"...for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea." (Isaiah 11:9)

November 7, 2026

Dear friends,

The passage above will be fulfilled when Jesus returns, and all creation is brought under his visible and glorious reign (Isa 11:1-16). It is the peaceable kingdom we all long for. Compare this passage with Habakkuk chapter 2, where God warns the Babylonians, as well as all other nations, against expanding their cruel, unjust kingdoms, filling the earth with idolatry and violence, because the end of all history will not be human glory but, "...the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea." (Hab 2:14)

Back in Genesis chapter 1 God forms, and then fills the earth with his creatures, and says to the first human couple, male and female, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth..." (Gen 1:28). Eve became the mother of the human race (Gen 3:20). One of the great failures of feminism in my opinion was telling women that having a career -- say, being an engineer or an astronaut -- was more important than having and raising children (1 Tim 2:15). In the Stone Lectures at Princeton in 1898, Dutch theologian Abraham Kuyper said, "Modernism, which denies and abolishes every difference, cannot rest until it has made woman man and man woman, and, putting every distinction on a common level, kills life by placing it under the ban of uniformity.” Sadly, how true this has turned out to be.

God's plan for the family was not merely to fill the earth with lots of people, but with people who would know and love and honor the Lord. The great Flood demonstrated the failure of the earliest generations of mankind. Abraham and his family would later become the source of blessing to every family on earth (Gen 12:3). Succeeding generations were to preserve and expand the knowledge of the Lord in the world. God spoke against divorce as that which disturbed "godly offspring" (Mal 2:15). Mixed marriages -- that is, between believers and unbelievers -- are not pleasing to the Lord, for "...the holy race has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands." (Ezra 9:2)

Jerusalem, and the land of Israel, was to be a land filled with the knowledge and glory of God. To this, especially, the Psalms testify: "As your name, O God, so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is filled with righteousness." (Psalm 48:10) And, "My mouth is filled with your praise, and with your glory all the day." (Psalm 71:8) And, "Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory!" (Psalm 72:19) Sadly, however, seasons of judgment testified that Israel largely failed to fill their world with the knowledge of the Lord.

When we come to the New Testament we see that the knowledge of the Lord is to be spread throughout the earth by the church to all nations in the proclamation of the gospel: Jesus said, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." (Matt 28:19-20) And soon the apostles "filled Jerusalem" (Acts 5:28) with gospel teaching after the resurrection. The book of Acts chronicled the filling of the then-known world with the gospel within a few short decades!

Godly families are still vitally important. Consider the evangelistic role of Timothy's mother and grandmother, as Paul wrote, "I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well." (2 Timothy 1:5) Godly families create, preserve, and expand a Christian worldview in every age. We don't know if Lois and Eunice had any kind of career, as we think of that, but they are immortalized in Scripture as the nurturers of Timothy's faith.

Terms like "multiply" (Gen 1:28) would prompt us to think more than one or two children (or 1.7 children), as did most families, Catholic and Protestant, before the 1900s. Terms like "godly offspring" (Mal 2:15) would prompt us to consider wisely how we guide our children's use of time and energy. Fathers led catechism and devotions, and mothers provided much needed care and nurture. Terms like "all nations" should prompt us to consider our part in reaching our neighborhoods, cities, and to unreached peoples. In the Bible, child-rearing and evangelism are not an either-or but a both-and. I am more than ever thankful for large Christ-centered families, as well as for campus and youth workers, and all missionaries laboring everywhere in difficult situations.

Here's the question, whether you are young or old, married or not, with a large family or not, is it really your heart's desire that the knowledge of God should fill the whole earth? Through your words, your actions, your families, your children, your work, your songs, your praise, your money, your gifts and talents — fill the earth with the knowledge of the Lord!

IN OTHER LINKS.

-- "The question is whether Americans are willing to rebuild the ordinary social world that once made children thinkable: full pews, crowded porches, friends within walking distance." From the City Journal.

-- Themelios Journal article: Contraception and the Church, by Dennis Sullivan, Professor of Pharmacy Practice at Cedarville and missionary surgeon.

-- Evangelicalism "is both a useful whipping boy to its foes and a ready-made (and conveniently unaccountable) platform for its friends." (Carl Trueman) Does it exist as anything more than a label?

-- Great spiritual poets awaken us to the sweetness of spiritual realities, the devastation of sin, and the majesty of God. Reading George Herbert.

FINAL QUOTE.

"For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace." (John 1:16)

We can fill the earth with his praise, because he has given us of his fullness. And that's it for this week!

Sandy

Afterwords is an occasional newsletter on topics of interest to me (Sandy Young) since my retirement from full-time pastoral ministry. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.