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Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 11:1

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And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

1. The advent of the Messiah. Idea and figure correspond to those of ch. Isa 6:13; as a new Israel will spring up from the “stump” of the old, so the Messianic King will arise from the decayed family of David. Some commentators find in the image an intentional contrast to that of ch. Isa 10:34; while the forest of Assyria is cut down never to spring up again, the stock of Judah’s royal dynasty will sprout and flourish. The precise relation of the Messiah to the reigning branch of the family is purposely left indefinite (cf. Mic 5:2).

a rod ] Better as R.V. a shoot. The word rendered “ stem ” occurs only twice again. Here it bears the same meaning as in Job 14:8; it is the stock which remains in the earth after the tree is cut down. In Isa 40:24 it means a “slip” planted in the ground in order to strike root. The figure, therefore, like “roots” in the next line, seems to imply the downfall of the dynasty.

a Branch shall grow out of his roots ] Render as R.V. a branch out of his roots shall boar fruit shall come to maturity. Jesse is mentioned instead of David probably because of the intentional vagueness in which the Messiah’s origin is left.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Ch. Isa 11:1-9. The Messiah and His Kingdom

It is interesting to compare this passage with ch. Isa 9:1-7. There the delineation of the Messianic age starts from its broadest and most general features the light breaking on the land, the universally diffused joy of the redeemed nation and only at the end centres itself in the person of the Wonderful Child who is born to ascend the throne. Here the person of the Messiah comes first, and then the healing and regenerating influences of which he is the channel. To what period of Isaiah’s career the prophecy belongs cannot be determined. The affinity with ch. Isa 9:1-7 suggests the reign of Ahaz, to which it is assigned by Guthe in accordance with a particular theory of the development of Isaiah’s eschatology. But since there is no evidence that the idea of the Messianic King ever lost its significance to the prophet’s mind, it might with equal propriety be referred to any subsequent period of his ministry. Duhm places this and the companion oracles of Isa 2:2-4, Isa 32:1-5 in the evening of Isaiah’s long life. In its present setting the passage is no doubt intended as a sequel to ch. Isa 10:5-34 and it might even belong to the same date.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

And there shall come forth a rod – In the previous chapter, the prophet had represented the Assyrian monarch and his army under the image of a dense and flourishing forest, with all its glory and grandeur. In opposition to this, he describes the illustrious personage who is the subject of this chapter, under the image of a slender twig or shoot, sprouting up from the root of a decayed and fallen tree. Between the Assyrian, therefore, and the person who is the subject of this chapter, there is a most striking and beautiful contrast. The one was at first magnificent – like a vast spreading forest – yet should soon fall and decay; the other was the little sprout of a decayed tree, which should yet rise, expand and flourish.

A rod – ( chotr). This word occurs in but one other place; Pro 14:3 : In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride. Here it means, evidently, a branch, a twig, a shoot, such as starts up from the roots of a decayed tree, and is synonymous with the word rendered branch ( tsemach) in Isa 4:2; see the Note on that place.

Out of the stem – ( mgeza). This word occurs but three times in the Old Testament; see Job 14:8; where it is rendered stock:

Though the root thereof wax old in the earth,

And the stock thereof die in the ground;

And in Isa 40:24 : Yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth. It means, therefore, the stock or stump of a tree that has been cut down – a stock, however, which may not be quite dead, but where it may send up a branch or shoot from its roots. It is beautifully applied to an ancient family that is fallen into decay, yet where there may be a descendant that shall rise and flourish; as a tree may fall and decay, but still there may be vitality in the root, and it shall send up a tender germ or sprout.

Of Jesse – The father of David. It means, that he who is here spoken of should be of the family of Jesse, or David. Though Jesse had died, and though the ancient family of David would fall into decay, yet there would arise from that family an illustrious descendant. The beauty of this description is apparent, if we bear in recollection that, when the Messiah was born, the ancient and much honored family of David had fallen into decay; that the mother of Jesus, though pertaining to that family, was poor, obscure, and unknown; and that, to all appearance, the glory of the family had departed. Yet from that, as from a long-decayed root in the ground, he should spring who would restore the family to more than its ancient glory, and shed additional luster on the honored name of Jesse.

And a branch – ( netser). A twig, branch, or shoot; a slip, scion, or young sucker of a tree, that is selected for transplanting, and that requires to be watched with special care. The word occurs but four times; Isa 60:21 : They shall inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting; Isa 14:19 : But thou art cast out of thy grave as an abominable branch; Dan 11:7. The word rendered branch in Jer 23:5; Jer 33:15, is a different word in the original ( tsemach), though meaning substantially the same thing. The word branch is also used by our translators, in rendering several other Hebrew words; see Taylors Concordance. Here the word is synonymous with that which is rendered rod in the previous part of the verse – a shoot, or twig, from the root of a decayed tree.

Out of his roots – As a shoot starts up from the roots of a decayed tree. The Septuagint renders this, And a flower ( anthos) shall arise from the root. The Chaldee, And a king shall proceed from the sons of Jesse, and the Messiah from his sons sons shall arise; showing conclusively that the ancient Jews referred this to the Messiah.

That this verse, and the subsequent parts of the chapter, refer to the Messiah, may be argued from the following considerations:

(1) The fact that it is expressly applied to him in the New Testament. Thus Paul, in Rom 15:12, quotes the tenth verse of this chapter as expressly applicable to the times of the Messiah.

(2) The Chaldee Paraphrase shows, that this was the sense which the ancient Jews put upon the passage. That paraphrase is of authority, only to show that this was the sense which appeared to be the true one by the ancient interpreters.

(3) The description in the chapter is not applicable to any other personage than the Messiah. Grotius supposes that the passage refers to Hezekiah; though, in a more sublime sense, to the Messiah. Others have referred it to Zerubbabel. But none of the things here related apply to either, except the fact that they had a descent from the family of Jesse; for neither of those families had fallen into the decay which the prophet here describes.

(4) The peace, prosperity, harmony and order, referred to in the subsequent portions of the chapter, are not descriptive of any portion of the reign of Hezekiah.

(5) The terms and dcscriptions here accord with other portions of the Scriptures, as applicable to the Messiah. Thus Jeremiah Jer 23:5; Jer 33:15 describes the Messiah under the similitude of a branch, a germ or shoot – using, indeed, a different Hebrew word, but retaining the same idea and image; compare Zec 3:8. It accords also with the description by Isaiah of the same personage in Isa 4:2; see the note on the place.

(6) I may add, that nearly all commentators have referred this to the Messiah; and, perhaps, it would not be possible to find greater unanimity in regard to the interpretation of any passage of Scripture than on this.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Isa 11:1-16

And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse

A prophecy concerning Messiah the Prince

HIS RISE OUT OF THE HOUSE OF DAVID (Isa 11:1).

II. HIS QUALIFICATIONS FOR HIS GREAT UNDERTAKING (Isa 11:2-3).

III. THE JUSTICE AND EQUITY OF HIS GOVERNMENT (Isa 11:3-5).

IV. THE PEACEABLENESS OF HIS KINGDOM (Isa 11:6-9).

V. THE ACCESSION OF THE GENTILES TO IT (Isa 11:10).

VI. And with them THE REMNANT OF THE JEWS that should be united with them in the Messiahs kingdom (Isa 11:11-16). (M. Henry.)

The picture of the future

The picture of the future which fills the eleventh chapter is one of the most extensive that Isaiah has drawn. Three prospects are unfolded in it.

I. A PROSPECT OF MIND (verses 2-5). The geography of a royal mind in its stretches of character, knowledge, and achievement.

II. A PROSPECT OF NATURE (verses 6-9). A vision of the restitution of nature–Paradise regained.

III. A PROSPECT OF HISTORY (verses 9-16). The geography of Israels redemption. To this third prospect chapter 12. forms a fitting conclusion, a hymn of praise in the mouth of returning exiles. (Prof. G. A. Smith, D. D.)

Three great ideals

1. The perfect indwelling of our humanity by the Spirit of God.

2. The peace and communion of all nature, covered with the knowledge of God.

3. The traversing of all history by the Divine purposes of redemption. (Prof. G. A. Smith, D. D.)

Assyria and Israel: a contrast

We should connect the opening of the eleventh chapter with the close of the tenth in order to feel the full force of the contrast. There we read: And He shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty One. Then comes the prophecy that there shall come forth a rod, etc. The cedar of Lebanon was the symbol of Assyrian power. It was a poor symbol. Looked at botanically, it very vividly represented the passing pomp of a pagan empire. It is of the pine genus, and sends out no suckers, and when it is cut down it is gone. The oak is the symbol of Israels power, and though it be cut down it grows again–there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots–out of the very lowest stump that is left in the ground. (J. Parker, D. D.)

Eternal youthfulness

What is the symbol of our power? Is ours an influence that can be cut down and never revive? or are we so rooted in the Eternal that though persecution may impoverish us, and we may suffer great deprivation and depletion of every kind, yet we shall come up again in eternal youthfulness? (J. Parker, D. D.)

Prophecy: a very good transition

It is a very good transition in prophecy (whether it be so in rhetoric or no) and a very common one, to pass from the prediction of the temporal deliverances of the Church to that of the great salvation, which, in the fulness of time, should be wrought out by Jesus Christ, of which the others were types and figures. (M. Henry.)

The Branch

The word translated Branch is in the Hebrew Netser. The word is said to be derived from a root which means bright or verdant. And this agrees with the character of the valley in which the town of Netzer or Natsoreth (Nazareth) stands. The bushes and aromatic shrubs, and especially the brilliant wild flowers, take away from the bleakness of the landscape. It is from this title, then, Netser or the Branch, that St. Matthew quotes when he says, He shall be called a Nazarene Mat 2:23). (Expository Times.)

The rod out of the stem of Jesse

Let us go back to the humblest point, the very starting line, and learn that this Son of God was not the son of a king only, but the son of a kings lowly father. Christianity is the religion of the common people. The Gospel appeals to all men, rich and poor, in every zone and clime, and is most to those who need it most. (J. Parker, D. D.)

Christ the fruitful Branch

A shoot out of its roots brings fruit. The sprout shooting out below the soil becomes a tree, and this tree gets a crown with fruits; and thus a state of exaltation and completion follows the state of humiliation. (F. Delitzsch.)

The qualifications of Christ for His mediatorial office

I. The first verse of the text foretells THE BIRTH AND FAMILY OF THE MESSIAH. The Messiah was to be born of the house of David, the son of Jesse. But why is Jesse mentioned here, rather than David, his more illustrious son? Partly to point out the birthplace of the Messiah. Jesse appears always to have lived at Bethlehem, and was known as the Bethlehemite; whereas, David resided the greater part of his life at Hebron and Jerusalem. Jesse was in a more humble rank of life than Jesses son; and so Jesus, though superior to David, as a royal king, being Davids Lord, as well as Davids son, yet, in the actual circumstances of His life, was nearer to the humble rank of Jesse than the royal state of David. It was also out of the stem of Jesse that the rod was to come forth–from a stem where there was nothing but stem and root remaining; not out of a noble tree, with its wide-spreading branches. And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. It is intimated here, and elsewhere more clearly foretold, that the Branch should spring from the family of Jesse, when it was in lowly circumstances, at a time when the house of David should be much reduced, and that slender expectations should be formed of it at first, but that in process of time it should grow into a beautiful and glorious Branch. How exactly all this describes the birth and lineage of Jesus Christ. Yet was ever branch so glorious in its increase? What noble fruits have hung on that Branch l What Churches have clustered around it!

II. HIS FULL QUALIFICATIONS FOR HIS OFFICE, as described in this prediction (Isa 11:2). The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him. On Him was poured the unction of the Holy One in all its fulness. But, remember, the Spirit of the Lord rested on Him in His office of Mediator. Now, this is a public office, an office which Jesus sustains for the benefit of His people; and therefore the Spirit of the Lord rests upon Him for His people.

1. The spirit of wisdom. He had wisdom in full measure. He must have had a perfect comprehension of God in His nature, qualities, attributes, works, and Ways; He must have had a thorough understanding of the only method by which wretched man could be saved; He must have known what was in the mind of man, for He answered the Pharisees and Sadducees, and knew the difficulties and doubts of His disciples, even before they gave them utterance in words. How wise were all His provisions for His Church! How wise to win souls was Jesus Christ! And remember He has wisdom for you.

2. The spirit of understanding. This is enlarged on in the following verse. The Saviour had a quickness in understanding what might be for the glory or dishonour of His heavenly Father. No tinsel could hide from Him the foul deformity of sin; no hypocrisy could yell from Him the pride and corruption of the Pharisee. When Satan came with his temptations, and baited his snare with all the kingdoms of the world in all their glory, Christ instantly understood the deceit, and, Get thee hence, Satan, was His indignant language.

3. The spirit of counsel. This, says our prophet, is the name whereby He shall be called, Wonderful Counsellor. Christ is able to give the wisest counsel in the kindest manner. He has advice suited to every case. He counsels the sinner. He says to the Church in a Laodicean state, I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich. He counsels the Christian warrior how to maintain the fight against sin with persevering faith.

4. The spirit of might. He is a Lamb in meekness; He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah in strength. His work required a very undaunted spirit, and He never quaked with fear, nor trembled with alarm. And He has the spirit of might for you also.

5. The spirit of knowledge. In Christ dwells all knowledge–the knowledge of Jehovah, His heavenly Father, of His holy will, His righteous claims, the blessedness of knowing God as Father. And this same knowledge of His Father He is able to impart to you.

6. And of the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and it is also one of the highest attainments of wisdom, and one of the best effects of the Holy Spirit on the heart. (J. Hambleton, M. A.)

The kingdom of Christ

We may well study this picture of the Messiahs reign on earth, drawn by a Divine hand and painted with unfading colours, because through it we see, as we cannot otherwise, what we are daily praying for. History does not fully interpret prophecy for us. If we knew just the changes in the nations before the fulness of the times comes, if we could be assured where and when and how Jesus would reign in an earthly way among men, still we should not have what the vision of Isaiah furnishes us. He saw nothing of this. And what did he see? First of all a mighty forest, whose tall trees sent their roots down deep into the earth, and whose branches east wide shadows. These were the proud nations that were oppressing Israel, and seemed strong enough to stand forever. But they were to lose their glory. Among them there was a stump, sending up from its decay and humiliation a small, tender, but vigorous shoot. This was the ancient but fallen house of David; and the green shoot coming up was only in fulfilment of the old covenant that there should always be one to sit on Davids throne. As we look, through the seers vision, we see the young tree dissolve into the form of a Man, a Man on whom the Holy Spirit rests with seven-fold gifts of wisdom and knowledge and counsel and might and understanding in the fear of the Lord. This Man is full of righteousness, and His robes are girdled with righteousness as He sits and judges among the people. And again, as we gaze, we see that the Man dissolves into a mountain–the mountain of the Lord which shall be established in the top of the mountains in the last days. This mountain is full of peace and security. Once more, as if to express in a sentence the whole thought and hope of the prophet, we see the whole earth filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Interpreting this vision there are two truths that may well be dwelt upon.

I. THE CHIEF FACT ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST IS CHRIST HIMSELF, WHO MAKES HIS KINGDOM BY DWELLING IN THE HEARTS OF MEN.

II. HIS REIGN IS LIKE THE REIGN OF THE LITTLE CHILD IN THE MIDST OF THE ANIMALS THAT NATURALLY HATE AND DEVOUR ONE ANOTHER. It is a reign of childlikeness and innocence, the power of weakness and purity over brute force. (E. N. Packard.)

The kingdom of Christ in the world is only the presence of Christ in the world

The kingdom of Christ in the world is only the presence of Christ in the world, repeating His acts of mercy and love, uttering His eternal truths, scorching hypocrisy and error with the breath of His mouth, changing unruly wills ever into docile ones, cleansing and making glad everything everywhere. There is no reign of Christ of which we can form any idea but this. When men are holy, through His indwelling among them, that is Christs reign. Let us forget the scenic and dramatic elements in millennial glories and simply think of the kingdom as being the presence of the King. Here we see the difference between His reign and that of any earthly monarch who can transmit his power to his son and he to his posterity, and so, with precedent and law and tradition, there may be some approach to security and peace Frederick the Great dies, but his empire goes on and holds him in memory. But Christ has no successors, and there is no royal family save that which is made from all who are named after His name. Christ must be as truly among men at one age as another, and where He is not a living and controlling presence there is nothing but a name. What we call Christianity–the sum total of the influences that emanate from Christ and touch the complex life of man–has no inherent vitality of its own. It cannot abide upon traditions of One who founded it ages ago. Christs perpetual presence alone makes Christianity possible. The same is true of the Church. (E. N. Packard.)

Messiahs reign

I. THE PERSON.

II. THE CHARACTER.

III. THE KINGDOM of Messiah. (D. Brown, D. D.)

The stem from the rod of Jesse

That this refers to the Lord Jesus is undoubted.

I. HIS DESCENT. Three ideas seem to be involved.

1. Meanness or obscurity.

2. Progression. How decayed soever the tree might appear, yet a Branch was to shoot and grow up out of its roots. For a time, the growth was far from being rapid, but at length it appeared as a Plant of everlasting renown, a Secret and mysterious operation. The metaphor is taken from vegetation, that process of the wonder-working God which none can explain, yet the existence of which none can dispute.

II. HIS PERSONAL AND OFFICIAL ENDOWMENTS.

1. Their nature (Isa 11:2). They were–

(1) Diversified in their character.

(2) Unlimited in their range. The Spirit was imparted to Him without measure.

(3) Continuous in their possession. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him.

2. The purposes for which them endowments were conferred.

(1) That He might discriminate the characters of men. And shall make Him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord, etc.

(2) To defend the cause of the oppressed. But with righteousness shall He judge the poor, etc.

(3) To punish the workers of iniquity. And He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, etc.

III. THE BLESSED STATE OF THINGS WHICH WILL BE REALISED UNDER HIS ADMINISTRATION. We dare not lose eight of the truth, that He is mighty to destroy; but how encouraging is it to remember, that He who speaks and acts in righteousness is also mighty to save. And the concluding portion of this prophecy shows in how signal a manner His saving power will be exerted.

1. The condition described. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, etc. We have here two leading ideas.

(1) Peace and harmony.

(2) Security.

2. In order thereto the most marvellous transformations will be effected.

3. The means of this transformation will be the universal diffusion of Divine knowledge (Isa 11:9).

Conclusion–

1. Let us pray that the Redeemers kingdom may come.

2. To us, personally, the great thing is to possess the knowledge of the Lord ourselves. (Anon.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

CHAPTER XI

The Messiah represented as a slender twig shooting up from the

root of an old withered stem, which tender plant, so extremely

weak in its first appearance, should nevertheless become

fruitful and mighty, 1-4.

Great equity of the Messiah’s government, 5.

Beautiful assemblages of images by which the great peace and

happiness of his kingdom are set forth, 6-8.

The extent of his dominion shall be ultimately that of the

whole habitable globe, 9.

The prophet, borrowing his imagery from the exodus from Egypt,

predicts, with great majesty of language, the future

restoration of the outcasts of Israel and the dispersed of

Judah, (viz., the whole of the twelve tribes of Israel,) from

their several dispersions, and also that blessed period when

both Jews and Gentiles shall assemble under the banner of

Jesus, and zealously unite in extending the limits of his

kingdom, 10-16.

NOTES ON CHAP. XI

The prophet had described the destruction of the Assyrian army under the image of a mighty forest, consisting of flourishing trees growing thick together, and of a great height; of Lebanon itself crowned with lofty cedars, but cut down and laid level with the ground by the axe wielded by the hand of some powerful and illustrious agent. In opposition to this image he represents the great Person who makes the subject of this chapter as a slender twig shooting out from the trunk of an old tree, cut down, lopped to the very root, and decayed; which tender plant, so weak in appearance, should nevertheless become fruitful and prosper. This contrast shows plainly the connexion between this and the preceding chapter, which is moreover expressed by the connecting particle; and we have here a remarkable instance of that method so common with the prophets, and particularly with Isaiah, of taking occasion, from the mention of some great temporal deliverance, to launch out into the display of the spiritual deliverance of God’s people by the Messiah; for that this prophecy relates to the Messiah we have the express authority of St. Paul, Ro 15:12. ‘He joins this paragraph, with respect to the days of the Messiah, with the fidelity that was in the days of Hezekiah.” – Kimchi, in Isa 11:1. Thus in the latter part of Isaiah’s prophecies the subject of the great redemption, and of the glories of the Messiah’s kingdom, arises out of the restoration of Judah by the deliverance from the captivity of Babylon, and is all along connected and intermixed with it.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

The prophet having despatched the Assyrian, and comforted Gods people with the promise of their deliverance from that formidable enemy, now he proceeds further, and declares that God will do greater things than that for them, that he will give them their long-expected and much desired Messiah, and by him will work wonders of mercy for them. For this is the manner of the prophets, to take the occasion of particular deliverances, to fix the peoples minds upon their great and everlasting deliverance from all their enemies by the Messiah. And having said that the Assyrian yoke should be destroyed because of the anointing, Isa 10:27, he now more particularly explains who that anointed person was. A rod, or twig, called a Branch in the next clause. Parents are oft compared to roots or trees, and their children to branches. He speaks of the most eminent Branch, of that famous Son of a virgin, Isa 7:14, of that wonderful Child, Isa 9:6; not of Hezekiah, as some of the Jews and judaizing Christians conceit; but of the Messiah, as will evidently appear from the following description. The stem, or trunk; or rather, stump; for the word properly signifies a trunk cut off from the root; or, root, as the LXX. here render the word, and as it is explained in the next clause. By which he clearly implies that the Messiah should be born of the royal house of David, at that time when it was in a most forlorn and contemptible condition, like a tree cut down, and whereof nothing is left but a stump or root under ground; which really was the state of Davids family when Christ was born, as is notoriously known, but was in a far better condition when Hezekiah was born. Of Jesse; he doth not say of David, but

of Jesse, who was a private and mean person, 1Sa 18:18,23; 20:30, to intimate, that at the time of Christs birth the royal family should be reduced to its primitive obscurity.

A Branch shall grow: he speaks of one not yet born, and therefore not of Hezekiah, who was born divers years before his father Ahaz (in whose time this prophecy was delivered) was king, by comparing 2Ki 16:2; 18:2; but of the Messiah.

Out of his roots; out of one of his roots, i.e. branches, as this word root is sometimes used, by a very usual figure called a metonymy, as it is here below, Isa 11:10; Isa 53:2; Hos 14:5.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

1. rodWhen the proud “boughs”of “Lebanon” (Isa 10:33;Isa 10:34, the Assyrians) arelopped, and the vast “forests cut down” amidst allthis rage, a seemingly humble rod shall come out of Jesse(Messiah), who shall retrieve the injuries done by the Assyrian “rod“to Israel (Isa 10:5; Isa 10:6;Isa 10:18; Isa 10:19).

stemliterally, “thestump” of a tree cut close by the roots: happily expressing thedepressed state of the royal house of David, owing to thehostile storm (Isa 10:18;Isa 10:19), when Messiah shouldarise from it, to raise it to more than its pristine glory. Lu2:7 proves this (Isa 53:2;compare Job 14:7; Job 14:8;see on Isa 8:6).

BranchScion. He isnevertheless also the “root” (Isa 11:10;Rev 5:5; Rev 22:16.”Root and offspring” combines both, Zec 3:8;Zec 6:12).

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse,…. By which is meant, not Hezekiah, as R. Moses o the priest, and others, since he was now born, and must be at least ten or twelve years of age; but the Messiah, as both the text and context show, and as is owned by many Jewish writers p, ancient and modern: and he is called a “rod”, either because of his unpromising appearance, arising “out of the stem of Jesse”; from him, in the line of David, when that family was like a tree cut down, and its stump only left in the ground, which was the case when Jesus was born of it: Jesse’s family was at first but a mean and obscure one; it became very illustrious in David’s time, and in some following reigns; from the Babylonish captivity, till the time of Christ, it was very low; and at the birth of Christ was low indeed, his supposed father being a carpenter, and his real mother Mary a poor virgin, dwelling at Nazareth; and it seemed very unlikely, under these circumstances, that he should be the King Messiah, and be so great as was foretold he should; and have that power, authority, and wisdom he had; and do such mighty works as he did; and especially be the author of eternal salvation; and bring forth such fruits, and be the cause of such blessings of grace, as he was: or else because of his kingly power and majesty, the rod or branch being put for a sceptre, and so a symbol of that; to which the Targum agrees, paraphrasing the words thus,

“and a King shall come forth from the sons of Jesse:”

and the sense is, that though Jesse’s or David’s family should be brought so very low as to be as the stem or stump of a tree, without a body, branches, leaves, and fruit; yet from thence should arise a mighty King, even the King Messiah, who is spoken of by so many august names and titles, Isa 9:6 and this is observed for the comfort of the people of Israel, when distressed by the Assyrians, as in the preceding chapter Isa 10:1; when those high ones, comparable to the loftiest cedars in Lebanon, and to the tallest trees in the forest, should be hewn down, a rod should come out of Jesse’s stem, which should rise higher, and spread more than ever they did:

and a branch shall grow out of his roots; the roots of Jesse, out of his family, compared to the stump of a tree; meaning either his ancestors, as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Boaz, and Obed; or his posterity, as David, Joseph, and Mary; and so the Targum,

“and the Messiah shall be anointed (or exalted) from his children’s children.”

The branch is a well known name of the Messiah; [See comments on Isa 4:2] the word Netzer, here used, is the name of the city of Nazareth q; which perhaps was so called, from the trees, plants, and grass, which grew here; and so our Lord’s dwelling here fulfilled a prophecy, that he should be called a Nazarene; or an inhabitant of Netzer, Mt 2:23. The Jews r speak of one Ben Netzer, who they say was a robber, took cities, and reigned over them, and became the head of robbers; and make s him to be the little horn in Da 7:8 and wickedly and maliciously say t he was Jesus; and yet, under all this wickedness, they tacitly own that Jesus of Nazareth is the Netzer this prophecy speaks of; the design of which is to show the meanness of Christ’s descent as man, and that he should be as a root out of a dry ground,

Isa 53:2 or rather as a rod and branch out of a dry root.

o Apud Aben Ezra in loc. p Bereshit Rabba, sect. 85. fol. 75. 1. Midrash Tillim in Psal. lxxii. 1. Apud Yalkut Simeoni, par. 2. fol. 112. 2. Abarbinel, Mashmia Jeshua, fol. 8. 4. Aben Ezra, Jarchi, & Kimchi, in loc. Nachman. Disputat. cum Fratre Paulo, p. 53. q David de Pomis Lexic. p. 141. r T. Bab. Cetubot, fol. 51. 2. & Gloss. in ib. s Bereshit Rabba, sect. 76. fol. 67. 2. t Abarbinel in Dan. vii. 8. fol. 44. 1.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

This is the fate of the imperial power of the world. When the axe is laid to it, it falls without hope. But in Israel spring is returning. “And there cometh forth a twig out of the stump of Jesse, and a shoot from its roots bringeth forth fruit.” The world-power resembles the cedar-forest of Lebanon; the house of David, on the other hand, because of its apostasy, is like the stump of a felled tree ( geza , truncus , from gaza , truncare ), like a root without stem, branches, or crown. The world-kingdom, at the height of its power, presents the most striking contrast to Israel and the house of David in the uttermost depth announced in Isa 6:1-13 fin., mutilated and reduced to the lowliness of its Bethlehemitish origin. But whereas the Lebanon of the imperial power is thrown down, to remain prostrate; the house of David renews its youth. And whilst the former has no sooner reached the summit of its glory, than it is suddenly cast down; the latter, having been reduced to the utmost danger of destruction, is suddenly exalted. What Pliny says of certain trees, “ inarescunt rursusque adolescunt, senescunt quidem, sed e radicibus repullulant ,” is fulfilled in the tree of Davidic royalty, that has its roots in Jesse (for the figure itself, see F. V. Lasaulx, Philosophie der Geschichte, pp. 117-119). Out of the stumps of Jesse, i.e., out of the remnant of the chosen royal family which has sunk down to the insignificance of the house from which it sprang, there comes forth a twig ( choter ), which promises to supply the place of the trunk and crown; and down below, in the roots covered with earth, and only rising a little above it, there shows itself a netzer , i.e., a fresh green shoot (from natzer , to shine or blossom). In the historical account of the fulfilment, even the ring of the words of the prophecy is noticed: the netzer , at first so humble and insignificant, was a poor despised Nazarene (Mat 2:23). But the expression yiphreh shows at once that it will not stop at this lowliness of origin. The shoot will bring forth fruit ( parah , different in meaning, and possibly

(Note: We say possibly, for the Indo-Germanic root bhar, to bear (Sanscr. bharami = , fero , cf., ferax , fertilis ), which Gesenius takes as determining the radical meaning of parach , cannot be traced with any certainty in the Semitic. Nevertheless peri and perach bear the same relation to one another, in the ordinary usage of the language, as fruit and blossom: the former is so called, as that which has broken through (cf., peter ); the latter, as that which has broken up, or budded.)

also in root, from parach , to blossom and bud). In the humble beginning there lies a power which will carry it up to a great height by a steady and certain process (Eze 17:22-23). The twig which is shooting up on the ground will become a tree, and this tree will have a crown laden with fruit. Consequently the state of humiliation will be followed by one of exaltation and perfection.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

Prophecy of the Messiah; The Government of Messiah.

B. C. 740.

1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: 2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; 3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: 4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. 5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. 6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

The prophet had before, in this sermon, spoken of a child that should be born, a son that should be given, on whose shoulders the government should be, intending this for the comfort of the people of God in times of trouble, as dying Jacob, many ages before, had intended the prospect of Shiloh for the comfort of his seed in their affliction in Egypt. He had said (ch. x. 27) that the yoke should be destroyed because of the anointing; now here he tells us on whom that anointing should rest. He foretels,

I. That the Messiah should, in due time, arise out of the house of David, as that branch of the Lord which he had said (ch. iv. 2) should be excellent and glorious; the word is Netzer, which some think is referred to in Matt. ii. 23, where it is said to be spoken by the prophets of the Messiah that he should be called a Nazarene. Observe here, 1. Whence this branch should arise-from Jesse. He should be the son of David, with whom the covenant of royalty was made, and to whom it was promised with an oath that of the fruit of his loins God would raise of Christ, Acts ii. 30. David is often called the son of Jesse, and Christ is called so, because he was to be not only the Son of David, but David himself, Hos. iii. 5. 2. The meanness of his appearance. (1.) He is called a rod, and a branch; both the words here used signify a weak, small, tender product, a twig and a sprig (so some render them), such as is easily broken off. The enemies of God’s church were just before compared to strong and stately boughs (ch. x. 33), which will not, without great labour, be hewn down, but Christ to a tender branch (ch. liii. 2); yet he shall be victorious over them. (2.) He is said to come out of Jesse rather than David, because Jesse lived and died in meanness and obscurity; his family was of small account (1 Sam. xviii. 18), and it was in a way of contempt and reproach that David was sometimes called the son of Jesse, 1 Sam. xxii. 7. (3.) He comes forth out of the stem, or stump, of Jesse. When the royal family, that had been as a cedar, was cut down, and only the stump of it left, almost levelled with the ground and lost in the grass of the field (Dan. iv. 15), yet it shall sprout again (Job xiv. 7); nay, it shall grow out of his roots, which are quite buried in the earth, and, like the roots of flowers in the winter, have no stem appearing above ground. The house of David was reduced and brought very low at the time of Christ’s birth, witness the obscurity and poverty of Joseph and Mary. The Messiah was thus to begin his estate of humiliation, for submitting to which he should be highly exalted, and would thus give early notice that his kingdom was not of this world. The Chaldee paraphrase reads this, There shall come forth a King from the sons of Jesse, and the Messiah (or Christ) shall be anointed out of his sons’ sons.

II. That he should be every way qualified for that great work to which he was designed, that this tender branch should be so watered with the dews of heaven as to become a strong rod for a sceptre to rule, v. 2. 1. In general, the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. The Holy Spirit, in all his gifts and graces, shall not only come, but rest and abide upon him; he shall have the Spirit not by measure, but without measure, the fulness of the Godhead dwelling in him, Col 1:19; Col 2:9. He began his preaching with this (Luke iv. 18), The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. 2. In particular, the spirit of government, by which he should be every way fitted for that judgment which the Father has committed to him and given him authority to execute (Joh 5:22; Joh 5:27), and not only so, but should be made the fountain and treasury of all grace to believers, that from his fulness they might all receive the Spirit of grace, as all the members of the body derive animal spirits from the head. (1.) He shall have the spirit of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and knowledge; he shall thoroughly understand the business he is to be employed in. No man knows the Father but the Son, Matt. xi. 27. What he is to make known to the children of men concerning God, and his mind and will, he shall be himself acquainted with and apprised of, John i. 18. He shall know how to administer the affairs of his spiritual kingdom in all the branches of it, so as effectually to answer the two great intentions of it, the glory of God and the welfare of the children of men. The terms of the covenant shall be settled by him, and ordinances instituted, in wisdom: treasures of wisdom shall be hid in him; he shall be our counsellor, and shall be made of God to us wisdom. (2.) The spirit of courage, or might, or fortitude. The undertaking was very great, abundance of difficulty must be broken through, and therefore it was necessary that he should be so endowed that he might not fail or be discouraged, ch. xlii. 4. He was famed for courage in his teaching the way of God in truth, and not caring for any man, Matt. xxii. 16. (3.) The spirit of religion, or the fear of the Lord; not only he shall himself have a reverent affection for his Father, as his servant (ch. xlii. 1), and he was heard in that he feared (Heb. v. 7), but he shall have a zeal for religion, and shall design the advancement of it in his whole undertaking. Our faith in Christ was never designed to supersede and jostle out, but to increase and support, our fear of the Lord.

III. That he should be accurate, and critical, and very exact in the administration of his government and the exercise of the power committed to him (v. 3): The Spirit wherewith he shall be clothed shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord–of an acute smell or scent (so the word is), for the apprehensions of the mind are often expressed by the sensations of the body. Note, 1. Those are most truly and valuably intelligent that are so in the fear of the Lord, in the business of religion, for that is both the foundation and top-stone of wisdom. 2. By this it will appear that we have the Spirit of God, if we have spiritual senses exercised, and are of quick understanding in the fear of the lord. Those have divine illumination that know their duty and know how to go about it. 3. Therefore Jesus Christ had the spirit without measure, that he might perfectly understand his undertaking; and he did so, as appears not only in the admirable answers he gave to all that questioned with him, which proved him to be of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord, but in the management of his whole undertaking. He has settled the great affair of religion so unexpectedly well (so as effectually to secure both God’s honour and man’s happiness) that, it must be owned, he thoroughly understood it.

IV. That he should be just and righteous in all the acts of his government, and there should appear in it as much equity as wisdom. He shall judge as he expresses it himself, and as he himself would be judged of, John vii. 24. 1. Not according to outward appearance (v. 3): he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, with respect of persons (Job xxxiv. 19) and according to outward shows and appearances, not reprove after the hearing of his ears, by common fame and report, and the representations of others, as men commonly do; nor does he judge of men by the fair words they speak, calling him, Lord, Lord, or their plausible actions before the eye of the world, which they do to be seen of men; but he will judge by the hidden man of the heart, and the inward principles men are governed by, of which he is an infallible witness. Christ will judge the secrets of men (Rom. ii. 16), will determine concerning them, not according to their own pretensions and appearances (that were to judge after the sight of the eyes), not according to the opinion others have of them (that were to judge after the hearing of the ears), but we are sure that his judgment is according to truth. 2. He will judge righteous judgment (v. 5): Righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins. He shall be righteous in the administration of his government, and his righteousness shall be his girdle; it shall constantly compass him and cleave to him, shall be his ornament and honour; he shall gird himself for every action, shall gird on his sword for war in righteousness; his righteousness shall be his strength, and shall make him expeditious in his undertakings, as a man with his loins girt. In conformity to Christ, his followers must have the girdle of truth (Eph. vi. 14) and it will be the stability of the times. Particularly, (1.) He shall in righteousness plead for the people that are poor and oppressed; he will be their protector (v. 4): With righteousness shall he judge the poor; he shall judge in favour and defence of those that have right on their side, though they are poor in the world, and because they are poor in spirit. It is the duty of princes to defend and deliver the poor (Psa 82:3; Psa 82:4), and the honour of Christ that he is the poor man’s King, Psa 72:2; Psa 72:4. He shall debate with evenness for the meek of the earth, or of the land; those that bear the injuries done them with meekness and patience are in a special manner entitled to the divine care and protection. I, as a deaf man, heard not, for thou wilt hear,Psa 38:13; Psa 38:14. Some read it, He shall reprove or correct the meek of the earth with equity. If his own people, the meek of the land, do amiss, he will visit their transgression with the rod. (2.) He shall in righteousness plead against his enemies that are proud and oppressors (v. 4): But he shall smite the earth, the man of the earth, that doth oppress (see Ps. x. 18), the men of the world, that mind earthly things only (Ps. xvii. 14); these he shall smite with the rod of his mouth, the word of his mouth, speaking terror and ruin to them; his threatenings shall take hold of them, and be executed upon them. With the breath of his lips, by the operation of his Spirit, according to his word, and working with and by it, he shall slay the wicked. He will do it easily, with a word’s speaking, as he laid those flat who came to seize him, by saying I am he, John xviii. 6. Killing terrors shall arrest their consciences, killing judgments shall ruin them, their power, and all their interests; and in the other world everlasting tribulation will be recompensed to those that trouble his poor people. The apostle applies this to the destruction of the man of sin, whom he calls that wicked one (2 Thess. ii. 8) whom the Lord will consume with the spirit of his mouth. And the Chaldee here reads it, He shall slay that wicked Romulus, or Rome, as Mr. Hugh Broughton understands it.

V. That there should be great peace and tranquillity under his government; this is an explication of what was said in ch. ix. 6, that he should be the Prince of peace. Peace signifies two things:–

1. Unity or concord, which is intimated in these figurative promises, that even the wolf shall dwell peaceably with the lamb; men of the most fierce and furious dispositions, who used to bite and devour all about them, shall have their temper so strangely altered by the efficacy of the gospel and grace of Christ that they shall live in love even with the weakest and such as formerly they would have made an easy prey of. So far shall the sheep be from hurting one another, as sometimes they have done (Eze 34:20; Eze 34:21), that even the wolves shall agree with them. Christ, who is our peace, came to slay all enmities and to settle lasting friendships among his followers, particularly between Jews and Gentiles: when multitudes of both, being converted to the faith of Christ, united in one sheep-fold, then the wolf and the lamb dwelt together; the wolf did not so much as threaten the lamb, nor was the lamb afraid of the wolf. The leopard shall not only not tear the kid, but shall lie down with her: even their young ones shall lie down together, and shall be trained up in a blessed amity, in order to the perpetuating of it. The lion shall cease to be ravenous and shall eat straw like the ox, as some think all the beasts of prey did before the fall. The asp and the cockatrice shall cease to be venomous, so that parents shall let their children play with them and put their hands among them. A generation of vipers shall become a seed of saints, and the old complaint of homo homini lupus–man is a wolf to man, shall be at an end. Those that inhabit the holy mountain shall live as amicably as the creatures did that were with Noah in the ark, and it shall be a means of their preservation, for they shall not hurt nor destroy one another as they have done. Now, (1.) This is fulfilled in the wonderful effect of the gospel upon the minds of those that sincerely embrace it; it changes the nature, and makes those that trampled on the meek of the earth, not only meek like them, but affectionate towards them. When Paul, who had persecuted the saints, joined himself to them, then the wolf dwelt with the lamb. (2.) Some are willing to hope it shall yet have a further accomplishment in the latter days, when swords shall be beaten into ploughshares.

2. Safety or security. Christ, the great Shepherd, shall take such care of the flock that those who would hurt them shall not; they shall not only not destroy one another, but no enemy from without shall be permitted to give them any molestation. The property of troubles, and of death itself, shall be so altered that they shall not do any real hurt to, much less shall they be the destruction of, any that have their conversation in the holy mountain, 1 Pet. iii. 13. Who, or what, can harm us, if we be followers of him that is good? God’s people shall be delivered, not only from evil, but from the fear of it. Even the sucking child shall without any terror play upon the hole of the asp; blessed Paul does so when he says, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? and, O death! where is thy sting?

Lastly, Observe what shall be the effect, and what the cause, of this wonderful softening and sweetening of men’s tempers by the grace of God. 1. The effect of it shall be tractableness, and a willingness to receive instruction: A little child shall lead those who formerly scorned to be controlled by the strongest man. Calvin understands it of their willing submission to the ministers of Christ, who are to instruct with meekness and not to use any coercive power, but to be as little children, Matt. xviii. 3. See 2 Cor. viii. 5. 2. The cause of it shall be the knowledge of God. The more there is of that the more there is of a disposition to peace. They shall thus live in love, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, which shall extinguish men’s heats and animosities. The better acquainted we are with the God of love the more shall we be changed into the same image and the better affected shall we be to all those that bear his image. The earth shall be as full of this knowledge as the channels of the sea are of water–so broad and extensive shall this knowledge be and so far shall it spread–so deep and substantial shall this knowledge be, and so long shall it last. There is much more of the knowledge of God to be got by the gospel of Christ than could be got by the law of Moses; and, whereas then in Judah only was God known, now all shall know him, Heb. viii. 11. But that is knowledge falsely so called which sows discord among men; the right knowledge of God settles peace.

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

ISAIAH – CHAPTER 11

THE REIGN OF “THE BRANCH” OVER A RE-UNITED THEOCRACY

Isaiah, the Gospel prophet, portrays the Lord Jesus Christ -Messiah of Israel, and Savior of all who will trust Him – in a most exquisite manner.

Verse 1-5: THE ROOT OF DAVID TO REIGN IN RIGHTEOUNSESS

1. Though the fall of Assyria was to be complete and final, the fall of David’s house is only temporary.

a. A shoot will come forth from the stump of Jesse, (Verse 1, 10; Isa 9:7; Act 13:23), and a fruit-bearing branch from its roots, (Isa 4:2; Isa 53:2; Jer 23:5).

b. This figurative language, of course, refers to the coming of a notable person, whom the scriptures ultimately reveal to be the person of the very Son of God, (Mat 3:16; Joh 1:32-34).

2. In this One, who is elsewhere called “the Branch” (Zec 3:8), is manifested the completeness and perfection of the Spirit in its seven-fold characterization, (Verse 1-2; comp. Rev 3:1).

3. The “spirit of the Lord” (Luk 4:18-21) is also the spirit of: wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge and the fear (reverence) of the Lord.

4. It will be the delight of this “son of Jesse” to reverence the Lord, (Verse 3a; Psa 40:7-8).

5. Born to reign as King over God’s people, He will not judge by physical sense, (Verse 3b; Joh 2:25; Joh 7:24).

6. In striking contrast to the iniquitous rulers over His ancient people, He will deal righteously with the poor (Verse 4a: Isa 9:7; Isa 16:5; Isa 32:1; Isa 3:14; Psa 72:2; Psa 72:14), and will restore the downtrodden with fairness, (Verse 4b; Isa 29:19; Isa 61:1).

7. By “the rod of His mouth” (Isa 49:2; Psa 2:9; Mal 4:6) and “the breath of His lips” (Isa 30:28; Isa 30:33; Job 4:9; 2Th 2:8) will wickedness be subdued – that the fullness of peace may be experienced by His beloved people. ‘

8. Girded with righteousness and faithfullness (Eph 6:14; Isa 25:1), He will exercise His sovereign authority as King of the whole earth, (Jer 23:5; Dan 7:14; Luk 1:32-33; etc.).

