The Peaceful Kingdom

They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Is.11.9 NRSV

The picture of the lion and the lamb at peace together is not exactly based on a text of scripture. It is in the spirit of Isaiah 11.6, which gives the picture of a wolf living with a lamb, a leopard lying down with a kid goat, and the lion together with the young cattle - and a child herding these assorted creatures, domestic or dangerous. The following verses describe non-carnivorous bears and lions, and snakes that are harmless to unsuspecting little children. We may or may not want to take this as a literal prophecy to do with the world of nature, but certainly it points to a time when human beings stop behaving like wild animals. When the prophecy is fulfilled they will be governed by ideas of what is right and fair, they will know what God requires, and they will be ruled by the Son of David in his peaceful kingdom.

One particular son of David is the subject of a prayer in Psalm 72, which may have been written for Solomon by his father David:

God, give your own justice to the king,
your own righteousness to the royal son,
so that he may rule your people rightly
and your poor with justice.

Let the mountains and hills
bring a message of peace for the people.
Uprightly he will defend the poorest,
he will save the children of those in need,
and crush their oppressors.

Like sun and moon he will endure,
age after age,
welcome as rain that falls on the pasture,
and showers to thirsty soil.

In his days virtue will flourish,
a universal peace till the moon is no more;
his empire shall stretch from sea to sea,
from the river to the ends of the earth.

The wild desert tribes will cower before him
and his enemies grovel in the dust;
the kings of Tarshish and of the islands
will pay him tribute.

The kings of Sheba and Seba
will offer gifts;
all kings will do him homage,
all nations become his servants.

He will free the poor man who calls to him,
and those who need help,
he will have pity on the poor and feeble,
and save the lives of those in need;

he will redeem their lives from exploitation and outrage,
their lives will be precious in his sight.
(Long may he live, may gold from Sheba be given him!)
Prayer will be offered for him constantly,
blessings invoked on him all day long.

Grain everywhere in the country,
even on the mountain tops,
abundant as Lebanon its harvest,
luxuriant as common grass!

Blessed be his name for ever,
enduring as long as the sun!
May every race in the world be blessed in him,
and all the nations call him blessed!

Jerusalem Bible

Besides being a prophecy, this psalm is a picture of what a king could be, what a king ought to be, in Solomon's time. It is a scene centred in the land of Israel, extending out to Arabia and Ethiopia and from the River Euphrates to the Mediterranean Sea, even to Spain. All the kings of these lands give tribute to this ideal righteous king, a great king above all other kings. It was a picture which Solomon found it hard to live up to, great as was his wealth and his wisdom.

Today, three thousand years on in human history, the qualities and requirements of a modern ruler are not very different. Modern rulers are judged on their ability to provide justice in a peaceful stable society. Their regime needs to be permanent, one in which good behaviour is rewarded, the poor are protected from exploitation and outrage, and economic and agricultural prosperity can be achieved. Hostile powers will show a proper respect, and funds will be found for a system of international peace. This is what world society requires. As Paul says, Christian people should pray 'for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and dignity' (1 Timothy 2.2).

In our time not every national ruler is a 'king', he (or she) might be President, Prime Minister, Head of Government, whatever. But every ruler, however he is called, has a regime, with layers of officials high and low, a police force and a standing army. In this he is much like

the ancient kings, but today there are the added factors of modern weaponry, aerial transport, technology - which can be used to issue orders or spy on dissidents. The basis of stable society is that the people, as in the old times, must accept being controlled, perhaps through fear, or they may accept that the government knows best and that is the reason why they should be obeyed.

The ruler prophesied in Isaiah 11 has wisdom and understanding. This is needed in governing a nation, or in controlling a world. He also has counsel and might - might to enforce his will, and counsel to have a good strategy. Thirdly, he has knowledge and fear of the Lord: modern rulers have access to an astonishing amount of knowledge on every subject, but are they equipped to give moral leadership? The ruler prophesied does not judge by appearances, but enforces what is right, according to God-given insight.

When Jesus Christ first appeared on earth, he had all these qualities. But he did not choose to use his power, except to give signs of who he was, and what sort of person the Israelites were dealing with. He refused to become their king. They would not have had him anyway, as the people in the parable said, 'We will not have this man to rule over us'. So His peaceful kingdom awaits his coming again.

The 'lion' and the 'lamb' cannot live peaceably together, yet. We have not learned, or been taught, the art. On one day recently the news reports told of: daily bloodshed in Syria; a trial for gang rape in India; accidents to planes and trains in the U.S. and Canada; floods, fires and dust storms which may be due to human activity; racially motivated disturbances... and meanwhile millions go short of their daily bread, and it was a surprise to learn that there is one small island in the world where the authorities do not take bribes. All this may not yet amount to the 'World Chaos' which some have been telling us about for a hundred years and more, but the world does need strong control. A king. Our king, who is already ruling in our own hearts and lives, if we let him.