I have been spending a lot of time recently in the book of Isaiah. Most people seem to be intimidated by this book of prophecy, simply because it is prophecy, and it can be hard to comprehend. But taking the time to understand it is worth it.
As you get to know this book, you frequently come across little nuggets of Bible knowledge that stun you in their connectedness to the rest of the Bible.
That happened to me this morning.
My favorite passages of Scripture are found in the early chapters of Genesis. I love creation science, and studying the earliest parts of biblical history is one of my favorite things to do.
As you know, the Curse found in Genesis three is where sin entered into the world, and mankind fell. As a result, God pronounces the Curse on Adam and all mankind, on woman and childbirth, and on the serpent. You can see a part of this in Genesis 3:14-15:
Because you have done this,
Cursed are you more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you will go,
And dust you will eat
All the days of your life;
And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.
Right in the middle of this is a Messianic promise, the first of many to come throughout the Old Testament. Right here, God promises that a seed of the woman will defeat the serpent. That’s Good News!
Fast forward through the pages of the Bible to Isaiah 11. In verses 6-7, Isaiah writes a prophecy that also turns out to be Messianic:
And the wolf will dwell with the lamb,
And the leopard will lie down with the young goat,
And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little boy will lead them.
Also the cow and the bear will graze,
Their young will lie down together,
And the lion will eat straw like the ox.
Predators are no longer feared by their prey. Animals that should fear one another are bedded down together, and they are led by a child. This is very reminiscent of Eden, and the passage feels a bit nostalgic.
Until you read the next verse. And then you realize that the curse has been removed and all has been made right with God’s creation:
The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra,
And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den.
The curse has been removed! After the judgment of God’s people, after they have been saved and restored, there will be no more enmity between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman! This verse is a very vivid image of that coming reality!
The power of the serpent will have been removed for good!
That is Good News indeed!
Reading this almost felt like I was reading Isaiah for the first time again. This was something I have never caught before, even though I have read this book numerous times over the years. How could I have missed this?
But here it is! And it is clear that God’s plan is to remove that enmity. And his plan is to accomplish that through his Son, and what occurred because of his death, burial, and resurrection.
Of course, the original readers of Isaiah could not see the details that the prophecy predicted. But looking at it from the other side of history, the beauty of this statement in Isaiah is stunning.
What God has accomplished in Christ is glorious! And he did it out of love for you and me.
Question: When was the last time you read through the book of Isaiah? What stood out to you from this book of prophecy? You can leave a comment by clicking here.