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

1. But there shall come forth a rod. As the description of such dreadful calamities might terrify the godly, and give them reason for despair, it was necessary to hold out consolation; for when the kingdom was destroyed, cities thrown down, and desolation spread over the whole country, there might have been nothing left but grief and lamentation; and therefore they might have tottered and fallen, or been greatly discouraged, if the Lord had not provided for them this consolation. He therefore declares what the Lord will afterwards do, and in what manner he will restore that kingdom.

He pursues the metaphor which he employed towards the conclusion of the former chapter; for he had said that Jerusalem would be destroyed, as if a forest were consumed by a single conflagration. (Isa 10:33.) Its future desolation would be like that of a country formerly covered with forests, when the trees had been cut down, and nothing could be seen but ashes. That those things which are contrasted may answer to each other, he says, that out of the stock will come forth a branch, which will grow into a tree, and spread its branches and fruits far and wide. I have therefore preferred translating גזע ( gezang) a dry stock, rather than a root, though it makes little difference as to the meaning, but the former expresses more fully what the Prophet meant, namely, that though the stock be dry, the branch which shall spring from it shall be more excellent than all the forests.

Hence we infer that this prediction applies solely to the person of Christ; for till he came no such branch arose. It certainly cannot be applied to Hezekiah or Josiah, who, from their very infancy, were brought up in the expectation of occupying a throne. Zerubbabel (Ezr 3:8) did not attain the thousandth part of that elevated rank which the Prophet extols. We see, therefore, that to the wretched and almost ruined Jews, consolation was held out in the Messiah alone, and that their hope was held in suspense till he appeared. At the time of his appearance, there would have been no hope that the kingdom would be erected and restored, if this promise had not been added; for the family of David appeared to be completely extinct. On this account he does not call him David, but Jesse; because the rank of that family had sunk so low, that it appeared to be not a royal family, but that of a mean peasant, such as the family of Jesse was, when David was unexpectedly called to the government of the kingdom. (1Sa 16:1; 2Sa 7:8.) So then, having sustained this calamity and lost its ancient renown, it is denominated by the Prophet the family of Jesse, because that family had no superiority above any other. Accordingly, I think that here, and not towards the conclusion of the former chapter, the consolation begins.

Amidst such frightful desolation they might doubt who should be their deliverer. He therefore promises that one will spring even out of a dry trunk; and he continues, as I mentioned a little before, the same metaphor of a forest, because it is far more beautiful than if he had said in plain language that the Messiah would come. Having threatened that the forest would be entirely cut down, he adds, that still a branch will arise out of it, to restore the abundance and magnificence of the consumed forest; that is, Christ, who should be the deliverer of the people. How low his beginning was, it is unnecessary to explain. Undoubtedly, he was so far from having anything splendid or attractive, that with the exception of his birth, everything, to the view of the flesh, was inconsistent with the character of the Redeemer. Even his birth was almost obscured; for who would have thought that a poor carpenter (Mar 6:3) was descended from a royal family? Again, where was Christ born, and how had he been brought up? In short, his whole life having been mean and even contemptible, he suffered a most disgraceful death, with which he had to begin his kingdom. Yet he grew to an immeasurable height, like a large tree from a small and feeble seed, as he himself shows, (Mat 13:31; Mar 4:32,) and as we see by daily examples; for in the uninterrupted progress of his kingdom the same things must happen as were seen in his person.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

ISAIAHS VISION OF THE KING AND OF HIS KINGDOM
CHAPTERS 11 AND 12

This is one of the visions that Isaiah saw (chap. Isa. 1:1, Isa. 2:1, &c.). He was a dreamer of dreams. With a keen perception, not surpassed, of the men and things actually surrounding him, much of his life was passed in an ideal and future world. There he found comfort and strength to endure the sorrows that otherwise would have crushed him. At the outset of his ministry, when the great king who had done so much to restore the prosperity of the nation was about to be removed, there was vouchsafed to him a vision of the King immortal, eternal, invisible, throned in the temple, and surrounded by the exalted intelligences who do His will (chap. Isa. 6:1-4); and now, at the close of the wicked and disastrous reign of Ahaz, when his hopes concerning his race would naturally have failed, there was granted him a vision of a King of righteousness and peace, who on earth would rule over a kingdom such as the world had never seen. His soul had been stirred and appalled by a vision of disaster and woe. He saw the king of Assyria, then the terror of the earth, utterly broken, his vast armies hewn down as forests fall before the axes of the woodmen (chap. Isa. 10:33-34); a vision of blood and terror which may well have filled him with trembling. But just as sometimes the sweetest day break follows a night of storm, this vision of terror fades away, and he sees

I. A KING (chap. Isa. 11:1-5).

1. Royally descended, a rod out of the stem of Jesse, A simple farmer on the hills of Bethlehem, and yet a father of kings. Not an accident. We are here confronted with the mystery of blood, of race. No common man was he from whom sprang David, Solomon, Hezekiah, Josiah, and a long line of kings. In his ordinary hours, Isaiah may well have derived assurance that the vision that gladdened him was given him from above, from the fact that it was in harmony with Gods promise (2Sa. 7:12-16). Without dismay he could view the royal house lapsing into the obscurity from which it sprangbecoming merely a house of Jesse once moreassured that in His own time God would again raise it up to glory [979] It is always well when our hopes rest upon the Word of God.

2. Royally endowed; a King by truest right divine, because possessed of royal qualities of heart and mind (chap. Isa. 11:2-3). Of the thousands who have sat on thrones, how few have possessed them! How many have ruled over the miserable wretches subject to their sway merely by the craft of the serpent or the cruelty of the tiger! Of those who have been popular, how many have owed their popularity to mere physical prowess and politic good-nature (Richard I., Charles II.)! How few have endeavoured to approach the Biblical conception of what a ruler ought to be (Deu. 17:14-20; 2Sa. 23:3; Psa. 72:4; Pro. 20:28)! In the marvellous superiority of that conception to anything that has prevailed among men, have we not another proof that the sacred writers were indeed inspired by the Spirit of God?

3. Ruling in righteousness; using His marvellous endowments for the welfare of those subjected to His authority (chap. Isa. 11:3-5); not judging of things or men by their mere appearance, nor by common report; caring for the poor, befriending the shrinking and helpless, fearless in His dispensation of justice; His very words being swords that smote and overthrew the arrogant oppressor; made strong by the very righteousness which merely politic men would have feared to display in view of the might of iniquity in this disordered world; a Hero of the truest and divinest kind, in actual life setting forth the ideal to which the noblest knights in the purest days of chivalry strove to conform. Such was the King whom the prophet saw in an age when ruler was merely another word for tyrant and oppressor. Surely the vision so fair and wondrous was given him from above!

[979] The image is now transferred to the state and king of Israel, which is also to be cut down to the stump, like the tree in Nebuchadnezzars dream. But out of that stump, and from its living roots, shall grow up a scionone of those slender shoots which we see springing up from, and immediately around, the stock of a truncated tree. A king of the race of Jesse shall sit on the throne of his fathers, in accordance with the covenant made with David (Psa. 89:3-4).Strachey.

When the axe is laid to the imperial power of the world, it falls without hope (chap. Isa. 10:33-34). But in Israel spring is returning (chap. Isa. 11:1). The world-power resembles the cedar-forest of Lebanon; the house of David, on the other hand, because of its apostasy, is like the stump of a felled tree, like a root without stem, branches, or crown. The world-kingdom, at the height of its power, presents the most striking contrast to Israel and the house of David in the uttermost depth announced in chapter 6, fin., mutilated and reduced to the lowliness of its Bethlehemitish origin. But whereas the Lebanon of the imperial power is thrown down, to remain prostrate, the house of David renews its youth. Out of the stump of Jessei.e., out of the remnant of the chosen royal family, which has sunk down to the insignificance of the house from which it sprangthere comes forth a twig (choter), which promises to supply the place of the trunk and crown; and down below, in the roots covered with earth, and only rising a little above it, there shows itself a ntzer, i.e., a fresh, green shoot. In the historical account of the fulfilment, even the ring of the words of the prophecy is noticed: the ntzer, at first so humble and insignificant, was a poor despised Nazarene (Mat. 2:23).Delitzsch.

II. He saw also THE KINGDOM.

1. A kingdom of righteousness (chap. Isa. 11:9). The kingdom necessarily resembles the king. Appalling is the influence of a court upon a nation. Correspondingly great is the responsibility of those who sit in high places.

2. A kingdom of peace. Set forth by the most beautiful symbolism (chap. Isa. 11:6-10; Isa. 11:13).

3. A kingdom of prosperity. Those included in it are no longer miserable exiles and bond slaves; rather they rule over those by whom they were spoiled and oppressed (chap. Isa. 11:14). This is the true interpretation of a symbol that is in itself harsh and repulsive. The coarseness of the symbol is due to the coarseness of the minds it was first intended to touch. 4. A kingdom of gladness and joy. There pervades it the gladness of exiles who have been restored to their own land (chap. Isa. 11:15-16); the true and religious joy of men who recognise that the deliverances which inspire their songs have been wrought for them by God (chap. Isa. 12:1-5); the joy of men who are absolutely assured of continual safety (chap. Isa. 12:2; Isa. 12:6).

Was all this merely a bright vision?

1. It has been already fulfilled in part.
2. In our own day it is being fulfilled more completely than ever before.
3. It shall yet be fulfilled triumphantly [982] Let us then,

1. Recognise and rejoice in the fact that we are living under the rule of this righteous King. This is at least the dawning of the day which Isaiah saw (Mat. 13:16).

2. Exult in view of the certain future of our race. The kingdom of God shall come generation after generation with mightier power (H. E. I., 34213423).
3. Labour as well as pray that future may be hastened.

[982] For additional suggestions on this part of the subject, see outlines on pages 7173, 101, 182, 186, 191194.

THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD

Isa. 11:2. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him.

This is declared concerning the Messiah. Short as this declaration is, some of the profoundest of all truths are involved in it. It is implied that God is a person, that from Him there goes forth an influence by which the character of other persons is affected, and that all that qualified Jesus of Nazareth to be the Messiah came from God. Let us think of these things. Do not be deterred from doing so by the idea that they are transcendental, far away from our daily life. They need not be so; we shall be very blameworthy if we make them so.

I. God is a person. There are those who would have us put away this faith. In their view, God is merely the great controlling Force behind all other forces, the life of the universe, diffused through it, manifesting itself in innumerable forms. As it is the same life in the tree that manifests itself in root, trunk, branch, spray, twig, leaf, blossom, fruit, so all things that exist are not the creations of a personal will, but the manifestations of an impersonal and all-pervading life; all forces, convertible the one into the other, are but varying forms of the one underlying force. Every individual life is but a wave that seems for a moment to be separated from the one universal ocean of life; it leaps up from it, falls back into it, is absorbed by it. True, these waves are often strangely diverseNero and St. Paul, John Howard and Napoleon, the Virgin Mary and Lucrezia Borgia; but in that great Unity of which they are all manifestations, there is an all-comprehensive reconciliation, though it may elude our grasp. For Pantheism, many would have us put away the doctrine of a personal God. But this exchange, if it could be forced upon us by some logical necessity (which it is not), would not be a gain, but a tremendous loss. For,

1. There would be a tremendous loss to the heart. A force may be feared, but not loved. To gravitation we owe much, but no one ever professed to love it. A force cannot be loved, because it does not love. Strike out of our life all that comes to us from the confidence that God loves us, and from the responsive love that springs up in our hearts towards Him, and how much is lost! Then there is no longer any assurance amid the mysteries of life, nor consolation in its sorrows. In a word, we are orphaned: we can no longer say, Our Father, who art in heaven. There is no longer a Father, knowing us, loving us, causing all things to work together for our good; there is only a Force, to which it is useless to appeal, against which it is impossible to contend.

2. We should also lose one of the greatest of all helps to a noble life. Not to dwell on the fact that to speak of virtue or vice would then be absurd,then we should no longer sin, we should merely make mistakes,consider how much the world owes to the aspiration to be like God which has stirred so many noble souls. Through them the average morality of the world has been marvellously raised; but this would have been impossible but for the stimulus these inspiring souls found in the character of God. That is the first fact of which this text reminds us, that God is a person from whom a spiritan influencecan go forth affecting the character of other persons.

II. From God such an influence does go forth. The possibility is a glorious fact. That from God a spirit should go forth, and that it should do so invisibly, is in accordance with all that we know of the universe which God has made, and which is in some sort a revelation of Him.

1. Nothing in the universe is unrelated. From orb to orb influences go forth by which they are mutually affected.
2. The mightiest influences are invisible. In all this, the material is a counterfact and revelation of the spiritual. It would be altogether abnormal, if from God there did not go forth an influence operating upon and affecting other persons. It is invisible, but its effects are recognisable. One of them is the activity of conscience, rightly understood. Another is the moral growth and refinement which those in whom it is most conspicuous, most invariably and distinctly attribute to influences exerted upon them by God. Even Socrates did so. This also is a doctrine full of hope and comfort. If we need moral transformation, there streams from God an influence capable of effecting it: to that influence let us submit ourselves, and the transformation shall come to pass; the Spirit of the Lord will rest upon us, and we shall become like Him.

III. To the influence exerted upon Him by the Spirit of the Lord, Jesus of Nazareth owed all that qualified Him to be the Messiah (Isa. 11:2-5). That which was born of the Virgin Mary was a true human child. A sinless child, yet sinless not as the result of the sinlessness of the mother (as Rome teaches), but of the influence of the Spirit of the Lord resting upon Him from the beginning of His earthly life. His was a real humanityour humanity sanctified. All that was pure, noble, Godlike in Him was born not of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. How full of comfort and hope is this truth also! To us also is offered the same Spirit. Nothing can be more express than the declarations that we may have it if we will, and that, if we have it, the ultimate result will be that we shall be found partakers of the holiness of God. Let us not be unwisely cast down by the frailty and pollution of our nature; if the Spirit of the Lord rest upon us, the purity and the strength of God will become ours, and at length the Father will say of each of us, as He did of Jesus of Nazareth, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE

Isa. 11:3. And He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears.

A glorious difference between our Lord and ourselves. He knew what was in man, and needed not the evidence of external signs, which often mislead us. He could deal with the motives of the heart (H. E. I., 3332, 4147). Not by human sight, but by Divine insight, He judged the conduct and character of men.

1. Our judgment is enfeebled by ignorance. We do not see and hear all, and from our imperfect knowledge of facts we draw wrong and often disastrous conclusions (H. E. I., 29973005). But our Lord could go behind the visible works, and detect what often deceived mene.g., His treatment of pharisaism.

2. Our judgment is enfeebled by prejudice. This is often the result of ignorance. Seeing only certain sides of men, we dislike them, and frame our judgments accordinglye.g., Nathanael (Joh. 1:6). With no better reason than Nathanael had, we regard many a man as an enemy, or otherwise place him in a false light. But our Lord dealt with none in this way. Seeing men as they really were, no preconceived opinions led Him to unworthy conclusions.

3. Partiality enfeebles and perverts our judgment. Judging by sight and hearing, we approve of one man more than another, because he has certain artful or pleasing methods for winning our favour; flattery, offers of gain, &c. (P. D., 1275, 1281, 1283). But our Lord could not be won in this way (Mar. 12:14; Joh. 6:15). He was infinitely compassionate, tender, forgiving, but no feeble partiality interfered to prevent most righteous judgment.

4. Our judgment is often perverted by passion. In the pursuit of some unlawful and all-absorbing aim, we become too disturbed to weigh calmly even the evidences we can see and hear. We look at everything in the light of our false affection, and are thereby rendered absolutely incapable of beholding others in their true light, especially if they stand in our way and oppose our progress (P. D., 2060). But the one absorbing and unremittent purpose of Jesus of Nazareth was to do the will of His Heavenly Father, and to finish the work He had given Him to do. Hence He dwelt always on a pure altitude, in whose clear atmosphere He saw men and things as they are.

5. Our natural depravity is also a serious hindrance to our right judging. Our very organs of knowledge, our affections, our conscience, have been perverted. Let a man be ever so disposed to take correct views of men and things, there will be some flaw in his vision, some defect in his hearing. Hence there are times when we cannot accept as final the judgment of the best and holiest of men. But Christ had no secret evil to lead Him wrong.

In view of all this, how fitting it is that Christ should be our judge! How well, too, He is qualified to be the merciful High Priest whom we need (Heb. 4:15-16). He who tenderly sympathises with us is He who perfectly knows us (H. E. I., 956; P. D., 462).William Manning.

THE UNIVERSAL DIFFUSION AND REDEMPTIVE POWER OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD
(Missionary Sermon.)

Isa. 11:9. They shall not hurt nor destroy, &c.

We have here a picture of the golden age. I. The whole earth shall be as Mount Zion. II. Shall be freed from injustice and violence. III. Shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord.

1. Wherein this knowledge consists.
2. To what extent it shall prevailuniversal, deep.
3. By what means it is to be diffused.J. Lyth. D.D.: Homiletical Treasury (p. 18).

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord. It seems clear that in these words the prophet intended to be understood as speaking of the whole earth. He would scarcely, in the same sentence, have used the expressions in questionthe holy mountain in the first clause, and the earth in the otherif by these expressions he had not meant the same thing, namely, the whole globe of the earth, when the dwellers thereon should come to be true worshippers, like those who first worshipped at Mount Zion, and who were a type of the greater assembly of worshippers, the holy and universal Church, which in the fulness of time would be established.

I. The prophet grounds the hope of that reformed and purified state of the moral world, described in the beautiful words of the text, upon the increase of religious knowledge which he saw to be coming. They shall not hurt for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord. II. These words may be taken as descriptive of the legitimate effect of Christian knowledge. The general scope, aim, and tendency of gospel principles is such as would produce the change described, were it not counteracted by the tendency within us to what is wrong. III. They are more than this: they are prophetic of the actual results of Christian knowledge. The gospel will render war impossible. True, so-called Christian nations have not yet ceased to wage war with one another, nor so-called Christian men to rob and circumvent and ruin each other. Nevertheless, this prophecy shall yet be fulfilled. We see it in the process of fulfilment. The condition of the moral world has been meliorated by Christianity. Wars have not ceased, but their conduct has been mitigated. In their private dealings with each other, men have become more just and trustworthy. Already there are millions of men who would shrink from doing harm of any kind to their fellow-men. Compare Christendom with heathendom, and you will see what mighty changes the gospel has already wrought. The practice even of Christian men falls short of their knowledge. Nevertheless, the practice and the morals of men are, generally speaking, the best where their knowledge is the most. The prophets words are justified by fact, and men forbear one another most, and hurt and destroy least, where knowledge is the greatest. It is a fact that life and property are more safe and secure in the Christian portion of the earth, than in any other portions. And the knowledge of the Lord grows year by year; partly through the labours of missionaries in many places; still more by the rapid growth of the nations that are Christian. The violent and lawless races of the earth are dwindling away. The only races that are increasing are those that fear God, and are willing to respect the rights, the properties, and the lives of their neighbours. Through the medium of this natural increase of peace-loving races, and through the conversion of many among the benighted nations, this prophecy is receiving a gradual, but very appreciable, fulfilment. The world is advancing, with ever-accelerating speed, towards knowledge and peace, and this declaration shall yet be literally fulfilled (H. E. I., 979, 11611168; P. D., 2465, 2466).

Application.

1. We are permitted to rejoice in the hope of a period when justice and benevolence shall prevail in the world.
2. We are required to contribute towards the realisation of this hope. This we are to do
(1) by the purification of our own hearts; by the conquest of every passion and desire that would make us hurtful to our neighbours.

(2) By prayer (Mat. 6:9-10).

(3) By helping to diffuse that knowledge of the Lord which is the great peace-maker in the earth.A. Gibson, M.A.: Sermons on Various Subjects; Second Series (pp. 246265).

In this and the preceding verses we have a beautiful picture of a state of human society entirely different from anything that has been witnessed since the Fall. The prophet beholds changes in human character so great that he feels he can only symbolise them by transformations in the members of the animal kingdom of the most astonishing kind. Isa. 11:6-8 are symbolical, and are intended to excite within us the liveliest anticipations of the glorious effects that would follow the universal proclamation and acceptation of the gospel. Thus we are led to speak of the nature, the diffusion, and the effect of the knowledge of the Lord.

I. ITS EXALTED NATURE. By the knowledge of the Lord may be meant that of which He is the revealer (2Ch. 30:22), or that of which He is the theme (2Pe. 2:20). God can only be revealed by Himself; and He has given us a threefold revelation of Himselfin nature, in providence, and in Holy Scripture. In the latter we have the record of the fullest revelation which He has vouchsafed, that given us in His Son. God is never truly known by man until He is known in Christ. The knowledge of the Lord and the gospel are terms of the same meaning.

II. ITS DESTINED DIFFUSION. The figure employed by the prophet brings before us impressively the universality of its diffusion. The imagination is called in to instruct our faith [985] The world-wide diffusion of the gospel is a matter

1. Of prophetic certainty. Nothing could be more plain than the prophetic declarations concerning this matter. But if any man asks when the promise will be fulfilled, only one answer can be given him (Act. 1:7).

2. Involving Divine agency. Utterly false is the notion that, after creating the universe, God withdrew from it, and left it to go on by its own momentum (Joh. 5:17); and utterly false is the notion that, after giving the gospel to the world, God has left it to make its own way therein. By Divine agency men are raised up to proclaim it (Eph. 4:11). While they are so engaged Christ Himself is with them (Mat. 28:20); and while they preach, the Holy Spirit strives in the hearts of men to prepare and dispose them to receive the glad tidings (1Th. 1:5). When, therefore, we look at the glorious promise of our text, we must not forget that God Himself is working for its accomplishment. This will save us from unbelief and despair concerning it.

3. Involving human instrumentality. Not that this is absolutely necessary. Without human husbandry God could have caused the earth to bring forth food for man and beast, and without human instrumentality He could have saved the world. But it has pleased Him to commit to us the Word of reconciliation. The consequent duty of preaching it must be taken in connection with, and regarded as the condition of, the promise; just as the promise that there shall be a harvest till the end of the world is conditioned by mans sowing the seed in the appointed season. The promise must not be used as an excuse for indolence, but as a stimulus to industry.

[985] The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. The expression is remarkable for its force. In looking over the face of the ocean, no differences are to be perceived: one part is not fuller than the other; one part is not covered, and another left dry; but all is one unbroken stream, filling and covering the whole. So shall it be with the Word of God among men. It shall not be known to some, and hidden from others. It shall not be fully declared in one place, and only partially set forth in another. Whatever knowledge it pleases Him to give at all, shall be given to all men equally and without distinction. Such is clearly the purpose of God in His own appointed time.W. H. Sulivan.

As the waters cover the sea. The idea of universality could scarcely have been better expressed than by this magnificent simile. You have looked forth on the illimitable expanse of waters with wonder and awe. Your imagination has followed the depths far beyond the lowest tide-line to the unfathomed valleys and caverns that form the ocean bed; and you have endeavoured to take fully into your mind the thought that the lowest depths and the most distant shores were filled and covered by the all-diffusive and all-searching element.Rawlinson.

III. ITS BLESSED EFFECT. The gospel is a harmonising power. It has a transforming efficacy equal to any that would be needed to bring about a literal fulfilment of Isa. 11:6-8. Where-ever it comes in its saving power, it new creates human hearts, and thus dries up the causes of hatred and discord at their fountain. For it is a principle, 1, of righteousness, and, 2, of love. Hence it brings peace. For all discord is due to injustice that is prompted by selfishness (Jas. 4:1). Where righteousness and love combine and rule, there must be peace and security; for the very desire to injure is taken away. The universal prevalence of the gospel necessarily means universal peace (H. E. I., 1126, 1127, 1129).

1. This suggests the answer to the questions, Why Christian nations make war against each other, and why even in Christian churches there are fierce contentions? The answer is, either that those nations or churches are Christian only in name, or that they have only very partially attained to the knowledge of the Lord. They are only in the infant-class in Christs great school; as they learn of Him, their rivalries and hatreds will pass away.
2. The gospel being so blessed in its effects, it is plain that it is the duty of all good men to extend the knowledge of it.John Rawlinson.

A remarkable declaration this, especially if the Hebrew prophets were, as some learned sceptics tell us, men of narrow mind, worshipping a merely local god, and hating all men not descended from Jacob. By the noble simile employed by Isaiah two ideas are suggested

1. Universality. Mankind is the area to be covered.

2. Ease. All the creeks, bays, channels, and broad highways of the vast ocean are filled in their appointed time. The mighty tide rises, sweeps onward, and the work is done. There was one great flood-tide of gospel-truth in the days of the apostles, and there is a greater still to come. Meanwhile, many difficulties attend the efforts of Gods people to extend the knowledge of His truth; but, in the worlds fulness, great ease will characterise the progress and triumphs of the gospel (Psa. 110:3; Heb. 8:11). This declaration suggests two great subjects:

I. THE HOPE OF THE WORLD. Shut the Bible, and our outlook on the world and its future is dark and sad. Open it, and let its light shine into our minds, and with the light will come encouragement and hope.

1. If it is true that the earth the sea, then God takes an interest in the affairs of the world, and takes an interest in them now. This mighty world is not left to drift into an unknown and perilous future without a steersman to guide it.

2. If God makes such abundant provision for the instruction of men in the knowledge of Himself, then He will be accessible to them when, by that knowledge, they are led to approach Him; and He is accessible to us.

3. Himself opening for men a way of access to Him, we may be sure that when they avail themselves of it He will deal with them in the way of mercy and love; and so He will deal with us. Who can doubt this who looks on the face of Christ, through whom God has given us the truest knowledge of Himself (2Co. 4:6)?

4. He means to be known to the world, and therefore His gracious offers extend to all, to us.

II. THE DUTY OF THE CHURCH. In view of this declaration,

1. Take enlarged views of your work. Think how much remains to be done. Even if you could suppose that your family, your street, your town, your country were filled with the blessed tide of the knowledge of the Lord, yet think of the earth, and all its myriad claims resting upon the servants of God.

2. Spare no efforts in promoting the cause of Christian missions. In advancing these, you are working in harmony with the great purposes of God, and for an object which is dear to Himthat object for which He has already given His Son! Will you withhold from it the money with which He has entrusted you, and for which you will have to give account at the last day?

3. There are many present difficulties in the prosecution of mission-work, but meanwhile take comfort from the large purposes of God. Have faith in God. His plans are vast, but His glorious promises are great as His counsels, and His resources as glorious as His promises. The process of filling the earth with the knowledge of the Lord may seem to us to be tedious, the obstacles may be many, the time may be long; if the work were left to us, it would be hopeless; but GOD will hasten it all in His time.William Manning.

It is here declared that there is yet to dawn upon the world an era of perfect light, and that that shall be also and therefore an era of perfect love. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, FOR the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord.

It is a mystery, but it is a fact, that knowledge is not necessarily a blessing. The devils believeand therefore knowyet remain devils still (Jas. 3:15). Many men of unholy life have been men of eminent knowledge (Rom. 1:21). But this is a moral monstrosity, a result of the unnatural condition into which we have been brought by sin; just as in certain forms of disease food becomes poison. Knowledge is one of those forces which naturally tend to elevate and sanctify (H. E. I., 3106); to know God truly is eternal life (Joh. 17:3); and the declaration is, that knowledge shall be world-wide, and that by it the world shall be morally revolutionised. Remembrance of two facts will give intelligence and strength to our faith in these glorious predictions.

1. As mans knowledge of God has grown, the human race has risen. Except in those abnormal cases already referred to, it may be declared that men cannot learn to know God and remain as they weree.g., wherever the knowledge of the unity of God is restored to man, idolatry becomes impossible; as soon as the knowledge of the spirituality of God really enters the mind, formalism in worship becomes an impossibility. So every truth concerning God, as soon as it is really known, becomes a correcting and converting force. The tendency of this knowledge, as of light, is to quicken and beautify. The way to grow in grace is to grow in the knowledge of Christ (2Pe. 3:18).

2. The knowledge of God is a thing that grows, and grows slowly, in the human soul. This is true of all knowledge [988] But in proportion as it grows, sanctification takes place in the individual life, reformation in the national life [991] It is the most radical and successful of all revolutionists. It is impossible for us to dream of the changes it will accomplish upon the earth. But this we know, that by it war and every form of violence shall be abolished (text; Isa. 2:4, &c.)

[988] The knowledge of God comes into the soul as a king is born into a country over which he is ultimately to rule; at the beginning it is but a babe; for a long time it is weak, and needs to be defended and nurtured; many years elapse before it rules; rarely in this life does it exercise full power and undisputed sway.
[991] Many evils continue to exist and flourish even in Christian lands, because their contrariety to the character of God has not yet been apprehended and felt. Many godly men were slave-holders and slave-dealers, because they did not fully know God. But now the knowledge of God has so grown among men, that it is no longer possible in a Christian land for a godly man to be a slave-holder. So with polygamy, which was once practised without scruple by some of the noblest and most devout men who ever lived. This practice has been killed, not by any express prohibition, but by growth among men of the knowledge of God. That knowledge is predestined still further to grow, and to kill many things more.

In this subject there is,

1. A complete justification of all missionary enterprises. They are not visionary schemes foredoomed to failure; they are intensely practical, and shall be triumphantly successful. The time may be far off, but it is advancing, when every man shall know God (). The effect of that knowledge will be the destruction of the desire to destroy or injure.

2. An argument for patience. In view of the wrongs that prevail upon the earth, many noble souls find it difficult to exercise it. Of finer taste, of clearer vision, of truer sympathy with God than is common amongst men, the wickedness that triumphs in the world fills them with continual agony. It drives them almost into atheism. They ask, Can God see these things, and not use His power to bring them to an end? If there were a God, would He not instantly smite the oppressors with destruction? Let them be patient. God does see; God does feel; God is hastening on the better day by the only means by which it can really be brought in. Another deluge would not cleanse the world from crime; if but eight souls were spared, sin would once more begin to prevail. The era of purity and peace can be ushered in only by the revelation of God to man, and thus it is advancing towards us; thus it is already begun; between Christian and heathen lands there is a real contrast; and ere long there shall be as great a contrast between Christian lands uplifted by a fuller knowledge of God and these lands as they now are. The millennium is not merely a prophetic dream, it shall be a glorious fact. Patience! (H. E. I., 1134, 1135, 11661168, 34213423; P. D., 2465, 2466).

3. An argument for hopeful Christian effort. We must not merely dream of the millennium, we must labour to hasten its dawn. Work is needful: Sunday-school work, &c. Every one who prays, Thy kingdom come, thereby, unless he means to mock God, pledges Himself to work to hasten its coming, and thus to be a fellow-labourer with God. There is need for individual effort, and for united effort. Such effort should always be hopeful. We are not attempting what is impossible; we are working in the line of Gods promises, and with God! Remembering that the sense of our own weakness will not unduly depress us. It does not require a giants strength to row with the tide; and a mightier force than that of ocean is bearing us on to a victory that shall fill earth with blessing and heaven with gladness.

THE ENSIGN OF THE NATIONS

Isa. 11:10. And in that day there shall be, &c.

I. In the two parts of this verse we have a twofold metaphorical representation of the Redeemer: one expressed, one implied.

1. An ensign of the people

= banner or standard, such as is set up as a rallying-point around which,

(1) the subjects of a king assemble to do him homage; and
(2) the soldiers of an army gather to receive the commands and exhortations of their general.
2. This second use of a standard leads to the second metaphorical representation of the Redeemer, that of a victorious general: His rest shall be glorious. We are thus directed to the final result of the uplifting of Christ as an ensign: the great campaign brought to a successful conclusion, the Victor in it rests gloriously, surrounded by the soldiers whom He has led on to triumph, and the people to whom He has given liberty and peace.

II. Consider how these predictions have been fulfilled.

1. By the preaching of the gospel Christ has been lifted up, and as the result men of all nations have sought unto Him, and will seek Him more and more.
2. Having done and suffered all that was necessary ultimately to secure the final victory, He has taken His place at the right hand of the Majesty on high, and rests there gloriously; the glory of His rest arising from the number of the subjects who do Him homage, and of the soldiers who delight to fight His battles, from the triumphs which He has already enabled them to achieve, and from the prosperity and peace of all His people.

We shall make a great mistake if we end by thus admiringly noting how this ancient prophecy has been, and is being, fulfilled in the history of the world. We are among the Gentiles of whom our text speaks: have we sought unto the glorious Person of whom it speaks? You desire to do so. Do so, then,

1. For right purposes; not merely that you may be delivered from suffering, but that you may be delivered from sin; not merely that you may ultimately gain admission to heaven, but that you may here and now render to Him the homage and the service to which He is entitled.

2. In a right spirit; not vainly dreaming that you have, or can win, any claim upon His regard, but recognising that you can appeal only to His mercy, and that without it you are lost; and making this appeal penitently and believingly. So coming to Him, He will be found of you. He will cause you to share in His rest, by causing you to share in His triumphs; inspired and upheld by Him, you shall trample under foot the world, the flesh, the devil, and the fear of death. Your whole being will be at rest; your understanding no longer harassed by perplexing doubts; your conscience stilled and gladdened by a righteous peace; your affections centred at last around Him who alone is worthy of their supreme love; and this threefold rest, so sweet and blessed now, shall be perfected and perpetuated in heaven.George Smith, D.D.

The prophet here foresees that the Saviours mission and work will so exalt Him in the eyes of the nations, that they will turn to Him as the one object and desire of their souls. (Compare Joh. 12:32.) The prediction declares that Christ would be a banner to attract men, that He would be the object of universal search, and that men in finding Him would attain to true rest and glory.

I. THE BANNER.

1. A banner is naturally lifted up; only thus can its purpose be accomplished (chap. Isa. 13:2; Isa. 18:3). Apt image this of Christ. Not merely in His death on Calvary. That exaltation was followed by His being lifted higher still by the preaching of the gospel, by the ministry of the Holy Spirit (Joh. 16:14), by the devout lives of all His true followers.

2. A banner has usually some emblem or device representative of some great cause, or expressive of some great truth. (Give instances.) So when Christ and Him crucified are uplifted clearly in the view of men, they see Gods hatred of sin, His love of man, and His provision for mans future happiness and glory.

II. THE OBJECT OF UNIVERSAL SEARCH. To it shall the Gentiles seek. Search for Christ characterises all races of men (Hag. 2:7) and all periods of time (Luk. 10:24). The search is often prosecuted in ignorance. Men know not for what and for whom their souls yearn; but it is Christ of whom unconsciously they are in quest; and it is towards Him, that by the else insatiable desires of their spiritual nature, they are being led.

III. THE FINDING OF TRUE REST. His rest shall be glorious.

1. The rest we find in Christ is connected with a vital change effected in the heart and life. He does not simply do something for us; He also does a work within us. Every intelligent seeker knows that there can be no rest until the evil that is lodged within us is resisted and cast out (H. E. I., 1324). It is as we enter into the spirit of Christ and share His life, that we enter into rest (Mat. 11:28-30).

2. Our new relations to God, entered into by faith in Christ Jesus, makes our rest very glorious. God is then known to us by the most precious and endearing names; He is our rock, our shield, &c. Each of these names represents to us some tender aspects of His love, some sweet ministry of His grace.

Are you in search of the highest peace, joy, holiness, rest? Here you may end your quest (1Co. 1:30; P. D., 481).William Manning.

THE RECONCILER OF MEN

Isa. 11:10-16. And in that day there shall be, &c.

Several eminent commentators are of opinion that this prophecy will not be fulfilled until the Jews are restored as a nation to their own land. Others believe that the prophet used (it may be unconsciously) transient geographical phrases as symbols of eternal truths. Without entering upon this controversy, which can be settled only by the actual unfolding and accomplishment of Gods plans as to the history of this world, let us think of the fundamental fact of the vision, that in it the Root of David was revealed to the prophet as the reconciler of men. His appearing in the world would be the setting up of a standard unto which all men, Gentiles (Isa. 11:10) and Jews (Isa. 11:11-12), would seek; and before the influence then exerted upon them by Him rivalries and enmities, even though they were as inveterate and malignant as those of Judah and Ephraim (Isa. 11:13), would disappear. No obstacles, even though they should be as immense as the geographical ones which are specified, would hinder their coming together and forming one united and triumphant people under His benignant sway. This is only saying what the prophet has said already (chap. Isa. 2:4; Isa. 9:7), that the kingdom of Christ would be a kingdom of peace. Consider

I. How marvellously and gloriously this prediction has been fulfilled. To appreciate this, we must recall the condition of the world at the time when the day of which our text speaks dawned upon it. Nations were everywhere divided from each other by jealousies and hatreds as virulent as those that divided Ephraim from Judah; there was peace only because they were restrained from active hostility by the strong hand of Roman power. Hatred of other nations was regarded, not as a crime, but as a duty [994] But Christ inaugurated the empire of universal brotherhood and love. Wars have not yet ceased even among nations professing Christianity, but they are no longer openly gloried in by those who wage them; they are apologised for as sad necessities. The apology is often insincere, but the fact that it is made at all is a marvellous tribute to the influence and authority of Christ. Wherever His true followers meet, national distinctions are forgotten, and they feel drawn to each other by a mightier and sweeter bond. As the centuries pass away, the love of Christ becomes more and more the uniting power of the world.

[994] Ancient morality was essentially national and exclusive. Its creed was that a man is born not for himself, but for his parents, his family, and the state. The state was surrounded by others with which, unless some treaty had been concluded, it was at war. To do as much good as possible to ones own state, and as much harm as possible to all other states, was therefore the whole duty of a man.Ecce Homo, p. 125, small edition. (The student will do well to read the whole chapter in which these sentences occur.)

II. How sadly imperfect the fulfilment of this prediction still is! The era of universal peace has not yet dawned. The world is still cursed by wars and rumours of wars. Millions of men are maintained in constant readiness for war. There are bitter contentions among the sections of the Christian Church, these tribes of the modern Israel. Class is divided from class. So-called Christian families are saddened by bitter feuds.

III. The blessedness of the era that shall yet dawn upon this world. The Christian often dreams of it; his dreams are sweet as those which hungry men have of banquets, and shipwrecked sailors drifting helplessly on rafts in the wide ocean have of their native village and of meeting with their loved ones there; and in their waking hours they, too, are apt to be saddened by the fear that their dreams too are as utterly incapable of realisation. But it is not so. They shall all be realised, for the authority of Christ shall yet be universal, real, absolute; and all the listening angels shall not be able to detect one sound of discord rising from the round world, for the whole world shall be full of the peace of Christ (P. D., 2465, 2466, 2676).

IV. Our duty in regard to this prediction. We are not merely to dream dreams of the blessedness of the era that shall yet be ushered in. We are to do something to hasten its dawning.

1. We are to pray for it with yearning hearts.
2. We are to do our utmost, in every possible way, to extend the knowledge of the gospel throughout the world. The gospel, not commerce, is the true civiliser and uniter of nations: commerce will prosper on the gospel triumphs. True, many converts are only nominally Christians, but in many cases that is the first step towards their becoming real Christians, i.e., men who will pray and labour for universal peace.

3. Minor and contributory duties.
(1.) The diffusion of knowledge that will tend to bring home to the understandings and hearts of men the hurtfulness of war, and of preparation for war.
(2.) The discouragement and overthrow of those statesmen, to whichever party they may belong, whose policy tends to foster national animosities.
(3.) The discouragement of all pursuits and things that tend to familiarise men with war and keep alive in them a passion for it, e.g., the volunteer movement; pictures, poems, and newspapers that glorify successful soldiers, as if in them the noblest ideal of manhood were realised.

(4.) Careful education of our children in Christ-like sentiments concerning foreign nations and war. By constant heedfulness of these duties, we shall do something to hasten the dawning of the era of universal peace and blessedness, and we shall not have lived in vain.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

CHAPTER ELEVEN
E. PROGRAM OF IMMANUEL
1.

DIVINE DIRECTION

TEXT: Isa. 11:1-9

And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit:

and the Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah;

and his delight shall be in the fear of Jehovah; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither decide after the hearing of his ears;

but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

And righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist, and faithfulness the girdle of his loins.

And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adders den.

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea.

QUERIES

Who is the shoot of the stock of Jesse?

When will this harmony between children and wild beasts be?

How shall the earth be full of the knowledge of the Lord?

PARAPHRASE

Although the tree of David will be cut down with the captivity, from the stump of the house of Jesse will grow a Shoot-yes, a new Branch from the roots of that stump. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel and might; the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. His delight will be obedience to the Lord. He will not judge by appearance, false evidence, or hearsay, but will defend the poor and the exploited. He will rule against the wicked who oppress them. For He will be clothed with fairness and with truth. In that day the wolf and the lamb will lie down together, and the leopard and goats will be at peace. Calves and fat cattle will be safe among bears; cubs and calves will lie down together, and lions will eat grass like the cows. Babies will play safely among the snakes, and a little child who puts his hand in a nest of deadly adders will pull it out unharmed. Nothing will hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain; for as the waters fill the sea, so shall the earth be full of the knowledge of the Lord.

COMMENTS

Isa. 11:1-5 CHARACTER OF THE BRANCH: The Assyrian king will be felled like a mighty tree being cut down. His whole forest (nation) will be felled and will not grow back. Israel is soon to be felled in the captivity. However, from the stump (remnant) that is left of Israel, a Shoot or Branch will sprout. This Branch will be a supernatural person. He will have a full measure of the Spirit of the Lord. There can be little doubt that the Branch is the Messiah (Cf. Isa. 4:2; Jer. 23:5; Jer. 33:15; Zec. 3:8; Zec. 6:12). The main emphasis focuses on His character. He will be in complete contrast to Israels human rulers. He will rule righteously, justly, fairly. He will judge according to facts because He will be filled with divine wisdom, divine counsel and divine power. Israels human kings, for the most part, delighted in doing their own will. The Branch will delight in doing Gods will (Cf. Joh. 4:34; Joh. 5:30; Joh. 14:31; Joh. 15:10; Joh. 17:4). The absolute righteousness and faithfulness of the Branch will bring a change in the character of those who commit themselves to Him. They will be able to trust Him to take care of all judgment. Thus they will be at peace and harmony with one another and with their surroundings. This leads into the next section.

Isa. 11:6-9 CONDITION OF THE BELIEVER: The condition of the believer is directly dependent upon the character of the Branch. Without the Branch the believer falls into the sinful and decadent condition which Israel finds itself. Social injustice, political anarchy, human enmity and personal fragmentation are the consequences of impotent human leadership. Sinful, rebellious man is out of harmony with the will of God and out of harmony with Gods whole creation. He trusts nothing and no one. He hopes in nothing. Filled with despair and meaninglessness he cares for nothing. He is at war with himself, with other human beings and with all that surrounds him. He perverts and exploits nature.

But when man finds he has a Divine Ruler who will judge with righteousness and faithfulness, and commits himself in faith and obedience to that Ruler, life begins to make sense. Man finds wholeness in himself, with his fellow man and harmony with his circumstances and surroundings. Nature becomes a help to him, and even those circumstances which seemed before to be contradictory and meaningless now become aids in the perfecting of his character.

We believe Isaiah is here speaking figuratively of a condition that will be accomplished in the believer at the first coming of the Messiah. When the Messiah has completed His messianic work, peace will be made possible in the hearts of those who believe. When men believe and obey Him they will be regenerated. They will begin the process of perfecting that will fit them for the time when the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah. Some day even creation itself shall be redeemed (Cf. Rom. 8:18-25) and God will create a new heaven and a new earth. But new circumstances do not a heaven make! C. S. Lewis once said that heaven will not be so much the glory that surrounds us as the glory that is in us! Even when God makes a new heaven and new earth with docile animals and a stormless natural order, it will not be heaven without regenerated people. Man had perfect natural conditions to start with in the Garden of Eden! When man listened to a liar (the Devil), he got out of harmony with God and himself and sinful men have been perverting and exploiting everything he can get his hands on since then.

