In Luke 18 Jesus tells a story about two men that go to the
temple to pray. In the temple courts
public and private prayers were commonplace.
So, one man, a Pharisee, comes into the temple courts and assumes the
typical prayer posture. He lifts his
eyes and raises his hands toward the heavens and begins to pray aloud, “O God,
thank you that I am not like other men…this tax collector, etc.”
The prayer the Pharisee offer is of a similar sort as this
Talmudic one, however he gets much more specific. He not only lists his virtuous restraint from
sin, he makes note of his accomplishments.
While the law required a Jew to fast not only once a year, this guy says
he fasts twice a week. While the law
required a tithe of only certain crops, this guy tithes on everything. From a human perspective he’s one fine fella
– a man of considerable virtue, rectitude, and righteousness.
But Jesus begs to differ.
In fact, His antipathy for this man’s prayer and posture is so profound
that He juxtapositions him with another man – a tax collector! Tax collectors were by definition
crooked. Skimming off the top was the
nature of their trade. So, Jesus says
this tax collector stands a far off (a popular expression by God to describe
the essence of the human condition).
Instead of looking toward the heavens and raising his arms, this man
looks at the ground and beats his chest saying, “God, be merciful to me a
sinner.” Now that is the common English
translation of his prayer, but the Hebrew is far more pointed than that. In Hebrew he says, “God, be propitious to me,
a sinner.”
Do you know what he’s saying? It’s the exact opposite of the Pharisee not
only in content, but in meaning. The
word “propitious” is the adjectival form of the word “propitiate,” which means
“to cause to become favorably inclined,” or “to appease.” Every Torah-schooled Jew would know exactly
what propitiation meant; for once a year the high priest would go behind the
veil in the Temple and offer the blood of the atoning sacrifice to satisfy the
righteous requirement of God for the sin of His people. Without the atonement the justice and
holiness of God would never be satisfied until every last Hebrew was dead. Without satisfying the justice and holiness
of God satisfied every Hebrew was a goner.
At the heart of God’s relationship with His people was the temple. And at the heart of the temple was the Ark of
the Covenant. And at the heart of the
Ark of the Covenant, on its very lid, was the place of propitiation, called the
Mercy Seat, where the blood of the “perfect” substitute was offered.
You see, what this tax collector is praying is simple and
yet extra-ordinarily profound. He’s
praying that God will not look upon his own righteousness, or lack thereof, but
on the propitiating righteousness of another.
He’s praying for a righteousness that comes from outside of him. And it’s another aspect of that foreshadowing
righteousness that is at the heart of our study this week from Isaiah 11:1-5.
Two weeks ago it was the “Promise of Righteousness.” Last week we looked at the “Son of
Righteousness.” And this week we examine
the “Belt of Righteousness.” Here in one
of the most arresting messianic prophecies of the Old Testament, God reveals to
the prophet Isaiah that He will send One who will emerge from the stump of
Jesse. He will be One on whom the Spirit
of the Lord will rest. He will be One
who will wear a belt of righteousness and faithfulness. As we unpack this prophecy we will see Jesus
doing what the tax collector begs God to do.
And not only that, we will see Him doing everything that Satan can never
do.
There’s a lot here, so in preparation for Sunday you may
wish to consider the following:
1. Examine
the first of Jesus’ seven woes in Matthew 23.
2. What
is the condition of Israel at the time of Isaiah 11? Is there any relevance to Mt. 23:12?
3. Who
is Jesse and why refer to him as the stump out of which the Messiah will come?
4. How
is Israel like a stump when throughout the Old Testament the Lord refers to her
as a tree or vine of His own planting?
5. Why
do the Hebrew refer to the Messiah as “a sprout”? What is so significant about a stump
sprouting in Palestine?
6. What
kind of fruit will the sprout bear?
7. How
is the Holy Spirit endowment mentioned here different than any other Holy
Spirit endowment mentioned thus far in the Old Testament?
8. Is
there any parallel to the characteristics of “the sprout” and those mentioned
two chapters earlier?
9. What
is the significance of a “belt” or “sash” to the Hebrews?
10. What
significance do you see in the description of this belt i.e. location, purpose,
use?
11. How is the
belt related to Jesus’ mission?
12. How does
the ministry of the Messiah described here run counter to Satan’s mission and
exact God’s glory?
13. What is the
relationship between Isaiah 11:5 and Revelation 1:13?
