanding encompasses discernment in any situation and strategy is knowing what we can do with it... Knowing in the Spirit is amazing. It is a gift that is impressive and I love operating in at the small level that I do (not to be impressive, but to glorify God!). It really just allows us to cut to the point of any situation - it gets people onboard and invested - whether it be in prayer ministry or at work - just finding the right question to ask. These gifts are extremely useful - even just at a practical level. If we put them all together, it is a picture of a truly abundant and productive life, that draws us closer to the heart of God. The promised land in many ways.
Jesus carried the Spirit of God in every way imaginable. He was fully God and fully human at the same time. Just as Isaiah prophesied, He was indeed the master of prophecy, wisdom, understanding, strategy, power and he definitely was able to cut to the point in any given situation - even when cornered by the Pharisees who were looking for a charge against him and a way to kill him. He had the perfect timing, the right questions to ask and he had bountiful wisdom and encouragement to offer. He willingly died for both you and me so as we also can, today, have access to the same Spirit of God. Paul prays for us in the book of Ephesians:
Ephesians 1:17-19
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
Hope sees the goodness of God and leans forward with faith and expectation of better days ahead. And we do indeed have access to a glorious inheritance as the sons and daughters of the Holy One. God indeed is Good and His love truly endures.
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