Isaiah is talking here about mans conversion. Potentially, mans dominion over creation, which he once enjoyed in Eden but lost, has been restored through the work of God-Man, Jesus Christ (Heb. 2:5-18). Man can now enter into that potential dominion by faith in Christ, for Christ has destroyed the power the Devil formerly had over man through mans fear of death. Thus entering this potential dominion, man begins to prepare himself for the realization or consummation of the dominion which will come at the consummation of the agesthe Second Advent of the Messiah!

The condition described in these verses cannot apply to a supposed millennium. Advocates of a millennial theory maintain that even during the millennium there is sin, for after the millennium the nations will again gather for a battle. The picture before us, however, is one in which there is no sin, but in which the fullest manifestation of peace is to be seen. And right now, within the kingdom of the Messiah, there is peace. Of course, the kingdom is still in the worldnot of the world. And so the world makes war on the kingdom of God. But within the kingdom itself there is peace! And some day, even the world, nature and all its inhabitants will be at complete harmony.

QUIZ

What connection does the idea of a Branch out of Jesse have with the foregoing idea that Assyria will be completely cut down?

What is emphasized concerning the Branch?

How does the character of the Branch tie in with the condition of the believer?

Why must men be made fit to dwell in a new heaven and new earth?

How has Christ restored man potentially to his former dominion?

Why is this section probably not referring to a millennium?

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

1. There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse The “rod” is a branch, a shoot, a sucker. The “stem” is a stump, or a nucleus of rootlets, either below or above ground.

A branch shall grow out of his roots Netzer, “a branch,” is a verdant and vigorous shoot. The chosen remnant of the royal house of David, which has sunk down to the insignificance from which it sprang, is the twig, shoot, branch, or whichever of the terms here supplied be taken, and is to build up by the new growth another trunk and crown. Delitzsch and Kay think they see in the insignificant Netzer the figure for the despised Nazarene; despised now, but in the sense of the applied figure bright, verdant, growing, he is to be hereafter the universally acknowledged King of glory. Also, in the verb phara, to grow, to be fruitful, reference is supposed to be made to Ephratah, or Bethlehem, so that in this verse allusion is thought to be made by divine intent both to Nazareth, where Christ’s birth was announced, and to Bethlehem, where it occurred. Both places are humble, and, to worldly Jews, of little account. Such etymologies are of use chiefly in homiletic exegesis. There is coincidence of sound and sense in the words referred to; but beyond this there is vague uncertainty.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Chapter Isa 11:1-4 The Coming of The Son of Jesse.

Isa 11:1

‘And there will come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse,

And a branch out of his roots will bear fruit.’

The word translated ‘stock’ means the basic element of the tree (Isa 40:24; Job 14:8). Here the stock is Jesse, the father of David (1Sa 16:1-13) and the father of the Davidic house. Each descendant was thought of as ‘David. (Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, is called ‘David’ and ‘son of Jesse’ in 2Ch 10:16). But the tree has wilted, for the present representative of the Davidic house has been rejected (Isa 7:9). Thus a return must be made to the stock. Another David is required. And here He is promised. A shoot (young growth) will come forth from the stock, and a branch (sapling) from the roots. The failed branch of the Davidic house has been replaced by a new growth.

The importance of this cannot be overemphasised. This One is not just one of a long line of Davidic kings, He goes back to the root. The miraculous birth of Isa 7:14 is required. And it is this shoot and this sapling Who will bear the fruit that God looked for from that house.

Isa 11:2

‘And the Spirit of Yahweh will rest on him,

The spirit of wisdom and understanding,

The spirit of counsel and might,

The spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Yahweh.

Once again there will come a king on Whom has come the Spirit of Yahweh. It is noteworthy that the last king who was said to have received the Spirit of Yahweh was David. But here the benefits are sevenfold indicating divine completeness. Here is the greater David. For the Spirit Who has come upon him is the Spirit of Yahweh, the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Yahweh. When we remember that the fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom we see here the source of ultimate wisdom, founded in the might of Yahweh. He is the Mighty, All-Wise One, seven times wiser than Solomon, the wisest of the wise (see 1Ki 3:12).

Note how the couplets go together. Wisdom is the basic fullness of knowledge, understanding its outworking. Counsel is the duty and expression of wisdom of princes, and might the ability to carry it through (He is the Counsellor and the Mighty God (Isa 9:6)). Knowledge constantly refers to awareness about God and His ways and ‘the fear of Yahweh’ is the result of that knowledge carried to fruition. This last part is then doubly emphasised. Faithfulness to Yahweh is all.

Isa 11:3-4

‘And his delight will be in the fear of Yahweh,

And he will not judge after the sight of his eyes,

Nor reprove after the hearing of his ears,

But with righteousness will he judge the poor,

And reprove with equity on behalf of the meek of the earth.’

His great delight will be to serve and reverence Yahweh, and His reign will be in total justice. For all His judgments and reproofs will give consideration to what Yahweh is in His awesomeness and holiness. They will not be on the basis of what is seen on the surface or be based on hearsay, but will be given in true righteousness and on the basis of equity. The poor and the meek, those who have previously been at the mercy of unjust decisions based on bias, prejudice and desire for gain, will receive full justice. Those who deserve rebuke will be dealt with. The poor will be vindicated. He is the Everlasting Father.

The picture is an ideal one of the perfect king and judge, and the point is that everlasting righteousness will have come in (Psa 119:142; Dan 9:24 compare Psa 72:2-5).

‘His delight will be in the fear of Yahweh.’ This will necessarily be so because the ‘Spirit of Yahweh’ rests on Him making Him delight in the fear (awe) of Yahweh. Where the Spirit is there is ‘His fear’.

Isa 11:4

‘And he will smite the earth with the rod of his mouth,

And with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.’

On the other hand he will punish those who are in rebellion against Him and who refuse His right to reign. For them His words will be like a rod of chastisement and His breath like a powerful weapon for slaughter. When He speaks just punishment will follow, and finally death for those who reject Him. Here we see the righteous King doing precisely what the Lord, Yahweh of hosts has done in Isa 10:33-34.

We can compare here Psa 2:9, ‘you will break them with a rod of iron, you will dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. The thought is of final judgment. In the New Testament this is cited as, ‘you will shepherd them with a rod of iron’ (Rev 2:27; Rev 12:5; Rev 19:15), just as a shepherd uses his rod to smite the enemies of the sheep (note how in Rev 2:27 it parallels the idea of the shattering of the potter’s vessel, and in Rev 19:15 parallels the treading of the winepress of His wrath. To translate as ‘rule’ gives the wrong impression).

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

The Final Result ( Isa 10:33 to Isa 11:10 ).

And now the scene suddenly changes. After the detail of the march the final result is dismissed in two sentences as a new prophecy opens up. Assyria is by now almost irrelevant. In mind now are all the enemies who come from the north in their proud and arrogant presumption against God’s people, all the enemies of Israel. They will be hewn down like a condemned forest and fall before the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, preparing the way for the new growth of the Spirit endued King. And then will arise God’s solution for the world, the anointed son of David, and He will establish everlasting righteousness.

All The Enemies of the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts Will Be Severely Dealt With And His King Will Reign In Righteousness (Isa 10:33 to Isa 11:4).

The destruction of the high and mighty ones, and the raising up of His righteous king go together. It is as though from the felled forest grows up the shoot and branch of Jesse. Out of seeming disaster God will bring triumph.

Analysis of Isa 10:33 to Isa 11:4.

a Behold the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, will lop the boughs with terror, and the high ones of stature will be hewn down, and the lofty will be brought low. And He will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One (Isa 10:33-34).

b And there will come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots will bear fruit (Isa 11:1).

c And the Spirit of Yahweh will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Yahweh (Isa 11:2).

c And His delight will be in the fear of Yahweh, and He will not judge after the sight of His eyes, nor reprove after the hearing of His ears (Isa 10:3).

b But with righteousness will He judge the poor, and reprove with equity on behalf of the meek of the earth (Isa 10:4 a).

a And He will smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked (Isa 10:4 b).

In ‘a’ the Lord Yahweh of hosts will reveal His righteousness (compare Isa 10:22) by bringing down the high ones and the lofty ones, cutting down the forests as the Mighty One and in the parallel His chosen One will smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and slay the wicked with the breath of His lips. In ‘b’ a shoot will come forth from the stock of Jesse and a branch from his roots (in contrast with the high and lofty forests), and in the parallel He will judge the poor with righteousness and reprove the meek with equity, this in complete contrast with the king of Assyria. In ‘c’ The ‘Spirit of Yahweh’ will rest on Him, and He will be just and right, and in the parallel His delight will be in the ‘fear of Yahweh’ and He will judge fairly and honestly.

Isa 10:33

‘Behold the Lord, Yahweh of hosts,

Will lop the boughs with terror,

And the high ones of stature will be hewn down,

And the lofty will be brought low.

And he will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron,

And Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.’

All who oppose God are in mind here, all the proud foes from the north. This includes Assyria and its attack on God’s people, but it also includes all others who come through Lebanon from the north. This prophecy is placed here, not only to emphasise Assyria’s defeat, but also to demonstrate God’s final victory on all who come from the north. It is the ultimate victory against the ultimate enemy. It was from the forests of Lebanon that the enemy continually emerged. But now the forests of Lebanon will be no more, with all that they represent of the foes from the north. They will be laid bare. All God’s enemies will be cut down and destroyed to prepare the way for the son of David, and it is inevitable, for they are in opposition to the sovereign Lord, Yahweh, Lord of all the hosts of heaven and earth.

The vivid picture brings home the direct action of God. No longer the indirect forest fire (Isa 10:16-19), but the direct action of the woodcutter which will be on all that is against God and His people. Note that the action takes place outside the land. His people will now be safe under their King. (It is the geography of parable, not to be taken literally).

The emphasis is on the humbling of proud man before the terror of Yahweh. The boughs are lopped. The huge giants of the forest are hewn down, the tallest of the trees are brought low. The impenetrable thickets are chopped down with iron. The whole of Lebanon will fall at the hands of the Mighty One. For a similar world picture see Isa 2:10-21. We know Who has done it, but how it will come about is not described.

And then, in contrast, from the stump of a tree will blossom the One Who will change the world.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Prophecy of the Coming of the Messiah Comments – Isa 11:1-5 gives a prophecy of the coming of the Messiah. This Messianic prophecy is typical of Isaiah in that the events of His first and second coming and of the Millennial Reign of Christ are blended together and viewed as one event.

Isa 11:1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

Isa 11:1 Comments – Isa 11:1 refers to the cutting off of the people of Israel by the Assyrians in 722 B.C. and the Babylonians in 586 B.C. Isa 11:1 also describes the way the Messiah would appear to His people Israel. After the royal lineage of King David had ceased for almost four hundred years, it was renewed by the anointing of Jesus Christ at His water baptism and forever established at His resurrection.

The previous passage in Isa 10:32-34 refers to the crashing down of the thickets of the forests of trees that destroyed the people of Israel, which were the Assyrians. In God’s divine providence He used such judgment and tragedy to bring about His divine plan of redemption for mankind. We often see tragedies within a narrow time frame as a bad thing. However, from God’s divine perspective, His judgment against nations is used to bring redemption. Thus, judgment is a good thing.

Isa 11:2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;

Isa 11:2 Comments – The Spirit of the Lord rested upon Jesus Christ, the Messiah, at His water baptism and will continue with Him forever. It was by the Holy Spirit’s impartation of wisdom and understanding that Jesus was able to know and do the Father’s will.

Isa 11:3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:

Isa 11:4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

Isa 11:4 Comments – Isa 11:4 makes a reference to some events that took place at Jesus’ First Coming as He ministered to the poor, but it more clearly fits the events that will take place at His Second Coming as He judges the world by the sword of His mouth (Rev 19:15; Rev 19:21).

Rev 19:15, “And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”

Rev 19:21, “And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.”

Isa 11:5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

Prophecies Against Israel Isa 1:2 to Isa 12:6 contains a collection of prophecies against the nation of Israel. The phrase, “for all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still,” is repeated five times within this passage of Scripture (Isa 5:25; Isa 9:12; Isa 9:17; Isa 9:21; Isa 10:4).
Also found within this first major section of Isaiah are three prophecies of the Messiah’s birth. These prophecies reflect three characteristics of the Messiah. He will be born of a virgin as the Son of God dwelling with mankind (Isa 7:14-15). He will rule over Israel in the Davidic lineage (Isa 9:6-7). He will come from the seed of David and be anointed as was David (Isa 11:1-5).
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

Prophecy of the Messianic Kingdom Isa 11:1-6 gives a prophecy of the future Messianic kingdom. The Messiah will come from the seed of David; He will be anointed as David; and He will rule in righteousness as did David (Isa 11:1-5). All creation will be restored to its original order under this kingdom (Isa 11:6-9). He will restore the nation of Israel and rule over all nations (Isa 11:10-16). Israel will then praise the Lord for His wonderful salvation (Isa 12:1-6).
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

The Messiah, The Branch out of the Stem Of Jesse
v. 1. And there shall come forth a Rod, a fresh shoot or twig, out of the stem of Jesse, out of the dead stock, the stump, of the former proud tree of the house of David, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots, Zec 3:8; Zec 4:12; Jer 23:5; Jer 33:15, the root-stock being all that was left of the former grandeur of David’s house, the renewal of his family by this singular Scion would indeed be a miracle;
v. 2. and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the sevenfold Spirit, Himself God from eternity, lighting or settling upon Him, Psa 45:7, with the fullness of His divine power, the Spirit of wisdom, which searches all things, even the secrets of God, and understanding, able to make the proper distinction concerning all things, the Spirit of counsel, by whom the Messiah is endowed to be the Counselor, and might, for Christ is the mighty God, Isa 7:6, the Spirit of knowledge, by means of which He is familiar with all the mysteries of God, and of the fear of the Lord, which culminates in both adoration and communion, Christ, according to His human nature, praying to His heavenly Father and seeking His fellowship, but according to His divine nature united with Him in an everlasting union, which now exists according to both natures;
v. 3. and shall make Him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord, literally, His pleasant savor is in the fear of Jehovah, He is highly pleased when men bring to Him the sacrifice of their fear of God; and He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears, rendering judgment not according to external appearances, rather according to His understanding of the heart and soul;
v. 4. but with righteousness shall He judge the poor, His Savior’s-interest turning especially to the lowly, to those who bear the enmity of the world on account of their faith with the proper meekness, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth, taking the part of those who are persecuted for their confession’s sake; and He, in His care for the poor small crew of His Church, shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, rebuking in a most emphatic manner the hostility of the ungodly world, and with the breath of His lips, His Word, which bears almighty power, shall He slay the wicked, overthrowing the power of Satan even here in time, revealing his true character by the preaching of the Gospel, His last condemnation being reserved for the final Judgment.
v. 5. And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins and faithfulness, upon which His believers may rely with full confidence, the girdle of His reins, holding up His clothes at His hips. Even as the girdle confined the wide garments of the ancients and enabled them to work, run, and fight without hindrance, so the Messiah furthers His cause and makes use of His full strength by righteousness and truth. The conditions of His reign are now described.
v. 6. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them, a figurative representation of ideal spiritual conditions.
v. 7. And the cow and the bear shall feed, all the bloodthirstiness of the latter forgotten; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox, his nature so completely changed that he is no longer a carnivorous, but a herbivorous animal.
v. 8. And the sucking child, the unweaned infant, shall play on the hole of the asp, on the entrance of the adder’s cave, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’s den, or, stretch out his arm to touch the sparkling eye of the basilisk, the poisonous serpents having lost all their vicious habits. All this poetic description is now explained:
v. 9. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, all the members of the Messiah’s kingdom, whose former state was characterized by the comparison with the various animals named above, would lose and lay aside their hostile habits toward one another; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. Knowledge of Jehovah, love and fear of God, is the motive in all acts of the believers; because they fear the Lord in truth, because they know Him the one true God, and Jesus Christ, whom He has sent as the Savior of the world, therefore they, the inhabitants of His holy mountain, the members of His holy Church, give expression of their faith in their entire conduct; therefore they, in the midst of the general hatred and hostility of the world, live together in peace and love.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

