What a beautiful yet often misquoted and misunderstood passage. Is it the lion that lies down with the lamb, or the wolf? Is the Millennium going to be like Dr. Doolittle's magical menagerie? What is this really about?

Well, as you know if you read my blog, I don't find interpretation a question between literal and figurative, as many do. I believe the question is, "Are we Biblical or are we speculative?" I believe this passage tells us very clearly exactly how we are to interpret it.

In the previous chapter, the Assyrian army was depicted as a vast forest which eventually fell. Here we are presented with the stump of another once great kingdom. Jesse was the father of David. Why didn't he just say "the stem of David"? Well, David was a glorious king. Jesse was a humble father. Humility is the strongest element of this image. So, we see that the Lord will be bringing forth a "Rod" from this stem, or root. And this is now a root, because this great tree has been cut so low to the ground by the time this happens. Consider the grandeur of David and Solomon and then consider the humility and poverty of Joseph and Mary. How far the family had fallen!

Yet, from this humble estate the Messiah would come! What a contrast! And look what will happen then! From this stump a branch will rise and flourish. There will be glory again -- glory that exceeds the previous glory!

I love this description of the Spirit of the Lord: the Spirit of Jehovah, of wisdom, of understanding, of counsel, of might, of knowledge, of the fear of the Lord - a sevenfold Spirit, as in Revelation 1:4; 3:1; 4:5; 5:6. Look at the poetic couplets: He has wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, knowledge and the fear of the Lord. He has wisdom and He has the understanding to make judgments on that wisdom. He has counsel to make plans and He has the might to carry them out. He has knowledge, but it is not an amoral knowledge, as He also has the fear of the Lord. And we know the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, so they feed back into themselves. The Spirit is complete!

As the Lord told Samuel, He does not judge according to appearance, but He judges the heart. The Messiah is a just judge. We see in the Gospels that Jesus was known for not respecting persons - He did not show any partiality to rank or office. We also see especially in the case of the woman framed in the act of adultery that He judged to the very heart of the matter. He is everywhere the friend of justice.

He not only came Himself in poverty, but chose His disciples from the poor. In His great sermon, He blessed the poor, and even there judged the blessing specifically to the poor in spirit.

Throughout Scripture, it is evident that the Messiah came to save and to destroy. Here it says that He will strike the earth, by which it clearly means by the parallelism that He will strike the wicked. Notice that He strikes them with the rod of his mouth. His very words are so powerful as to destroy the wicked! Remind you of Revelation 1:16? See also Hebrews 4:12 and Isaiah 49:2.

This righteousness and faithfulness are His belt. In other words, they cling to Him like a garment. He is known for His justice and truth.

Having described the Spirit and character of our Messiah, the prophecy proceeds to describe His reign. This is the part that many find confusing, but it doesn't have to be. This is a poetical description of a golden age, especially the peace and security of His reign.

A lot has been made about these animals. Is this describing a time when literal wolves will live in harmony with literal sheep? Wolves eat lambs. Leopards eat goats. Lions eat cows. We see it on Animal Planet and Discovery all the time.

Notice what the notes in the Geneva Bible from 1599 say: "Men because of their wicked affections are named by the names of beasts, wherein the like affections reign: but Christ by his Spirit shall reform them, and work in them such mutual charity, that they shall be like lambs, favoring and loving one another, and cast off all their cruel affections, Isaiah 65:25."

I think this is the right interpretation and I'll explain more why I think that later. This passage is describing poetically what the Gospel does to the hearts of men. We see men, wickedly violent, pacified by the Gospel. Men who could be described as wolves, or leopards, or lions changed in their hearts so they can dwell peacefully with the meek. They become meek themselves.

Now, some have tried to determine which men are the wolves, which are the leopards, which are the lions, but that is digging too far into the passage and speculating. The message is clear and does not need to be expanded further to be understood. In Christ, the wild is tamed, the venomous are made harmless, and the meek dwell in peaceful security.

Notice that the Prophet does not say if this is the beginning of the Messiah's reign or the end of the Messiah's reign. He has only told us that the Messiah is coming and this is how His reign shall be. So you cannot take this passage apart from that observation. If I told you that King David's reign was glorious, you would not assume I meant one particular part of his reign, but I meant that in general or overall, his reign was glorious. That is how you must understand this passage. This startling and essential change to the nature of men is representative of the whole reign of the Messiah. So, this prophecy began to be fulfilled in the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth, it continues to be fulfilled as the Gospel is spread and men are converted, and it will be finally, fully fulfilled when "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord" (v. 9).

Because the language is so poetic and because verse 9 ascribes this peace to the knowledge of the Lord filling the earth, I see no reason to expect a literal fulfillment of this passage in the animal kingdom. When has the Gospel ever changed the physical characteristics of a wild animal such that it became a herbivore? Can the Gospel alter teeth and digestive organs? But certainly the Gospel has domesticated the wild tendencies in a man and changed his appetites. The Gospel has changed whole societies. Look at the change in Saul: he was once a venomous adder to the church, but his appetite changed as well as his name, and as Paul he was not only innocuous to the young believers but healthful and edifying. Books have been written on the savage customs of nations that were broken and outlawed by the spread of the Gospel. I'm thinking now of suttee, the suicides once practiced on the funeral pyres of India.

I think verse 9 is key to understanding the whole passage. Verse 9 says, "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." As we saw in chapter 2 last time, the holy mountain is Mount Zion, the seat of the Messiah's reign, the Church. So they, these wild and savage men, shall not hurt nor destroy in all the Church. Why will this be? When will this be? When the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord. When the earth understands the doctrines of God, there will be peace. There will be another flood, but not a flood of water, a flood of Gospel. This flood will enter every crevice and recess.

So, look forward to the time here promised. Look forward to the Gospel filling the earth and changing men and bringing peace. But don't just look for it. Work for it.

Note: If you are interested in using this in your family worship, might I also recommend these hymns to complement it.

All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name
Crown Him with Many Crowns
Jesus Shall Reign
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel