Back in the mid-80's there was a plan for development on the corner of Edward and Turbot Streets in Brisbane - the world's tallest building was to be constructed. There was a great deal of controversy and debate about the skyline, the shadow, the wind-tunnels - and whether Brisbane needed it anyway. Older buildings were cleared away and foundations laid, but the project didn't get any further. Now - years later - a much more modest building is being constructed on the site.
On New Year's Day 1984 we were spending a week of Long Service Leave based in Jindabyne and walking in Kosciusko National Park. The evening service at the local Uniting Church was being taken by a group of young people. The preacher, Claire Singleton, told about her time in Bible College. She prayed earnestly to know God's plan for her life for the next three years - so she could specifically prepare for it. But God's answer came back, "No. If I were to tell you my plan now, the devil would know it too and would do all in his power to try to thwart it!"
That is a striking statement. The devil, of course, isn't all-knowing. His knowledge is limited. His powers are limited. He gets far more credit than is his due. In a real sense it is the credence he receives that gives him power. "The devil made me do it" is a real cop-out when we reflect on the words of Paul 1 Corinthians 10.13 that with every "test" ("temptation" AV) God provides us with "a way out" ("a way of escape" AV).
Certainly, when God put up a "Watch-this-Space" sign through the prophets, he gave more information than the Buderim developer, yet was never so specific that the plan could be thwarted. However, God's Watch-this-Space signs aren't there to arouse curiosity but to stir us to be ready. They are of vital importance.
The Jewish people had been waiting for their King to come. In those days kings and priests were anointed with oil to show that they were set apart for the special work God had for them to do. Their word for "anointed" was meshiach ("Messiah" to us) They were waiting, not for one more King, but for the Messiah, for God had promised someone special who would come in God's good time to redeem his people.
In Isaiah 11 he is described as "a root from the stump of Jesse" - called in GNB "a new king from the royal line of David". "The royal line of David is like a tree that has been cut down; but just as new branches sprout from a stump, so a new king will arise from among David's descendants."
What will it be like when the Root of Jesse is King? The Spirit of the Lord will be on him - "the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord - and he will delight in the fear of the Lord" (NIV) - "The spirit of the Lord will give him wisdom, and the knowledge and skill to rule his people. He will know the Lord's will and have reverence for him and find pleasure in obeying him" (GNB). So the first difference will be the sort of king who is coming. He will be so different from any other king they have ever had before. His rule will be marked by complete fairness - he will not be playing to his courtiers - not appearance, status, hearsay, but justice and integrity towards everyone, even to the poorest and neediest in his kingdom.
As a result, peace will be the mark of his kingdom. The whole creation, thrown into a state of hostility by the Fall, will be transformed, brought back to what it was meant to be. Peace between wolf and sheep, between leopard and goat, between calf and lion, between cows and bears. "Little children will take care of them… Even a baby will not be harmed if it plays near a poisonous snake. On Zion, God's sacred hill, there will be nothing harmful or evil."
Of course, we don't yet live in that ideal world. But listen to what Paul says in Romans 8 - "All of creation waits with eager longing for God to reveal his children. For creation was condemned to lose its purpose, not of its own will, but because God willed it to be so. Yet there was the hope that creation itself would one day be set free from its slavery to decay and would share the glorious freedom of the children of God. For we know that up to the present time all of creation groans with pain, like the pain of childbirth" (vv. 19-22).
Paul is saying that the whole physical world has been affected by the results of the human rejection of God, by human sin. We don't (and can't!) live in a Garden of Eden any more. We hear the Lord saying to Adam, "…Because of what you have done, the ground will be under a curse. You will have to work hard all your life to make it produce enough food for you. It will produce weeds and thorns, and you will have to eat wild plants. You will have to work hard and sweat to make the soil produce anything, until you go back to the soil from which you were formed. You were made from soil, and you will become soil again" (Gen. 3.17ff). They looked forward to the reversal of the curse.
But we also await that final restoration in which there will be perfect peace, justice and harmony. These are the marks of the King!
Since these are the marks of his Kingdom, they are also what he will look for in his people when he comes!
It came as a shock when a preacher appeared in the desert of Judaea dressed in clothes of camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist. He began calling people to repent of their sins so that they could prepare for the coming of the Lord. "Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is near", he told them. And people confessed their sins and were baptised in the Jordan River.
For years now the Planning Committee had been at work - soon the dream would be a reality!
Just now, the highest quality deep-pile carpet was being laid by a team of experts. The paint on the walls was a special new finish - and spotless. A superb sound system piped the finest music to every room. Everything was designed for comfort, winter and summer. Wide windows afforded splendid views of the garden - already a picture, thanks to the skills of the landscape gardeners...
You see, the King was coming. It seemed he would be coming soon. They had to be ready! They had to have the place fit for the King!
Just as everything was ready and the happy day about to dawn, an old man and a young boy (a boy and his grandpa, perhaps) wandered through the grand gateway.
They weren't dressed in anything special - very ordinary, in fact! But nobody seemed to notice at first, because there were still one or two in overalls putting in some finishing touches.
They walked across the lawn, looked at the shrubs and flowers, then moved towards the steps.
It was when they started up the steps that a shocked gasp went up from a couple of officials checking out the final details and a shout - "No! Stop! You can't go in there! Get out of here! You don't belong here! This place is for the King and it has to be kept fit for the King!"
The two were bundled out the gate and directed down the road - "and don't you ever come near here again!"
Soon the top dignitaries began to assemble, the trumpeters and the band arrived. And the city folk, decked out in their best, crowded outside and lined the road to watch the expected arrival.
But the day wore on and nothing happened. Weeks passed, years, decades…
From time to time folk would gather near the House and listen to the well-rehearsed speeches, to the excellent trumpet fanfares and the fine music, to admire the architecture and enjoy the gardens…
Then, one night, it happened. The residents were woken by the strident wail of a siren. Putting on dressing gowns and slippers and looking a very motley crowd from least to greatest, they made their way to where the noise seemed to be coming from - the city square. What was it all about?
There resplendent before them was the King himself!
A shocked gasp went up. One of the leading officials spluttered, "Why didn't you come? We were waiting. We were rehearsing for your arrival!"
And when the King of the whole universe comes, will he say, "I was a stranger, but you did not welcome me… I tell you, whenever you refused to help one of these least important ones, you refused to help me" (Matt. 25.43-5)?
In the midst of our rush to be ready for Christmas, are we really ready for the King?
"The land will be as full of knowledge of the Lord as the seas are full of water" (Is. 11.9). That's not some great store of factual information about God. Isaiah is talking about knowing God, living in a positive healthy relationship with him.
The King has come and his Kingdom is now - that is what Christmas
is all about! And the King is coming again. Are we, the people
of his Kingdom, ready for him?
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