EXPOSITION
Isa 11:1-9
A RENEWED PROPHECY OF MESSIAH AND OF HIS KINGDOM. This chapter is closely connected with the preceding. With the final destruction of Assyria, which, being cut down, sends out no shoot (Isa 10:33, Isa 10:34), is contrasted the recuperative energy of Israel, which, though equally leveled with the ground (Isa 9:18, Isa 9:19), shall spring afresh into life, and “renew its youth.” The recovery is connectedor rather identified with the coming of Messiah, whose character is beautifully portrayed (Isa 11:2-5). An elaborate description of Messiah’s kingdom follows (Isa 11:6-10)an expansion of the briefer one in Isa 2:3, Isa 2:4.
Isa 11:1
There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse. The blasted and ruined “stem” or stock of Jesse, cut down, and for ages hidden from sight, shall suddenly put forth a sprouta young green sapling, tender vet vigorous, weak seemingly, yet foil of life (comp. Job 14:7-9, “There is hope of a tree, if it he cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not crease. Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant”). “The stem of Jesse” must mean the house of David, for there is but one Jesse (Ishai) in ScriptureDavid’s father. A Branch shall grow out of his roots. That which is at first a sapling gains strength and grows into a “branch” (see Isa 4:2, where the word used, though different, is synonymous).
Isa 11:2
The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him (comp, Mat 3:16; Luk 2:40; Luk 4:1, Luk 4:14, Luk 4:18; Joh 3:34, etc.). The human nature of our Lord required, and received abundantly, the sanctifying and enlightening influences of the Holy Spirit. These influences were not in him transient or occasional, as in too many men, who more or less “resist the Spirit,” but permanent and enduring. They “rested upon” him; from first to last never quitted, and never will quit, him. The spirit of wisdom and understanding. The influences of the Holy Spirit are manifold, affecting the entire complex nature of man (see 1Co 12:8-11). Here, three pairs of graces are set forth as specially manifested in the Messiah through the power of the Spirit:
(1) “Wisdom and understanding,” or intellectual and moral apprehension () the ability to perceive moral and abstract truth;
(2) “counsel and might,” or the power at once to scheme and originate, and also to carry out thought into act;
(3) “The knowledge and the fear of the Lord,” or acquaintance with the true will of God, combined with the determination to carry out that will to the full (Joh 4:34; Luk 22:42; Heb 10:7). It is needless to say that all these qualities existed in the greatest perfection in our blessed Lord.
Isa 11:3
And shall make him of quick understanding. This rendering of the original, though defended by Dr. Kay, is quite without support from any other passage where the same word is used. Modern writers almost all translate, either “the breath of his nostrils shall be in the fear of the Lord” (Herder, Ewald, Meier, Cheyne), or “a sweet savor shall he find in the fear of the Lord” (Gesenius, Delitzsch, Rosenmller, Knobel). He shall not judge after the sight of his eyes. “God sooth the heart.” Our Lord “knew men’s thoughts” (Mat 9:4, etc.), and therefore did not need to “judge according to the appearance” (Joh 7:24). Thus his judgments were always righteous.
Isa 11:4
With righteousness shall he judge the poor (comp. Isa 32:1, “A king shall reign in righteousness”). It would be characteristic of the Messiah’s rule that the poor should be eared for, that oppression should cease, and judgment be no more perverted in favor of the rich. There is an intended contrast between the Messiah’s rule in this respect, and that of the princes of Judah (Isa 1:23; Isa 3:15; Isa 10:1, Isa 10:2). Christian countries still, for the most part, follow their Lord’s example in this particular, if in no other, having judges that are incorruptible, and tribunals that are free from any leaning against the poor. Reprove; or, plead (as in Job 16:21). The meek of the earth; rather, the humble, or afflicted. Low condition, not meekness of spirit, is what the word used expresses. He shall smite the earth. A slight alteration of the text produces the meaning, be shall smite the terrible one (comp. Isa 29:20), which improves the parallelism of the clauses. But there is no need of any alteration, parallelism in Isaiah being often incomplete. The Messiah at his coming will “smite the earth“ generally (see Mal 4:6, and comp. Mat 10:34, “I came not to send peace on the earth, but a sword”), and will also especially chastise “the wicked.” The rod of his mouth the breath of his lips. “The Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb 4:12). The sayings of Christ pierce the conscience and penetrate the soul as no other words that ever came from a human mouth. In the last day words from his mouth will consign to everlasting life or to everlasting destruction.
Isa 11:5
Righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, etc.; i.e. “righteousness shall be ever with him, ever ready for active use, ever (as it were) bracing him for action.” Assuredly, he was “righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works” (Psa 145:17). Faithfulness (comp. Eph 6:14, “Having your loins girt about with truth”).
Isa 11:6-9
Messiah’s kingdom, when fully realized, shall be one of perfect peace. “They shall neither hurt nor destroy in all his holy mountain.” Primarily, no doubt, the passage is figurative, and points to harmony among men, who, in Messiah’s kingdom, shall no longer prey one upon another (see especially Isa 11:9). But, from the highest spiritual standpoint, the figure itself becomes a reality, and it is seen that, if in the “new heavens and new earth” there is an animal creation, it will be fitting that there harmony should equally prevail among the inferior creation. Human sin may not have introduced rapine and violence among the beastsat least, geologists tell us that animals preyed one upon another long before the earth was the habitation of manbut still man’s influence may prevail to eradicate the beasts’ natural impulses and educate them to something higher. Already domestication produces an accord and harmony that is in a certain sense against nature. May not this be carried further in the course of ages, and Isaiah’s picture have a literal fulfillment? Jerome’s scorn of the notion as a poetic dream has about it something harsh and untender. Will not God realize all, and more than all, of love and happiness that poets’ dreams can reach to?
Isa 11:6
The wolf the leopard the young lion the bear are the only ferocious animals of Palestine, where the tiger, the crocodile, the alligator, and the jaguar are unknown. That the Palestinian bear was carnivorous, and a danger to man, appears by Lam 3:10; Dan 7:5; Amo 5:19. A little child shall lead them. Man’s superiority over the brute creation shall continue, and even be augmented. The most powerful beasts shall submit to the control of a child.
Isa 11:7
The lion shall eat straw (comp. Isa 65:25). There is nothing impossible in this. Cats are fond of some kinds of vegetable food.
Isa 11:8
The sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp; rather, by the holenear it. The “asp” is probably the Coluber Naje of Egypt, whose bite is very deadly. The cockatrice den. The “cockatrice” is another deadly serpent, perhaps the Daboia xanthina (Tristram, ‘Natural Hist. of the Bible’).
Isa 11:9
My holy mountain. As the Jewish Church is always bound up with the “holy hill of Zion,” so the Messianic one receives the designation of “the mountain of the Lord” (Isa 2:3; Isa 30:29; Mic 4:2), or “the holy mountain” (Zec 8:3). What was physically true of the type is transferred to the antitype, which is “a city set upon a hill” in a certain sense. The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord (romp. Hab 2:14; Joe 2:28; Mat 28:1-20 :29). A fruitful knowledge, guiding and influencing conduct, seems to be intended (see below, Isa 54:13, “All thy children shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace of thy children”). As the waters cover the sea; i.e. “as the ocean covers and fills the bed prepared for it.”
Isa 11:10-13
THE JEWS AND GENTILES SHALL BE GATHERED TOGETHER INTO MESSIAH‘S KINGDOM. It is characteristic of “the evangelical prophet” that he dwells earnestly and frequently on the calling of the Gentiles (see Isa 2:2; Isa 19:22-25; Isa 25:6; Isa 27:13, etc.). The prophecies to Abraham had repeatedly declared that “in him,” or “in his seed,” “all the families of the earth should be blessed” (Gen 12:3; Gen 18:18; Gen 22:18; Gen 26:4); and some of the psalmists had echoed the glad sound and spoken of God as worshipped generally by “the nations” (Psa 117:1; Psa 148:11). But the idea had taken little hold upon the chosen people generally; and was practically new to them when Isaiah was inspired to preach it afresh. To render it the more palatable, he unites with it the promise of a great gathering of the dispersed Israelites from all quarters to the banner of Messiah, when it is set up.
Isa 11:10
There shall he a root of Jesse. The “root” of this place is the same as the “rod” and “branch” of Isa 11:1. The “rod” springs up out of a “root,” and is inseparably connected with it. Which shall stand for an ensign of the people; rather, of the peoples. The “rod” shall lift itself up, and become an ensign, seen from afar, and attracting to itself the attention of “the peoples” or “nations” generally. The Acts and Epistles show how speedily this prophecy was fulfilled. Greeks, Romans, Galatians, Cappadoeians, Babylonians (1Pe 5:13), saw the ensign, and sought to it. His rest shall be glorious; rather, his resting-place; i.e. his Church, with which he abides forever (Mat 28:20). The Shechinah of his presence makes the Church “glorious” (literally, “a glory”) throughout all ages; but the glory will not fully appear till the time of the “new heavens and new earth” (Isa 65:17; Roy. 21; 22.), when he will dwell visibly with it.
Isa 11:11
The Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover, etc. The first recovery was from the servitude in Egypt. Isaiah now foresees that there will be a dispersion of the Israelites through several distant lands, instead of a mere transference of them from one land to another, as in Jacob’s time (Gen 46:1-29). God, who brought them out of Egypt, will likewise some day “set his hand” to recover them from the various countries through which they will have been dispersed, and restore them to their own land once more. The first fulfillment of the prophecy was undoubtedly, the return from the Babylonian captivity. A secondary fulfillment may have been the gathering of so many Jews from all quarters into the Christian Church (Act 2:9-41). It is possible that there may be ultimately a further fulfillment in a final gathering together of Israel into their own land. From Assyria. Assyria is placed first because already the bulk of the Israelites, as distinct from the Jews, had been carried into Assyria by Tiglath-Pileser (2Ki 15:29) and Sargon (2Ki 17:6; 2Ki 18:11), and were captives there at the time when Isaiah wrote. The transportation of Israelites to the other places mentioned was subsequent to his day. Egypt Pathros. There was a great migration of Jews into Egypt in the time of Jeremiah (Jer 43:7; Jer 44:1), and a steady influx for some generations under the early Ptolemies. There was also a second large migration in the time of Onias. The Jewish element in Alexandria for some centuries both before and after Christ was very considerable. Pathros was probably a portion of Upper Egypt, perhaps the Phaturite nome, which was the district about Thebes. It is mentioned as the residence of certain Jews in the time of Jeremiah (Jer 44:1, Jer 44:15). From Cush. “Cush” here may he either the African or the Asiatic. It is slightly in favor of the African that we hear in the Acts of an Ethiopian eunuch who was a Jew in the service of Candace, Queen of the African Ethiopia (Act 8:27). And it is against the Asiatic that it was so remote. It adjoined, however, upon Elam. From Elam, and from Shinar. “Elam” was the fertile tract of alluvial land to the east of the Tigris, between that stream and the mountains, parallel with Babylonia. Its capital was Susa, and in Isaiah’s time it was an important country, frequently at war with Assyria. Shinar was an ancient name of Babylonia (Gen 10:10; Gen 11:1-9). The word is used also by Daniel (Dan 1:2) and Zechariah (Zec 5:11). Some regard it as meaning “the land of the two fleers.” From Hamath. (On this town, see note to Isa 10:9.) From the islands of the sea; i.e. the islands and coasts of the Mediterranean. During the Maccabee period, there was a gradual spread of Jews over the Western world. Alliances were made with Rome end Sparta (1 Macc. 8:1; 12:2-21; 14:20-23, etc.), and Jews became familiar with both Greece and Italy. St. Paul finds numerous Jews at Rome, and in almost every city of Greece.
Isa 11:12
He shall set up an ensign for the nations (comp. Isa 11:10). Christ is the Ensign. God sets it up to draw the nations to his standard. The outcasts of Israel the dispersed of Judah. “Outcasts” is masculine, “the dispersed” feminine. The meaning is, “He shall gather together the outcasts and dispersed of both Israel and Judah, both male and female.”
Isa 11:13
The envy also of Ephraim shall depart. In the kingdom of the Prince of Peace there shall no longer be quarrels or jealousies among the members. Old feuds shall be put aside; the northern and southern tribes shall agree together, and there shall be peace and harmony throughout the entire Church. Adversaries of Judah. If any such remain among the Ephraimites, Divine vengeance shall “cut them off,” that there be no open disturbance of the harmony.
Isa 11:14-16
THE UNITED CHURCH SHALL TRIUMPH OVER ITS ENEMIES. PHYSICAL OBSTACLES TO ITS UNION GOD WILL REMOVE. Israel’s most persistent enemies had been the border-nations of the Philistines, the Edomites, the Arabs, Moab and Ammon. These are now taken as types of the enemies of the Church, and victory over them is promised (Isa 11:14). A further promise is made that physical difficulties shall not prevent the return of the Jewish exiles from distant countries (Isa 11:15, Isa 11:16).
Isa 11:14
They shall fly upon the shoulders of the philistines. It is not to be supposed that actual war is intended. The subjects of the Prince of Peace will not draw the sword. But the Church will for many centuries be confronted by enemies, and must contend with them with legitimate weapons. It is this warfare of which Isaiah now speaks. The united Church will be strong enough to assail her enemies on all sides, and will “swoop” upon the border country of the Philistines like a bird of prey. They shall spoil them of the east; or, the Beni Kedem. The phrase is commonly used in an ethnic sense of the nomadic Arabs inhabiting the deserts east of Jordan, beyond the Ammonite and Moabite country, from whose raids Palestine frequently suffered (see Jer 49:28, Jer 49:29; Eze 25:4, Eze 25:10).
Isa 11:15
The Lord shall utterly destroy; rather, shall lay under a curse (Aquila, ). The tongue of the Egyptian sea. Either the Gulf of Suez or that of Akabah. God shall do away with those obstacles which keep the nations apart and prevent ready intercourse. Both gulfs are thought to have extended anciently considerably further inland than they do at present. With his mighty wind; rather, with the might of his breath (in fortitudine spiritus sui, Vulgate). Shall he shake his hand. A gesture of menace (comp. Isa 10:32). Over the river. “The river” (hun-nahar) is, as usually, the Euphrates, the great river of Western Asia. And smite it in the seven streams; rather, and smite it into seven streams; i.e. divide its waters among seven channels, so that it may be readily forded, and cease to be a barrier. Dry-shod; literally, in their shoes; i.e. without taking them off;
Isa 11:16
There shall be an highway. This is the object in viewthe free and unhindered passage of his people from the various regions where they are scattered (Isa 11:11) to their resting-place in Palestine.
HOMILETICS
Isa 11:1-5
The spiritual nature of Messiah’s perfections.
It was certainly not from Isaiah that the Jews derived their notion that the Messiah would be a mighty temporal prince, the leader of armies, who would break the yoke of Rome from off their shoulders, and give them dominion over all the nations of the earth. Isaiah does, indeed, announce him as a King (Isa 32:1), and could do no less, since he was indeed “King of kings, and Lord of lords.” But he ever puts forward his spiritual character, his influence over men as a Teacher, his moral and mental excellences. Messiah’s qualifications for his high office (as here enumerated) are
I. HIS POSSESSION OF WISDOM. “Wisdom” here may be that transcendental quality whereby God “established the heavens” (Pro 3:19; Pro 8:27); or possibly that still more recondite faculty which Jehovah “possessed in the beginning of his way, before his works of old” (Pro 8:22). Being distinguished from “understandings” “counsel,” and “knowledge of God,” it must apparently be supra-mundane and abstracta power of which it is difficult for man to form a conception. Its sphere cannot be human life or mundane affairs, but the purely intellectual world of supra-sensuous ideas and concepts.
II. HIS POSSESSION OF UNDERSTANDING. By “understanding” seems to he meant moral intelligencethe power of appreciating the moral character, and judging aright the moral conduct of others. Our Lord possessed this quality in the most eminent degree, never misjudging the character or conduct of any one. His unerring insight gave him an absolute fitness to be the final Judge of men, but was far beyond what is needed by any earthly ruler or king.
III. HIS POSSESSION OF THE SPIRIT OF COUNSEL. Here, no doubt, is a quality of which a temporal ruler has need; but it was not as a temporal ruler, or for the most part in temporal matters, that our Lord’s counsel was given. The maxims of his lips were not maxims of worldly policy, but such as these: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;” “Take no thought for the morrow;” “Sell all that thou hast, and give to the poor,” and the like. He counseled men for their spiritual rather than for their worldly good, with a view to a spiritual and not a temporal kingdom.
IV. HIS POSSESSION OF MIGHT. “Might,” or ability to execute his designs, is, again, a quality of high value to an earthly ruler; and had our Lord used his might for earthly ends, he might easily have been all, and more than all, that the Jews expected. But he ever restrained himself from any exhibition of physical strength, or power of organization, or even of persuasive eloquence, exhibiting his might only for spiritual cuds, in miracles of mercy, whereby he sought to win men’s souls to himself, or once and again in miracles of power, shown forth as evidences of his mission.
V. HIS POSSESSION OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. None could know God’s will so well as he, who “was in the beginning with God, and was God” (Joh 1:1). Partaker from everlasting of his Father’s counsels, the instrument whereby the Father worked in bringing all things into being (Heb 1:2), he had sounded all the depths of that nature which he had in common with the Father, and knew even as he was known. This was spiritual knowledge of the highest kind, and enabled him to be man’s perfect spiritual Guide, capable of setting before him the true and “perfect will of God” (Rom 12:2) as none other ever was, or will be, capable.
VI. HIS POSSESSION OF THE FEAR OF GOD. “Fear” in the Son is doubtless so mingled with love as to be something very different even from the fear which the angels feel, when they veil their faces before the throne. But the words “Father” and “Son” imply authority and submission, awfulness and reverence. And the human nature of Christ had the same experience of the “fear of God” as belongs to his perfected saints, whether in earth or heaven (Psa 19:9; Psa 34:9; Ecc 12:13, etc.). “Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy Name?” Messiah’s “fear” brought forth that perfect obedience which made him “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners” (Heb 7:26), and constituted him at once our perfect Pattern and our meritorious Sacrifice.
Isa 11:10, Isa 11:12
God’s mercy in bringing the Gentiles into his kingdom.
In the old world, when “all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth,” God sent forth a fierce destruction, and swept away the entire human race, excepting eight persons. After the Flood he promised, of his own free grace, that he would never so destroy mankind again (Gen 9:11-15). But it was open to him to have sent upon the world some other equally severe visitation, and to have once more rid the earth of “a seed of evildoers.” The general corruption of the Gentile world, when Christ came, was excessive. It is scarcely possible that the corruption of the antediluvians can have been greater. As a modern historian sums up his account of heathendom at the coming of Christ, “Corruption had attained its full tide at the commencement of the second century. Vices gnawed at the marrow of nations, and, above all, of the Romans: their national existence was more than menaced; the moral sickness had become a physical one in its effectsa subtle poison penetrating into the vitals of the state; and, as before in the sanguinary civil wars, so now the lords of the world seemed minded to destroy themselves by their vices. Men were denuded of all that was really good, and, surrounded on all sides by the thick clouds of a blinded conscience, they caught with wild eagerness at the grossest sensual enjoyments, in the wild tumult of which they plunged to intoxication”. Or take St. Paul’s account of the condition of the heathen when he began his preaching: “As men did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, deceit, debate, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them” (Rom 1:28-32). Yet, instead of destroying this polluted race, God had compassion on them, and went out of his way to seek them.
I. HE LIFTED UP CHRIST TO THEM AS AN ENSIGN FROM AFAR. By the manifestation of Christ’s character in the Gospels, he set them up a Pattern which they could not but admire, which drew them irresistibly by its purity and loveliness, made them hate themselves, and brought them low on their knees before his footstool.
II. HE OFFERED HIS GOSPEL FREELY TO THEM FROM THE FIRST. “Go, disciple ye all nations, baptizing them;” “Preach the gospel to every creature;” “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” There was no limit, no favoritism; no offer of salvation only to those who had acted up to their previous light.
III. HE RAISED UP A SPECIAL TEACHER, SPECIALLY QUALIFIED, TO BE “THE APOSTLE OF THE GENTILES.” What impression Christianity would have made on the Gentile world without St. Paul, or some one similarly qualified, it is difficult to say. Conceivably, it might have taken merely the dimensions of a Jewish sect, which believed that the Messiah had come. St. Paul, raised up for the purpose, lifted it above the sphere of Jewish controversy into world-wide consideration. Teaching personally at Antioch, at Ephesus, at Athens, at Corinth, at Rome, disputing with philosophers, converting members of Caesar’s household, he gave it a position among the religions of the world which could not be ignored by later educated inquirers. The apostle of the Gentiles spread Christianity from Syria to Rome, perhaps to Spain, and gave it that hold upon the attention of the educated classes which secured, under God’s blessing, its ultimate triumph.
Isa 11:14
The Church’s triumph over its enemies.
The Church of God will always have its enemies, both internal and external, and its external enemies will from time to time gather their hosts, and unite themselves together, and threaten it with destruction. Great was Israel’s peril, and great her fear, when her enemies “consulted together with one consent, and were confederate against her: the tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; Asshur also joining them, and helping the children of Lot” (Psa 83:5-8). Yet the danger passed, the confederacy failed, the various nations were “confounded and troubled; they were put to shame and perished” (Psa 83:17). So it is with the Church. Our Lord has promised that “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Mat 16:18); and consequently its enemies labor in vain to effect its destruction. The Church may have confidence
I. SINCE CHRIST IS HER HEAD. She is “his Church,” “built by him,” “upon a Rock,” i.e. himself; purchased by him with his own blood; loved and cherished and purified by him, that she may be presented to him “without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing”his city, his body, his bride.
II. SINCE SHE HAS A SURE WORD OF PROMISE.
1. In the statement, “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Mat 28:20).
2. In the passage concerning the gates of hell.
3. In the clear declarations of the apocalyptic vision, which show her ultimate triumph.
III. SINCE SHE HAS PASSED THROUGH PERILS AS GREAT AS ANY THAT CAN HEREAFTER ASSAIL HER.
1. The peril of the imperial persecutions.
2. The peril of the barbarian invasions (Goths, Huns, Vandals, etc.).
3. The peril of Mohammedanism.
4. The peril of the dark ages.
5. The peril involved in unlimited private judgment.
6. The peril of the French Revolution. Half a score of times has she seemed on the point of succumbing; bat each time that she is struck to the ground, she rises, like Antares, refreshed and reinvigorated.
HOMILIES BY E. JOHNSON
Isa 11:1-9
The coming of the Messiah.
I. HIS ORIGIN. “From Ishai’s worn stem a shoot will sprout forth, and a green branch burst forth from his roots.” From the stock of David, now fallen very low, the coming Deliverer will arise in all the vigor of youth. Seldom does the great man come but of some pure and generous strain of blood. Like some stream which, long hidden underground, reappears again in the daylight, or some vein of precious ore, recovered after some extensive “fault,” so it was believed the royal race and the spiritual prowess of David might be obscured for ages, but must be illustrated before the world again. As God saves and blesses the world by means of great men, so in a measure is this true of houses, families, tribes, and nations. There is a principle of providential selection running through life. Though men be of one blood in all their tribes, it is not to be denied that there are different qualities in that blood. Hence noblesse oblige, and great endowments make great expectations and imply great responsibilities. The thought of the seeming extinction, yet destined revival of David’s house, may remind us of the imperishableness of the germs of good. David’s house was never restored to the throne in the visible sense. Yet the memory of David persisted, begot hope, inspired patience, and was gradually converted into one of the mightiest of spiritual forces in the conscience of the nation. An idea may pass through many changes of form, but it dies not so long as the faith and passion of the heart in which it sprung are living.
II. His SPIRIT. In the religious mode of thought a true temper of the mind is to be traced to Divine inspiration, no less than the great physical or mental ability. What meaning lies in our common expressions, “a gift,” “an endowment,” “a talent,” “an influence!” None of them but is deeply religious, if we trace them to their primary felt significance. Upon this chosen one there “rests the Spirit of Jehovah.” And three characters, in the iterative idiom of the Hebrew, are given of this spirit. It is that
(1) of wisdom,
(2) of courage,
(3) of reverence. The qualities of the statesman, the soldier, the man of God. “His breathing is in Jehovah’s fear.” There can be no simpler nor stronger expression of a man thoroughly “animated,” as we say, by religious principle. And
(4) he has the attributes of the just judge. Prompt to redress the injuries of the oppressed and suffering, his rule of conduct is not the pleasure of his eyes and ears, but the eternal equity of him who is no respecter of persons. As the consequence of thus vitally living in communion with God as in the common and necessary air he breathes, he possesses irresistible strength. His mere word of judgment smites the earth more powerfully than the despot’s scepter, while his mere breath destroys the wicked like a pestilence. In a word, it is a sublime picture of moral majesty. This King needs not the weapons of ordinary warfare. He has a better defense of his throne than swords and spears, a better battle-array than the suit of armor. Justice and faithfulness themselves are his best, his only preparations.
III. THE BLESSINGS OF HIS RULE. There will be a marvelous growth of peace and prosperity. The progress of true culture is marked by the subduing of savagery. The wild animals change their nature and become harmless to mankind. Wickedness is ferocious; men’s untamed passions are like the wolf, the bear, and the deadly serpent. There will be no sin nor sinners in Zion, because the knowledge of the true God wilt be all-diffused and all-inexhaustible as the ocean. To what state of life do these predictions refer? To the advent of Christ and his kingdom? Certainly; and yet when Christ came, not only did not universal peace set in, but the light of Zion and the glories of the sacred city were quenched in blood. And Christ himself opened up a gloomy perspective of the future in his closing prophecies. Where, then, and when this scene of bliss? Let us content ourselves with believing that the prophecy refers to some state to us unknown. Earth will be earth, and not heaven. This heaven is in the soul first; there we dream of it, nay, we realize it as we listen to the prophet’s glowing words, and believe that but a step may carry us into a world where it is realized by all. The prophecy is already fulfilled for us if God has made a heaven of hope in oar hearts.J.
Isa 11:10-16
Judah and the nations.
I. HONOR TO THE ROOT OF JUDAH. The scion from the ancient trunk will be honored far and wide among the heathen, because of those virtues already described in the preceding section. It will be a banner to which they will flock, a center of light and living oracles.
II. REDEMPTION OF THE REMNANT. The mighty hand of Jehovah will be stretched forth to gather the scattered ones from all the four quarters of their dispersion. When the banner is raised, the heathen will own its power and the captives will be released.
III. INTERNAL UNITY. The two great tribes will remain side by side, but then enmity will cease. The recent destruction of Samaria had been caused by that enmity; which ceasing, it will be found that union is strength, and the nations will submit on the West and East. And those great threatening neighbors, Egypt and Assyria, will feel the weight of Jehovah’s hand and the punishment which the word of his mouth inflicts. And as the great river is smitten into seven fordable streams, the company of pilgrims will flow back, a way made for them by the hand of their God, as in the days of their forefathers, and the exodus from Egypt. The scion from the old stump may be taken as a figure of the revival of true religion in times of decay. And such revival means the union of long-sundered hearts, the recognition of an internal unity among all the faithful, the restoration of influence, and the dismay of the ungodly world.J.
HOMILIES BY W.M. STATHAM
Isa 11:10
The rest of Christ.
“And his rest shall be glorious.” This chapter commences with the full Messianic strain. “There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse;” and the music swells, in the Hebrew rhythm of thought, into a sublime prophecy of the reign of Christ. This “root of Jesse” is to be “an ensign of the people,” and “to it shall the Gentiles seek.” We are thus led to understand the words, “his rest,” as applying to the triumph of the Savior.
I. MANY IDEAS OR FORMS OF REST ARE INGLORIOUS. They are connected with mere military conquest. There is the peace of subjection, or there is the peace of compromise, or there is the peace which belongs to the desert and the wilderness, when they are simply let alone. But Christ’s peace is his own beautiful peace of nature. “My peace I give unto you.” His rest is not artificial. It is the rest of holy expectation. He sees of the travail of his soul, and is satisfied.
II. THIS GLORY IS PROSPECTIVE AS WELL AS PRESENT. It “shall be glorious.” The golden age of the gospel is in the future. “From henceforth expecting;” “He must reign.” It will be a glorious rest. For truth will conquer error. Right will conquer might. Love will have victory over all forms of division and hate. It shall be; for Christ hath spoken it. It shall be; for he has all power in heaven and earth. It shall be on spiritual grounds; for the mightiest moral force ever and always triumphs in the end.
III. THIS REST OF CHRIST IS OUR REST TOO. We have not only received forgiveness through the cross, but newness of life as well. We have rest now, not in its fullness, but in its ideal; for we have the mind of Christ. We have within us the kingdom and patience of Christ; we are one with the Father through Christ. “I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one.”W.M.S.
HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON
Isa 11:1-5
Characteristics of Jesus Christ.
The expression of the prophet, “The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,” has a very close correspondence with the New Testament references to Jesus Christ (Mat 3:16; Luk 4:1, Luk 4:14, Luk 4:18; Joh 3:34). This full possession by our Lord of the Spirit of God revealed itself, and is still found, in these particulars which the prophecy indicates.
I. His PERFECT PIETY. In him dwelt the “fear of the Lord” without measure (Isa 11:2), and he “delighted in the fear of Jehovah;” “the fear of Jehovah was fragrance to him” (emended readings for, “and shall make him of quick understanding,” etc; Isa 11:3). He could say, “I delight to do thy will yea, thy Law is within my heart” (Psa 40:8). To reverence, to please, to obey God, to consult his will and be subject to it, was the law of his life and the refreshment of his spirit.
II. His INTUITIVE PERCEPTION OF THE BEST AND HIGHEST. In “him was the spirit of wisdom and understanding.” He distinguished at once the false from the true, the glittering show from the genuine good, the passing pleasure from the abiding joy, the fictitious gain from the invaluable heritage, the vanity of earthly honors from the blessedness of the Divine favor. Christ saw all things on which he looked in their actual and essential nature, and in their true proportions. Hence
III. HIS EXCELLENCY AS OUR GUIDE. In him was “the spirit of counsel” (see Homily on ‘Chief counsels of Christ,’ Isa 9:6).
IV. His KNOWLEDGE OF THE DIVINE AND OF THE FUTURE. Fallen, degenerate man, with conscience defiled and reason depraved, could know nothing certainly of these two supreme subjects: he wanted, urgently and imperatively, one who had “the spirit of knowledge” in him, and could tell him distinctly and finally, not what he guessed or what he hoped, but what he knew. This Jesus did. He revealed the Divine Father unto men (Mat 11:27; Joh 1:18; Joh 10:15). And he made known to us the truth as to the future; he brought life and immortality out into the light (Joh 5:28, Joh 5:29; Joh 11:25, Joh 11:26; 2Ti 1:10).
V. HIS PROFOUND KNOWLEDGE OF THE HUMAN HEART. He judged men, “not by the outward appearance,” not “by the sight of his eyes or the hearing of his ears,” but by looking down through the coverlet of the flesh, through the armory of speech, into the secret chambers of the soul. He not only saw through the fig tree, but through the flesh, and knew Nathanael’s simplicity of spirit “He knew what was in man” and knows now, discerning the hollowness of some men s pretensions, appreciating the excellency beneath some men’s doubts and diffidences.
VI. HIS ABSOLUTE IMPARTIALITY. (Isa 11:4.) He had one measure for the rich and the poor, for the mighty and the meek; he showed unvarying kindness towards the humblest, and he showed a constant readiness to receive those who were enriched with worldly wealth, or endowed with social honor. The testimony of his enemies was true enough; he “regarded not the person of men” (Mar 12:14). Such is the genius of his gospel”the common salvation” (see 1Co 3:11; Gal 3:28; Gal 5:6; Eph 6:8).
VII. HIS RIGOROUS RIGHTEOUSNESS. (Isa 11:4, Isa 11:5.) Christ, in his righteousness, demanded the spiritual service of all men, and he condemned all that withheld it. He showed himself the determined enemy of evil.
1. He denounced it in scathing terms when he was with us (see Mat 23:1-39.).
2. He announces himself as the Judge of all, who will punish the impenitent according, to their, deeds (see Mat 25:1-46.)
VIII. His FAITHFULNESS. (Isa 11:5.) Having loved his own, he loved themto the end. He “never leaves nor forsakes” those who serve him. Throughout our fidelity to him his love to us is constant; in the time of our slackness or departure he visits us in his faithfulness with his kind correction, in order to attach us to himself, or to call us back to his side; in the hour of our suffering he makes good his presence of Divine support; when everything earthly fails us, the faithful Promiser will fulfill his word, and receive us to himself, that we may dwell in his glory.C.
Isa 11:6-9
The intensive and extensive power of the gospel.
I. THE INTENSIVE POWER OF DIVINE TRUTH. More power is needful
(1) to act on any living thing than on lifeless, inert matter;
(2) to act on a sentient creature than on life without sensation;
(3) to act on intelligence and will (on man) than on the irrational and irresponsible animal;
(4) on man sunk into the lowest moral condition (with seared conscience, mastering passions and habits fixed in vice) than on one who has not yet chosen his course, or who has been trained in the ways of virtue. The very highest instance of power with which we are familiar is that spiritual influence which transforms those who have gone furthest away from God, from truth, and from righteousnessthose who are to the moral world what the tiger, the lion, or the asp is to the animal world. The gospel of Jesus Christ has this power. With such wonderful intensity does it work on those on whom its truth is brought to bear, that it redeems and renews the worst, so changing them in life and in spirit that it may be said of them that the wolf dwells with the lamb, etc.; so transformed do they become, under its benignant influence, that the most innocent and helpless have nothing to fear, though they be placed completely within their power (Isa 11:8).
1. Individual instances abound of the conversion of notorious drunkards, of savage prize-fighters, of shameless courtesans, of ribald atheists, of those who were abandoned by all, and who abandoned themselves to hopeless sin, of men who were the terror of their tribe or of their district, etc. Therefore we need not and we should not despair of those who are living amongst us, and who are at present a long way off from truth and righteousness. The gospel of Christ can change the very nature of thesecan tame the most ferocious, can raise the most fallen, can liberate the most enslaved, can make beautiful the most deformed of the children of men; it can do so by the power of the truth and of the Spirit of God.
2. Families, societies, communities have undergone as complete a transformation.
II. THE EXTENSIVE RANGE OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. (Isa 11:9.) What a vast void would there be if the waters were withdrawn! Into what profound depths should we look down! What mighty stretches of sand and clay and rock would be disclosed! What lengths and breadths are covered, what depths are now filled up by the abounding waters of the sea! As containing the element of life to millions of living creatures, as supplying a highway for the nations of the earth, and as providing scope for the ambition, courage, and enterprise of man, what a grand sufficiency do we see in the waters of the ocean! So shall it prove to be with Divine truth. There shall be seen to be a sufficiency, in the gospel of the Savior, to cover the entire earth, to meet the wants of the whole population of the globe. No land so remote, no clime so rigorously cold or scorchingly hot, no interior so impenetrable, no barbarism so rude, no prejudice so inveterate, but that the gospel of Christ shall cover it with its benignant power.
1. Let us rejoice in the earnest of its fulfillment; great things have been already done towards the realization of this glorious estate.
2. Let us resolve to have our share in its execution
(1) as a Church, and
(2) as individual souls, to each of whom God has committed some word to be spoken, some work to be done.C.
Isa 11:6
The leading of a little child: Sunday school sermon.
“And a little child shall lead them.” The reduction of the fierceness of wild animals to such tameness that a little child may lead them is a very beautiful, poetical picture of the transformation of the worst of the wicked to the excellency of the Christian spirit. We may, without impropriety, allow these words to suggest thoughts on the way in which the regeneration and perfecting of human character is brought about by the leading of the little child. God is training us all; we are all at his great school. Christ is the great Teacher; the Word of God is our “book of reference.” But there are other sources of instruction at his command. Of these is the family life which he has instituted, and where we may all learn most valuable lessons. We may consider how we are led by the little childleading sometimes from bad to good, and at other times from good to better things. The little child sometimes leads
I. FROM THE FAR DISTANCE OF FLAGRANT WRONG TOWARDS THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST. We have often read of the dissipated, or ungodly, or unbelieving parent, who has separated himself (herself) from all sacred privileges, and, it may be, gone far in forbidden paths, when all other influences have failed, being led by the soft, pleading accents of the little child to the safe precincts of the home, or to the services of the sanctuary, or to the path and practice of sobriety, and so to the kingdom of Christ. Sometimes it is not the living voice, but the remembered pleadings of the departed child coming from the other side the veil, which lead the distant wanderer to “come to himself,” and then to “arise and go to the Father.”
II. FROM OUTSIDE INTO THE SPIRITUAL KINGDOM. And this:
1. As a model. When the disciples were discussing amongst themselves which of them should be the greatest in the kingdom, Jesus Christ took a child and set him in the midst of them, and said that, except they were wholly changed and became as little children in their spirit, they could not so much as enter that kingdom at all. It is the child-spirit which introduces us into the kingdom of Christ. They who are kept outside by difficulties which they cannot solve, and they also who are excluded from faith and peace by a sense of unworthiness from which they cannot rise, need but to have the simple, unquestioning spirit of childhood; they need but to realize that they are God’s very little children, and should take his word even as they expect their own little ones to take theirs, and they will “come in” and be blessed.
2. As a motive. We are moved by many motives, and our serious decisions are usually determined by more considerations than one. There are many strong and urgent reasons why a man should yield himself to God; but if all these fail to move him, let him remember the little child (children) beneath his roof for whom he is responsible, who will almost certainly imbibe his spirit, and grow up to be such as he is; and for his (their) sake, if not for his own, let him live the life which is right and worthy and wise.
III. ON, IN THE KINGDOM, TOWARD THE GOAL AND THE PRIZE.
1. The little child continually reminds us of those graces which our heavenly Father looks to see in us. As we are pleased with the docility, the trustfulness, the obedience, the affection of our children, and are pained when we witness the reverse, so is he affected by our attitude towards him.
2. The little child leads us into the field of Christian usefulness. The Christian Church saw the little child ignorant, unenlightened, neglected, in danger of growing up to manhood far from truth and God, and it let him put his hand into its arm and lead it into the school where it should receive the knowledge and the influence which it needed. And the child having thus, by its very weakness and simplicity and necessity, led the Church into the school, it is for the Church to lead the child into the ways of heavenly wisdom, into the kingdom of Jesus Christ, into the path of usefulness and holy service.C.
Isa 11:11, Isa 11:12
The refuge of the remnant.
Allusion is here made again to “the remnant” (see Isa 10:20-22), who are spoken of in the following verse (Isa 11:12) as “the outcasts” and “the dispersed.” The remnant of a thing or of a community is not the choice part, but rather that which is left when everything (every one) else has been chosenthe shapeless scraps which remain when all else has been selected and appropriated; the broken-off ends which are flung aside as of no account; the scattered men who fall out of rank, dispirited or disabled, etc. It signifies that which is of least regard among men. The remnant of Israel was that part of the community that was left when kings had lost their throne, and nobles their nobility, and priests their function, and the country was wasted. However despised and rebuffed of man this remnant might be, it should still have a place in the thought and in the purpose of God. He would remember it, would “recover” it, would “gather it together,” would manifest his favor toward it in the eyes of all the nations. We may let God’s treatment of the remnant of Israel remind us
I. THAT HUMAN SOCIETY ALWAYS CONTAINS ITS REMNANTS, those of very small account in its estimate. We can always find, if we look for them, those who seem to be abandoned, to be helpless, to have “no future,” to be beyond recovery; those for whom there is nothing but resignation, if not, indeed, despair; those whose cause no man espouses, and who do not expect to be recovered or restored. Of these are:
1. The hopelessly sickthose who inherit a constitution or receive injuries which disqualify them for the battle of life, and place them at the mercy of the community of which they are members.
2. Those who have broken downwho went up eagerly to the battle and struck some good stroke, but have been sore wounded; who have overtaxed their strength, and who find themselves unnerved and incapable, obliged to resign their duties to other hands, their post to other aspirants.
3. Those who have mistaken their callingwho have pursued a line of action beyond their capacity, or for which they were not fitted; who have, consequently, been halting and stumbling all along their course, and have come into ill repute and condemnation.
4. Those who have been signally unfortunatewho have embarked all their resources in one scheme which has broken down, or who have entered into some most serious (perhaps the supreme human) relationship which has proved to be a disastrous mistake; whose heart is well-nigh broken, and whose hopes are quite blighted.
II. THAT THESE ARE THE OBJECTS OF PECULIAR DIVINE REGARD. Some of these are near to us; they are the poor whom “we have always with us,” living hard by us, worshipping in our sanctuaries, walking in our streets. As we have opportunity, we should assure them that they must not take the negligence or disregard of man as in any way indicating the mind of God. As the human mother lavishes the wealth of her tenderness and love on that one of her children who is the frailest and the most dependent of her family, so does the Divine Parent care most for those of his children who are most in need of his special kindness. Was it not the “little ones” i.e. the weak, the disregarded, the despised, the unbefriended, whom our Lord treated most graciously, and whom he specially commended to our sympathy and succor (see Mat 12:20)? Unto such, if they are his disciples, he will multiply his favors, and on them pour out his richest and most abounding grace. There are “remnants,” “outcasts,” of another kindthose who have gone down in the battle of temptation; who are bowed down with a sense of shame and dishonor, and who are cast off by their fellows as worsted and useless. Is there any hope for them in God? Yes, there is ample room in the promises, because in the heart of the Divine Savior, for these. In his thought they are not remnants to be flung into the fire; driftwood on the river of fate, for which there is nothing but to be carried down the stream and cast over the cataracts; disinherited sons for whom there is nothing better than to forget the family to which they belong, and make themselves happy with the husks in the far country. No; in the heart and in the hope of Jesus Christ these are gold for his crown; they are ships that, with chart and compass, may yet sail gallantly down the river of life, and out into the shoreless seas of a blessed immortality; they are sons and daughters that will be most warmly welcomed beneath the Father’s roof, and seated at the Father’s table. In this best sense may the remnant be restored.C.
Isa 11:13-16
Conditions of victory.
These verses probably point to the time when all Israel shall be gathered into the fold of the gospel, and when” their fullness” shall contribute largely to the conversion of the Gentile world (see Rom 11:1-36.). But we may take a more practical view of the subject if we regard it thus; we have pictures of
I. PRESENT SPIRITUAL ANARCHY. The people of God everywhere dispersed, the theocracy broken up, the temple destroyed, the Law unobserved, the heathen triumphant,all this a vivid picture of the “kingdom of God” in a state of dissolution: truth unrecognized, commandments disobeyed, conscience perverted, the Divine will disregarded, God himself unknown in the world.
II. THE ULTIMATE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DIVINE KINGDOM. The restoration of Israel as depicted here, whether it be to their own land and their ancient institutions or whether it be to their true place in the spiritual purpose of God, may speak to us of that grand consummation of human hope, when the kingdom of our God shall be re-established upon earth; when that kingdom, which is not the enforcement of any ecclesiastical regime, or the observance of any rules of diet or of devotion, but “righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Rom 14:17), shall take the place of” the kingdom of this world,” which is iniquity, unrest, and death.
III. THE CONDITIONS OF ITS ATTAINMENT. These are threefold.
1. The disappearance of fratricidal strife. (Isa 11:3.) What Judah and Ephraim were in old theocratic times, that neighboring Churches or Christian comrades have been to one another all through these “Christian centuries.” Sadly must the Lord of love have looked down on his heritage, the purchase of his sorrow and his death, and have seen the envies and the jealousies, the hatreds and the cruelties, which have marked and marred the intercourse of his disciples. No progress of his blessed kingdom can be expected in any community when they whose relations should be beautified by concord are all disfigured by enmity and strife. Let Christian Churches cease to hope for any results from their preaching or their praying, so long as bitterness blights the heart, and contention characterizes the Church (see Mat 5:24). There is no effort, there is no sacrifice, which it is not worth while for any Christian society to make in order that it may wrench out “the root of bitterness” which, while it remains, will neutralize all devotion, and make all zeal to be “nothing worth.”
2. Active co-operation among the people of God. “They [Ephraim and Judah together] shall fly they shall spell they shall lay their hand,” etc. (Isa 11:14). Their united forces were to prevail over the bands of the enemy, and to secure victory on every side. So shall it be in the spiritual campaign. It will be when all the Churches of Christ unite, not indeed in any one visible amalgam, but in well-concerted action, joining heartily against the common foe, going out together against ignorance, unbelief, ungodliness, vice, indecision, and all the long train of sin; it will then be found that the enemy will be subdued, and victory be secured.
3. Divine energy working on the side of truth, (Isa 11:15, Isa 11:16.) As the Lord interposed on behalf of Israel in one deliverance, and would do so in another, by his overcoming might making the pathway from Egypt and the highway from Assyria, so will he interpose on behalf of the spiritual forces which are doing his work in the world. He will make that possible and practicable which seems impossible and impracticable; will enable the champions of his cause to go where it seems hopeless for them to penetrate, and to conquer where victory seems utterly out of reach. Therefore
(1) let prayer be earnest,
(2) let the heart be hopeful,
(3) let effort be energetic and persistent.C.
HOMILIES BY R. TUCK
Isa 11:1
Christ the Branch.
“But a shoot shall come forth from the stem of Jesse, and a fruitful sprout shall grow up from his roots” (Henderson’s translation; see Isa 4:2). The idea is of a sucker springing up from a hewn stump. The word used (netser) is singularly suggestive of despised Nazareth, with which place the early life of Messiah was associated, and of which it could jeeringly be said, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Wordsworth remarks on the sublime contrast in this prophecy and the foregoing,” The mighty and haughty worldly power of Assyriathe type of impiety and antichristianismwill be hewn down, like a great forest, in the pride of its strength and glory, never to rise again; but the spirit of prophecy here reveals, that when the house of David seemed like a tree hewn down to a stump in the earth, then a sucker would spring up from the stump, and a branch shooting forth from its roots would bear fruit and overshadow the earth. And so it came to pass. At a time when the house of David seemed to be reduced to the lowest estate, when the Virgin was a poor maiden in a village of despised Galilee, then by God’s miraculous agency the Branch sprouted up from the hewn-down stump, and grew up into a mighty Tree, and brought forth much fruit, and received the world under its shade.” It has been cleverly suggested that “the cedar of Lebanon, the symbol of the Assyrian power, was to be cut down, and, being of the pine genus, which sends forth no suckers, its fall was irretrievable. But the oak, the symbol of Israel, and of the monarchy of the house of David, had a life remaining in it after it had been cut down, and the rod or sucker that was to spring from its roots should flourish once again in greater glory than before.” We fix attention on the sentiment entertained respecting suckers, which are usually despised, thought to be weak and frail things, from which nothing of value is ever to be expected.
I. THE SURPRISE OF CHRIST‘S LOWLY BEGINNINGS. Born into a poor family, at a time when David’s race was at its lowest humiliation; born, as one crowded out by the hurry of life, in the courtyard of an inn; brought up in a despised village. There were but a few gleams of glory resting on his infancy. Angels heralded the tidings, of his birth; Magi offered worship to him at the Bethlehem cottage, But Herod would, if he could, have broken off that sucker, almost ere it began to show its greenness. It would take a great power of imagination to picture a splendid career and a world-wide renown for that poor Bethlehem babe. “He came to his own, and his own received him not”
II. THE HOPE OF CHRIST‘S EARLY YEARS. We need not accept the strange and foolish legends of Apocryphal Gospels concerning the infancy and childhood of Jesus. We have one all-sufficient historical incident, presenting the boy of twelve years, and convincing us that a wonderful manhood was in its unfolding. His mother observed much, and pondered over many things in her heart, and the story of Christianity has verified every hope which that good mother cherished.
III. THE BEAUTY OF CHRIST‘S GROWTH. The sucker became strong, grew into a branch, began to put forth branches of its own, became a tree whose beauty attracted the attention of all men. Two passages suggest illustration and detail: “And the Child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon him;” “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” Other suggestions come from the statements, “All that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers;” and, “He went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them.” Intelligence, submissiveness, obedience, were the beautiful features of his child-timethe splendid promise of after-years.
IV. THE AMAZING RICHNESS OF CHRIST‘S FRUIT. When the sucker came to bearing-time, it altogether surpassed the old tree of David. Illustrate its fruitage
(1) of holy example;
(2) of wise teaching;
(3) of gracious healings;
(4) of heroic sufferings;
(5) of eternal triumph over sin.
Moral and spiritual fruitage answering to the needs of thirsting and hungry men. Fruit which was the “Bread of life.” The despised tree of David at last sent forth a sucker, which swiftly grew into a tree, whose leaves were for the healing of all the nations, and whose fruit was for the spiritual quickening of a world that was “dead in trespasses and sins.”R.T.
Isa 11:2
Christ’s enduements by the Spirit.
The prophetic conception of Messiah is of a man, specially endowed and fitted for his mission by God’s Spirit. The figures that help prophetic vision are David, endowed with the spirit of rule and of song; and Solomon, endowed with the spirit of wisdom. And the New Testament bids us think of Christ as having the Spirit, not by measure, but without measurethe fullness of God dwelling in him (Col 1:19; Col 2:9). Compare the beginning of our Lord’s sermon at Nazareth: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me” (Luk 4:18). The point suggested is that God’s enduements are always in precise adaptation to a man’s work. Here, in relation to Christ, the “qualities are arranged in three pairs, but all spring from one Source, the Spirit of Jehovah, which rests permanently upon him. They are
(1) moral and intellectual clearness of perception;
(2) the wisdom and bravery which befit a ruler;
(3) a knowledge of the requirements of Jehovah, and the will to act agreeably to this knowledge” (Cheyne).
Christ was a Teacher, Healer, Example, Savior, Head of a spiritual kingdom. As fitting him for these positions and offices, he was endued with
I. WISDOM. The special gifts of the ruler, as called to judge difficult, complex cases. In its highest form implying comprehension of the secret things of God.
II. UNDERSTANDING. Or keen, quick discernment; the sagacity which discovers the right thing to do, and the right word to say, in all human relationships.
III. COUNSEL. The power to form wise plans; the clear purpose which fits a king for the exercise of sovereignty. “He shall know how to administer the affairs of his spiritual kingdom in all the branches of it, so as effectually to answer the two great ends of itthe glory of God, and the welfare of the children of men.”
IV. MIGHT. The ability to carry plans into execution. With men we often find a divorce between the skill to plan and the power to execute.
V. FEAR OF GOD. The disposition which keeps us ever anxiously watching for, and resolved to do, God’s will. The reverence and faith which is the beginning of all wisdom.
Illustrations of each may readily be found in the life of the Lord Jesus; and it may be urged that all these enduements brought him the power that lies in righteousnessthe power
(1) to wither all evil;
(2) to nourish all good.R.T.
Isa 11:3-5
The principles of Messianic rule.
These are exemplified in the actual administration of the head of the Messianic kingdom. The picture presented here is designed to be in sharp contrast with that of the unjust judges referred to in Isa 1:23; Isa 2:14, Isa 2:15; Isa 10:1, Isa 10:2. The figure of clothing one’s self, or being clothed, with moral attributes is not infrequent in the Scriptures. The girdle is mentioned as an essential part of Oriental dress, and that which keeps the other garments in their proper place and qualifies the wearer for exertion. The rules, or characteristics, of the Messianic or spiritual kingdom may be illustrated under the following headings.
I. RIGHTEOUSNESS AS BEFORE GOD. The absolutely right is to be sought; and it will be found in what
(1) God is;
(2) what God commands;
(3) what God approves.
Matthew Henry says, “He shall be righteous in the administration of his government, and his righteousness shall be his girdle; it shall constantly compass him and cleave to him, shall be his ornament and honor; he shall gird himself for every action, shall gird on his sword for war in righteousness; his righteousness shall be his strength, and shall make him expeditious in his undertakings, as a man with his loins girt.” Compare the kingdom ruled by considerations of righteousness with the kingdoms ruled by considerations of expediency.
II. EQUITY BETWEEN MAN AND MAN. The determination that every man shall get his due, and bear his due. Many cases arise in which strict justice must be toned by consideration of circumstances. In view of human infirmity, the equitable must sometimes be put instead of the right.
III. EFFICIENT PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED. The strong hand on the wrong-doer is ever an essential of good government.
IV. FAITHFULNESS TO DUTY. Duty being distinguished from right in this, that it is something we are bound to do, upon the authority of some one who has the right to command us. “Faithfulness” is closely kin with “loyalty.” And Messiah is a theocratic King, a Vicegerent of Jehovah.
V. PEACE EVERYWHERE. Because, if righteousness prevails, nobody will wrong others, and nobody will have wrongs to avenge. Jealousies, envyings, violence, covetings, all fade before advancing righteousness; and when Jesus, the righteous King, reigns over mind and heart and life, then the glory-day will have come, and “no war or battle-sound” will then be “heard the world around.”R.T.
Isa 11:9
The Christian golden year.
Isaiah’s relief, from the burdens, sins, and sorrows of his times, is his anticipation of the coming days of Messiah, which were to ancient Jews their “golden year.” Isaiah’s visions break in on his records of evil and prophetic denunciations, and lie like pools of blue in a cloudy sky, or stand like an oasis of palm-trees in a dreary desert. The general thought of this chapter is, that when righteousness can really and fully reign, then peace will be attained. As soon as the righteous King can reach the throne of universal dominion, the world shall be at peace from all its miseries, and not from war alone. When the perfect King is universally acknowledged, then there will be established the perfect kingdom.
I. PROPHETIC SCRIPTURES SET FORTH A PERFECT BEING, AN IDEAL KING. Men have always been on the outlook for a glorious future”a good time coming.” But poetic imagery has been vague, and generalization has meant weakness. Bible prophecy sets before us:
1. A Persona Son; and the actual incidents of his life, as a veritable human being, are foretold.
2. A perfect Person. Observe the statements of this chapter, and the idea that was formed of Messiah.
3. A Person with kingly authority. If he be a perfect man, he must be a king among men. This kingly idea was set forth
(1) in the theocracy founded by Moses;
(2) in David’s reign;
(3) in Daniel’s vision.
In the times of Jewish captivity the promise of such a leader and deliverer was needed to keep men from utter despair. The conception of a perfect person is as utterly beyond us as the conception of a perfect age. Before Christ came neither had been realized. Now one has. The perfect Person has come, and we have a right to say that “with God all things are possible,” seeing that the one so-called impossible has been overcome. The historical Christ is the realization of what men thought to be the impossible.
II. PROPHETIC SCRIPTURES SET BEFORE US A PERFECT AGE, AN IDEAL KINGDOM. Observe the figures of the chapter; and such expressions as “He shall have dominion also from sea to sea,” and Dan 7:13, Dan 7:14. Poetry has its “golden age,” for the most part, in the past. Scripture has it in the future. Towards it we are moving. For it we are working. In olden time men failed in faith that the perfect King would come, and now we fail in faith that the perfect kingdom will ever come, because we cannot quite explain the when, the how, and the why. It may be saidHave we any seemingly good reasons for our failing faith? And it may be urged that
(1) the golden age has never yet been reached in part, anywhere;
(2) there are no signs of its nearing approach; and
(3) we cannot clearly mark even our own growing meetness for it.
The perfect age has scarcely even a faint beginning in us. But who can discern victory through the smoke of battle? And yet the victory may, in effect, be won. With cleared eyesight we might see many hopeful signs; such as these:
1. The King has come, and is conflicting for his rights.
2. The perfect kingdom is sometimes nearly reached by the saintly believers.
3. In limited measure it is realized in the Church of Christ.
4. In its wider form, as a kingdom of righteousness, it is extending over all the earth. And if God could give the world the perfect King, he can also give the perfect age. The practical question isWhat are we doing to hurry its on-coming? The world’s hope lies in the spreading of the knowledge of the Lord. Everywhere the heralds must go until the earth is full, as full as the sea-basin is with the waters. We must, for ourselves, know the Lord, and we must speak of him, and witness concerning him, to others; for every act of godly living and godly laboring is bringing near the “golden year.”R.T.
Isa 11:10
The center of attraction for the whole world.
“An ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek.” In prophetic form we have here expressed the truth which Messiah himself expressed when he said, “And if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me.” All humanity is figured as turning to look on the crucified One, and responding to an irresistible attraction which makes all gather round him, as armies gather about an ensign or standard, and as clans gather to the appointed meeting-place. Our Lord spoke, on three separate occasions, of the attractive power that would come from his “uplifting.”
(1) Joh 3:14. Here the idea is a general one. Lifted up in the sense of being set in sight of men, as the brazen serpent was when set up on the pole in the middle of the camp.
(2) Joh 8:28. Here the idea is that his Messiah-ship would be evident when his life was complete, and that would not be until he was lifted up in death.
(3) Joh 12:32. Here we find Greek proselytes anxious to see Jesus. Such pressing into the kingdom was premature. The “corn of wheat must fall into the ground and die.” Greeks and Gentiles must wait just a little while longer. The ensign would soon be lifted up; then to it they may seek. It is interesting to notice that the Syriac word for “crucify” means “to raise,” “to lift up,” as men set up a standard. Christ’s power from his crossChrist’s attraction as an Ensignis our subject, and we note
I. CHRIST, ON HIS CROSS, ATTRACTIVELY REVEALS HIMSELF TO THE MINDS OF MEN. We can only get imperfect and unsatisfactory views by limiting our attention to Christ’s work. In that way we can only hope to formulate cold and lifeless doctrines. But our views are equally imperfect if we limit our attention to Christ’s person. Then we can do no more than nourish sentiment, or set before ourselves an example for imitation. We must combine both, and let each illuminate the other. Illustrate the splendor of the combined oxy-hydrogen light. How much Christ made of himself! In a man it would be painful egotism; why is it not in him? Because it was his mission to manifest God to men; so he must point to himself. All his life, speech, doing, suffering, was a gradual disclosing of himself, of the deep mystery of his origin, his claim, of God in him. But what we need to see more fully than we do is that, apart from his death, as he died, his life could not have efficiently revealed him. Death only completes the test. If he bad failed in that supreme hour, an imperfect sonship could never have shown to us the perfect Father-God. We can see that only the story of his life could not have sufficed, for:
1. His enemies misrepresented that life, and said, “He hath a devil.”
2. Disciples misunderstood it, and only saw its meaning after his death.
3. Critics now can explain the life, but are hopelessly puzzled by the mystery of his death. Lifted up, Christ is set before us
(1) as the model Man;
(2) as not a mere man;
(3) as the Son of God with power.
And if religion demands personal love to and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, then we must know him, we must know him fully; and we can only thus know him as he is “lifted up.”
II. CHRIST, ON HIS CROSS, ATTRACTIVELY SHOWS HIMSELF TO THE HEARTS OF MEN. Men may be driven or drawn to goodness. The gospel has its majesty of driving, its “whip of small cords.” “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.” But its great power is its drawing power; its moral influence; its constraint of the affections, and of the will. A voice from the “Ensign,” from Jesus lifted up, is ever calling to us and saying, “Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see.” Suffering has a strange power on human hearts. Self-sacrificing suffering moves us strangely. Crucifixion was curse and shame, but it set Christ in the world’s eye. No kind of death could so lift him up and compel the dying world to look. And Christ crucified is still the supreme persuasion, the irresistible attraction, to men. Jesus lifted up, an Ensign for the gathering of the people, may be an old and worn story, and it may have lost something of its drawing power for you. Ah! that can only be because men, and men’s words, have stood in front of him, and taken your eyes off him. See him only. Look to the Ensign, and then you will find your soul asking itself”For whom, for whom, my soul, Were all these sorrows borne?” and you too will feel “the strong attractive power.”R.T.
Isa 11:11
The unity of the race in Messiah’s kingdom.
This unity is the great dream and hope of humanity. It can never be attained in any temporal kingdom, and it could be only a formal and outward unity ii it were. No unities of mind or of government are possible; but unity of heart is. Men can be one in God; and one in that spiritual kingdom in which God rules. This verse is used as an argument for what is known as the second coming of Christ. Its force and value in that relation we do not now discuss. The spiritual suggestion of the passage is now before us, and we are to see that Christ is the bond of unity for the world, which never can be one save in his love, in the life he gives, and in the Father-God he reveals. How this unity is to be secured we may fully see by considering the following points concerning Christ’s influence.
I. HE ATTRACTS ALL. (See the previous Homily.)
II. HE BREAKS DOWN ALL SEPARATIONS. Of race, class, age, prejudice, religious forms, etc. In him there is “neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male nor female. He is all and in all.”
III. HE IS SUPERIOR TO ALL PHYSICAL DIFFICULTIES. They come to him from all parts. The Spirit of Christ triumphs over mountains and over seas. It goes into the fever-lands, and gains influence in the frozen zones. Missionaries go everywhere preaching Christ, and his Spirit in them is their heroic mastery of all disabilities.
IV. HE CAN SATISFY ALL HEARTS. Glad hearts and sorrowful ones. Empty hearts and full ones. Lonely hearts and satisfied ones. Dead hearts and yearning ones. He has life, love, truth, rest, hope, peace, at his command; and of this grace he giveth to all men liberally. He can perfect the unity of the race by winning the universal love, the supreme love, which is the life of humanity, and the ensuring of the brotherhood. All men can be sons of the one Father in their love. All men can be brothers, indeed, by the love of their common sonship. Christ is God, and he wins us for God, and he wins us as GodR.T.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary

Isa 11:1. And there shall come forth a rod The fifth section of the fifth discourse, beginning here, and concluding with the next chapter, is twofold: in the first part, the kingdom of Jesus Christ is described; in what manner, arising from the smallest beginnings, it should go on to increase, till at length it should attain the highest perfection, Isa 11:1-9. In the second part are set forth some remarkable events of that kingdom, illustrating its glory, with their consequences, Isa 11:10 to chap. Isa 12:6. The first part again is twofold: 1st, Exhibiting to us the king or ruler of this glorious kingdom, Isa 11:1-3 who is described by his birth, and humble state after his birth; Isa 11:1 by his qualities, eminent endowments, or virtues; Isa 11:2; Isa 3:2 nd, We have the entire oeconomy of this kingdom, Isa 11:4-9 where this oeconomy is set forth, as well with respect to the true subjects of the kingdom,ver. 4 to the middle, as with respect to its enemies and adversaries, in the remainder of the 4th verse. The reason and foundation of that oeconomy are delivered in the fifth verse; after which are set forth the excellent consequences, that is to say, the flourishing and desirable state of the kingdom, to be known from its attributes; among which are peace and concord among the subjects of every different kind and nation, combining in one faith, and performing obedience to the same king, Isa 11:6-8 and also the removal and destruction of all those hurtful and destructive things from which the kingdom might apprehend any detriment, together with the exuberance of the knowledge of God and his ways, Isa 11:9. There can be no doubt, from the particle and, and from the manifest opposition of the sentences, that this prophesy is in immediate connection with that preceding. After the prophet had said that the Assyrian forest and tree should be entirely cut off and destroyed, ch. Isa 10:33-34 he observes, that it shall be very different with the house of David; from whose trunk, though cut down, a king shall arise and flourish, who shall subject the whole world to himself. From a review of ch. Isa 9:4-6 Isa 16:4-5 Isa 31:8-9 Isa 32:1 the connection of these chapters will appear more evident. The prophet, borne away by the divine Spirit, saw more in the breaking of the Assyrian yoke, and the deliverance procured for the church in the time of Hezekiah by the hand of God, than is seen by the carnal eye: he beheld in this remarkable event an example of the true deliverance and vengeance which the Son of God, about to erect his kingdom in this world, would hereafter perform for his church: the whole scheme of that divine oeconomy was before his eyes: he saw the anti-type in the type; the truth in the figure; in the example of the deliverance from Assyria, an image of the true and perfect deliverance: in the fall of the king of Assyria he contemplated the fall of all the enemies, and of Satan, the chief of those enemies, who have opposed themselves to God and his kingdom in the world, from the birth of the church; and thence, in prophetic rapture, having mentioned the overthrow of the Assyrian, leaping over the intermediate times and events, he thus continues his prophesy: And there shall come forth a rod from the trunk of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. We may just remark, that a continued prophetic oration often coheres less with the parts preceding, than with the thoughts of the prophet, with which it ought truly to be connected; whence those various transitions so observable in all the prophetic writings; for, as the prophets thought more than they spoke or wrote, they left their discourse to be supplied by their readers and hearers; which is to be prudently interpreted, according to the analogy and history of other prophesies: as here when it is said, And Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one; and there shall come forth a rod from the trunk of Jesse; we are thus to understand it, according to the mind and ideas of the prophet, “And after their fall, and other notable events, to happen in process of time, according to their order; among which will be the Babylonish captivity, the departure of the sceptre of the house of David, the kingdom of the Asmoneans, and afterwards of the Herods, to be joined with the remarkable humiliation of the house of David; a rod shall come forth from this trunk of David, so cut down and reduced, under whose kingdom the church shall obtain a perfect deliverance.” See Vitringa, where many examples of a similar connection are produced. The metaphorical expressions made use of in this verse are designed to set forth, not only the humble birth of the Messiah from the family of David, when that family was greatly reduced, the posterity of Jesse being few only, and the kingdom of David destroyed; but that he should be born in such a way, by virtue of the promise given to the fathers, that in his birth something divine might be observed, and a great expectation of him should be raised from his origin and first appearance. See Joh 7:42. The birth of Jesus Christ fully verified this prophesy.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

III. ISRAELS REDEMPTION IN RELATION TO THE MESSIAH
Isa 11:1 to Isa 12:6
1. FROM THE APPARENTLY DRIED UP ROOT OF THE HOUSE OF DAVID SHALL GO FORTH A SPROUT THAT SHALL FOUND A KINGDOM OF MOST GLORIOUS PEACE
Isa 11:1-9
1And there shall come forth a rod out of the 1stem of Jesse,
And a 2Branch 3shall grow out of his roots:
2And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
The spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The spirit of counsel and might,
The spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;
34And shall make him of 5quick understanding in the fear of the Lord:
And he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes,
Neither 6reprove after the hearing of his ears:
4But with righteousness shall he judge the poor,
And 78reprove with equity for the meek of earth:
And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth,
And with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
5And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins,
And faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
6The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,
And the 9leopard shall lie down with the kid;
And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little child shall lead them.
7And the cow and the bear shall feed;
Their young ones shall lie down together:
And the lion shall eat 10straw like the ox.
8And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp,
And the weaned child shall put his hand on the 11cockatrice den.
9They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain:
For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord,
As the waters cover the sea.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
On Isa 11:1. occurs again only Isa 40:24; Job 14:8. The root is not found. The meaning is that of (Isa 10:33). caedere to cut down. In the three places that it occurs is the hewn, cut up stem that still sticks in the ground. Hence and not . again only Pro 14:3, meaning: rod, pliant twig., Isa 14:19; Isa 60:21; Dan 11:7 (from unused root, splendere, nitere), a hardy, fresh young branch., though the accents are against it, must be connected with . For what does it mean that the shoot right from the root on shall bear fruit? Is something unnatural and impossible said of this shoot? Or was not Christ a Tree when He bore fruit? The thought is rather that from the extinct trunk and shoot a sprout shall proceed that shall give evidence of adequate vital power, and grow up to be a fruit-bearing tree. Hence it is quite unjustifiable to impose upon the verb the meaning of (Hitzig, Umbreit).
On Isa 11:3. It is natural to regard as antithesis of the objective communication of the Spirit spoken of, Isa 11:2. For first, means smell anything with pleasure (Lev 26:31; Amo 5:21). But if should be the object of , then it ceases to be predicate, and then the sentence is without predicate; or if it is construed as predicate, then the emphatic use of after verbs of sensation cannot be appealed to, because then no longer depends on the notion of smelling, but on a modification of the notion of being (happens in the fear of Jehovah, is directed to the fear of Jehovah), which must be supplied to accommodate the subject to the predicate. Second: What means the one sided emphasis of smelling? If smelling may be construed in the wider sense as inhaling and exhaling air through the nose, so that it coincides with breathing, that would suit. I construe it in this wider sense as do others (Clericus, Hendewerk, Ewald, Meier). [See Comment of J. A. Alexander, added, p. 162, top.] Then is to be construed as direct causative Hiphil, in the sense of to make , as one says to make ears = to hear, to make a tongue, zngeln, to blaspheme. then = breath, lifes breath, Gen 6:17; Gen 7:15; Gen 7:22, etc. But still much depends on whether bodily or spiritual breath is meant. The context decides for the latter. For our stands in evident antithesis to , Isa 11:2. The latter designates the objective communication of the Spirit, the former the subjective reception. secundum, comp. Isa 32:1 : , etc. with like Isa 2:4.
On Isa 11:4. comp. Isa 40:4; Isa 42:16.
On Isa 11:5. Gesenius makes the remark here that the repetition of (instead of using once ) can give no surprise in Isaiah, because he often uses the same word in parallel clauses: Isa 14:4; Isa 15:1; Isa 15:8; Isa 16:7; Isa 17:12-13; Isa 19:7; Isa 31:8; Isa 32:17; Isa 42:19; Isa 44:3; Isa 54:13; Isa 55:4; Isa 55:13; Isa 59:10. But in saying this Gesenius, as Drechsler remarks, forgot that he denies Isaiahs authorship of chaps. 4066
On Isa 11:6. is found in Isaiah only here and Isa 65:25, that resembles this. is the lamb; comp. Isa 1:11; Isa 5:17. = the striped is the panther (Jer 5:6; Jer 13:23). Isaiah has it only here. with like 1Ch 13:7; comp. on Isa 9:3.
On Isa 11:7. Isa 35:9. again only Isa 65:25.
On Isa 11:8. Pilpel from delimre, mulcere, comp. the pass. Isa 66:12. Isa 42:22 only here in Isaiah. is . . is light, i.e., an illuminating body (Gen 1:16); would then be a light opening, and we might understand under that term both the entrance of the cave and the sparkling eye of the animal gleaming like a precious stone (so the Targ. Aben Ezra, Kimchi, etc.). But the parallelism with prompts the conjecture, that originally , which otherwise never occurs, = cave, stood in the text (Gesenius). What is correct is hard to make out. doubtless kindred to , immittere is . .The (Isa 59:5) is likely identical with (Isa 14:29). The root means halare, sibilare. Doubtless a very poisonous serpent is meant, perhaps the basilisk, which is said to have been called sibilus. Comp. Gesenius, Thes. p. 1182.
On Isa 11:9. That the beasts are subject of (comp. Isa 65:25) the context puts beyond doubt. is here manifestly the sea-bed, the bottom of the sea; (comp. Psa 104:6). The prefix before is explained by the causative sense in which Piel is used here, as it is often. means covering, make covering, like provide rescue, provide justice, make length, etc., and is accordingly, like the verbs named, construed with the dative. So, too, is to make a cover, to spread as a cover over something (Num 16:33; Job 36:32; Hab 2:14, where our text is reproduced.[J. A. Alexander on verse 3. And his sense of smelling (i.e., his power of perception, with a seeming reference to the pleasure it affords him) shall be exercised in (or upon) the fear of Jehovah (as an attribute of others). The only sense of confirmed by usage is to smell. This, as a figure, comprehends discernment or discrimination between false and true religion, and the act of taking pleasure as the sense does in a grateful odor. In the is a connective which the verb commonly takes after it, and adds no more to the meaning of the phrase than the English prepositions when we speak of smelling to or of a thing, instead of simply smelling it.
Ibid. On Isa 11:9. They shall not hurt nor destroy, etc. The absence of the copulative shows that this is not so much a direct continuation of the previous description as a summary explanation of it. The true construction, therefore, is indefinite, and the verbs do not agree with the nouns (animals) of Isa 11:8.]
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1. The destruction of the proud, towering forest, which, meaning primarily Assyria, comprehends also the world-powers generally, is followed by a contrasted picture in the renewed flourishing of the house of David and of his kingdom. That house of David will be reduced to a stunted and inconsiderable root-stock, when the world-power shall be at the summit of its prosperity. But from this root-stock, that is regarded as dead, a sprout shall still go forth (Isa 11:1). On it the Spirit of the Lord shall rest in the fulness of His manifold powers (Isa 11:2). This sprout will take delight in the fear of Jehovah; He will practise justice not after the deceptive sight of the eyes (Isa 11:3); on the contrary He will so do it that the poor and humble shall be helped, but the wicked not merely outwardly, but also inwardly subdued (Isa 11:4). For He shall stand firm in righteousnesss and truth (Isa 11:5). Thus His kingdom shall be one of peace in such a degree that even the impersonal creatures shall be filled with this spirit of peace (Isa 11:6-7), 8. For even the wildest beasts shall be no more wild, and no longer do harm on Jehovahs holy mountain. The whole shall be full of the liveliest and deepest knowledge of Jehovah, like the bottom of the sea is covered with water (Isa 11:9).
2. And there shall comehis roots.
Isa 11:1. Without a hint as to the time when, the Prophet announced that a revirescence of Davids house shall be the correlative of destruction of the world-power that was compared to the forest of Lebanon. He says stock of Jesse, not stock of David, for he would intimate that Davids stock will be reduced to its rank previous to David, when it was only the stock of the obscure citizen of Bethlehem. This explanation seems to me more correct than the other that understands that by this term is intimated that the Messiah shall be the second David, for He is such not alongside of, but after and out of the first David. The Messiah is in fact the Son of David (2 Samuel 7). If this stock, dead and mutilated, only exists as a stump, (but we know when and how that happened,) then shall a slender twig emerge from His roots, thus out of that part concealed under ground and still fresh, a hardy shoot that shall not perish, but bear fruit, and therefore (as included in the statement) develop to a new tree.
He is called branch Isa 4:2; Jer 23:5; Jer 33:15; Zec 3:8; Zec 6:12. At the beginning of 53. (Isa 11:2) is found a representation of the Messiah closely resembling our verse: and He raised Himself before Him like the tender plant and like the root out of dry ground. Ezek. too, (Eze 17:22-24) speaks of the shoot of the cedar () that the Lord will plant on the high mountain of Israel (Isaiah 2) to show how He is able to bring down the high tree, exalt the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make flourish the dry tree.
3. And the spiritfear of the Lord
Isa 11:2. The Prophet immediately forsakes the figurative language. He speaks of the sprout as of a person. For on Him shall settle down (Isa 7:2; Isa 7:19; Num 11:25; 2Ki 2:15) the spirit of Jehovah. This is a generic designation. For in what follows a threefold species of this genus is named, each of which is represented in two modifications. The candlestick of the sanctuary has rightly been regarded as symbol of the spirit of Jehovah. The stem corresponds to what we have called the genus, the six branches to what we have called the species (Exo 25:31 sqq.; Isa 37:17 sqq.). The first species comprehends ( and ) wisdom and understanding. It is not easy to determine wherein consists the difference between these. In not a few passages they are placed opposite to one another in the parallelism of the clauses: Pro 2:2 sqq.; Pro 4:5; Pro 4:7; Pro 9:10; Job 28:12; Job 28:20; Job 28:28; 2Ch 2:12, etc. In all these passages is observed, first of all, a formal distinction, a certain distinction of rank. Wisdom is the great all-comprehending chief name of all right knowledge. As the notion wisdom rises to personality, in fact to the dignity of divine personality (Pro 8:32 sqq.) the word becomes almost a proper name. Understanding ( with ,, etc.) takes up a subordinate position. It signifies always only an element, although a very essential one of wisdom (comp. Pro 8:14). Many find in the fundamental meaning of firmitas solida, of , though the word is rather allied to plaatum, and thus, as in sapientia, sapor taste (comp. ) is the fundamental notion. In any case wisdom has more a positive meaning, whereas understanding (comp. and the meaning of the root words in the dialects) carries more the negative notion of , the art of distinguishing between true and false, good and bad. and counsel and might (Isa 36:5) are easily distinguished as proofs of practical wisdom in forming and executing good counsel. A third pair is (, stat. const. and( ) knowledge and fear of the Lord: for the first two pairs comprise those effects of the spirit that relate to the earthly life. The third pair appear to reach out beyond this earthly life. It names a knowledge and a fear whose object is Jehovah Himself. If the fear of God is named last here, whereas according to Pro 1:7; Pro 9:10; Psa 111:10 it is the beginning of all wisdom, that has its reason herein, that what is the deepest foundation may at the same time be designated as the loftiest height, like the great mountains form the inmost nucleus and the highest summits of the earths body. The entire enumeration progresses therefore from the bottom upwards. Moreover the view of the seven spirits of God, that is found Rev 1:4; Rev 3:1; Rev 4:5; Rev 5:6, rests on our text. On the anointing of the Messiah with the Spirit of God, comp. Isa 42:1; Isa 61:1; Mat 12:18; Luk 4:18; Joh 3:34.
4. And shall makehis reins.
Isa 11:3-5. On see Text and Gram. He has not only received the spirit from without; He receives it also within Him, so that He continually breathes in this spiritual air of lifethis alone and no other. He has received (objectively) the spirit in absolute fulness. There appears to me to lie in these words, too, an allusion to Gen 2:7. There it is said that God breathed in men His spirit as the principle of life. But this principle of life performs its functions no matter in what element the man may find himself. Even in the godless it is constantly active. Yet how unsatisfying, how mournful is that breathing of the spirit in a sphere infected by sin. The Messiah lives wholly in the fear of God. He therefore breathes in an atmosphere homogeneous to Him. He therefore brings into use for mankind the right breathing by bringing them back into the pure element of spirit. He is the second Adam.
As king, the Messiah must display the divinity of His disposition pre-eminently in the perfectly adequate administration of justice. He will therefore never let His judgment depend on outward appearance, never on that which pleases the outward sense, but He will only suffer that to pass for right that is right. He will not, therefore, look on the person, but help the poor and lowly to their rights (comp. Isa 1:26 sqq.; Isa 3:13 sqq.). But the unjust He will punish. This is the meaning of Isa 11:4 b. For the earth () that He smites with the rod of His mouth, (Rev 1:16) and that is put parallel with the wicked can only be regarded as the territory of the world that is hostile to God. The wicked is by the Chaldee, and since that by many expositors, construed not only as a collective = , but at the same time, (or even exclusively e.g.Delitzsch) in the sense of 2Th 2:8, as designation of an eschatological person, in whom enmity against God shall reach its climax. The staff of His mouth is the word that goes forth out of His mouth, and the breath of His lips is the same. For His word is in fact what His lips (spiritually) breathe out. Thus He proves Himself to be the one that can destroy in the same way as He created. By His word were things made; by His word they pass away. Comp. Psa 104:29. In this righteousness, however, consists His proper strength, and the guaranty for the eternal continuance of His kingdom. The powers of the world must pass away on account of unrighteousness (Pro 14:34).
The girdle is the symbol of vigorous, unimpeded development of strength, because the ancients could run, wrestle, and work only when the girdle confined their wide garments (comp. Job 12:18; Job 38:3; Job 40:2; Jer 1:17; Eph 6:14; 1Pe 1:13). Let the loins be girt with righteousness and truth, and the girded man stands strong and firm in righteousness and truth. He is strong by both. Therefore He does not further His cause by unrighteousness and lies, but by the contrary.
5. The wolf alsothe sea.
Isa 11:6-9. The Prophets vision penetrates to the remotest time: he comprises the near and far in one look. The Assyria of the present, with its destruction in the near future, the Messiah in the inception of His appearance, and the latest fruits of His work of peaceall this he sees at once in a grand picture before him. When the Redeemer, as Prince of Peace (Isa 9:5) shall have done away with all violence, and put justice on the throne, then will peace be in the earth, and that, not only among men, but also among beasts. The Prophet, it is true, does not explain how the beasts are to be made accessible to this peaceful disposition. But it seems to me certain that only stupendous changes in nature, violent revolutions, world-ruin and resurrection, thus the slaying of the old Adam, and the regeneration of nature can bring forth these effects, (Revelation 20 sq.). Behold I make all things new, (Rev 21:5) says He, that sits upon the throne. But we see from passages like 35; Isa 43:18 sqq., that Isaiah himself had a presentiment of this grand, and all-comprehending world-renewal. I do not mean by this to defend a literal fulfilment of the word which the church fathers rejected as Judaizing, but only themselves to fall into the opposite extreme of spiritualizing and allegorizing. (Jerome appeals to Eph 1:3). The point is to find the happy medium. That, however, is not found by saying that Isaiah meant what he said in a real sense, only he deceived himself, but by recognizing that Isaiah, as organ of the Spirit of God, beheld stupendous, spirit-corporeal reality, but paints this reality with human, earthly, even national and temporal colors. In short there will be a new creation, (2Co 5:17) and this new creation will be at the same time a restitution of that oldest creation, that original one of Paradise, but on a higher plane. But how in the picture of the Prophet, to draw the boundary between absolute and relative reality, i.e., whether to exclude only single traits as not literal, or whether to divest the whole of its local and temporal construction, is difficult to say. Yet I decide for the latter. For all the traits of the picture painted by Isaiah bear the stamp of the existing earthly corporality. But in this sphere the prophecy cannot be realized. We must suppose a new basis of spiritual, glorified corporality made for this fulfilment. On this basis then the Prophets word will, mutatis mutandis, certainly be fulfilled.
The young lion ( Isa 5:29) will lie quietly between the calf and the fattened ox, hitherto his favorite food; and a small boy will suffice to keep this entire, extraordinary, mixed up herd. Cow and bear graze, and their young rest by one another, while the old male-lion will devour chopped straw. Poisonous serpents will change their nature; the sucking child will play at the hole (vid. Text. and Gram.) of the adder. The holy mountain of Jehovah (comp. on Isa 2:2 sqq.), will not indeed physically comprise the earth, but it will rule the earth, and so far the Prophet can say, there shall no more harm be done, nor destruction devised on the holy mountain. The whole earth, in fact, is only the slope of the mount of God. But the reason why there is no more harm, is that the whole earth (notice how in the second clause earth is substituted for holy mountain) will be full of the knowledge of the Lord. No doubt the Prophet means here, not merely a dead knowing, which even the devils have (Jam 2:17); he means a living, experimental, practical knowledge of God, as is possible also to the impersonal creature. Therefore the whole earth, not merely man, shall know God living, and thus on the holy mountain shall no harm or destruction be devised. By the glorious picture of that knowledge filling the earth like the water the bottom of the sea, the Prophet signifies that he conceives of all creatures as filled with this living knowledge of God.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. On Isa 7:1. Hierosolyma oppugnatur, etc. Jerusalem is assaulted but not conquered. The church is pressed but not oppressed.Foerster.
2. On Isa 7:2. Quando ecclesia, etc. When the Church is assaulted and Christ crucified over again in His elect, Rezin and Pekah, Herod and Pilate are wont to form alliance and enter into friendly relations. There are, so to speak, the foxes of Samson, joined indeed by the tails, but their heads are disconnected.Foerster.He that believes flees not (Isa 28:16). The righteous is bold as a lion (Pro 28:1). Hypocrites and those that trust in works (work-saints) have neither reason nor faith. Therefore they cannot by any means quiet their heart. In prosperity they are, indeed, overweening, but in adversity they fall away (Jer 17:9). Cramer.
3. On Isa 7:9. (If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.) Insignis sententia, etc. A striking sentiment that may be adapted generally to all temptation, because all earnest endeavor after anything, as you know, beguiles us in temptation. But only faith in the word of promise makes us abide and makes sure whatever we would execute. He warns Ahaz, therefore, as if he said: I now promise you by the word, it shall be that those two kings shall not hurt you. Believe this word! For if you do not, whatever you afterwards devise will deceive you: because all confidence is vain which is not supported by the word of God.Luther.
4. On Isa 7:10-12. Wicked Ahaz pretends to great sanctity in abstaining from asking a sign through fear of God. Thus hypocrites are most conscientious where there is no need for it: on the other hand, when they ought to be humble, they are the most insolent. But where God commands to be bold, one must be bold. For to be obedient to the word is not tempting God. That is rather tempting God when one proposes something without having the word for it. It is, indeed, the greatest virtue to rest only in the word, and desire nothing more. But where God would add something more than the word, then it must not be thought a virtue to reject it as superfluous. We must therefore exercise such a faith in the word of God that we will not despise the helps that are given in addition to it as aids to faith. For example the Lord offers us in the gospel all that is necessary to salvation. Why then Baptism and the Lords Supper? Are they to be treated as superfluous? By no means. For if one believes the word he will at the same time exhibit an entire obedience toward God. We ought therefore to learn to join the sign with the word, for no man has the power to sever the two.
But do you ask: is it permitted to ask God for a sign? We have an example of this in Gideon. Answer: Although Gideon was not told of God to ask a sign, yet he did it by the impulse of the Holy Spirit, and not according to his own fancy. We must not therefore abuse his example, and must be content with the sign that is offered by the Lord. But there are extraordinary signs or miracles, like that of the text, and ordinary ones like Baptism and the Lords Supper. Yet both have the same object and use. For as Gideon was strengthened by that miraculous event, so, too, are we strengthened by Baptism and the Lords Supper, although no miracle appears before our eyes. Heim and Hoffmann after Luther. Eliezer, the servant of Abraham, also asked the Lord to show him the right wife for Isaac by means of a sign of His own choosing, (Gen 24:14).
It ought to be said that this asking a sign (opening the Bible at a venture, or any other book) does not suit Christian perfection (Heb 6:1). A Christian ought to be inwardly sensible of the divine will. He ought to content himself with the guarantees that God Himself offers. Only one must have open eyes and ears for them. This thing of demanding a sign, if it is not directly an effect of superstition (Mat 12:39; Mat 16:4; 1Co 1:22), is certainly childish, and, because it easily leads to superstitious abuses, it is dangerous.
5. On Isa 7:13. Non caret, etc. That the Prophet calls God his God is not without a peculiar emphasis. In Zec 2:12 it is said, that whoever touches the servants of God touches the pupil of Gods eye. Whoever opposes teacher and preacher will have to deal with God in heaven or with the Lord who has put them into office.Foerster.
6. On Isa 7:14. The name Immanuel is one of the most beautiful and richest in contents of all the Holy Scripture. God with us comprises Gods entire plan of salvation with sinful humanity. In a narrower sense it means God-man (Mat 1:23), and points to the personal union of divinity and humanity, in the double nature of the Son of God become man. Jesus Christ was a God-with-us, however, in this, that for about 33 years He dwelt among us sinners (Joh 1:11; Joh 1:14). In a deeper and wider sense still He was such by the Immanuels work of the atonement (2Co 5:19; 1Ti 2:3). He will also be such to every one that believes on Him by the work of regeneration and sanctification and the daily renewal of His holy and divine communion of the Spirit (Joh 17:23; Joh 17:26; Joh 14:19-21; Joh 14:23). He is such now by His high-priestly and royal administration and government for His whole Church (Mat 28:20; Heb 7:25). He will be snch in the present time of the Church in a still more glorious fashion (Joh 10:16). The entire and complete meaning of the name Immanuel, however, will only come to light in the new earth, and in the heavenly Jerusalem (Rev 21:3; Rev 21:23; Rev 22:5).Wilh. Fried. Roos.
Isa 8:7. On Isa 8:5 sqq. Like boastful swimmers despise small and quiet waters, and on the other hand, for the better display of their skill, boast of the great sea and master it, but often are lost in it,thus, too, did the hypocrites that despised the small kingdom of Judah, and bragged much and great things of the power and splendor of the kingdom of Israel and of the Syrians; such hypocrites are still to be found now-a-dayssuch that bear in their eye the admiranda Romae, the splendor, riches, power, ceremonies and pomp of the Romish church, and thereupon set their bushel by the bigger-heap. It is but the devils temptation over again: I will give all this to thee.Cramer.Fons Siloa, etc. The fountain of Siloam, near the temple, daily reminded the Jews that Christ was coming.Calvin on Joh 9:7.
8. On Isa 8:10. When the great Superlatives sit in their council chambers and have determined everything, how it ought to be, and especially how they will extinguish the gospel, then God sends the angel Gabriel to them, who must look through the window and say: nothing will come of it.Luther.Christ, who is our Immanuel, is with us by His becoming man, for us by His office of Mediator, in us by the work of His sanctification, by us by His personal, gracious presence.Cramer.
9. On Isa 8:14-15. Christ alone is set by God to be a stone by which we are raised up. That He is, however, an occasion of offence to many is because of their purpose, petulance and contempt (1Pe 2:8). Therefore we ought to fear lest we take offence at Him. For whoever falls on this stone will shatter to pieces (Mat 21:44). Cramer.
10. On Isa 8:16 sqq. He warns His disciples against heathenish superstition, and exhorts them to show respect themselves always to law and testimony. They must not think that God must answer them by visions and signs, therefore He refers them to the written word, that they may not become altogether too spiritual, like those now-a-days who cry: spirit! spirit! Christ says, Luke 16 : They have Moses and the prophets, and again Joh 5:39 : Search the Scriptures. So Paul says, 2Ti 3:16 : The Scripture is profitable for doctrine. So says Peter, 2Pe 1:9 : We have a sure word of prophecy. It is the word that changes hearts and moves them. But revelations puff people up and make them insolent. Heim and Hoffmann after Luther.
Chap. 911. On Isa 9:1 sqq. (2). Postrema pars, etc. The latter part of chap. 8 was (legal and threatening) so, on the other hand, the first and best part of chap. 9 is , (evangelical and comforting). Thus must ever law and gospel, preaching wrath and grace, words of reproof and words of comfort, a voice of alarm and a voice of peace follow one another in the church. Foerster.
12. On Isa 9:1 (2). Both in the Old Testament and New Testament Christ is often called light. Thus Isaiah calls Him a light to the gentiles, Isa 42:6; Isa 49:6. The same Prophet says: Arise, shine (make thyself light), for thy light is come, Isa 60:1. And again Isa 9:19 : The Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light. In the New Testament it is principally John that makes use of this expression: The life was the light of men, Joh 1:4, and the light shined in the darkness, Joh 9:5. John was not that light, but bore testimony to the light, Joh 9:8. That was the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world, Joh 9:9. And further: And this is the condemnation that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, Joh 3:19. I am the light of the world, (Joh 8:12; Joh 9:5; comp. Joh 12:35).
13. On Isa 9:1 (2). The people that sit in darkness may be understood to comprise three grades. First, the inhabitants of Zebulon and Naphtali are called so (Isaiah 8:23), for the Prophets gaze is fixed first on that region lying in the extreme end of Palestine, which was neighbor to the heathen and mixed with them, and on this account was held in low esteem by the dwellers in Judah. The night that spreads over Israel in general is darkest there. But all Israel partakes of this night, therefore all Israel, too, may be understood, as among the people sitting in darkness. Finally, no one can deny that this night extends over the borders of Israel to the whole human race. For far as men dwell extends the night which Christ, as light of the world, came to dispel, Luk 1:76 sqq.
14. On Isa 9:5 (6). Many lay stress on the notion child, inasmuch as they see in that the reason for the reign of peace spoken of afterwards. It is not said a man, a king, a giant is given to us. But this is erroneous. For the child does not remain a child. He becomes a man: and the six names that are ascribed to Him and also the things predicted of His kingdom apply to Him, not as a child, but as a man. That His birth as a child is made prominent, has its reason in this, that thereby His relation to human kind should be designated as an organic one. He does not enter into humanity as a man, i.e. as one whose origin was outside of it, but He was born from it, and especially from the race of David. He is Son of man and Son of David. He is a natural offshoot, but also the crowning bloom of both. Precisely because He was to be conceived, carried and born of a human mother, and indeed of a virgin, this prophecy belongs here as the completion and definition of the two prophetic pictures Isa 7:10 sqq.; Isa 8:1 sqq.He came down from heaven for the sake of us men, and for our bliss (1Ti 1:15; Luk 2:7). For our advantage: for He undertook not for the seed of angels, but for the seed of Abraham (Heb 2:16). Not sold to us by God out of great love, but given (Rom 5:15; Joh 3:16). Therefore every one ought to make an application of the word to us to himself, and to learn to say: this child was given to me, conceived for me, born to me.Cramer.Cur oportuit, etc. Why did it become the Redeemer of human kind to be not merely man nor merely God, but God and man conjoined or ? Anselm replies briefly, indeed, but pithily: Deum qui posset, hominem, qui deberet. Foerster.
15. On Isa 9:5 (6). You must not suppose here that He is to be named and called according to His person, as one usually calls another by his name; but these are names that one must preach, praise and celebrate on account of His act, works and office. Luther.
16. On Isa 9:6. Verba pauca, etc. A few words, but to be esteemed great, not for their number but for their weight. Augustine. Admirabilis in, etc. Wonderful in birth, counsellor in what He preaches, God in working, strong in suffering, father of the world to come in resurrection, Prince of peace in bliss perpetual. Bernard of Clairvaux. In reference to a child is born, and a son is given, Joh. Cocceius remarks in his Heb. Lex. s. v. : respectu, etc., in respect to His human nature He is said to be born, and in respect to His divine nature and eternal generation not indeed born, but given, as, Joh 3:16, it reads God gave His only begotten Son.
In the application of this language all depends on the words is born to us, is given to us. The angels are, in this matter, far from being as blessed as we are. They do not say: To us a Saviour is born this day, but; to you. As long as we do not regard Christ as ours, so long we shall have little joy in Him. But when we know Him as our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption, as a gift that our heavenly Father designed for us, we will appropriate Him to ourselves in humble faith, and take possession of all His redeeming effects that He has acquired. For giving and taking go together. The Son is given to us; we must in faith receive Him. J. J. Rambach, Betracht. ber das Ev. Esaj., Halle, 1724.
On Isa 9:6 (7). The government is on His shoulders. It is further shown how Christ differs in this respect from worldly kings. They remove from themselves the burden of government and lay it on the shoulders of the privy counsellors. But He does not lay His dominion as a burden on any other; He needs no prime minister and vicegerent to help Him bear the burden of administration, but He bears all by the word of His power as He to whom all things are given of the Father. Therefore He says to the house of Jacob (Isa 46:3 sq.): Hearken unto me ye who were laid on my shoulders from your mothers womb. I will carry you to old age. I will do it, I will lift, and carry and deliver,on the contrary the heathen must bear and lift up their idols, (Isa 46:1; Isa 46:7).Rambach. In the first place we must keep in mind His first name: He is called Wonderful. This name affects all the following. All is wonderful that belongs to this king: wonderfully does He counsel and comfort; wonderfully He helps to acquire and conquer, and all this in suffering and want of strength. (Luther, Jen. germ. Tom. III. Fol. 184 b.). He uses weakness as a means of subduing all things to Himself. A wretched reed, a crown of thorns and an infamous cross, are the weapons of this almighty God, by means of which He achieves such great things. In the second place, He was a hero and conqueror in that just by death, He robbed him of his might who had the power of death, i.e., the devil (Heb 2:14); in that He, like Samson, buried His enemies with Himself, yea, became poison to death itself, and a plague to hell (Hos 13:14) and more gloriously resumed His life so freely laid down, which none of the greatest heroes can emulate.Rambach.
17. On Isa 9:18 (19) sqq. True friendship can never exist among the wicked. For every one loves only himself. Therefore they are enemies one of another; and they are in any case friends to each other, only as long as it concerns making war on a third party.
Isaiah 10-18. On Isa 10:4. (Comp. the same expression in chap. 10). Gods quiver is well filled. If one arrow does not attain His object, He takes another, and so on, until the rights of God, and justice have conquered.
19. On Isa 10:5-7. God works through men in a threefold way. First, we all live, move and have our being in Him, in that all activity is an outflow of His power. Then, He uses the services of the wicked so that they mutually destroy each other, or He chastises His people by their hand. Of this sort the Prophet speaks here. In the third place, by governing His people by the Spirit of sanctification: and this takes place only in the elect.Heim and Hoffmann.
20. On Isa 10:5 sqq. Ad hunc, etc. Such places are to be turned to uses of comfort. Although the objects of temptation vary and enemies differ, yet the effects are the same, and the same spirit works in the pious. We are therefore to learn not to regard the power of the enemy nor our own weakness, but to look steadily and simply into the word, that will assuredly establish our minds that they despair not, but expect help of God. For God will not subdue our enemies, either spiritual or corporal, by might and power, but by weakness, as says the text: my strength is made perfect in weakness. (2Co 12:9).Luther.
21. On Isa 10:15. Efficacia agendi penes Deum est, homines ministerium tantum praebent. Quare nunc sibilo suo se illos evocaturum minabatur (cap. Isa 5:26; Isa 7:18); nunc instar sagenae sibi fore ad irretiendos, nunc mallei instar ad feriendos Israelitas. Sed praecipue tum declaravit, quod non sit otiosus in illis, dum Sennacherib securim vocat, quae ad secandum manu sua et destinata fuit et impacta. Non male alicubi Augustinus ita definit, quod ipsi peccant, eorum esse; quod peccando hoc vel illud agant, ex virtute Dei esse, tenebras prout visum est dividentis (De praedest Sanctt.).Calvin Inst. II. 4, 4.
22. On Isa 10:20-27. In time of need one ought to look back to the earlier great deliverances of the children of God, as to the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt, or later, from the hand of the Midianites. Israel shall again grow out of the yoke.Diedrich.
Isaiah 11-23. On Isa 11:4. The staff of His mouth. Evidence that the kingdom of Christ will not be like an earthly kingdom, but consist in the power of the word and of the sacraments; not in leathern, golden or silver girdles, but in girdles of righteousness and faith.Cramer.
24. On Isa 11:10 sqq. If the Prophet honors the heathen in saying that they will come to Christ before Israel, he may be the more readily believed, when Isa 11:11 sqq., he gives the assurance that the return out of the first, the Egyptian exile, shall be succeeded by a return out of the second, the Assyrian exile, (taking this word in the wider sense of Isaiah). It is manifest that the return that took place under Zerubbabel and Ezra was only an imperfect beginning of that promised return. For according to our passage this second return can only take place after the Messiah has appeared. Farthermore, all Israelites that belong to the remnant of Israel, in whatever land they may dwell, shall take part in it. It will be, therefore, a universal, not a partial return. If now the Prophet paints this return too with the colors of the present (Isa 11:13 sqq.), still that is no reason for questioning the reality of the matter. Israel will certainly not disappear, but arise to view in the church of the new covenant. But if the nation is to be known among the nations as a whole, though no more as a hostile contrast, but in fraternal harmony, why then shall not the land, too, assume a like position among the lands? But the nation can neither assume its place among nations, nor the land its place among lands, if they are not both united: the people Israel in the land of their fathers.
25. On Isaiah 11 We may here recall briefly the older, so-called spiritual interpretation. Isa 11:1-5 were understood of Christs prophetic office that He exercised in the days of His flesh, then of the overthrow of the Roman Empire and of Antichrist, who was taken to be the Pope. But the most thorough-going of those old expositors must acknowledge, at Isa 11:4, that the Antichrist is not yet enough overthrown, and must be yet more overthrown. If such is the state of the case, then this interpretation is certainly false, for Isa 11:4 describes not a gradual judgment, but one accomplished at once. There have been many Antichrists, and among the Popes too, but the genuine Antichrist described 2 Thessalonians 2, is yet to be expected, and also the fulfillment of Isa 11:4 of our chapter. Thereby is proved at the same time that the peaceful state of things in the brute world and the return of the Jews to their native land are still things of the future, for they must happen in that period when the Antichristian world, and its head shall be judged by Christ. But then, too, the dwelling together of tame and wild beasts is not the entrance of the heathen into the church, to which they were heretofore hostile, and the return of the Jews is not the conversion of a small part of Israel that took place at Pentecost and after. The miracles and signs too, contained in Isa 11:15-16 did not take place then. We see just here how one must do violence to the word if he will not take it as it stands. But if we take it as we have done, then the whole chapter belongs to the doctrine of hope (Hoffnungslehre) of the Scripture, and constitutes an important member of it. The Lord procures right and room for His church. He overthrows the world-kingdom, together with Antichrist. He makes of the remnant of Israel a congregation of believers filled with the Spirit, to whom He is near in an unusual way, and from it causes His knowledge to go out into all the world. He creates peace in the restless creatures, and shows us here in advance what more glorious things we may look for in the new earth. He presents to the world a church which, united in itself, unmolested by neighbors, stands under Gods mighty protection. All these facts are parts of a chain of hope that must be valuable and dear to our hearts. The light of this future illumines the obscurity of the present; the comfort of that day makes the heart fresh. Weber, der Prophet Jesaja, 1875.
Chap. 1226. On Isa 12:4 sq. These will not be the works of the New Testament: sacrificing and slaying, and make pilgrimage to Jerusalem and to the Holy Sepulchre, but praising God and giving thanks, preaching and hearing, believing with the heart and confessing with the mouth. For to praise our God is good; such praise is pleasant and lovely (Psa 147:1). Cramer.
27. On Chap. 12 With these words conclude the prophetic discourses on Immanuel. Through what obscurity of history have we not had to go, until we came to the bright light of the kingdom of Christ! How Israel and the nations had to pass through the fire of judgment before the sun arises in Israel and the entire gentile world is illumined! It is the, same way that every Christian has to travel. In and through the fire we become blessed. Much must be burnt up in us, before we press to the full knowledge of God and of His Son, before we become entirely one with Him, entirely glad and joyful in Him. Israel was brought up and is still brought up for glory, and we too. O that our end too were such a psalm of praise as this psalm! Weber, Der Pr. Jes. 1875.
Footnotes:
[1]stump.
[2]shoot.
[3]bear fruit.
[4]And his breathing will be done in the fear of the Lord.
[5]Heb. scent, or smell.
[6]administer judgment.
[7]Or, argue.
[8]righten.
[9]panther.
[10]grass.
[11]Or, adders.
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

CONTENTS
This Chapter is in part a prophecy concerning Christ. It contains an account of his stock, and the features of his person; the wonders of his redemption, in the call of the Gentiles; and the restoration of the Jews.
Isa 11:1
The Holy Ghost had before sent a message to the church by the Prophet, to tell them that the wonderful Person, the Messiah they had been so long taught to expect, should be born of a virgin, with some leading marks of his character; but now the Prophet is commissioned to tell the church, that he should spring from the stock of David. And to manifest his humbleness, he is to come but as a small rod from a stem; and from Jesse he is rather said to arise than from David, Jesse’s son. For Jesse lived and died in obscurity. The Prophet adds that he shall be a branch, a Netzer, so is the word, which though in the events of his coming, he would be beautiful and glorious, yet, in the view of many, but as the despised Nazarene. Oh! how truly lovely is every account of Jesus! Reader, consult those scriptures, Rev 22:16 ; Mat 2:23 ; Rev 5:5 ; Isa 4:2 ; Act 13:22-23 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

The Shoot Out of the Dry Stock
Isa 11:1

I. In that story of the shoot out of the dry stock two thoughts, as it were, compete for utterance.
1. There is the thought that God in Christ finds us where we are and not other where, meets us in the weary day which our pilgrimage has actually reached, demands of us no impossible return to the beginning of our lives. He has a new growth for the cut-down stock. There is no uprooting, no fresh seed; but from the old tree springs the leaf of joy.
2. In that recovery which finds us where we are, there is a fresh upburst of that which is entirely original. It is a force from the root. The new thing which appears, appears not from the bark, appeal’s not from the hewn surface, it witnesses to the vigour of the root and it repeats the power of its birth.
II. See how this was, first in the great fulfilment which was seen in the birth of our Lord from the Virgin Mary; when the Son of Mary, the Only Begotten Son of God, appeared upon the earth. There was the once majestic stem of Jesse reduced externally to a humble unknown family for which there was no room in the inn. Nothing could more strictly fulfil the picture of the hewn-down tree standing in the ruined forest than Israel the lowest and most wretched of the nations which still remained from that ancient world which the axe of Rome had levelled with the soil. In the old world, so disgraced, so confused, so burdened with heavy weights carried for a long journey, so ignorant of its direction, so wanting in hope in the ancient world, out of the midst of it and out of its lowliest plant, sprang in the birth of Christmas night that fresh young Life which has in fact remade society, given hope and joy again to mankind, such hope, such joy, as mankind had never known before, brought them back, brought them at last rather, into full communion with the freshness of the eternal.
I think it is good to note in other children in every child something of that wonderful power which belongs to One Who brings the promise of the future out of the ancient stock of human life.
III. Think, also, how this hope of Jesus Christ, this freshness out of the dry stock, can give to us courage in our social task.
There must be a seeking after reasons and meanings. What is the Church for? What is the State for? and what am I for in this short pilgrimage which will so soon be gone, and where I may be a worker and supporter and in part a guide, seeing the road which others see, or I may be a mere slave upon the track, a slave who does no work?
P. N. Waggett, Church Times, vol. Lev 4 January, 1907, p. 22.
Illustration. Do you remember the story that is told about St. Patrick? that represents also the salvation of Jesus Christ springing up in the midst of our ancient race. Patrick, they say, was born when his parents were fleeing from the heathen persecutors of their race, fleeing from them somewhere in Wales or farther north; and they were lost and panic-stricken in a desert place where there is no water, and, behold, the child is born, and how shall he be baptized in a dry land where there is no spring? And the priest who is to baptize him is himself blind and cannot go to seek or give any encouragement and leading to the bewildered train of fugitives. But the blind priest takes the little child’s hand and with it blesses the dry soil, and up there springs in this land of fear and terror and loneliness fresh water, in which the child is baptized who is to be the apostle of Ireland.
P. N. Waggett, Church Times, 4 January, 1907, p. 22.
References. XI. 1. J. M. Neale, Sermons Preached in Sackville College Chapel, vol. iv. p. 270. XI. 1-9. Church Times, vol. xxx. 1892, p. 804. X. 1-10. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture Isaiah, p. 66. XI. 2. G. W. Herbert, Notes of Sermons, p. 132. G. Matheson, Voices of the Spirit, p. 59. J. Martineau, Hours of Thought, vol. ii. p. 133. V. S. S. Coles, Advent Meditations on Isaiah, p. 89. XI. 3-10. Ibid. p. 92. XI. 4. J. H. Newman, Sermons Bearing on Subjects of the Day, p. 267. XI. 5. V. S. S. Coles, Advent Meditations on Isaiah, I.-XII. p. 96.
A Little Child Shall Lead Them ( christmas )
Isa 11:6

You will remember the context of this verse. Isaiah is drawing a picture of redeemed nature. Under the rule of the promised Prince of David’s line, ‘the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling, and’ as a charming finishing touch to the idyllic scene ‘a little child shall lead them’. I do not think that when Isaiah talks of bears and lions and reptiles, he means fierce and cruel and cunning men. When he talks of the beasts he means the beasts.
I. Christmas is the glorification of childhood. It is the fulfilment of Isaiah’s vision. It proclaims peace on earth, peace ‘among men of God’s good will’ (for this is the true reading of the angel’s song); and the Prince of Peace, who leads the peacemakers, the men after God’s own heart, is a little child. That little child grew up to teach us that unless we accept the kingdom of God as little children, we shall not enter therein.
II. ‘The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him; the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord, and shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord.’ It is a majestic description of the intellectual endowments of humanity. ‘The Holy Spirit,’ says Gregory of Tours, in words which may sound rather startling, ‘is the God of the intellect rather than of the heart.’ This splendid enumeration of the intellectual gifts of the Messiah leads on at once to the idyllic picture which we have mentioned the wild animals tamed and gentle, and led by a little child. It is, I think, a very noble and a very striking contrast. The ideal Ruler of David’s line, on whom the Spirit of the Lord shall pour all His choicest intellectual gifts, shall found a kingdom of universal peace, gentleness, and confiding innocence. We are very near the heart of Christianity here.
III. In a very fascinating mediaeval religious book, the Revelations of Julian of Norwich, the wise and saintly authoress says, ‘To me was shown no higher stature than childhood’. Not, of course, that we should remain children in understanding; not that when we have become men, we should refuse to put away childish things; but that there should remain much of the child-character in us to the end. Christianity was founded (I say it reverently) by a young man; it is a religion for the young, and for those who remain young in heart, though their hair is grey. Are not faith and hops and love, the Christian virtues, essentially the temper of the child the boy and girl? There is something very charming and inspiring in the faith, hope, and charity which have survived prolonged contact with the world, and experience of its ways. The religion of the devout recluse is good, but the religion of the good man of the world is better.
In celebrating the birth of Christ at Bethlehem we are doing homage to the child-nature, which the Son of God took upon Him, not because it was a necessary preliminary to His adult ministry, but because it was right and seemly that the Son of God should appear on earth as a little child.
W. R. Inge, All Saints’ Sermons, 1905-7, p. 11.
References. XI. 6. R. H. McKim, The Gospel in the Christian Year, p. 43. H. J. Wilmot-Buxton, Plain Preaching for Poor People (9th Series), p. 17. E. Medley, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxxviii. 1890, p. 116. G. G. Bradley, ibid. vol. li. 1897, p. 28. B. Wilberforce, ibid. vol. lvii. 1900, p. 90. R. J. Kyd, ibid. vol. xlvi. 1894, p. 53. R. Winterbotham, Sermons Preached in Holy Trinity Church, Edinburgh, p. 30. J. T. Stannard, The Divine Humanity, p. 155. T. Arnold, Sermons, vol. i. p. 47. XL 9. J. H. Newman, Sermons Bearing on Subjects of the Day, p. 142. W. Landels, Christian World Pulpit, vol. li. 1897, p. 372. W. H. Lyttelton, Missionary Sermons at Hagley, p. 108. XL 9, 10. H. D. Rawnsley, ibid. vol. lxi. 1902, p. 204. XI. 10. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xliii. No. 2542. J. M. Neale, Sermons Preached in Sackville College Chapel, vol. i. p. 295; see also Readings for the Aged (4th Series), p. 93. W. H. Hutchings, Sermon-Sketches (2nd Series), p. 8. F. R. H. H. Noyes, Plain Preaching for a Year, vol. i. p. 330.
The Remnant of God’s People
Isa 11:2

The text is very cheering and tender in itself, and especially in its connexion. Triumphant scenes have been described. Millennium glory; the world at the feet of Christ in willing and joyful subjection. But amidst all this glory the little ‘remnant’ is not forgotten. The remnant is forgotten in the world’s triumphs and gala days, not in God’s.
I. The Remnant. The ‘remnant’ is a favourite word with God. Let it not think it is thrown away, or lost sight of. A ‘second time’ He sets His hand to recover it. Perhaps it was too poor, weak, thoughtless even wedded to the strange land, at the last gathering. He will not only glean, but go back to fields already reaped and gleaned. You cannot be too poor, despised, sinful, for Christ to seek and save you. He has no ‘residuum’. He counts the very dust of His temple of humanity.
II. The Scattered Remnant. From Assyria, Egypt, etc. You may be scattered in other lands, among strangers; away from all old influences for good, from old habits, associations, interests, etc.; but His eye is as fully on you, and His heart is as wholly devoted to you, as if you were in the very centre of them all. Nay, if possible, yet more on that account When father and mother forsake the Lord takes up.
III. Recovered from the Grasp of Strong Enemies. Those powers named were the strongest and most grinding of all the powers known to the ancient world. But His weak remnant should be recovered from their oppression. Worldliness, evil passions, strong drink all that is most tyrannical in sin may be your master; you weak as a woman in their grasp; but God is stronger than they. ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.’
IV. The Whole Remnant. How the Prophet names those powers one by one, as if he would bring a special message of hope and strength to every ear individually. ‘Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent.’
Reference. XI. 11, 12. C. Holland, Gleanings from a Ministry of Fifty Years, p. 264.
Envy
Isa 11:13

Ephraim means here the kingdom of Israel, or of the ten tribes; and Judah means the southern kingdom, that of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. They were rivals; each was jealous of the other, because they were so evenly matched in power and influence. A weak tribe like Simeon was not jealous of either Ephraim or Judah.
I. Human nature is weak and sinful, and therefore the world is everywhere full of envy and jealousy. Sometimes unholy envy still cleaves a Christian nation into two, as it did the Hebrew nation long ago. Neighbouring cities are sometimes rivals. The successful man in the work of life is envied. Jealousy is even worse among professional men than it is among merchants. The same bad spirit is sometimes shown in Church life. Why was it, for example, that the chief priests and elders of the Jews accused Jesus so unjustly before Pilate, the Roman Governor? It is said in the Gospel narrative that Pilate ‘knew that for envy they had delivered Him’.
Even in the bosom of families, and at the fireside, where all ought to be love, there is sometimes the same wickedness. It was the envy of Cain that led him to murder his brother Abel.
II. The Prophet Isaiah is speaking in this chapter about the reign of the Messiah, and the blessedness which that reign will bring to its subjects. He says that when the kingdom of God triumphs, envy and jealousy will depart out of the hearts of men. The ancient rivalry of Judah and Ephraim will be at an end, and all will be harmony and love.
III. Here is a double remedy for envy in one’s own heart two prescriptions, which ought both to be taken at once.
1. Think much about your mercies. Envious persons compare themselves in an unkindly way with those who are more successful than themselves, forgetting all the while that there are many who are less successful. If I am a believer in Christ, I am the possessor of ‘all things,’ and it is therefore unreasonable that I should envy any one.
2. Seek a renewed heart. The natural heart is evil, and it leads us to envy and grieve at the good of our neighbour. But the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, if we ask Him, will give us a new heart. The Holy Spirit will help us to entertain lowly thoughts of ourselves, and to learn to admire what is good in others.
C. Jerdan, Pastures of Tender Grass, p. 200.
References. XI. 13. R. F. Horton, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xlix. 1896, p. 17. XII. 1. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xvi. No. 928. XII. 1-6. V. S. S. Coles, Advent Meditations on Isaiah I.-XII. p. 1. XII. 2. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xliii. No. 2541. XII. 3. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture Isaiah, p. 64. Sir G. R. Fetherston, A Garden Eastward, p. 66. J. M. Neale, Sermons on the Prophets, vol. i. p. 23. W. P. Balfern, Lessons from Jesus, p. 235. XII. 3-6. V. S. S. Coles, Advent Meditations on Isaiah I.-XII. p. 100. XIII. 12. J. Vickery, Ideals of Life, p. 61. J. G. Greenhough, The Cross and the Dice-Box, p. 133. XIV. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xlv. No. 2612.
Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson

The Burden of Assyria

Isa 10:5 to Isa 12:6
Anew section begins at Isa 10:5 , and goes to Isa 12:6 . The section deals with Assyria, and might be called in some sense “The Burden of Assyria.” It is most difficult to understand. All annotators have been more or less perplexed by it. The translators have put in words with which to help themselves over literal difficulties. Sometimes Assyria seems to be speaking as the prophet himself, and sometimes the prophet seems to be speaking as if Assyria were uttering judgments upon wrong. All we can do is to endeavour to find some central line upon which can be strung all the wise and abiding words which history has proved to be just and useful.
In studying the history of Assyria as given in this section we shall see at least some principles of the divine government. Assyria itself is dead and gone; for us the vision in its literal detail is useless; it has taken its place in antique, grey history; but it is of infinite importance that we should trace the common line of providence, the abiding quantity of history, the thing that never changes, and thus feel that we are still under a government strong in righteousness and gracious in discipline. The thing always to be sought after is the abiding unit; the unit without which calculation is impossible: that we may discover with gracious certainty in a narrative so graphic and vivid as that which is given in the text. Let us say that God speaks by the mouth of the prophet, saying:
“O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation” ( Isa 10:5 ).

The meaning might be this: “I will choose a staff with which I will chastise my people: I have fixed my choice upon Assyria; I will so use that proud nation that my people shall begin to fear that for their sin they shall be heavily dealt with: I will choose Assyria as an instrument of vengeance.” We must not omit the reflection that this was a terrible thing for Assyria. What man likes to be an instrument through which righteousness will punish some other man? Who would willingly accept a calling and election so severe? The man himself may have nothing to avenge upon the one to whom he is sent as a judgment, and yet he is doing things without being able to explain them; as we have already seen, he is setting up hostilities which he can only partially defend and hardly at all explain:
“I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets” ( Isa 10:6 ).

Thus nations are sent to do work they do not like. What are the nations but instruments in the hands of him who made them? So we are puzzled and perplexed by many an imperial policy; we do not like it, and yet still it proceeds to work out all its mysterious issues now severe, now beneficent. We are in tumult and darkness and perplexity, thick and that cannot be disentangled; and how seldom we realise the fact that all this may be a divine movement, a clouding of the divine presence, and an outworking of divine and eternal purposes.
“Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so” ( Isa 10:7 ).

Assyria does not know what he is going to do; he is quick at giving an explanation of his own action, but it does not occur to him that he is instrument, servant, mere errand-bearer to the King of glory. “He meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so,” that is to say, it never occurs to him that he is an instrument of providence, that he has been selected in order that he might manifest divine judgments. We cannot tell what we are doing. Assyria said that it was in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few; he was simply a warrior; it did not enter into his conception that he was anything more than a conqueror, a proud destroyer, one before whose advent all nations quailed. Thus the Lord useth the pride of man. For a moment he gratifies human vanity; for a little while he allows man to proceed upon certain conceptions, that in the long run he may work out his own judgment, and illustrate and vindicate his own providence. If the action were within a definite time, then moral criticism might fall upon its enouncement; but the Lord speaks in circular periods, in complete lapses of time; all the ages lie in their nakedness before him when he declares judgment or blessing: his action, therefore, is not to be interrupted at some inferior point of punctuation, but is to be allowed to roll itself out in all its fulness, and when the unfoldment is complete the judgment may be pronounced. How many men there are just in the position of Assyria at this particular time! They lift up their hand, and nations tremble; they inflict a studied discourtesy, and all the land wonders why it should have been, and begins to predict unrest, unsettlement, war, and great ruin. The particular man, seeing all this as the issue of his policy or his neglect, inflames himself with pride, burns with vanity, lifts himself up as if he would touch the stars, feels in all his blood the tingle of sovereignty. Poor fool! he does not know that he is like a saw which God has taken up to sever a piece of wood. The Lord knows what a man is; he knows all that is in man, and he uses him for the education of man, he employs one nation for the deliverance of another. The scheme of providence is a tessellated scheme, full of little pieces, marvellously related to one another, and no one can lay his hand upon a single point and say, This is all. There is no single point in divine providence; all history is consolidated; all the action of time means the grand significance that it issues in. We are to beware of temporary definitions and temporary conclusions. Any conclusion to which we can now come is open to the modification of to-morrow. Only God can conclude; only Christ can say, “It is finished!”
Assyria, then, begins to exult; he says:
“For he saith, Are not my princes altogether kings? is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus?” ( Isa 9:8-9 ).

I have done all these things, and all that is yet to be done is part and parcel of the same triumph:
“As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria; shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?” ( Isa 9:10-11 ).

This is intoxication; this is the wilderness of military vanity. The king of Assyria sees all things falling into his hands: he says, Calno shall be no more than Carchemish was; and Hamath shall be as Arpad, and Samaria as Damascus: as I have killed many, I will kill more; as I have subdued hitherto all along the line, so I will continue my work of subjugation until the whole series fall at my feet. Thus providence is unknown and misinterpreted; thus do men get hold of the wrong end of things, and talk idiotically. Assyria does not pause, and say, Why is this? is there more blood to be shed? are there more people to be trampled upon? This is hard work: I would the gods would save me from this execution. Then Assyria would have been a child of heaven. But who ever takes the events of life as chastening, instructing, and disciplining the mind? Who receives his wages in order that he may do good with the money? who accepts his rewards in order that he may encourage and deepen his gratitude? Let us pray for a right conception of providence. If we are sent on cruel errands, let us go about them diligently, but with a subtle reluctance that will import into our hardest judicial tones some gospel of God Assyria misunderstood providence, which we are doing every day; we are taking our influence, and magnifying it so as to feed our vanity, instead of accepting it as a trust, and asking God to be merciful to us even in the bestowment of power.
Now another section opens, a wholly distinct view looms upon the vision:
“Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks. For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man” ( Isa 10:12-13 ).

I will choke him in his boasts. While his throat is inflamed with his own vanity I will lay my hand upon his, and murder him in the sight of heaven. Providence is a large term. It is not a government of fits and starts and spasms that are unrelated to one another; it is righteous, solemn, tranquil, yea, tranquil though the detail, the immediate phenomena may be associated with tumult and riot and wantonness; within the whole action there is a zone of calm. We are not to misunderstand the clouds, though they be laden with snow. Where are they but in God’s hand? Beyond them the moon shines nightly without a flutter, and the sun holds his court all day without dread of the interruption of his sovereignty. All that may be within the eye-line is full of darkness, and tumult, and trouble; we are filled with distress because of what we see, but then we only see that which is as a handful of a very small space. All the tranquillities of the universe are undisturbed by the little thunder that roars and vibrates in the lower atmospheres. So is it with the purpose of God. Assyria shall be used to an end; he shall accomplish that end; but for his pride he shall be punished. All self-idolatry is punishment; all presumption comes to a bad end. Assyria said, “By the strength of my hand I have done it,” and God shall prove that it was otherwise, that his poor little fist did nothing in the matter but as it was directed by the palm of omnipotence. Assyria said, “I am prudent,” and God will turn his prudence to shame and confusion, for the whole scheme was not planned by his military wit; it was all laid out by him whose artillery is the starry heavens, and whose resources are his own infinity.
Then Assyria makes a figure. The metaphor is to be found in the following verse ( Isa 10:14 )
“And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped.”

So Assyria represents himself as a gigantic fowler who had gone out and captured all the feathered tribes, and not one of them rebelled against his well-laid schemes. The image is graphic; the vanity of Assyria has made him for a moment poetical. How otherwise could the pagan mind think? When a man has both hands full, what else can he say but that he is rich? If all his schemes prosper, how other can he lay down on his own couch at night than as a prudent man? When not a line of his policy has failed, is he not at liberty to say, None moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped; I seemed to fasten all the birds like the eye of a basilisk; they all gave themselves up to me: behold, how great I am, and how my wonder eclipses the sun? The pagan mind must talk so, because it has no worthy centre; it does not calculate by the right standard or regulate by the one meridian; it can see no farther than itself: itself is its universe. Only when right conceptions of a religious kind enter the mind does the mind look round for deepest causes, and wonder, and pray, and say, Would God I could find out the reality of this case! things come too easily to me: surely God must be using me for some purpose I cannot understand; why do these eagles fall into my hand? how large they are and strong, with wings that were made to darken the sun; why do I capture them so easily? why does my business prosper more than my neighbour’s? he complains, and I proceed, adding store to store; other men devise plans, and they come to nothing; my policy always blossoms and fructifies, and comes back upon me a hundredfold: how is this? surely God is using me to an end, and I cannot tell what it is. O God, make me humble, calm, watchful; I do not wholly like this; I would there were more resistance to me; the very facility of my progress through a land of rock and mountain and darkness makes me feel that I am being impelled or lured, rather than walking by my voluntary motion and determination. This would be sacred talk, speech of salt; a sacrifice of the tongue acceptable unto God.
Then the Lord reasons thus:
“Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood” ( Isa 10:15 ).

How satiric is God! Can sarcasm whet a keener edge than this? O Assyria, thou art but an iron axe with a wooden handle, and God has been using thee for smiting trees: thou art but a sharp-toothed saw, which God himself has sharpened in order that he might cut with it a piece of timber: do not shake thyself against them that lift thee up; and, staff, forget not that thou art only wooden after all. So we are abased; yea, those who stand near the altar and speak the eloquence of God are told by a thousand angels that like themselves they are “but ministers”: they have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of men.
And still further, God reduces the pride of those that lift themselves up against him “The rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them” ( Isa 10:19 ). Even what is left is just sufficient to provoke contempt. A completer desolation would have been more a blessing, but to have two or three trees left out of a whole forest seems to add to the bitterness of the loss. The trees are a little number, and children please themselves by counting the number on their fingers; and the man whose trees they count was once the possessor of unmeasured forests: “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” Riches take to themselves wings, and flee away. The wicked have been in great power, and they have departed without telling whither they have gone; they have not left even the rustle of a wing behind them to indicate the direction of their flight. We have much now; upstairs and downstairs, all full; to-morrow every chamber will be emptied, and yet not a door will have been opened by human hand. Seal up your treasures; take wax, and plenty of it; melt it down, stamp it with your crest frailest sign of vanity and to-morrow will find you empty-handed, and you will open your mouth in wonder, and ask who did it; and the secret-keeping air, the confidant of God, will not allow even a little bird to tell you whither the property has gone. Use it well! Blessed is the true and faithful servant who toils and prays!
Then a word of hope. When could the Lord conclude a speech without some tone, gospel-like in its cheerfulness and tenderness and gentleness?
“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God” ( Isa 10:20-21 ).

Where have we found that expression before “the mighty God”? We found it only a chapter back, and in the sixth verse of the ninth chapter “His name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God” the same word in the Hebrew: what if it be the same God in reality, and that God be Christ? There shall be a remnant, and God can use that remnant as he can use seed for planting, for sowing, for purposes of raising a new generation, planting a new forest, holy unto himself.
This is the providence, then, under which we live. Facts prove it. We are under law and criticism of a moral kind: our conduct is examined, our motives are inquired into and pronounced upon by the just One; every morning is as a white throne set in the heavens; every noonday is as an eye of fire watching the ways of men; every night is a pavilion of rest, or an image of despair. The axe of heaven is lifted up against all the thick trees that suppose themselves to be independent of God. All moral loveliness is cherished as the pearl greater in value than all others. This is the economy under which we live! We are not left without law, judgment, supervision, criticism; every one of us must give an account of himself to God. “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing.” If for a few years we grow towards strength, we soon turn the growing point, and go down into old age and weakness, that we may know ourselves to be but men. Life is a great triumph up to middle age, because the man may be always well; he may grow in strength and in prosperity, and he may represent himself as a successful fowler; but after that grey hairs are here and there upon him, and he knoweth it not, and presently men may say as he passes by, He stoops a little more; his memory will begin to be a little blurred and clouded, and though he can keep good reckoning, yet he must trust to paper more than he ever trusted before. If we plant vineyards and forests, and subdue wildernesses by generous culture, we die whilst we gaze on our success, and are buried under the very flowers which have rewarded our toil. This is the economy under which the nations have ever lived, and under which every little life works out its little day. If we do wrong a spectre touches us in the darkness, and makes us cold with fear. What is it? It is the right hand of God; it is the feeling of righteousness; it is the sign of justice. If we do right, all heaven broadens its glory over our heads, and fills the path we walk with flowers of light. This is the economy under which we live: let us not be fools, but wise, understanding all these claims and demands, owning their righteousness, and responding to their appeals. And the end? so near, always so near. We shall see all the meaning of sword and pestilence and grim famine, of cloud and storm and angry thunder, of love, and mercy, and hope, and gospel sacred with the blood of sacrifice. By-and-by, yet a little while, no cloud is eternal; it is but vapour after all, and the wind will cleanse it away. When the vision is declared we shall know that Righteousness is the security of the universe, hell the necessity of unrepented sin, and heaven is the God-built, eternal home of men who touched the atoning Saviour with the reverent, grateful hand of faith. History is in a great tumult: nation clashes against nation in the shock of war; man eats the flesh of the arm of man, and grows the hungrier for his feast of blood; the poor are little counted of, the weak go to the wall; banners red as blood are being figured all over with lines of fire, with the motto, “Might is right.” O Lord, how long? In reply to this question we are entitled to go back upon all the record of history, and trace the line of providence through the whole a line now terrible as righteousness, now gracious as the love of Christ. The Lord reigneth!
Prayer

Almighty God, we thank thee for the promise of all bright days; we rejoice that there is coming a time when cloud and storm will be done away, and peace and loveliness and glory shall crown all things: this is the end of thy government, this is the meaning of thy love. We accept it as such, and cheer ourselves meanwhile with this bright and glowing hope. Thou wilt come and rectify all things; thou wilt set up the standard of the sanctuary everywhere; righteousness shall be the base and rock on which things are built, and at the top of the pillar there shall be lily work, so that strength and beauty shall be in the house of the Lord. All things hurtful thou wilt subdue; all violent forces thou wilt control; all iniquity and unrighteousness thou wilt put down, and the Sabbath of the Lord shall dawn upon a reconciled and purified earth. This is our hope; this is the poetry that sings to us; this is the prophecy that makes us glad. Lord, how long? say thy saints in their groaning. Lord, how long? do they say again when the burden presses upon their failing strength. Yet thou knowest all things; the ages are in thy keeping and under thy direction; all time is God’s instrument, and he will use it for the advancement of all causes true and pure and righteous. Enable us to control our impatience, to subdue all impious eagerness, and to wait in sweet contentment and solid assurance, knowing that the Lord will come at his own time, and set up his kingdom, and rule over all, and we shall know his coming as the earth knows the summer. The years are all thine, and thou dost mete them out one by one; to no man dost thou give five years, to another two; thou givest to each man one year, one day, one breath; and herein dost thou teach us the uncertainty of life and its necessary brevity, and suggest to us the coming and final judgment of all things. May we redeem the time; may we make the most of it; may we turn every day into a Sabbath, and every Sabbath may we sanctify with redoubled sacrifice: thus our life shall grow into a song, thus even the night-time shall be vocal with praise, and thus shall we magnify thy name, and return unto thee manifold, because of the seed thou hast sown in good ground. Thou knowest the want of every heart, the pain of every life, the shadow which darkens every path, and the cold wind which chills all the pulses that beat within us; we will, therefore, leave ourselves in thine hand. We can tell thee nothing; thou dost search us and try us, and see if there be any wicked way in us, that thou mayest not destroy us, but lead us in the way everlasting. Thy will be done. Receive us into thine own hands; direct us by thine own Spirit; fill us with wisdom and understanding, and endow us with a sagacious mind. May ours be the highest Christian courage, fearing nothing, hoping all things, seeing no danger, dreading no foe, but constantly moving onward, with the dignity of conviction, and with the patience of those to whom is entrusted an immortal hope. Lord, bless the land. God save the Queen: establish her throne in righteousness, and may its canopy be as a banner of love. The Lord bless all the nations of the earth, for all the nations should be one empire, ruled by the Son of God. Blessed Jesus, thou art the propitiation for our sins, and not for our sins only, but for the sins of the whole world; for that world, therefore, do we pray, that every acre of it may be sown with gospel seed, that every handful of its soil may be consecrated by the touch of honest men, and that the whole world may be like a returned prodigal, received with joy and thankfulness into the family of the stars. Pity us in all our littleness; pardon us wherein our sin grows upon us like a rising mountain, and send comfort by thy Cross, Messiah, Emmanuel, Son of God! Amen.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker

Prophecy and History
Isa 11

We should connect the opening of the eleventh chapter with the close of the tenth in order to feel the full force of the contrast. There we read: “And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.” Then comes the prophecy that “there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots” ( Isa 11:1 ). The cedar of Lebanon was the symbol of Assyrian power. It was a poor symbol. Looked at botanically, it very vividly represented the passing pomp of a Pagan empire. It is of the pine genus, and sends out no suckers, and when it is cut down it is gone. The oak is the symbol of Israel’s power, and though it be cut down it grows again “there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots” out of the very lowest stump that is left in the ground. In order to terminate the growth of right things and right lives you must really uproot them; and that is impossible. There are trees that can be cut down, and they have no to-morrow; and there are others which, though cut down to the very surface of the earth, have sap within themselves, and have laid such hold upon the earth, and upon the whole solar system through the earth, that they will renew their youth, and be green next year. What is the symbol of our power? Is ours an influence that can be cut down and never revive? or are we so rooted in the Eternal that though persecution may impoverish us, and we may suffer great deprivation and depletion of every kind, yet we shall come up again in eternal youthfulness, and great shall be our strength and just pride? Let every man answer this question for himself.
“There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse.” We thought the rod was coming “out of the house of David.” There may be an instructive point here. David was a king, royal, marked in his highest time by features that impressed the vision and the imagination; it was better, therefore, to take the case of Jesse in his loneliness and comparative obscurity, and to start the Christian story from that lowly home. Nothing is of full compass in benevolence and philosophy and true wisdom that does not begin at the lowest point, and work through all the strata to the very surface and uppermost line of things. Better, therefore, know that though David was very great and glorious, yet even he was the son of Jesse. Let us go back to the humblest point, the very starting line, and learn that this Son of God was not the son of a king only, but the son of a king’s lowly father. Christianity is the religion of the common people. The gospel appeals to all men, rich and poor, in every zone and clime, and is most to those who need it most.
“… and a Branch shall grow out of his roots” a branch, a Netzer; he shall be called a Netzer, a Nazarene: Jesus shall be associated with Nazareth, the word which traces itself back to another word which signifies branch; his name shall for ever be associated with growth, and beauty, and loveliness, and fruitfulness. All this is in the future, but the future may be the most present reality to our consciousness. Did we know it, we should feel that heaven is nearer than earth; that eternity is closer to us than time can ever be; that by a sweet grace, a most tender necessity, the future is the real present, by way of inspiration, encouragement, and vivification; it is thus that posterity has done much for us, though we sneeringly inquire, What has posterity done? Posterity represents the future, the coming dawn, the very period for which all good men are working; the Sabbath of the world, the parliament of man; and, therefore, by its lure, by its holy seduction and gracious welcome, it lifts us out of the deep pit, and calls us away from the shadowed valley, and gives courage in the day of strife, and hope in the night of despondency.
Let us further read about this man the Branch:
“And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding [“the faculty of clear perception leading him aright in matters whether of intellectual or moral interest (1Ki 10:8 ; Job 28:28 )”], the spirit of counsel and might [“sagacity in conceiving a course of action, and firmness and courage in carrying it out (cf. Isa 36:5 )”], the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord [“a full apprehension of what Jehovah demands, and the inclination to act accordingly”] ( Isa 11:2 ).

We seem to have read these words before; surely the prophet is now quoting some other man; what man is he quoting? They are solemn strong words, clear-cut, of diamond value; and we have a half-conscious familiarity with them ourselves. Isaiah is quoting from the Book of Proverbs. This description of the coming One is taken from a book in which there would seem to be but little poetry. Isaiah was a great statesman, a strong, shrewd, sagacious man, fed at the banqueting-table of the Book of Proverbs that pithiest of all books, every sentence a light, every verse the wisdom of many and the wit of one. Isaiah was a student of the old scrolls; having much to do, either personally or relatively, with the sanctuary and its services, he was a student as well as a statesman; and when he comes to describe the mind that would bless the world with infinite beneficence he finds all the lineaments in the Book of Proverbs. When we come to right definitions, large and wise, we shall find that poetry may be in an apothegm. Some poets are praised because their poetry is in their thought rather than in their versification; in some instances we are puzzled by the mere rhyming of the poet, it does not fall harmoniously and easily into its lines; therein we are told that the poetry is in the philosophy, in the inner and inspiring thought, rather than in the verbal form. So it is in the Book of Proverbs. Truth is poetry; poetry is truth; and Christ when he comes shall represent in himself, not some glowing ode, but that Book of Proverbs, every sentence of which is like a jewel fit to be set in a king’s crown.
“The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him.” That also is a familiar phrase we meet with in Judges ( Jdg 11:29 ): “Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah;” also in Jdg 13:25 : “And the Spirit of the Lord began to move him” [Samson]. Again in Joh 1:33 : “Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending” That Spirit of the Lord has always been in human history. It accounts for all heroisms, noble darings, self-sacrifices, for all labours meant, not for the blessedness of the labourer himself, but for the gratification and progress of other ages. Do not limit yourselves by a theological and technical definition. “The Spirit of the Lord” is a large expression: it has to do with the mystery of mind; with the secrecy of motive; with the inner springs of life, and thought, and purpose; with dreams and visions, and even with superstitions and fanaticisms; it has worked in India and in China; it has written books in characters that are strange to us; it dwelt with Plato, and it may be with some to-day who are unaware of the name of their Guest, who rules and blesses them with light. Wherever you find a wise word you find the Spirit of God; wherever you find genuine morality you find a revelation of heaven; be it in what books it may, it is God’s thought, and we must resolutely and gratefully claim it as such; otherwise, we shall have rival moralities, rival temples of wisdom; whereas there is but one goodness and one sanctuary.
Mark his intellectual qualification; he is to be “of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord” ( Isa 11:3 ) a word which relates to the power of smell or scent; he is to have that keen sense which the hound has when the game is not far away, and yet is deeply hidden; he is to know wisdom and right and truth as the thirsty hart smells the waterbrooks; or, by another etymology, he is to draw his breath in the fear of the Lord; that is to say, the fear of the Lord is to be his native breath. Religion is to be no burden to him, no superimposition which he must carry, whether he will or no; his religion is his breath, he will pray because he breathes, he will speak because he breathes; it is part of himself, of his very nature; it belongs to a great system of voluntariness, which constantly and continually gives itself out for the benefit of those who are within the range of its influence. He is to be a discerning Christian; his eyes are like unto fire; he sees all things, yea, the deep things of God; there is no possibility of passing off a counterfeit upon him; he knows the hypocrite afar off, though he be on bent knees, and his eyes are lifted up to heaven in simulated piety. This gift of discernment is a gift which may be enjoyed by the whole Church. Have we lost the spirit of discernment? How comes it that men who are religious are thought to be mentally inferior? They ought to be the highest minds in the world; they ought to have the candle of the Lord at their disposal a candle which lets its revealing light fall upon all secret corners and cunning devices. There should be no possibility of deceiving the spirit of righteousness which is in the renewed man; he will know the hypocrite by his very attitude. Yet it may be possible to deceive even the very elect. But we cannot deceive the Lord. The Lord looketh upon the heart; even though we have many qualities that are unworthy, yet he can see beneath them all, and detect the genuine seed, the real desire after his kingdom, and the real sympathy with his purpose. That is the difference between the bad man and the good man: the bad man endeavours to keep an outwardly reputable surface, and all his iniquity is within, at the very centre and core of things; the good man’s imperfections are many, and are broadly seen, but the more deeply you go into his character the more rich he is; he is honest at the core. By this God will judge us. If we say, Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee, though yesterday I denied thee, the appeal will stand if it be the appeal of an honest man; the wound, the slight, will be forgiven, forgotten, on the sight of the first penitential tear, and the ardent desire to be better will be accepted, and answered like a prayer.
Look at his moral qualifications. His official attitude is that of a smiter “he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth.” The word “earth” is not to be taken here in its geographical sense; “the earth” represents temporary powers, the rulers of the passing day, the triflers who are playing with the peoples, and who are using the nations for selfish and unpatriotic purposes: this ruler shall smite the earth, break the tyrant’s power, put down the oppressor, and achieve victory over the victor. That is one of his moral qualifications. Look at his dress “righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.” He is clothed with righteousness and faithfulness. The girdle keeps all the other garments in their place. There is an upper girdle and a lower girdle, and the idea of completeness is thus suggested and confirmed.
Look at his influence upon Nature:
“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den” ( Isa 11:6-8 ).

All nature will be under his control. When the eye sees him it will recognise him. There is a majesty before which we all retire; an impressiveness of power, a consciousness of real dignity, in the presence of which we hold our tongues, and wait for him who is clad with righteousness and faithfulness, and crowned with wisdom, to speak the first word and lead the conversation. Beautiful, indeed, is this conquest over nature, and beautiful the test by which it is confirmed “A little child shall lead them.” The suckling shall play with the cobra, and the weanling shall put his hand on the basilisk, and a great reconciliation shall take place; there shall be no longer any to hurt or destroy in all God’s holy mountain. A little child shall stretch out his hand to the eyeball of the basilisk as a man will put out his hand to a gleaming diamond. That is the literal meaning of the prophecy. When the mother sees her little child approaching the great cobra she screams, but in this Sabbatic day cobra and child shall be friends. These are the miracles of grace; these are the triumphs of Jesus Christ. When he sent forth his apostles he said: “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” Here is the very realisation of the words of the prophet. Man shall one day take his right place in nature: he shall lay his hand upon the lion, and play with the lion’s neck of thunder; and the little weanling shall run after the most noxious thing, and find it harmless as its own young pure heart. Christ will do his work thoroughly; he will not have a half-heaven; he will not bring in a partial reconciliation. He was before all things, by him all things consist, and without him was not any thing made that was made; when, therefore, he declares that the end of his journey has come, we shall find even the animals within the circle of his influence, and the most violent things shall sit down in meekness, and look up as if in prayer. What are these animals? Who made them? Who can explain them? Who knows their future? This is a gracious mystery at all events, and may be accepted as a fact that when man is right with God the animals will be right with man; when man is right with God, the earth will be right with man, and will feel as if she could not do enough for him in growing him all the bread he wants, and then giving him more than he needs. “Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us.”
“They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain.” Hurting and destroying were no part of the divine plan from the first. Hurting and destroying, acts of violence and cruelty, these have no place in the divine policy as such; they are brought in as dire necessities; they follow the way of sin, that they may judge it and condemn it, and inflict penalty upon it; but hurting and destroying are but temporary ministries; God’s whole thought is of love, and healing, and well-being.
How is all this to be done? Under what great signal is it to take place? The answer is sublime: “For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea’ ( Isa 11:9 ). This is to be a religious miracle. It there were fuller knowledge of God in the world there would be more peace amongst men; if the Lord’s kingdom were understood, the Sabbath of the millennium would dawn. But men do not understand the kingdom of God; they make it narrow, they imprison it within unworthy limitations, they mistake the infinity of truth, and they think they can build a house fit for God. There is the perpetual difficulty. We ought to feel that the largest house we build for him is too small for any attribute of his character; that the heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain him. So we should believe about truth. No one man can hold all God’s truth, or comprehend it, or reveal it; he can but take his own share of the sunlight, and throw it back in generous reflection upon those who need its help. When men understand God’s kingdom, they will understand that love is the true wisdom; that charity is the true justice; that self-control is the true sovereignty; and that to wait patiently for God is the grand philosophy.
Prayer

Almighty God, we would evermore dwell in the valley of vision; we would belong to the family of the seers, to the city of men who are gifted with foresight, who see the morning while it is yet night, and who see the noonday in the dim dawn. We bless thee for all the men in the world who have had great eyesight, power of far-away vision, who could see things in their right meaning and their true proportion, and so seeing them had the eloquent tongue to tell others what had been revealed. Thou always art revealing something to the human mind; some new phase of truth thou dost cause us to look upon, and it fills us with religious surprise, for having gazed upon it with religious wonder we exclaim, There is no searching of his understanding. Do thou every day surprise us with thy love; though we expect it, may it come with such newness as to awaken our wonder. Thou art always before us, thou dost in very deed prevent us; we thought we were first, and lo, we were last, and are always last, for who can be before God? For all thy daily mercies we bless thee; they are but a greater mercy broken up into morsels: surely we will set ourselves to find the meaning of them; they are not complete, they are parts of a stupendous whole. Help us to use every mercy as a cue, that we may follow it, and connect it with other mercies, until at last we say, Behold, this is the King of the Jews, the crucified Son of man! We bless thee with daily blessings; our doxology is a daily song, for behold thy compassions come with every morning, and thy faithfulness is sealed anew at eventide. Bless us in the Lord, the Christ, the Well of Salvation, the Spring and Origin of truth, the Sovereign of all hearts, the Man who died for us, and thus proved his deity. Amen.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker

XXVII
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST IN ISAIAH

The relation between the New Testament Christ and prophecy is that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. To him give all the prophets witness. All the scriptures, the law, the prophets, and the psalms, testify of him. And we are fools, and slow of heart to credit adequate testimony when we distrust any part of the inspired evidence.
Of the ancient prophets Isaiah was perhaps the most notable witness of the coming Messiah. An orderly combination of his many messianic utterances amounts to more than a mere sketch, indeed, rather to a series of almost life-sized portraits. As a striking background for these successive portraits the prophet discloses the world’s need of a Saviour, and across this horrible background of gloom the prophet sketches in startling strokes of light the image of a coming Redeemer.
In Isa 2:2-4 we have the first picture of him in Isaiah, that of the effect of his work, rather than of the Messiah himself. This is the establishment of the mountain of the Lord’s house on the top of the mountains, the coming of the nations to it and the resultant millennial glory.
In Isa 4:2-6 is another gleam from the messianic age in which the person of the Messiah comes more into view in the figure of a branch of Jehovah, beautiful and glorious. In sketching the effects of his work here the prophet adds a few strokes of millennial glory as a consummation of his ministry.
In Isa 7:14 he delineates him as a little child born of a virgin, whose coming is the light of the world. He is outlined on the canvas in lowest humanity and highest divinity, “God with us.” In this incarnation he is the seed of the woman and not of the man.
The prophet sees him as a child upon whom the government shall rest and whose name is “Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isa 9:6 ). This passage shows the divinity of Christ and the universal peace he is to bring to the world. In these names we have the divine wisdom, the divine power, the divine fatherhood, and the divine peace.
In Isa 11:1-9 the prophet sees the Messiah as a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, i.e., of lowly origin, but possessing the Holy Spirit without measure who equips him for his work, and his administration wrought with skill and justice, the result of which is the introduction of universal and perfect peace. Here the child is presented as a teacher. And such a teacher! On him rests the seven spirits of God. The spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge, and the fear of the Lord. He judges not according to appearances and reproves not according to rumors. With righteousness he judges the poor and reproves with equality in behalf of the meek. His words smite a guilty world like thunderbolts and his very breath slays iniquity. Righteousness and faithfulness are his girdle. He uplifts an infallible standard of morals.
In Isa 40:3-8 appears John the Baptist, whom Isaiah saw as a voice crying in the wilderness, preparing the way for the coming King.
In Isa 11:2 ; Isa 42:1 ; Isa 61:1-3 the prophet saw the Messiah as a worker in the power of the Spirit, in whom he was anointed at his baptism. This was the beginning of his ministry which was wrought through the power of the Holy Spirit. At no time in his ministry did our Lord claim that he wrought except in the power of the Holy Spirit who was given to him without measure.
In Isa 35:1-10 the Messiah is described as a miracle worker. In his presence the desert blossoms as a rose and springs burst out of dry ground. The banks of the Jordan rejoice. The lame man leaps like a hart, the dumb sing and the blind behold visions. The New Testament abounds in illustrations of fulfilment. These signs Christ presented to John the Baptist as his messianic credentials (Mat 11:1-4 ).
The passage (Isa 42:1-4 ) gives us a flashlight on the character of the Messiah. In the New Testament it is expressly applied to Christ whom the prophet sees as the meek and lowly Saviour, dealing gently with the blacksliding child of his grace. In Isa 22:22 we have him presented as bearing the key of the house of David, with full power to open and shut. This refers to his authority over all things in heaven and upon earth. By this authority he gave the keys of the kingdom to Peter one for the Jews and the other for the Gentiles who used one on the day of Pentecost and the other at the house of Cornelius, declaring in each case the terms of entrance into the kingdom of God. This authority of the Messiah is referred to again in Revelation:
And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying. Fear not: I am the first and the last, and the Living one; and I was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore and I have the keys of death and of Hades. Rev 7:17
And to the angel of the church in Philadelphis write: These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and none shall shut, and shutteth and none openeth. Rev 3:7
In Isa 32:1-8 we have a great messianic passage portraying the work of Christ as a king ruling in righteousness, in whom men find a hiding place from the wind and the tempest. He is a stream in a dry place and the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
In Isa 28:14-18 the Messiah is presented to w as a foundation stone in a threefold idea:
1. A tried foundation stone. This is the work of the master mason and indicates the preparation of the atone for its particular function.
2. An elect or precious foundation stone. This indicates that the stone was selected and appointed. It was not self-appointed but divinely appointed and is therefore safe.
3. A cornerstone, or sure foundation stone. Here it is a foundation of salvation, as presented in Mat 16:18 . It is Christ the Rock, and not Peter. See Paul’s foundation in 1 Corinthians:
According to the grace of God which was given unto me; as a wise masterbuilder I laid a foundation; and another buildeth thereon. But let each man take heed how he buildeth thereon. For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1Co 3:10-11 .
In Isa 49:1-6 he is presented as a polished shaft, kept close in the quiver. The idea is that he is a mighty sword. In Revelation, Christ is presented to John as having a sharp, twoedged sword proceeding out of his mouth.
In Isa 50:2 ; Isa 52:9 f.; Isa 59:16-21 ; Isa 62:11 we have the idea of the salvation of Jehovah. The idea is that salvation originated with God and that man in his impotency could neither devise the plan of salvation nor aid in securing it. These passages are expressions of the pity with which God looks down on a lost world. The redemption, or salvation, here means both temporal and spiritual salvation salvation from enemies and salvation from sin.
In Isa 9:1 f. we have him presented as a great light to the people of Zebulun and Naphtali. In Isa 49:6 we have him presented as a light to the Gentiles and salvation to the end of the earth: “Yea, he saith, It is too light a thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.”
In Isa 8:14-15 Isaiah presents him as a stone of stumbling: “And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many shall stumble thereon, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.”
The prophet’s vision of his maltreatment and rejection are found in Isa 50:4-9 ; Isa 52:13-53:12 . In this we have the vision of him giving his “back to the smiters, and his cheeks to them that plucked off the hair.” We see a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. His visage is so marred it startled all nations. He is a vicarious sacrifice. The chastisement of the peace of others is on him. The iniquity of others is put on him. It pleases the Father to bruise him until he has poured out his soul unto death as an offering for sin.
The teaching of Isaiah on the election of the Jews is his teaching concerning the “holy remnant,” a favorite expression of the prophet. See Isa 1:9 ; Isa 10:20-22 ; Isa 11:11 ; Isa 11:16 ; Isa 37:4 ; Isa 37:31-32 ; Isa 46:3 . This coincides with Paul’s teaching in Romans 9-11.
In Isa 32:15 we find Isaiah’s teaching on the pouring out of the Holy Spirit: “Until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest,” and in Isa 44:3 : “For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and streams upon the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring.”
In Isa 11:10 he is said to be the ensign of the nations: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of Jesse, that standeth for an ensign of the peoples unto him shall the nations seek; and his resting place shall be glorious.”
Isa 19:18-25 ; Isa 54:1-3 ; Isa 60:1-22 teach the enlargement of the church. The great invitation and promise are found in Isa 55 .
The Messiah in judgments is found in Isa 63:1-6 . Here we behold an avenger. He comes up out of Edom with dyed garments from Bozra. All his raiment is stained with the blood of his enemies whom he has trampled in his vengeance as grapes are crushed in the winevat and the restoration of the Jews is set forth in Isa 11:11-12 ; Isa 60:9-15 ; Isa 66:20 . Under the prophet’s graphic pencil or glowing brush we behold the establishment and growth of his kingdom unlike all other kingdoms, a kingdom within men, a kingdom whose principles are justice, righteousness, and equity and whose graces are faith, hope, love, and joy, an undying and ever-growing kingdom. Its prevalence is like the rising waters of Noah’s flood; “And the waters prevailed and increased mightily upon the earth. And the water prevailed mightily, mightily upon the earth; and all the high mountains, that are under the whole heavens, were covered.”
So this kingdom grows under the brush of the prophetic limner until its shores are illimitable. War ceases. Gannenta rolled in the blood of battle become fuel for fire. Conflagration is quenched. Famine outlawed. Pestilence banished. None are left to molest or make afraid. Peace flows like a river. The wolf dwells with the lamb. The leopard lies down with the kid. The calf and the young lion walk forth together and a little child is leading them. The cow and the bear feed in one pasture and their young ones are bedfellows. The sucking child safely plays over the hole of the asp, and weaned children put their hands in the adder’s den. In all the holy realms none hurt nor destroy, because the earth is as full of the knowledge of the Lord as the fathomless ocean is full of water. Rapturous vision! Sublime and ineffable consummation! Was it only a dream?
In many passages the prophet turns in the gleams from the millennial age, but one of the clearest and best on the millennium, which is in line with the preceding paragraph, Isa 11:6-9 : “And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together: and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea.”
The prophet’s vision of the destruction of death is given in Isa 25:8 : “He hath swallowed up death for ever; and the Lord Jehovah will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the reproach of his people will he take away from all the earth: for Jehovah hath spoken it,” and in Isa 26:19 : “Thy dead shall live; my dead bodies shall arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust; for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast forth the dead.”
The clearest outlines of the prophet’s vision of “Paradise Regained” are to be found in Isa 25:8 , and in two passages in chapter Isa 66 : Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn over her; that ye may suck and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. For thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream: and ye shall suck thereof; ye shall be borne upon the side, and shall be dandled upon the knees, as one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. And ye shall see it, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like the tender grass: and the hands of Jehovah shall be known toward his servants ; and he will have indignation against his enemies. Isa 66:10-14
For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make shall remain before me, saith Jehovah, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith Jehovah. Isa 66:22-23
QUESTIONS

1. What is the relation between the New Testament Christ and prophecy?
2. What can you say of Isaiah as a witness of the Messiah?
3. What can you say of Isaiah’s pictures of the Messiah and their background?
4. Following in the order of Christ’s manifestation, what is the first picture of him in Isaiah?
5. What is the second messianic glimpse in Isaiah?
6. What is Isaiah’s picture of the incarnation?
7. What is Isaiah’s picture of the divine child?
8. What is Isaiah’s vision of his descent, his relation to the Holy Spirit, his administration of justice, and the results of his reign?
9. What is Isaiah’s vision of the Messiah’s herald?
10. What is the prophet’s vision of his anointing?
11. What is the prophet’s vision of him as a miracle worker?
12. What is the prophet’s vision of the character of the Messiah?
13. What is the prophet’s vision of him as the key bearer?
14. What is the prophet’s vision of him as a king and a hiding place?
15. What is the prophet’s vision of the Messiah as a foundation stone?
16. What is the prophet’s vision of him as a polished shaft?
17. In what passages do we find the idea of the salvation of Jehovah, and what the significance of the idea?
18. What is Isaiah’s vision of the Messiah as a light?
19. Where does Isaiah present him as a stone of stumbling?
20. What is the prophet’s vision of his maltreatment and rejection?
21. What is the teaching of Isaiah on the election of the Jews?
22. Where do we find Isaiah’s teaching on the pouring out of the Holy Spirit?
23. Where is he said to be the ensign of the nations?
24. What passages teach the enlargement of the church?
25. Where is the great invitation and promise?
26. Where is the Messiah in judgment?
27. What passages show the restoration of the Jews?
28. What is the prophet’s vision of the Messiah’s kingdom?
29. What is the prophet’s vision of the millennium?
30. What is the prophet’s vision of the destruction of death?
31. What is the prophet’s vision of “Paradise Regained?”
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible

XIII
THE BOOK OF ISAIAH PART 5
Isa 10:5-12:6

The general theme of this section is the abasement of the Assyrians and the exaltation of Israel, and the main divisions are:
1. The Assyrian exalted and then abased (Isa 10:5-27 )
2. Judah humbled and then exalted (Isa 10:28-12:6 ).
There are five distinct paragraphs in the first division:
1. The Assyrian was the rod of Jehovah, though he did not so thinker purpose it, and threatened Jerusalem because of his successes (Isa 10:5-11 ).
2. His abasement decreed because he took the glory to himself and became exalted (Isa 10:12-14 ).
3. Jehovah’s right to abase Assyria is the right of the hewer over the ax and the sawyer over the saw, therefore the punishment will be complete (Isa 10:15-19 ).
4. The remnant will be encouraged when they see Jehovah’s destruction of their enemies (Isa 10:20-23 ).
5. Jehovah’s exhortation to his people not to fear the Assyrians, for he meant good to them by this correction, but now he was about ready to stretch forth his hand to destroy their enemies, just as he had saved his people in their past history from their enemies (Isa 10:24-27 ).
There are five distinct items also in the second division:
1. A vivid description of the invading Assyrian, indicating his course and progress through the land and his threat against Jerusalem (Isa 10:28-32 ).
2. A prophecy of the destruction of the proud Assyrians by Jehovah himself (Isa 10:33-34 ).
3. A shoot out of the stock of Jesse becomes the Deliverer, the Prince of Peace (Isa 11:1-10 ).
4. The return of Jehovah’s people from all lands (Isa 11:11-16 ).
5. The song of the redeemed (Isa 12 ).
The last three items are messianic and need very careful and extended consideration which we now take up. An appropriate text with which to introduce this great messianic prophecy is a passage from Acts:
Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said. It was necessary that the word of God should first be spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. Act 13:46 f.
The single point in this passage to which attention is called, is the fact that Paul calls a prophecy, that the gospel should go to the Gentiles, a command; that what is prophesied by the Spirit of God becomes a command resting upon the children of God. He says, “We turn to the Gentiles, for so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles.” Now if a prophecy of the giving of the gospel to the Gentiles is a command upon God’s people, then a prophecy of the ultimate conversion of the Jews becomes also a command resting upon his people.
Now let us look at Isa 11:1 “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.” In the book of Job it is said: “There is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again; that through the vapor of water it will sprout and it will bring forth and bear.” We have seen that illustrated hundreds of times when from the stumps of trees that have been cut down shoots will spring up and make new trees. This means that the royal line of David, who was the son of Jesse, had fallen under great misfortune and under the curses of God for their sin, and that the house of David was brought very low. It was, as if it were a tree cut down. Now, when it seemed to be utterly gone, there should come out from the stump of that Davidic tree a tender branch, and that branch should become a fruit-bearing tree that would be more remarkable than the original tree itself. Jesse’s home was Bethlehem, and in the New Testament times the family of David had gotten so low that Mary and Joseph, who both belonged to it, were able to present as offerings only a pair of turtle doves, indicating their great poverty. Joseph was a carpenter and a very poor man. Now, when they came to Bethlehem and Christ was born, that, according to a multitude of scriptures which I will not take time to cite, was the springing up of the sprout from the stump of the tree of Jesse.
Isa 11:2 says: “And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.” This was fulfilled at his baptism, when coming up out of the water he prayed, and the Spirit of God descended upon him in the form of a dove. This was his anointing, and John says that on that day he received the Spirit of God without measure. All people upon whom the Spirit of God had descended before that time had received it in a limited degree, a measured degree) but the fulness of the Spirit’s power by the anointing rested upon the Lord Jesus Christ, so that it might be called the “spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.” He himself in Nazareth, where he had been brought up, read a passage from this same prophecy of Isaiah, where the spirit of the Lord was promised to rest upon him, and declared that on that day that prophecy was fulfilled in their midst; that he stood before them as the fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah, and that the Spirit of the Lord had anointed him to preach the gospel to the poor, to give sight to the blind, to give deliverance to the imprisoned, those that were in bondage, and to preach the acceptable year of the Lord, that is, the jubilee year, the fiftieth sabbatical year, that antitype of the Old Testament which prefigured the millennial day, when the trumpet should be blown throughout the ends of the earth, announcing that all bondage was ended, that all prison doors were open, that all the burdens and ails that flesh was heir to were to be removed. He announced that through his induement of the Spirit he came to preach that. Consequently the next verses say that this Spirit of induement shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears; but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall slay the wicked.
The life of our Lord as set forth in the Four Gospels illustrates all that is here foretold. Never before in the history of the world had there come one whose initiative perception of the realities of things was so vast; who was never misled by an apparent state of affairs, but who looked through all seeming and all masks to the very heart of things, so that he never made a mistake. He read the heart of every man that came and propounded a question to him. He understood the motive that was back of the question, and in making his reply to these inquiries he never for one moment used a flattering term, but he laid bare the secrets of the innermost heart, and all he said was in righteousness. When cases came before him in which the great were oppressing the small, in which the rich were grinding the poor, in which the hypocrite was taking advantage of the simple, in all these cases he reproved as the oracle of God. He swept away the subterfuges under which men disguised their real nature, and unveiled the iniquity of their purposes, and no earthly position and honor, no gathering of the multitude upon one side of the question, ever deterred him from speaking the plainest and simplest truth without fear, without favor, and without partiality. The earth had never been so reproved with equity for the meek. The lowly ones found in him their everlasting friend, a tower of strength, and the exalted ones found in him their mightiest enemy, when their exaltation was based not upon merit and not upon truth, but upon a fictitious or adventitious circumstance.
The prophecy goes on now to tell the ultimate results:
The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall go to the pasture; their young ones shall lie down together, and the lion shall eat straw like an ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.
Now, here is a fulfilment that has not yet come the prevalence of the knowledge of God over the whole earth and such an acceptance of the teaching of Jesus Christ as shall put an end to the strifes and bitterness of time; in the imagery here put forth, as if a cow and a bear should go out to the pasture together; as if a lion’s nature should be so changed that he should eat grass like an ox; as if a leopard and a kid should lie down together, the kid without a fear, and the leopard without the lust of the kid’s blood; that a baby, perfectly helpless, a little child, sucking child, should put out his hand upon a venomous reptile, and a child a little older, a weaned child, should thrust his hand into the den of a basilisk, or cockatrice, as it is here called.
Now, these figures indicate to us what is called the millennial times, the thousand years in which wars will cease and differences between peoples will be settled by arbitration, and according to another prophecy in this book, that Jesus Christ shall be the Arbiter between the nations, that is, that there will come a time when the principles presented in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and not the principles adopted at the Hague Conference, shall be the basis of the settlement of differences between nations. It is a long way to that time now but it will come.
It is the logical and inexorable result of the world’s full acceptance of the teaching of Jesus Christ. The hope of every Christian is turned to that time, and no matter how sinister, for the time being, may be the portents on the political sky, nor how gloomy the forebodings of the pessimistic mind, yet the true Christian is heart fired by faith and is essentially an optimist. He sees the good times coming. He does not believe that this world is going to destruction. He does not believe that God has vacated the throne of government, or allowed to slip from his hand the reins of government) but that on high, above all mutations of time and clouds and fogs and dusts of earth’s battle, in a serenity that is never clouded, he looks down calmly upon what seems to be the ceaseless perturbations of time, knowing that in his own way, retaining his control of every spring of activity, of every source of power and of the ultimate forces of nature and morals, he is bringing things to pass in a way that is perfectly irresistible. Every word of God ever spoken in the past, that was to be fulfilled up to the present time, has been fulfilled literally, and we shall see the fulfilment of this prophecy in due time.
The second part of the chapter, whose connections with Rom 11 would be apparent is as follows:
And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the peoples, to it shall the Gentiles seek; and his rest shall be glorious. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
This is a distinct prophecy, connecting the gathering together of dispersed Israel in some way with that period of millennial peace and glory. It is to be in connection with that prevalence of the knowledge of the Lord that will fill the whole earth; not the first gathering, as when he led Israel out of Egypt; not the first gathering from Babylon, as when by the command of Cyrus the captives were ordered to return to their own land; not the first time, from Elam or Cush, whose kings issued decrees, that is, the decree of Cyrus, the decree of Darius Hystaspes, the decree of Artaxerxes, and the second decree of Artaxerxes, all bearing upon the return of the Jews to their native land. That was the first time. Now he says it shall come to pass in that day, that is yet ahead of us, that “A second time I will gather the dispersed of Israel from all the lands of the earth,” mentioning Cush, or Ethiopia, Egypt, Persia, and Assyria. This gathering will certainly come.
He says, “And he will set up an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. The envy also of Ephraim shall depart.” Ephraim, that is, the Ten Tribes, always envied Judah, and that envy had to do with the partition of the kingdom and the calamities that came upon the divided nation. Now when this gathering takes place the Ten Tribes shall this time be without envy against Judah, and “Judah shall not vex Ephraim. And they . . . shall fly upon the shoulder of the Philistines on the west . . . and the children of Ammon shall obey them.” That is to say, the Gentiles shall become nursing mothers and fathers to the Jewish people, and this gathering of the Jewish people shall be brought about through the action of the Gentile nations. That is yet to be fulfilled.
Whether the initiation of the movement shall take place by England, or Germany, or the United States, we do not know, but the Word of God, which has never failed, will yet bring about a change of the sentiment of Gentiles toward the Jewish people. The reproach of being a Jew will be taken away. For a long time the name of a Jew has been a stench in the nostrils of other nations. The Romans hated him. The Greeks hated him. The Russians hate him today. The Germans hated him. The English kings ground him to powder. From all parts of the world the hand of the oppressor has been stretched forth to smite the Jew. Now it is the prophecy of God that through the intervention of Gentile nations these despised Jewish people shall be gathered together.
Two thousand years have passed away since they cut off their Messiah and he cut them off, but Paul says, “Hath he cast them off forever? God forbid.” When they fell in betrayal of their Messiah did they fall forever? He affirms positively that they did not. They fell, but it was in the purposes of God only to allow the opening of a door of salvation to the Gentiles. Three years and a half after the crucifixion of Christ the gospel that had for the past seven years been preached exclusively to Jews took a different direction, and from that time on we have no historical account of any great number of Jews being converted. Multitudes of them were converted from the time of Christ’s baptism to the time of Saul’s persecution three thousand in one day, five thousand another day, great multitudes at other times, so that we may reasonably conclude that at least a hundred thousand Jews were converted in the seven years lasting from the beginning of the public ministry of Christ, at his baptism, when he was received and anointed, to the persecution under Saul of Tarsus, which turned the attention of the church to the Gentile world, and from that time on the thousands of converts have come from the Gentiles. The kingdom of God had been taken from the Jews and given to the Gentiles. Now, says the apostle Paul, Is that permanent? When they stumbled that way did they fall finally? He says, “No”; that stumbling was not final, because the gifts and callings of God are without any change of mind, and he has not utterly cast off his people, but he has permitted their fall to bring about the salvation of the Gentiles, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
But the Jews will be cut off as long as the great period of evangelization lasts among the Gentiles; just that long Jerusalem shall be trodden under foot of the Gentiles. The Jew shall not occupy his holy land, nor his ancient city, but there will be a full measure ultimately, when because of sin on the part of the Gentiles the glorious opportunities that are enjoyed today will be taken away; when we have allowed our hearts to wax cold and our faith to become dim, and have turned away from that induement of power which comes by the Holy Spirit, and trust to money, and trust to personal influence, and trust to human eloquence; when we have shut our eyes to the shining of the galaxy of perfect stars that are blazing in the darkness. Then the fulness of the Gentiles will have come.
Another result is here described: “And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea.” The tongue of the Egyptian sea is the Red Sea which projects away up into Egypt, and when, in the olden time the captives were brought out of Egypt, with the wind God divided the tongue of that sea, and they passed over dry shod. Now, something similar to that will occur in the later times: “And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea, and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it into seven streams, and make men go over dry shod.”
When these Jews were approaching their Holy Land in the olden time, the Jordan was swelling in its flood, with full banks, and by the voice of God the river was cut in twain, and the people passed over it. Now, by miracles as astounding as the Red Sea and the passage of the river Jordan, shall the difficulties and obstacles in the way of the gathering of the Jewish people be removed in the later time. “And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as there was for Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.” The King of Persia gave an order when the Jews were allowed to return, that men should be sent to prepare a way for them to go, and all of the officers of the Persian government along the entire line of the passageway to the Holy Land were commanded, by money and every kindness, to facilitate the passage of these people back to their ancient home. Now, in the time spoken of here, from every land of dispersion there shall be a highway, an easy traveling path, for the returning Jewish remnant. It is this conversion of the Jews that shall usher in the millennial times.
Zechariah’s testimony to this event is clear and that shall be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet Zechariah: “I will pour upon the house of David) and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they shall look unto me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son.” Their mourning in that time shall be greater than their mourning when King Josiah died in the battle of Megiddon. There the independent monarchy of the Jews died a royal death. After that time the three descendants of Josiah were mere dependents upon Babylon. Consequently the mourning of the Jews when Josiah died was the greatest mourning in their history. Jeremiah wrote an elegy on him. Now, says this prophecy of Zechariah, They shall ultimately be so convicted of their sins by the outpouring of the spirit of God upon their hearts that they shall see the Messiah whom they have pierced, and the mourning that they will experience will be greater than the mourning in which they indulged when King Josiah died. The prophecy then goes on to state that in that day there shall be opened up for the house of Israel and the seed of David a fountain for sin and uncleanness. That is the prophecy upon which Cowper wrote the hymn that lingers on the lips of all congregations which praise God: There is a fountain filled with blood, Drawn from Emmanuel’s veins, And sinners plunged beneath that flood Lose all their guilty stains.
Now this prophecy declares that that fountain in that day shall be opened for the Jews. Gentile sinners already for two thousand years have been plunging into its cleansing stream, but Israel standeth afar off, a people under ban, an outcast, stricken and forlorn people, the contempt of the nations of the earth. But the full tide of millennial glory can never come until these Jews be converted.
I cited that passage in Act 13 , which said that when God prophesied that Jews should become a light to the Gentiles, that operated as a commandment upon his church to preach the gospel to the Gentiles; so now when God prophesies the future salvation of the Jewish people, and that operates as a commandment upon us to turn our attention to the salvation of the Jews, knowing that that is the last barrier between us and that glorious time when the leopard and the kid shall lie down together, when the cow and the bear shall go off together to the same pasture, when the lion shall eat straw like an ox, when the helpless babe will need no protection though coming in contact with the most ravenous wild beast or the most venomous serpent, because the power to hurt is taken away from all of God’s holy mountain, and the old paradise time has come back, when Adam and Eve without fear mingled with the beasts, and they even passed in review before them. The lion did not crouch at his coming, the tiger did not glare upon him with malignancy, but the fear of man was on all of the brute creation. Sin came and destroyed the majesty of man and brought about a war between the man and all the beasts of the field, and brought a curse upon the earth, so that it produces thorns and briers. Now, in the millennial times the disabilities which attach to present life, the misfortunes which come, the wars whose thunders today shake the Orient and whose echoes frighten the Occident, shall cease. God speed that day, when hatred shall lie down to ashes, when envies and jealousies and strifes have come to an end; when this world, this errant globe, that through sin swung out of its orbit of allegiance to God, and wandered rebelliously and darkly into space, shall feel the centripetal attraction of the sun of righteousness, and by the attracting power of the Son of God shall be brought back to its place among the realms of the universe and chaos is ended, and order and harmony restored.
The prophet goes right on from chapter II into the song of the redeemed, which is a perfect little gem of literature and reminds us of the song of Miriam and Moses on the banks of deliverance from the Egyptians, or the great song of deliverance from the apostate church as we have it in Revelation. Here they sing of Jehovah’s goodness and his comfort, his salvation and his strength, his excellence and his greatness. They are now drawing water out of the wells of salvation and rejoicing in their triumphs over their oppressors. That will be a glorious, good day for God’s people when the Jews accept the Messiah and add their joyous hallelujahs to the chorus of the redeemed. Then will they make glad the city of God in publishing the good tidings to earth’s remotest bounds. Ye pilgrims on the road To Zion’s city, sing: Sing on, rejoicing every day In Christ th’ eternal King.
QUESTIONS

1. What is the general theme of this section?
2. What is the main divisions of this section?
3. What are the several items of the first division, Isa 10:5-27 ?
4. What are the several items of the second division, Isa 10:28-12:6 ?
5. What would be an appropriate text with which to introduce this great messianic prophecy?
6. What is the single point of the application of this passage to the matter in hand?
7. Explain the “rod out of the stem of Jesse” and its application.
8. Explain the verse Isa 2 : when fulfilled, what the proof and what the results?
9. How are all these things here foretold illustrated in the life of our Lord?
10. What is the ultimate results as here foretold?
11. What can you say of the fulfilment as to the final results?
12. What is indicated by this prophecy, how to be realized, and what its bearing on the Christian’s outlook?
13. What is the prophecy of the second item of the chapter and with what other scripture is it connected?
14. When is this to be realized and what gathering is this to be?
15. How is all this to be brought about, i.e., by whom and what to be one of the glorious results?
16. How long now since the Jews were cut off, how, when, and why and what hope does Paul hold out to the Jews?
17. How long are the Jews to be cut off and what will indicate the approach of the end of the Gentile dispensation?
18. What is another result and what its meaning?
19. What is Zechariah’s testimony to this event?
20. What is our relation to this great future event?
21. What is the nature and contents of Isa 12 ?
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible

Isa 11:1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
Ver. 1. And there shall come forth a rod, ] i.e., Christ shall be born; whom our prophet having called “the anointing” or Messiah, Isa 10:27 maketh him and his kingdom henceforward the chief matter of his discourse, to the end of his book. Here he beginneth with his nativity, calling him a rod or twig, springing, not out of the stock of David, but out of the stump of Jesse, a mean man, and that then, when the royal family was sunk so low as from David the king to Joseph the carpenter. Well might Chrysostom say that the foundation of our philosophy was humility. And another, a that at Bethlehem brake forth that well of salvation which, in the type, once David so thirsted after. 2Sa 23:15

And a Branch. ] Or, The Nazarene born at Nazareth, saith Junius, which signifieth “a branch”; for so it was generally deemed; and our Saviour styleth himself Jesus of Nazareth; Act 22:8 and on his cross they wrote Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews, wherein that prodigy, saith A. Lapide, seemeth to have fallen out concerning which the poet inquireth –
“ Dic quibus in terris inscripti nomine Regis
Nascantur flores. ”
Tell who is noted in the earth by the name of a King, Let him in flowers. For Nazareth he interpreteth a flower, or something flowery; and for shall grow, others render shall bud, or bear fruit.
a Scultet.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Isaiah Chapter 11

In contrast with the destruction of the high and haughty Assyrian under the stroke of Jehovah, we have in this chapter a remarkable and full description of the Messiah: first, in a moral point of view; and, next, in His kingdom, its character, and its accompaniments. It is no longer “the rod of His anger,” the staff in Whose hand is Mine indignation, but a Branch from Jesse’s roots, yet withal the Root of Jesse, Who will infallibly bless both Israel and the Gentiles in that day of the kingdom, though He will bring the lofty low, as well as smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips slay the wicked or lawless one, in order to that wondrous end.
The entire strain is closed with a suited song of praise (Isa 12 ) in the lips of Israel, now indeed and for ever blessed of Jehovah, their Holy One in their midst.
“And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit: and the spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah; and his delight will be in the fear of Jehovah: and he will not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: but with righteousness will he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he will smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips will he slay the wicked [one]” (vv. 1-4).
To look and contend for a fulfilment of this prophecy in Hezekiah or Josiah would be idle, and only shows the straits to which the rationalistic enemies of revelation are reduced. No king, let him be ever so pious or glorious, that followed Ahaz, no, nor David nor Solomon in the past, even approached the terms of the prediction either personally or in the circumstances of their reign. Did the “Spirit of Jehovah” rest upon the better of the two when he said, “I shall now perish by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines?” Was it “the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,” when he feigned himself mad, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard? Was it “the Spirit of counsel and might,” when David amused his credulous host of Gath with his fictitious razzias against the south of Judah, when in truth he was invading the Geshurites, Amalekites, etc., without leaving a human being to tell the tale? Was it the “Spirit of knowledge” that dealt with Absalom? Was the numbering of Israel done in “the fear of Jehovah”? Was the matter of Uriah a proof that “righteousness” was “the girdle of his loins” or “faithfulness” “of his reins”? When was the earth smitten with the rod of any king’s mouth? Or whose lips ever breathed to the destruction of the wicked? And who has seen that wondrous change, depicted in verses 6-9, passing over the fierce beasts and the most timid; and man’s lordship owned at length by all, subject and harmonious, even in the person of a babe? Equally impossible, at the least, is it to say that the latter part of the chapter was met by anything resembling its predictions in any era of Israel. The idea of Zerubbabel fulfilling it is preposterous. There was not a single resemblance in that day of small things.
Is it contended, on the other hand, that so glowing a picture of the great King and His kingdom is realised spiritually in the church and in the blessings of the gospel? Without descending so low as the gross pretensions of papal ambition, the spiritual or rather mystical interpretation which suits worldly-minded Christendom finds its expression in Theodoret, or earlier still. This writer sees the apostolic doctrine change earth into heaven, and the picture in verses 6-8 accomplished in kings, prefects, generals, soldiers, artizans, servants, and beggars partaking together of the same holy talk, and hearing the same discourses! Paul with the philosophers at Athens illustrates, according to him, the weaned child putting his hand on the cockatrice’s den; as the promise to Peter (Mat 16:18 ) answers to the predicted absence of any destructive thing! Jehovah’s holy mountain he explains as the loftiness, strength, and immutability of His divine teaching Theodoret justly explodes the folly of applying such a prophecy to Zerubbabel, who was only governor of a few Jews, and in no way whatever of Gentiles; but he offers an alternative hardly preferable in the Acts of the Apostles, or specially in St. Paul’s Epistles.
Such an interpretation as this is not only false in fact but injurious and corrupting in principle. It confounds the church with Israel; it lowers the character of our blessing in Christ from heaven to earth; it weakens the word of God by introducing a haziness needful to the existence of such applications; it undermines the mercy and the faithfulness of God, because it supposes that the richest and most unconditional of His promises to Israel are, notwithstanding, taken from them and turned into the wholly different channel of ourselves. If God could so speak and act towards Israel, where is the guarantee for the Christian or the church? The apostle can and does quote from the prophets, and from this very chapter of our prophet (Rom 15:12 ), to vindicate the principle, so richly illustrated in the gospel, of God’s blessing the Gentiles, and of their glorifying God for His mercy. But the self-same apostle maintains that there is now the revelation of a mystery which was hid from ages and generations, the mystery of Christ and the church, wherein there is neither Jew nor Gentile, in the fullest contrast with the great day when Israel and the nations shall be blessed as such, and in their respective places, under Messiah’s reign openly displayed.
In this prophecy, however, as in the Old Testament generally, we see the distinctive blessing of Israel on earth, though there is bright hope for the nations, as well as judgement on all enemies, Jewish or Gentile. All this supposes a state of things essentially differing from God’s ways with His church, during which Israel ceases to be the depository of His testimony and promise. For as the natural Jewish branches were broken off from the olive tree and the Gentile wild olive was grafted in, so because of non continuance in God’s goodness the Gentile will be broken off and the natural branches grafted in again; “And so all Israel shall be saved, as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins” (Rom 11:26 , Rom 11:27 ). Meanwhile blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. Then they will hail their rejected Messiah, and the universal blessing of the earth will follow His destruction of their foes as the initiatory act of His kingdom. Of this (not of the gospel, as regards which the Jews are enemies on our account) the chapters speak; and, thus viewed, all flows harmoniously onward both as a whole and in the smallest detail.
There is another decisive proof, furnished by the same apostle Paul in 2Th 2:8 , that the chapter applies to a future age as contrasted with the present where the rejected Christ is hid in God and glorified on high. It is beyond controversy that our verse 4 is authoritatively interpreted of the Lord Jesus destroying the lawless one with the breath of His mouth, and annulling him by the shining forth of His presence or coming. A wholly new age of triumphant power in righteous government will be introduced and maintained by the Lord’s appearing, and thus essentially distinguished from this day of grace, while Satan reigns, and those that are Christ’s suffer, yet overcome by faith. We wait for His coming as the close of our pilgrimage here below. They await His appearing as deliverance from imminent destruction, and as the beginning of their allotted place of honour and blessing under His reign, and of all the nations in their measure.
“And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit.” One cannot but think with others that the allusion to the stem of Jesse is significant. Elsewhere Messiah is viewed as David’s son, or styled David himself. Here He is a Shoot or Rod from the stock of Jesse, and a Branch out of his roots for Israel, and the Root of Jesse for the peoples and nations. There would seem a purpose of drawing attention to the lowly condition into which the royal race should have sunk at the birth of the Christ. It was from that family, when of no account in Israel, that David was anointed for the throne. The prophet designates the rise of a greater than David, not from the glory that had been conferred on the house, but in a way readily suggestive of obscurity. From this stock, lowly of old, lowly once more, sprang the hope of Israel on Whom the Spirit rested without measure; or, as Peter preached, God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power. In Rev 5 He is said to be the Root of David; in 22 his Root and Offspring.
“And the spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah.” Here, however, it is not in the activity of grace among the sorrows of men and the oppressions of the devil, that we see Jesus, but in view of His government. Thoroughly subject to Jehovah, He rules not according to appearance but righteously in His fear. Such is the effect of the power that rested on Him. And His delight [quick understanding or scent] will be “in the fear of Jehovah; and he will not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears; but with righteousness will he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth.” The Holy Spirit portrays the Messiah’s moral fitness for His earthly reign; emphatically His earthly reign, for so it evidently is throughout for every reader who is free from human tradition or prepossession. The Lord Jesus will then do what He refused to do at His first coming. He will judge in equity, and put down oppression, and cause righteousness to flourish in peace. This was in no way His work the first time; and the Christian, as the church, is called not to judge the earth or rule here below, but to suffer with Him, waiting to be glorified and to reign with Him when He returns. We walk by faith, not by sight.
Again, this is confirmed by the latter part of verse 4 already referred to. We need no human comment here, because we have already divine light supplied in 2Th 2:8 . The inspired apostle applies it to the Lord’s future destruction of the lawless one, the man of sin, the issue of the apostasy of Christendom. It is the same personage, doubtless, that the beloved disciple describes in 1Jn 2:22 : “Who is the liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is the antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.” This latter testimony helps to link all together. 2Th 2 views him specially as the result yet to be manifested of that mystery of lawlessness which was even then working unseen. Isaiah shows, not only the great outside enemy, the Assyrian, judged in Isa 10 , but in Isa 11:4 the internal enemy, “the wicked,” whom the apostates will accept as their Messiah, destroyed by the true Messiah appearing in glory. He is “the lawless” one of Paul: such is the form of his iniquity. Again, 1Jn 2 . describes him, first, as the denier of the Messianic glory of Jesus; next, in his full character of the antichrist (not only the liar) as denying the Father and the Son, in other words, the personal glory of Christ as revealed in Christianity.
What deplorable prejudice in men like Jerome, who avail themselves of figurative language (as in branch, rod of His mouth, and girdle) to mystify the vision of earthly change – the restitution of all things! Even such admit the reality of Messiah, as they ought to own that of His reign here below, for heaven is not at all in view; and in order to this the earth is to be smitten by Him Whose word is power, and the lawless one of that day punished finally. Calvin and Hengstenberg would include the hope of a future change by divine power in the material creation (as pledged in Rom 8:11-22 ); but this presupposes glory revealed, and the sons of God no longer hidden as now, but manifested with Christ in glory (Col 3 ). We have the liberty of grace now, as creation is to be delivered into the liberty of glory then, our own bodies being part of it.
But this proves the mistake of applying the language to spiritual effects now, still more of denying what awaits the earth and its denizens in “that day.” If conversion and the fruit of the Spirit in the heart and life were sought, the supposed figures would ill express the idea. For the wolf and the leopard and the lion are represented as still existing, and contrasted with the lamb and the kid and the calf and the more general “fatling,” but with instincts of prey quite vanished. Spiritually regarded, how strange to represent mankind as thus distinguished when the gospel pronounces all as lost and ungodly on the one hand, and all believers as alike saved, and God’s children on the other! One could understand the metaphor of the wolf becoming a lamb, and perhaps the leopard a kid, if hardly a lion turning calf or fatling (though the shades become somewhat misty, even for the liveliest fancy). But the actual phraseology forbids all such flights; and as it speaks only of animals, once predaceous, dwelling in peace with the gentlest cattle, it cannot be duly interpreted, save as predictive of facts yet to be made good. Till then faith counts on the power God gives against a state of disorder, as when David saved the lamb, and slew both the lion and the bear, and as figuratively now one may be delivered out of the lion’s mouth.
In “that day” will surely be “the regeneration,” and the creature will be delivered into a state suited to Christ. An allegorical sense does not consist with the exactitude of the language; the simple grammatical or literal force is in unison with the Old Testament prophecy and New Testament doctrine. For as we were shown the setting aside of the antichrist at the end of this age, we have next a display of the reign of the true Christ and its beneficent effects. “And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the she-bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the adder, and the weaned child shall put forth his hand to the viper’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea” (vv. 5-9).
It is the world or habitable earth to come “whereof we speak” (Heb 2:5 ) – not heaven, but earth, and especially the land of Israel under Him Whose right it is. What ground is there to doubt its plain and punctual accomplishment? Who has ever heard of any serious objection, save for Sadducean minds which know neither the scriptures nor the power of God? Why should it be thought a thing incredible that God should, in honour of the reign of Jesus, change not the face only but the habits and bent of all animated nature, delivering the creature from the bondage of corruption under which it now groans? When the days come, as Jehovah declares they surely must, that the ploughman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that sows seed, it is not only the earth that shall answer suitably to His beneficent power, but the animal kingdom also, with the one exception which seems good to Him that does not forget the subtle evil-doer. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all His holy mountain. Even now, when other and deeper questions are before Him, what pity for babes and even for cattle! (See Jon 4:11 )
The Psalms celebrate the great day with songs of joy; the prophets are plain-spoken about it; the apostle Paul distinctly treats it as a settled Christian expectation, as did Peter to the Jews in Act 3:21 , only awaiting the revelation of Christ and of the sons of God along with Him. There is a grievous gap in every scheme and in every heart which does not look for the world’s jubilee; without it the earth would only seem made to be spoiled by Satan; whereas to one as to this taught of God, if there were a single creature not put manifestly under the feet of the exalted Son of man, the enemy would be allowed so far to defraud Him of His just reward and supreme rights. In “that day” we shall see (for now we see not yet) all things put under Him: divine judgement on the quick, executed by Christ, brings it in, as we have gathered from verse 4 compared with 2Th 2:8 .
It is either forgotten or explained away, that God has purposed in Himself for the administration of the fullness of times (that is, in the millennial age, or the day of His manifested kingdom) to gather together in one all things in Christ, both those in heaven and those on earth (Eph 1:9 , Eph 1:10 ); for the reconciliation will embrace not only those who believe, but all things whether on earth or in heaven (Col 1:20 , Col 1:21 ). Creation itself shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God (Rom 8:21 ). Let those who allegorise the prophets take note that this divine and as yet unfulfilled purpose is plainly laid down in these great Epistles in the New Testament, to which we might add 1Co 15:28 and Heb 2:9 . They cannot deny the literal form of this dogmatic teaching of inspiration. The time spoken of is neither the present state, nor is it eternity, but a blessed period between them which is to last a thousand years. It is strange doctrine to deny truth so clearly revealed; it is strange logic to adduce passages from the Greek and Latin classics, from the so-called Sibylline Oracles, Ferdausi, Ibn Onein, and the Zend-Avesta, as rendering improbable the direct interpretation. For it is certain that among the heathen lingered traditions of a golden age of creation to return another day. The complimentary application of this by a courtly poet is in no way inconsistent with the believer’s hope of a full fruition of God’s word. If it were so, what matters heathen thought, since scripture is clear in holding out such glorious expectations for the earth under the Messiah?
Under Christianity there is according to our Lord (Joh 4:21-24 ) no such earthly centre as we see there will be in that day. Even Jerusalem has for this vanished. “Believe me, the hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet in Jerusalem worship the Father.” The holy places made with hands are now abandoned for the true, even heaven itself, which Christ has entered. Further, it is the hour to worship the Father, of Whom we hear nothing at all as such, nor of worship in spirit and truth. Christianity is wherever the true worshippers adore the Father and the Son in the power of the Spirit. The place on earth is of no moment; only the true object, the true worshippers, and the true principle and power. This only is genuine catholicity.
But this is not all; Israel must be received back in order that the world may thus know life from the dead. “And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse standing as an ensign or banner of the peoples;* it shall the nations seek: and his resting place shall be glory” (v. 10).
*It would appear that the reference is not to the tribes of the ancient people of God, but to such of the nations as shall be in relationship with Jehovah, as distinguished from other Gentiles who are not.
“And it shall come to pass in that day [that] the Lord will set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea” (v. 11). Those do the enemy’s work who contend that these scriptures are fulfilled, or even in course of fulfilment. Save the general principle (which is, no doubt, conspicuous in the gospel) – that Gentiles seek and hope for and find eternal blessedness in Christ, it is a scene wholly future. We have the nations and the peoples blessed as such, no less than Israel, but not a syllable about that heavenly body which differs from both. The church of God is to be no longer on earth but on high in that day when every creature will be in its true place according to divine purpose, because the Lord Christ will then have His rights everywhere incontestably displayed.
The person of the Messiah has been revealed: and we know how truly He was the vessel of the Spirit on earth, and that in Him was displayed every grace which became man toward God – or God toward man in Christ Jesus Himself man, withal God over all blessed for evermore. But He is not yet seated on His own throne nor exercising His public kingdom here below; nor is the remnant of His people yet recovered from north, south, east, and west. Are we therefore to suppose that His arm is shortened? or that He has abandoned His cherished purpose? and that His gifts and calling are subject to repentance? Such is not our God. Is He ours only and not also of the Jews? Yes, theirs also; “And he will set up an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and they that vex Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim” (vv. 12, 13).
On the one hand it is a pitifully poor fulfilment of this exceeding great and precious promise to suppose all fulfilled in the feeble return from Babylon, when a small part of the Jews went up to Jerusalem with a very few individuals of Ephraim; and their neighbours sank lower and lower under the various imperial powers till Rome ground all down to servitude. No, it is a bright day of great things, not for man only, but for the name of Jehovah on earth. On the other hand, it is not the heavenly mystery of Christ and the church, but the times of restitution of all things according to prophecy. Nor is it the gospel calling souls out of the world for glory on high, but the earth delivered, Israel saved, and the Gentiles converted, under Messiah’s reign, when His rest shall be glory. The moral history of Israel shall be reversed, as decidedly as natural history must be learnt anew for the lower creation. Their old jealousies and mutual enmities, too well known after Solomon, fade away for restored Israel. And as for their plotting neighbours,* they may reappear, but it is to be put down for ever not less than their mightier foes. “And they shall fly upon the shoulder of the Philistines toward the sea [or westward]; together they shall spoil the sons of the east; they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them” (v. 14).
*The remarks of Houbigant may be helpful to some on this head. He is objecting to the popular error of allegorising without limit: Sed enim occurrendum est difficultati quae ex eis quae mox diximus, nasci potest. Nam quaeritur, quomodo in ultimo reditu Judaeorum accidere possit ut Judaei excurrant in terminos Philistoeorum, Moabitarum, Ammonitarum, cum regna illa jamdudum perierint. Respondeo eadem regna jam periisse tum, cum Apostoli gentes Evangelio subdiderunt; itaque explicandum esse illis etiam, qui loc Isaiae caput XI. de conversione gentium per Apostolos facta intelligunt, quomodo Apostoli subdiderint gentes, quae eorum aetate jam interierant. Nos responsionem eorum nostram faciemus; quae quidem sic videtur fieri posse, ut credatur Isaias appellare Judaeorum vicinas gentes nominibus iis, quae tum cognita erant, et notari eas gentes quae illarum veterum regiones occupaturae olim sunt, forsan etiam idem nomen habiturae: quae responsio valere etiam potest in nominibus propriis, Assur, AElam, Sennaar, etc. Judicabit sapiens Lector an hoc sit in explicandis Prophetis aperte judaizare, non discedere a proprietate verborum, nisi adest magna necessitas. Nos quidem eam necessitatem tantam esse credimus, quanta maxima esse potest, si Prophetarum verba explicare allegorice nequeas, nisi intervertas Prophetae sententiam, ut mox Grotium fecisse vidimus; vel, nisi, ut nunc Forerium videmus, mutes personas de quibus praedicitur, et pugnes, vel tecum, vel cum ipsa vaticinatione, quam susceperis explicandam,” – Prolegomena ad Prophetas, p. cclxviii.
It is a favourite infidel argument against the literal accomplishment of the chapter, adopted (one grieves to say) by the late Dr. Fairbairn (Prophecy, 272), that the people mentioned in verse 14 have disappeared from the stage of history, and therefore that neither the restoration of Israel nor the events growing out of it can be so understood. But this is sheer unbelief of the power of God and of the reliability of scripture. The God Who will bring His hidden ones of Ephraim out of the darkness that still veils them will disclose the descendants of their old adversaries in due time, and among these of their neighbours, who were not less jealous because nearly related in blood. From the Assyrian, the towering king of the north, Edom and Moab and the chief of the children of Ammon contrive to escape (Dan 11:41 ); but not so from the hands of Israel “out of weakness made strong.” Jehovah shall be seen over the sons of Zion, and His arrow shall go forth as the lightning; and the Lord Jehovah shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south (Zec 9:14 ): figurative language undoubtedly, but expressive of the divine intervention for Christ’s kingdom, which believers in the gospel should be the last to confound with their own mercies, still less to explain away.
Then, in verses 15, 16, we have Jehovah’s supernatural dealing with external nature on behalf of His people, when He utterly destroys the tongue of the Egyptian sea, and smites the river into seven streams, so that men may pass dryshod, and there is a highway for the remnant from Assyria, as of old from Egypt. “And Jehovah will utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his scorching wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it into seven streams, and cause [men] to march over dryshod. And there shall be a highway for the remnant of his people, which will remain, from Assyria; like as there was for Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.” In all this latter portion the mystical reading is at utter fault; and greater wonders than in the destruction of Pharaoh’s hosts await the final deliverance of Israel from Egypt and from Assyria in the face of a gainsaying and incredulous age.
Short of God’s glory established and manifested on the earth, no saint of God should ever rest. It is excellent to serve the living God and our Lord Jesus; it is better still to worship in spirit and truth also, as we wait for His Son from heaven; but the best of all is when He comes and in due time sets up the displayed kingdom, Himself the Heir of all things, and we joint-heirs with Him. For this will be God’s glory below as well as above. Even Pentecostal blessedness, wondrous as it was though transient, did not meet all; and even then the apostle Peter looks for such a result through no action of the Spirit, but through the sending of our Lord Jesus from heaven. Preaching may win souls for heaven; but Christ must come thence to restore all things to God’s glory; and this is the chorus which unites all the prophetic choir. Most of all should the Christian have it at heart: for many prophets and kings desired to see what we see, and saw it not; and to hear what we hear, and heard it not. What is it to be of His body, to be of His bride? Least of all should we rest satisfied with anything but Christ exalted over the universe to God’s glory. In this chapter is the earthly side of it, as the next is Israel’s appropriate song.
Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)

Isaiah
THE SUCKER FROM THE FELLED OAK
Isa 11:1 – Isa 11:10 .
The hopeless fall of Assyria is magnificently pictured in the close of Isa 10:1 – Isa 10:16 , as the felling of the cedars of Lebanon by the axe swung by Jehovah’s own hand. A cedar once cut down puts out no new shoots; and so the Assyrian power, when it falls, will fall for ever. The metaphor is carried on with surpassing beauty in the first part of this prophecy, which contrasts the indestructible vitality of the Davidic monarchy with the irremediable destruction fated for its formidable antagonist. The one is a cedar, the stump of which rots slowly, but never recovers. The other is an oak, which, every woodman knows, will put out new growth from the ‘stool.’ But instead of a crowd of little suckers, the prophet sees but one shoot, and that rising to more than the original height and fruitfulness of the tree. The prophecy is distinctly that of One Person, in whom the Davidic monarchy is concentrated, and all its decadence more than recovered.
Isaiah does not bring the rise of the Messiah into chronological connection with the fall of Assyria; for he contemplates a period of decay for the Israelitish monarchy, and it was the very burden of his message as to Assyria that it should pass away without harming that monarchy. The contrast is not intended to suggest continuity in time. The period of fulfilment is entirely undetermined.
The first point in the prophecy is the descent of the Messiah from the royal stock. That is more than Isaiah’s previous Messianic prophecies had told. He is to come at a time when the fortunes of David’s house were at their worst. There is to be nothing left but the stump of the tree, and out of it is to come a ‘shoot,’ slender and insignificant, and in strange contrast with the girth of the truncated bole, stately even in its mutilation. We do not talk of a growth from the stump as being a ‘branch’; and ‘sprout’ would better convey Isaiah’s meaning. From the top of the stump, a shoot; from the roots half buried in the ground, an outgrowth,-these two images mean but one person, a descendant of David, coming at a time of humiliation and obscurity. But this lowly shoot will ‘bear fruit,’ which presupposes its growth.
The King-Messiah thus brought on the scene is then described in regard to His character Isa 11:2, the nature of His rule Isa 11:3 – Isa 11:5, the universal harmony and peace which He will diffuse through nature Isa 11:6 – Isa 11:9, and the gathering of all mankind under His dominion. There is much in the prophetic ideal of the Messiah which finds no place in this prophecy. The gentler aspects of His reign are not here, nor the deeper characteristics of His ‘spirit,’ nor the chiefest blessings in His gift. The suffering Messiah is not yet the theme of the prophet.
The main point as to the character of the Messiah which this prophecy sets forth is that, whatever He was to be, He was to be by reason of the resting on Him of the Spirit of Jehovah. The directness, fulness, and continuousness of His inspiration are emphatically proclaimed in that word ‘shall rest,’ which can scarcely fail to recall John’s witness, ‘I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven; and it abode upon Him.’ The humanity on which the Divine Spirit uninterruptedly abides, ungrieved and unrestrained, must be free from the stains which so often drive that heavenly visitant from our breasts. The white-breasted Dove of God cannot brood over foulness. There has never been but one manhood capable of receiving and retaining the whole fulness of the Spirit of God.
The gifts of that Spirit, which become qualities of the Messiah in whom He dwells, are arranged if we may use so cold a word in three pairs; so that, if we include the introductory designation, we have a sevenfold characterisation of the Spirit, recalling the seven lamps before the throne and the seven eyes of the Lamb in the Apocalypse, and symbolising by the number the completeness and sacredness of that inspiration. The resulting character of the Messiah is a fair picture of one who realises the very ideal of a strong and righteous ruler of men. ‘Wisdom and understanding’ refer mainly to the clearness of intellectual and moral insight; ‘counsel and might,’ to the qualities which give sound practical direction and vigour to follow, and carry through, the decisions of practical wisdom; while ‘the knowledge and fear of the Lord’ define religion by its two parts of acquaintance with God founded on love, and reverential awe which prompts to obedience. The fulfilment, and far more than fulfilment, of this ideal is in Jesus, in whom were ‘hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,’ to whom no circumstances of difficulty ever brought the shadow of perplexity, who always saw clearly before Him the path to tread, and had always ‘might’ to tread it, however rough, who lived all His days in unbroken fellowship with the Father and in lowly obedience.
The prophet saw not all the wonders of perfect human character which that indwelling Spirit would bring to realisation in Him; but what he saw was indispensable to a perfect King, and was, at all events, an arc of the mighty circle of perfection, which has now been revealed in the life of Jesus. The possibilities of humanity under the influence of the Divine Spirit are revealed here no less than the actuality of the Messiah’s character. What Jesus is, He gives it to His subjects to become by the dwelling in them of the spirit of life which was in Him.
The rule of the King is accordant with His character. It is described in Isa 11:3 – Isa 11:5 . The first characteristic named may be understood in different ways. According to some commentators, who deserve respectful consideration, it means, ‘He shall draw His breath in the fear of Jehovah’; that is, that that fear has become, as it were, His very life-breath. But the meaning of ‘breathing’ is doubtful; and the phrase seems rather to express, as the Revised Version puts it, ‘His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.’ That might mean that those who fear Jehovah shall be His delight, and this would free the expression from any shade of tautology, when compared with the previous clause, and would afford a natural transition to the description of His rule. It might, on the other hand, continue the description of His personal character, and describe the inward cheerfulness of His obedience, like ‘I delight to do Thy will.’ In any case, the ‘fear of the Lord’ is represented as a sweet-smelling fragrance; and, if we adopt the former explanation, then it is almost a divine characteristic which is here attributed to the Messiah; for it is God to whom the fear of Him in men’s hearts is ‘an odour of a sweet smell.’
Then follow the features of His rule. His unerring judgment pierces through the seen and heard. That is the quality of a monarch after the antique pattern, when kings were judges. It does not appear that the prophet rose to the height of perceiving the divine nature of the Messiah; but we cannot but remember how far the reality transcends the prophecy, since He whose ‘eyes are as a flame of fire’ knows what is in man, and the earliest prayers of the Church were addressed to Jesus as ‘Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men.’
The relation of Messiah to two classes is next set forth. The oppressed and the meek shall have Him for their defender and avenger,-a striking contrast to the oppressive monarchs whom Isaiah had seen. We remember who said ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit,’ ‘Blessed are the meek.’ The King Himself has taught us to deepen the meaning of the words of the prophet, and to find in them the expression of the law of His kingdom by which its blessings belong to those who know their need and come with humble hearts. But the same acts which are for the poor are against the oppressors. The emendation which reads ‘tyrant’ arits for ‘earth’ erets brings the two clauses descriptive of the punitive acts into parallelism, and is probably to be preferred. The same pillar was light to Israel and darkness to the Egyptians. Christ is the savour of life unto life and of death unto death. But what is His instrument of destruction? ‘The rod of His mouth’ or ‘the breath of His lips.’ And who is He whose bare word thus has power to kill and make alive? Is not this a divine prerogative? and does it not belong in the fullest sense to Him whose voice rebuked fevers, storms, and demons, and pierced the dull, cold ear of death? Further, righteousness, the absolute conformity of character and act to the standard in the will of God, and faithfulness, the inflexible constancy, which makes a character consistent with itself, and so reliable, are represented by a striking figure as being twined together to make the girdle, which holds the vestments in place, and girds up the whole frame for effort. This righteous King ‘shall not fail nor be discouraged.’ He is to be reckoned on to the uttermost, or, as the New Testament puts it, He is ‘the faithful and true witness.’ This is the strong Son of God, who gathered all His powers together to run with patience the race set before Him, and to whom all may turn with the confidence that He is faithful ‘as a Son over His own house,’ and will inviolably keep the promise of His word and of His past acts.
We pass from the picture of the character and rule of the King over men to that fair vision of Paradise regained, which celebrates the universal restoration of peace between man and the animals. The picture is not to be taken as a mere allegory, as if ‘lions’ and ‘wolves’ and ‘snakes’ meant bad men; but it falls into line with other hints in Scripture, which trace the hostility between man and the lower creatures to sin, and shadow a future when ‘the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.’ The psalm which sings of man’s dominion over the creatures is to be one day fulfilled; and the Epistle to the Hebrews teaches that it is already fulfilled in Christ, who will raise His brethren, for whom He tasted death, to partake in His dominion. The present order of things is transient; and if earth is to be, as some shadowy hints seem to suggest, the scene of the future glories of redeemed humanity, it may be the theatre of a fulfilment of such visions as this. But we cannot dogmatise on a subject of which we know so little, nor be sure of the extent to which symbolism enters into this sweet picture. Enough that there surely comes a time when the King of men and Lord of nature shall bring back peace between both, and restore ‘the fair music that all creatures made To their great Lord.’
Isa 11:10 begins an entirely new section, which describes the relations of Messiah’s kingdom to the surrounding peoples. The picture preceding closed with the vision of the earth filled with the knowledge of the Lord, and this verse proclaims the universality of Messiah’s kingdom. By ‘the root of Jesse’ is meant, not the root from which Jesse sprang, but, in accordance with Isa 11:1 , the sprout from the house of Jesse. Just as in that verse the sprout was prophesied of as growing up to be fruitbearing, so here the lowly sucker shoots to a height which makes it conspicuous from afar, and becomes, like some tall mast, a sign for the nations. The contrast between the obscure beginning and the conspicuous destiny of Messiah is the point of the prophecy. ‘I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me.’ Strange elevation for a king is a cross! But it is because He has died for men that He has the right to reign over them, and that they ‘shall seek’ to Him. ‘His resting-place shall be glorious.’
The seat of His dominion is also the seat of His repose. The beneficent activity just described is wielded from a calm, central palace, and does not break the King’s tranquillity. That is a paradox, except to those who know that Jesus Christ, sitting in undisturbed rest at the right hand of God, thence works with and for His servants. His repose is full of active energy; His active energy is full of repose. And that place of calm abode is ‘glorious’ or, more emphatically and literally, ‘glory. He shall dwell in the blaze of the uncreated glory of God,-a prediction which is only fulfilled in its true meaning by Christ’s ascension and session at the right hand of God, in the glory which He had with the Father before the world was, and into which He has borne that lowly manhood which He drew from the cut-down stem of Jesse.
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Isa 11:1-5
1Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse,
And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
2The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him,
The spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The spirit of counsel and strength,
The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
3And He will delight in the fear of the LORD,
And He will not judge by what His eyes see,
Nor make a decision by what His ears hear;
4But with righteousness He will judge the poor,
And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth;
And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.
5Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins,
And faithfulness the belt about His waist.
Isa 11:1 a shoot This rare word found only here in the OT, (twig, branch, or shoot translated rod in Pro 14:3, BDB 310, KB 307) obviously refers to a supernatural Davidic descendant (cf. Isa 6:13; 2 Samuel 7; Rev 22:16) out of a seemingly dead stump (i.e., exiled Judah) will come a new king! This imagery (but different Hebrew word) is seen again in the Suffering Servant Song of Isa 52:13 to Isa 53:12 (i.e., Isa 11:2).
The Jewish Study Bible (p. 807) adds an interesting comment on stump.
If the translation ‘stump’ is correct, then the passage may presume that the Davidic dynasty will (or has) come to an end; this reading would deviate significantly from Isaiah’s notion that Davidic kings will reign eternally (cf. 2Sa 7:8-16; Psa 89:20-37). But the Hebrew ‘geza’ refers not only to a stump of a tree that has been cut down but also to the trunk of a living tree.
I cannot confirm this meaning for shoot unless it is Isa 40:24.
from the stem of Jesse Jesse was King David’s father. This future descendant is mentioned in Isa 11:10; Isa 9:7; Isa 16:5.
The OT gives the lineage of the Special Coming One, the Anointed One.
1. from the tribe of Judah, Gen 49:8-12, esp. Isa 11:10 and Rev 5:5
2. from the family of Jesse, 2 Samuel 7
The special child of the new age has now been identified as a special ruler. His character will characterize the new age (cf. Jer 23:5).
a branch from his roots The NOUN branch, sprout, or shoot (BDB 666, cf. Isa 14:19; Isa 60:21; Dan 11:7) is parallel to branch or sprout (BDB 855, cf. Isa 4:2; Isa 61:11). New growth will come! See Special Topic: Jesus the Nazarene .
will bear fruit The MT has the VERB bear fruit (, BDB 826, KB 963, Qal IMPERFECT, Dead Sea Scrolls, NASB), but most ancient and modern versions assume a similar VERB, (BDB 827).
1. NKJV, NRSV, Peshitta, shall grow out
2. NJB, will grow
3. LXX, Targums, shall come up
4. REB, will spring from
5. JPSOA, shall sprout
The second option fits the parallelism best!
Isa 11:2 the Spirit Many have tried to relate this passage to the seven-fold spirits of Rev 1:4. This seems doubtful to me. The MT lists six characteristics, but the LXX adds a seventh, piety, in place of fear in Isa 11:2, but then adds fear from Isa 11:3. However, this does relate to the titles of Isa 9:6 and describes the king fully equipped by God in insight, administration, and piety. The Spirit of the Lord abides on him as He did on David (cf. 1Sa 16:13).
The personality of the Spirit is not fully revealed in the OT. In the OT the Spirit is YHWH’s personal influence to accomplish His purposes, much like the Angel of the LORD. It is not until the NT that His full personality and Deity are revealed. See Special Topic: The Trinity . See Special Topic: THE PERSONHOOD OF THE SPIRIT .
The other problem with the word (BDB 924) is that it can refer to human characteristics or divine action.
will rest on Him The VERB (BDB 628, KB 679) is a Qal PERFECT denoting a settled condition. It will abide and remain. This same truth is stated in different ways in Isa 42:1; Isa 59:21; Isa 61:1; Mat 3:16; Luk 4:18.
the spirit of. . . Basically there are three groups of gifts.
1. intellectual
a. wisdom, BDB 315 (opposite of Isa 10:13)
b. understanding, BDB 108 (see first pair in Deu 4:6)
2. effective administration (cf. Isa 9:6-7)
a. counsel, BDB 420
b. strength, BDB 150
(Reign of peace through military power, cf. 2Ki 18:20)
3. personal piety
a. knowledge of the Lord, BDB 395
b. fear of the LORD, BDB 432 (cf. Isa 11:3)
This same type of description is found in Isa 2:2-4; Isa 9:6-7; Isa 42:1-4. It will be a time of justice, righteousness. and peace.
Isa 11:3 will delight This is literally breathe in (BDB 926, KB 1195, Hiphil INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT). This is used in the sense of the pleasing smell of the sacrifice or incense rising to God (i.e., Gen 8:21).
in the fear of the LORD This term fear (BDB 432) denotes a respect for the awesomeness of God. It was meant to keep the covenant people from sinning (cf. Exo 20:20; Deu 4:10; Deu 6:24). King David feared YHWH (cf. 2Sa 23:3). This Messiah, the new David, perfectly reflects this reverence as the ideal example of a true Israelite. Note how it forms the introduction to Proverbs (cf. Pro 1:7; also note Pro 2:5; Pro 14:26-27)!
He will not judge by what His eyes see Because of the gifts of the Spirit this special Davidic ruler will be able to discern truth and not be tricked by false testimony. He will be the perfect righteous judge. The kings of Israel functioned as the last resort for justice.
Isa 11:4 Does it surprise you that poverty and oppression will continue into the new age? This is the kind of literalism that causes confusion. This verse’s purpose is the character of the Ruler, not a description of a millennial society! It was meant to show that He will bring conformity to the ideals of God’s revealed covenant. He will reflect YHWH’s character Himself and project this onto human relationships!
righteousness See Special Topic: Righteousness .
with the rod of His mouth This sounds very similar to the phrase used in Rev 1:16; Rev 2:16, which speaks of the power of the spoken word (cf. Genesis 1; John 1) in the phrase sword of my mouth. The last two lines of poetry speak of the ruler’s effective power (cf. Isa 11:2 c).
Isa 11:5 Clothing is a metaphor used to describe the qualities of the coming righteous Davidic ruler. Later Paul will use this to describe the believer’s provisions for spiritual conflict (cf. Eph 6:14).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

And = But. Note the same order of events in Rev 19 and Rev 20, as in Isaiah 10 and Isaiah 11.
a rod = a sprout: occurs again only in Pro 14:3. Note the sublime contrast with Isa 10:33, Isa 10:34.
stem = stump, Appropriate for Jesse, not David.
Branch = Shoot or Scion. Hebrew. nezer. Nothing to do with “Nazareth”. See note on Mat 2:23. Not the same word as in Isa 4:2; see note there.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

Shall we turn to Isaiah, chapter 11, for the beginning of our study this evening.
In the tenth chapter, the closing part of chapter 10 of Isaiah, and again, let me remind you that the chapter distinctions were made by men, not by the authors. But years later, in order that we might be able to ready reference scriptures, in order that you might be able to find them easily, they divided the Bible into chapters and verses. And that is only for our benefit so that we can reference. And so in the dividing of the Bible into the chapters and verses, this is not the way the Bible was written, but is only divided that way for our benefit so that we can find a passage more easily. Rather than saying, “Well, it’s in Isaiah,” we can say, “Well, it’s in Isaiah the eleventh chapter in the first verse.” And that way we can find it and it makes it much easier for us. But in the dividing, they did their best to make the proper divisions of chapters, but unfortunately, many times they cut off a thought, more or less, in the middle. And because we are in a habit of reading a book a chapter at a time, sometimes we start the new chapter without reference to the previous chapter in reading the Bible. Or we start just in one area and we just quit at the end of the chapter, and many times the thought is carried over right on into the next chapter.
Now this is one of those areas where the thought in the end of chapter 10 is that God in His judgment is going to cut down the nations like the trees of Lebanon. Just going to hew them down and there’s just going to be stumps. God’s going to wipe out the nations and all, leaving just sort of stumps. And so with all of these stumps,
There shall come forth [a stem or] a rod [a branch] out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots ( Isa 11:1 ):
So you have the picture now of the nations being leveled. Looking like just a forest that has been cut down; down to the stumps. But out of one, and that is out of Jesse, there is going to be a new life, a new branch coming forth, a stem. And, of course, this is a beautiful prophecy concerning Jesus Christ and the Kingdom Age. As the nations have been leveled as the result of the battle of Armageddon and out of the debris the new life will arise and Jesus the Branch out of the stem of Jesse.
And so this again is a prophecy concerning the Messiah, declaring that He shall come actually from the house of Jesse, which, of course, was the father of king David. And so it is a reaffirmation of God’s promise to David that God would build David a house. That out of David’s lineage the Messiah would come.
And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and ( Isa 11:2 )
Heroic actions would be a better translation of the Hebrew word that is translated might. Not only does He make the right decisions, but He has the power to work these decisions out, to put them into action. A lot of times we may know the right thing to do, but we haven’t the capacity to do it. His is not only the counsel, the knowledge of what to do, but the ability to carry it out. “The spirit of counsel and heroic actions.”
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD; And he shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked ( Isa 11:2-4 ).
Now this is a reference to the second coming of Jesus Christ. This branch that is growing out of the roots of the tribe of Judah, the house of Jesse, the lineage of David. When He arises, the anointing of God’s Spirit upon Him, and, more or less, is referred to as the sevenfold anointing of the Spirit.
In Revelation you read in the reference to the Holy Spirit there around the throne of God, and the seven spirits which are before the throne of God. A difficult verse to interpret. We know that there is one Holy Spirit. What is the reference to the seven spirits that are there before the throne of God? There have been many suggestions that have been offered as to the possible interpretation of the seven spirits. Some have declared that there are seven archangels such as Michael and Gabriel. And in one of the books of the Apocrypha, the book of Esdras, you have Sanskrit, and Uriel and Raphael, and you have the names of seven what they call archangels or chief angels. And some believe that the seven spirits refer to the seven chief angels or archangels that are before the throne of God. That is one possibility.
Another possibility is that the seven spirits before the throne of God are a reference to the sevenfold working of the Spirit in Jesus Christ. As we find here in the use, this eleventh chapter verses Isa 11:2 , and Isa 11:3 , as a reference for the interpretation of the sevenfold working of the Spirit in Jesus Christ: the spirit of wisdom, understanding, the spirit of counsel, and the spirit of might, or the heroic actions that we mentioned, the spirit of knowledge, and the fear of the Lord, and of quick understanding–the sevenfold working of the Spirit. So which is the correct interpretation? Well, I just suggest you look into it and pray about it and find out what you’re comfortable with. No way you can be dogmatic in that. They are both possible that they are correct, and it’s possible that they’re both wrong and that there is something else that we’ll discover when we get to heaven. We’ll say, “Oh, that’s what they’re talking about seven spirits before the throne. All right, you know.”
So I’ve got a lot of things that are filed up here in a catalog that says, “Wait for further information.” And so I hesitate being dogmatic on some of these issues. Where the Bible doesn’t speak clearly on a subject it’s only sheer presumption for me to speak dogmatically. And I don’t like to do that unless there is a clear indication in the scriptures. But those who say that it is the sevenfold or the complete working, seven being the number of completeness, complete working of the Spirit in the life of Christ that’s manifest in the life of Christ, use this passage as a reference to that idea.
Now, He is coming to judge the earth and His coming in the brightness of His coming is said that the antichrist, the beast, will be destroyed with the sharp sword that goes forth out of His mouth. Now the Word of the Lord is like a sharp, two-edged sword. And there is such power in the Word of God and God said, “Let there be light: and there was light” ( Gen 1:3 ). It’s known as divine fiat, the ability of God to speak something into existence. The tremendous power in God’s Word. God no sooner says it than it exists. It’s a reality. The moment God declares it, it comes into existence or into being.
So here is this antichrist, the man of sin, son of perdition, who has demonstrated such marvelous power that all the world is wondering after him. Doing all of these wonders and signs and miracles so that the whole world is enthralled by this man of sin. Creating such a powerful military force that they say, “Who is able to make war with the beast?” ( Rev 13:4 ) Seemingly to overcome everything that gets in his path. He starts moving down to conquer Africa. He passes through Egypt, gets to the borders of Libya and Ethiopia when the news comes that China is invading from the east. And so he takes his troops and returns from the invasion to Africa to meet this invasion from China. And they meet together there in the valley of Megiddo. And as these tremendous forces of man are in this horrible war there in these plains of Jezreel, the valley of Megiddo, Jesus comes again.
And this man who has deceived the world, this man who has caused the world to stand in awe and wonder at his power and all, this man who the world looks up to as the greatest leader the world has ever seen, the most powerful man who has ever lived, for Satan invests this man with all of his power and with all of his authority. Satan does for him what he volunteered to do for Jesus Christ if Jesus would bow down and worship him. When he took Jesus up into a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and said, “All of these will I give unto thee if You will bow down and worship me. And the glory of them for they are mine. I can give them to whomever I will.” Jesus refused it, but this man accepts, and Satan gives to him his throne, his authority. And this man is ruling over the world with the powers of Satan behind him and the whole world stands in awe.
The two witnesses that God has sent that are anointed with power. Elijah and Moses or Enoch, whoever else is Elijah’s companion, this man has power to put them to death. And thus, he asserts his power over God. Greater than God. And the whole world is wondering after him and saying, “Who can make war with him?” And Jesus comes and says, “You’ve had it.” And the guy goes. And just the word that goes forth out of the mouth of Jesus Christ is all that’s necessary. He doesn’t get in a big conflict with him. Doesn’t get into battle with him. He just speaks the word and the guy is totally wiped out. Oh, the power of the word of Jesus Christ.
Now He is coming then, He begins to judge, He gathers the nations together for judgment when He returns, Mat 25:1-46 . Now when He judges, He doesn’t call for witnesses. He doesn’t need to. He doesn’t need for someone to come in and testify against anyone else. In fact, when Jesus was here, John tells us that, “He didn’t need that anybody should tell Him about any man, for He knew men, and He knew what was in man” ( Joh 2:24-25 ). That can be a rather frightening thing if you’re on the wrong side of the fence.
To know that here is a man and that’s what the woman at the well of Samaria when she went and told her friends. “Come and meet a man who told me everything I’ve ever done.” Oh man, that’s sort of heavy. Of course, that’s the thing that attracted Nathanael when he met Jesus. He said, “Wow, behold an Israelite in whom there is no guile.” He said, “How did you know me?” He said, “Well, when you were over there sitting under the fig tree I saw you.” “Oh, truly You are the Messiah, the Son of God.” He said, Jesus said, “You believe just ’cause I tell you I saw you on a fig tree? Stick around, you’re going to see a lot more than that.” But he realized that Christ had this perception, the ability to see right into a man.
And Jesus exercised this perceptive ability, that of being able to see right into it. And so He does not judge by hearing testimony or witness, He knows. I mean, He judges by that thorough, total knowledge that He has of each of us. The Bible says that “everything is naked and revealed before Him with whom we have to do” ( Heb 4:13 ). I mean, you can’t hide or cover a thing when you stand before the Lord. He looks right through you and He sees everything. His x-ray vision perceives all. I’m thankful that I have the shield of, it’s not a lead shield, but it’s a blood shield. The blood of Jesus Christ that just wipes out all of the past. And I’m so glad for that forgiveness and that cleansing of the past through the blood of Jesus Christ so that when He looks at me, He sees me pure, righteous and holy. And that’s the only way I want it. I want to stay in Christ. I want to abide in Him. I don’t want to have to stand before Him and have Him look through me and read me off and all. I like it living in Christ where “there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” ( Rom 8:1 ).
So He does not reprove after the hearing of the ears. He doesn’t have to have anybody give testimony. “But in righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and will smite the earth with the rod of His mouth.” The Bible tells us that in the Kingdom Age, He’ll rule with a rod of iron. “And with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked.”
And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins ( Isa 11:5 ).
Now the conditions that will exist when He reigns upon the earth:
The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them ( Isa 11:6 ).
We see not the world that God created. We see a world that is suffering the curse because of man’s sin. And the curse has spread out into the animal kingdom. It’s spread out into the areas, the whole area of the earth. The earth is cursed. “Thorns and thistles shall the ground produce” ( Gen 3:18 ). The animals at war with each other. That’s why nature does not give us a true picture of God. It can declare to us His glory, His power, His majesty, His might, but it doesn’t declare His love, because the earth is in rebellion against God. But when Jesus establishes His kingdom, even the animal kingdom will be at peace. And I can see a little child taking a lion by the mane and dragging it around, you know. What a tremendous pet that’s going to make. My little daughter… my little daughter, that’s been a while. My grown daughter, Cheryl, now a mother, as she was growing up always had a great fascination for lions. Loved to draw lions. She wanted a lion for a pet. Never got it, but the day will come when a little child will lead them about.
The cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like an ox ( Isa 11:7 ).
No longer carnivorous.
And a nursing child shall play on the hole of the asp [very poisonous snake], and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea ( Isa 11:8-9 ).
Now that’s what you’re praying for when you pray, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” ( Mat 6:10 ). As I say, you do not see the earth today as God created it, as God intended it. You see the earth as it is suffering as the result of man’s rebellion against God. And that is why it is manifestly wrong to blame God for all of the pain and the hurt and the bloodshed and the evil and the hatred that is in the earth today and demonstrated in all of these horrible things. It won’t be that way when Jesus comes to reign.
And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for a sign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious ( Isa 11:10 ).
Now this is what the disciples were expecting Jesus to do when He came. And that is why they were so upset and disappointed when He was talking to them about the cross, about His death. “But Lord, when are You going to set up Your kingdom? When are You going to make this glorious ensign that all of the Gentiles will come flowing to Jerusalem and all to receive of the benefits and the glory?” But this remains with the second coming of Jesus Christ.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left ( Isa 11:11 ),
Now, God is gathering now, and has gathered now, the Jews back to Israel. In the process of gathering them back as the nation has been re-established, but not all are going back, not all are even interested in going back. There are many of them that are now leaving Israel because of the prohibitive taxes and inflation. And it’s just difficult to live over there right now, and some 22,000 people left Israel last year and moved to other parts of the world because of the difficulty of living there under these trying conditions. So God will gather them the second time. When? When Jesus Christ comes again. Then He’s going to gather together His elect from the four corners of the earth.
In verse Isa 11:12 :
And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the eaRuth ( Isa 11:12 ).
Now in Matthew’s gospel chapter 24, those people who take a post-Tribulation rapture position usually use Mat 24:1-51 as one of their key texts for proving their point. Where Jesus in talking to His disciples about the signs of His coming and the end of the age declares, “Immediately after the tribulation [verse Mat 24:29 ] of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four [corners of the earth or from the four] winds, from one end of heaven to another” ( Mat 24:29-31 ). And they say that that is when the rapture takes place as the Lord at that point gathers together His elect and His elect, they say, is the church.
Now they take that position because they are not thoroughly familiar with the Old Testament and God’s dealing with the nation Israel. For Isaiah tells us, and he is referring to this very same event that Jesus referred to, as the elect are gathered together that the elect are actually from the house of Judah and they are the outcasts of Israel. They are not the church. And, of course, also Isaiah further confirms that in the twenty-seventh chapter and in verses Isa 11:12 , and Isa 11:13 , which, of course, we’ll be getting to in a few weeks. “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt” ( Isa 27:12-13 ). So it’s speaking of the trumpet and the gathering of the people together.
And in verse Mat 24:31 of Matthew, “And they shall send His angels with a great sound of the trumpet” ( Mat 24:31 ). Again, a reference to the gathering together of the Jews after His return. As He sets up the ensign and gathers together the Jews from the four corners of the earth where they have been driven in the dispersion. So that gives you a scriptural, clear understanding of Mat 24:1-51 and shows that the elect cannot be the church.
I do not know why some men persist in their teaching that the church is going to have to go through the Great Tribulation. It is something that it seems that Walter Martin gets on almost every broadcast. He’s like on a one-stringed guitar or something. It’s about the only thing he can get wound up in. And it’s really too bad because he has a very vast knowledge of the cults. Excellent knowledge of the cults. And he is a good teacher, but he seems to constantly be harping on this issue. But it’s a harp with only one string and it doesn’t make much music. I love Walter Martin. He’s a good friend of mine. But we just happen to disagree at this point. And the unfortunate thing is he always puts his programs right around mine and where we only bring up the subject occasionally as we are teaching the whole gospel and declaring to you the whole truth of God, and I’m not out on a bandwagon to defend the position. It’s just whenever we go through the Bible in declaring the whole counsel of God, we show you what the Bible teaches. But it seems that he has to harp every single broadcast on this particular issue. But I wish he’d get a few more strings in his harp. I’ll hear from him on this and we’ll have a good time. We really have a great love for each other. It’s just that we have a good time when we get together. It’s always exciting. I’m not through with it. We’re going to pick it up again when we get to chapter 13. But we’ve got other things between now and then to talk about. We’ve got a lot of things to talk about.
So God is gathering together His elect from Israel, from Judah, from the four corners of the earth, Mat 24:1-51 .
The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah ( Isa 11:13 ),
Now, of course, there was great jealousies and envies. There were civil wars between the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom. Ephraim representing the Northern Kingdom, and Judah, of course, the Southern Kingdom. And there won’t be any more conflict between them. They’ll be one as in the prophecy of Ezekiel, God said, “When He gathers them back together into the land, they will no longer be two nations but one nation” ( Eze 37:22 ). This division between the northern and southern will be over and they will be one nation on the face of the earth. But rather than being on each other’s throat, they will be on those around them.
And they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them ( Isa 11:14 )
That’s the area of Gaza, the Gaza strip. And, of course, Israel did pounce upon them and destroyed them and took that territory.
They shall spoil them of the east together ( Isa 11:14 ):
That would be those of Jordan and the West Bank that they have taken.
they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab ( Isa 11:14 );
Jordan is modern Moab.
and the children of Ammon shall obey them. And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod. And there shall be a highway for the remnant that will come from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came out of the land of Egypt ( Isa 11:14-16 ). “
Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary

Isa 11:1-9
Isa 11:1-5
Again in this chapter Isaiah returns to one of his favorite topics, the Messiah and his kingdom, revealing that he will descend through the posterity of the family of Jesse, thus the Root of Jesse, the Branch.
This follows logically upon the projected fulfillment of the destruction both of Israel and of Assyria; but it is significant that whereas there were no sprouts or shoots coming up from the felled forest of Lebanon, since cedars do not produce sprouts after being cut down. God’s choice of the metaphor, therefore, in his use of the word “Lebanon” for Assyria, shows that Assyria would never recover from their destruction. However, Judah was represented by another type of tree, such as an oak, that will indeed preserve life after being cut down, and will send forth a sprout or shoot to make a new tree. Note that both Assyria and Israel are by this prophecy doomed to be cut down or destroyed.
True to Isaiah’s promise of a revelation from God a little at a time, “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little” (See Introduction), Isaiah here gives additional information about: (1) the Messiah; (2) kingdom of God; (3) the character of Christians; (4) the punishment of Israel; (5) the destruction of Assyria; (6) the call of the Gentiles; and (7) the triumph of Christianity.
Isa 11:1-5
“And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah. And his delight shall be in the fear of Jehovah; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither decide after the hearing of his ears; but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist, and faithfulness the girdle of his loins.”
“Out of the stock of Jesse …” The implication here is that the shoot and the branch to come forth from this stock will not occur until Jesse and the entire Davidic monarchy have completely fallen. Peake would not allow this necessary inference; and upon his unsupported denial of it, insisted that the passage “is not Isaiah’s.”[1] However, it is impossible to suppose that, merely because of Isaiah’s friendship for Ahaz, he would not have delivered the word of God against the House of David. Had not Isaiah many years previously to the “cutting down of Israel” named his first-born Shear-Jashub? And in that name both the stock of Jesse and the shoot or branch appear in the form of the return from captivity inherently prophesied in the name Shear-Jashub. The allegations of scholars such as Peake are unacceptable.
The time indicated for this prophecy came, “When the house of David had fallen into such a state of dishonor and disrepute (Amo 9:11) that the prophet did not refer to it by David’s name, but by the name of David’s father Jesse.
Both Assyria and Judah were about to be destroyed. Assyria would never rise again, but Judah, like the stump of an oak tree would carry within itself the sap of life and would send forth a Root, a Branch out of the stump of Judah; and in the very midst of this discouraging picture God held forth hope and promise to that small righteous remnant who would return from captivity; and from them the Messiah would be born, and the glory of Israel would once more appear in the New Israel composed of both Jews and Gentiles! The difference in the ultimate fates of Assyria and Judah appears in the prophecy which gave Lebanon as a metaphor for Assyria (a reference to their cedars). As many have noted, “Cedars when felled throw out no fresh suckers.
The reference here to the coming Messiah as being from the stock of Jesse should not compromise the truth that the Messiah is the Second David. Christ is called the “Root of David” also in Rev 5:5; Rev 22:16. “There is a resumption here of the theme of Isa 9:6, namely, that of the Coming Messiah.
“And the Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him …” This refers to the anointing of Jesus Christ on the occasion of his baptism (Mat 3:16). Note the words “shall rest”; the scriptures plainly reveal that the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus and “remained upon Him.” This was the very event that revealed to John the Baptist that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the Son of God (Joh 1:32-33).
The anointing of Jesus Christ with the Spirit of God was no partial or incomplete thing, for God gave his Spirit to Christ, “without measure” (Joh 3:34), this being signified here by the words “shall rest upon him.” Peake pointed out that this Holy Spirit fully equipped Jesus with, “Six modes of manifestation, intellectual, practical, and religious. Just as the measureless gift of the Holy Spirit in Christ was typified by pouring liberal amounts of the anointing oil upon Aaron’s head, the far lesser gift of the Holy Spirit promised to Christ’s followers was typified by the merely “sprinkling” of the anointing oil upon the garments of the ordinary priests.
Isa 11:3-4 here contrast the righteous judgment of Christ with that which was evidently common in Judea when this was written. “We can clearly read between the lines the contrast,” of the kind of judgment then current on the throne of Israel with the righteous judgment of Jesus Christ. His high regard of the meek and the poor of earth was a constant characteristic of his earthly ministry.
The reference in Isa 11:4 to Messiah’s, “smiting the earth with the rod of his mouth,” and his slaying the wicked with “the breath of his lips,” is fully equivalent to the declaration that the Messiah will be God. “The creative virtue of the Word belongs properly to Jehovah. The words of the Holy King prophesied in these verses, “In the last day will consign to everlasting life or everlasting death,” every man ever born upon earth.
“Righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist …” All of these first verses extol the character, ability, integrity, honor, and righteousness of the Holy Messiah.
Isa 11:6-9
“And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea.”
This is one of the most talked-about passages in the Bible; and it is a mainstay of many premillennarian groups of believers, most of whom appeal to the passage in Rom 8:22, “The whole creation groaneth and travaileth together in pain until now,” supposing that in the millennium the lower animate creation shall participate in the blessings of Redemption in Christ when that day arrives. Regarding that verse in Romans, “The word for creation means exactly what the same word means in Mar 16:15, namely, all mankind, having no reference whatever to the lower creations such as animals.” Theories always assume that such harmony among the lower orders of life once existed in Eden prior to the fall of Adam, and the conditions mentioned in these verses would be merely the restoration of what once previously existed; but there is no Biblical evidence of such. There is not a word in all the Bible that backs up such fantastic theories.
Our understanding of this paragraph views it as not literal in any sense whatever. Note that the peace, harmony, and tranquillity depicted here exist only in God’s holy mountain (Isa 11:9), not all over the world. This passage can no more be taken literally than the description of a sprout coming up out of Jesse, or of a rod or a sharp sword coming out of the mouth of Messiah. “The prophet is not looking to a time when animals of the natural world will live without enmity; but he is describing the peace of those in Jehovah’s holy mountain, the kingdom of God.
As Archer put it, “The picture of the fierce predatory animals living peaceably with the weak and defenseless symbolizes the removal of all natural fear and hostility between men.
The asp (Isa 11:8) probably refers to the “great yellow viper common in Palestine.
Peake also rejected the notion that this paragraph refers literally to wild beasts, because such a notion would be utterly contrary to the fact that Isaiah attributed the wonderful conditions described “to a diffusion of the knowledge of Jehovah (Isa 11:9); … peace among men (in God’s kingdom) is intended.
Isa 11:1-5 CHARACTER OF THE BRANCH: The Assyrian king will be felled like a mighty tree being cut down. His whole forest (nation) will be felled and will not grow back. Israel is soon to be felled in the captivity. However, from the stump (remnant) that is left of Israel, a Shoot or Branch will sprout. This Branch will be a supernatural person. He will have a full measure of the Spirit of the Lord. There can be little doubt that the Branch is the Messiah (Cf. Isa 4:2; Jer 23:5; Jer 33:15; Zec 3:8; Zec 6:12). The main emphasis focuses on His character. He will be in complete contrast to Israels human rulers. He will rule righteously, justly, fairly. He will judge according to facts because He will be filled with divine wisdom, divine counsel and divine power. Israels human kings, for the most part, delighted in doing their own will. The Branch will delight in doing Gods will (Cf. Joh 4:34; Joh 5:30; Joh 14:31; Joh 15:10; Joh 17:4). The absolute righteousness and faithfulness of the Branch will bring a change in the character of those who commit themselves to Him. They will be able to trust Him to take care of all judgment. Thus they will be at peace and harmony with one another and with their surroundings. This leads into the next section.
Isa 11:6-9 CONDITION OF THE BELIEVER: The condition of the believer is directly dependent upon the character of the Branch. Without the Branch the believer falls into the sinful and decadent condition which Israel finds itself. Social injustice, political anarchy, human enmity and personal fragmentation are the consequences of impotent human leadership. Sinful, rebellious man is out of harmony with the will of God and out of harmony with Gods whole creation. He trusts nothing and no one. He hopes in nothing. Filled with despair and meaninglessness he cares for nothing. He is at war with himself, with other human beings and with all that surrounds him. He perverts and exploits nature.
But when man finds he has a Divine Ruler who will judge with righteousness and faithfulness, and commits himself in faith and obedience to that Ruler, life begins to make sense. Man finds wholeness in himself, with his fellow man and harmony with his circumstances and surroundings. Nature becomes a help to him, and even those circumstances which seemed before to be contradictory and meaningless now become aids in the perfecting of his character.
We believe Isaiah is here speaking figuratively of a condition that will be accomplished in the believer at the first coming of the Messiah. When the Messiah has completed His messianic work, peace will be made possible in the hearts of those who believe. When men believe and obey Him they will be regenerated. They will begin the process of perfecting that will fit them for the time when the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah. Some day even creation itself shall be redeemed (Cf. Rom 8:18-25) and God will create a new heaven and a new earth. But new circumstances do not a heaven make! C. S. Lewis once said that heaven will not be so much the glory that surrounds us as the glory that is in us! Even when God makes a new heaven and new earth with docile animals and a stormless natural order, it will not be heaven without regenerated people. Man had perfect natural conditions to start with in the Garden of Eden! When man listened to a liar (the Devil), he got out of harmony with God and himself and sinful men have been perverting and exploiting everything he can get his hands on since then.
Isaiah is talking here about mans conversion. Potentially, mans dominion over creation, which he once enjoyed in Eden but lost, has been restored through the work of God-Man, Jesus Christ (Heb 2:5-18). Man can now enter into that potential dominion by faith in Christ, for Christ has destroyed the power the Devil formerly had over man through mans fear of death. Thus entering this potential dominion, man begins to prepare himself for the realization or consummation of the dominion which will come at the consummation of the ages-the Second Advent of the Messiah!
The condition described in these verses cannot apply to a supposed millennium. Advocates of a millennial theory maintain that even during the millennium there is sin, for after the millennium the nations will again gather for a battle. The picture before us, however, is one in which there is no sin, but in which the fullest manifestation of peace is to be seen. And right now, within the kingdom of the Messiah, there is peace. Of course, the kingdom is still in the world-not of the world. And so the world makes war on the kingdom of God. But within the kingdom itself there is peace! And some day, even the world, nature and all its inhabitants will be at complete harmony.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

In this section the prophet’s eyes are lifted toward the light of a far-off day. With judgment imminent, he yet sees the ultimate issue of it all. There is fist a description of a Coming One (Isa 11:11). The description of the Coming One is divided into two parts. The first describes Him as the Branch, that is, as David’s Son (verses Isa 11:1-9). His Coming is proclaimed, His anointing by the Spirit of Jehovah is declared, the method of His rule is described, and the glorious results are announced. The prophecy now describes Him as the Root, that is, David’s Lord (verses Isa 11:10-15). Again His Coming is announced, but this time for the uplifting of an ensign that the nations may seek Him. Again His reign is described. The first process is to be the gathering together of the remnant. This is followed by the uplifting of the ensign for the nations. The result will be the restoration of unity between Ephraim and Judah, and their victory over their foes. All this will be accompanied by manifestations of the power of God as their fathers had seen it in connection with the Exodus.
Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible

the Kingdom of the Messiah
Isa 10:33-34; Isa 11:1-9
The advance of the Assyrian along the great north road is graphically described. It was marked by raided villages and towns. The night sky was lurid with flames. But his collapse would be as sudden and irretrievable as the felling of forest timber. As the one chapter closes we can almost hear the crash of the Assyrian tree to the ground, and there is no sprout from his roots. But in the next the prophet descries a fair and healthy branch uprising from the trunk of Jesses line. The vision of the King is then presented, who can be none other than the divine Redeemer on whom rests the sevenfold Spirit of God. The second verse defines the work of the Comforter, and is evidently the model of that royal hymn, Veni Creator Spiritus. But remember that He on whom this divine unction rested longs to share the pentecostal gift with the least of His disciples, 1Jn 2:27. Note that as mans sin brought travail and groaning on all creation, so will His redemption deliver it, Rom 8:19-25.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary

EXPOSITORY NOTES ON
THE PROPHET ISAIAH
By
Harry A. Ironside, Litt.D.
Copyright @ 1952
edited for 3BSB by Baptist Bible Believer in the spirit of the Colportage ministry of a century ago
ISAIAH CHAPTERS ELEVEN AND TWELVE
WHEN GOD’S ANOINTED TAKES OVER
THERE is a very close connection with that which now comes before us and that which we have seen in the last chapter. After the Assyrian is destroyed and Israel will have been delivered from all her enemies, we have the peaceful reign of Him who is the Rod out of Jesse’s stem, the Branch of the Lord who is to bring all things into subjection to GOD and rule with the iron rod of inflexible righteousness.
Of Him we read:
“And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; and shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins” (verses 1-5).
Here we have the One who is presented in the Book of the Revelation as having the seven spirits of GOD: that is, the Holy Spirit in the sevenfold plenitude of His power. Coming by virgin birth through David’s line He is the Branch out of the root of Jesse, the father of David. Upon Him rests “the Spirit of the Lord,”
– one; the Spirit of wisdom,
– two; and of understanding,
– three; the Spirit of counsel,
– four; and of might,
– five; the Spirit of knowledge,
– six; and of the fear of the Lord,
– seven; The fear of the Lord is the spirit of reverence.
We are told in John that the Father giveth not the Spirit by measure to His beloved Son (3:34). From the moment of His birth the Lord JESUS was under the controlling power of the Holy Spirit, for as Man on earth, He chose not to act in His own omnipotence but as the Servant of the Godhead.
After His baptism in the Jordan, the Spirit was seen descending upon Him as a dove. This was the anointing of which the Apostle Peter spoke, in preparation for His gracious public ministry. Never for one moment was He out of harmony with the Spirit. It was this that made it possible for Him to grow in wisdom as He grew in stature, and in favor with GOD and man. Confessedly, this mystery is great: that the Eternal Wisdom should have so limited Himself as Man in all perfection that He grew in wisdom and knowledge from childhood to physical maturity as under the tutelage of the Father, who by the Spirit revealed His will to JESUS from day to day, so that He could say, “I speak not mine own words but the words of Him that sent Me.”
And as to the works He wrought, He attributed them all to the Spirit of GOD who dwelt in Him in all His fullness. Scripture guards carefully the truth of the perfect Manhood of our Lord, as also that of His true Deity. We see Him here as the Servant of the Lord speaking and acting according to the Father’s will. So His judgment was inerrant and His understanding perfect.
When in GOD’s due time He takes over the reins of the government of this world, all will be equally right and just at last. David’s prophetic words will be fulfilled when there shall be “He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God” (2Sa 23:3). Earth’s long centuries of selfish misrule will have come to an end, and Israel and the nations will enjoy the blessings of Messiah’s gracious and faithful sway; then all wickedness will be dealt with in unsparing judgment and the meek of the earth will be protected and enter into undisturbed blessedness.
In that day the curse will be lifted from the lower creation and the very nature of the beasts of the earth will be changed.
“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (verses 6-9).
Those who attempt to spiritualize all these expressions must needs take the beasts here to represent violent and savage men whose hearts will be changed by regeneration. But the prophet gives no hint of such an application of his words. He very definitely speaks of that which GOD will do for the animal kingdom in the day when the curse will be lifted. There is no hint that the prophet was speaking allegorically or that his language is to be interpreted other than in strict literality
It seems evident that when the Second Man, the Last Adam, is set over this lower universe, that
ideal conditions will prevail on earth, such as characterized the world before sin came in to mar GOD’s fair creation with its sad entail of violence and rapine on the part of the beasts of the earth and the evil effects upon the bodies of men and women, resulting in sickness and death. All this will be undone in the day when CHRIST shall come as the Restorer of all things spoken by the prophets, and “the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
While the millennium is not to be confounded with the new heavens and the new earth, it will nevertheless be a period of wonderful blessing for all who shall dwell in the world when in the administration of the fullness of the seasons, GOD shall head up all things in CHRIST.
“And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim” (verses 10-13).
It is when JESUS returns in glory and as the Root of Jesse fulfills the promises made to David that all these things shall come to pass. Then Jacob’s prophecy, as given in Gen 49:10, will have its glorious fulfillment, “Unto Him shall the gathering of the people be.”
In that day we are told GOD will not only magnify Him in the eyes of Israel, but also unto Him shall the Gentiles seek.
His own earthly people, scattered for so long among the nations, will be gathered back to their own land. Many have thought that the promises of their restoration were fulfilled long ago when a remnant returned in the days of Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah. But here we are informed definitely, “The Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people”; and we learn that they will return – not limply from Babylon as before – but from all the lands where they have been dispersed throughout the long centuries of their sorrow and suffering. Israel and Judah, no longer divided, will be drawn to the Lord Himself – the Ensign to be set up in that day – and shall flow together to the land of their fathers, no longer as rival nations but as one people in glad subjection to their King and their GOD.
The closing verses of the chapter give further details as to the manner of their return, assisted by the nations that were once their enemies.
“But they shall lay upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them. And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod. And there shall be an highway for the
remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt” (verses 14-16).
Certain geographical and geological changes are indicated here which no doubt will be effected at the time when the feet of our Lord shall stand again upon the Mount of Olives, and there shall be a great earthquake with far-reaching results, as foretold in Zechariah 14.
The twelfth chapter gives us the song of joy and triumph which will rise exultantly from the hearts of the redeemed of the Lord as in the days when the people sang of old on the shore of the Red Sea after all their enemies had been destroyed.
“And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. Behold, God is my salvation; I w1ll trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee” (verses 1-6).
It is a blessed and precious experience when the heart is fixed upon the Lord Himself and when the soul realizes the gladness of reconciliation to the One against whom it had sinned, so as to be able to say, “Though Thou wast angry with me, Thine anger is turned away, and Thou comfortedst me.”
It means much to know GOD as the One through whom deliverance has been wrought and who is Himself “salvation.” This is the end of all worry and anxiety. And so we hear the remnant saying, “I will trust, and not be afraid.” Faith is the antidote to fear. As we learn to look to GOD in confidence all anxiety disappears, for we know that He who saved us will stand between us and every foe. He does not leave His people to fight their battles in their own power, but He is the Strength of all who rest upon His Word.
From the wells of salvation, so long spurned by the self-righteous Jew, seeking to save himself by his own efforts, the returned remnant draw the water of life as they call upon His name and bear witness before all the world to the salvation He has wrought.
The psalm, for it is a psalm, ends with a call to praise and adore the GOD of Israel, who will dwell in the midst of His redeemed people in that day of His manifested glory. Even now those who come to Him in faith can make this song their own as they know the reality of His saving grace.
~ end of chapter 11, 12 ~
http://www.baptistbiblebelievers.com/
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Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets

Isa 11:2
This is Isaiah’s description of the Spirit of Whitsuntide, the royal Spirit which was to descend, and did descend without measure, on the ideal and perfect King, even on Jesus Christ our Lord, the only-begotten Son of God.
I. That Spirit is the Spirit of God, and therefore the Spirit of Christ. He is the Spirit of love. For God is love, and He is the Spirit of God. But the text describes Him as the Spirit of wisdom. Experience will show us that the Spirit of love is the same as the Spirit of wisdom; that if any man wishes to be truly wise and prudent, his best way-I may say his only way-is to be loving and charitable.
II. The text describes the Spirit as the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, i.e. as the knowledge of human nature, the understanding of men and their ways. If we do not understand our fellow-creatures, we shall never love them. But it is equally true that if we do not love them, we shall never understand them. Want of charity, want of sympathy, want of good-feeling and fellow-feeling,- -what does it, what can it, breed but endless mistakes and ignorances, both of men’s characters and men’s circumstances?
III. This royal Spirit is described as the Spirit of counsel and might, that is, the Spirit of prudence and practical power; the Spirit which sees how to deal with human beings, and has the practical power of making them obey. Now that power, again, can only be got by loving human beings. There is nothing so blind as hardness, nothing so weak as violence.
IV. This Spirit is also “the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.” They, indeed, both begin in love and end in love. (1) If you wish for knowledge, you must begin by loving knowledge for its own sake. And if this be true of things earthly and temporal, how much more of things heavenly and eternal? We must begin by loving them with a sort of child’s love, without understanding them; by that simple instinct and longing after what is good and beautiful and true, which is indeed the inspiration of the Spirit of God. (2) The spirit of the fear of the Lord must be the spirit of love, not only to God, but to our fellow-creatures.
C. Kingsley, Westminster Sermons, p. 25.
Reference: Isa 11:3.-Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. iv., p. 225.
Isa 11:4
As it may in many ways be shown that the Church of Christ, though one Church with the Jewish, differs from it as being a kingdom, so now let me dwell on this point: that though a kingdom like empires of the earth, it differs from them in being a Church, i.e. a kingdom of truth and righteousness. That Scripture speaks of the kingdom of Christ as not an earthly kingdom, not supported by strength of arm or force of mind, or any other faculty or gift of the natural man, is plain. But consider some objections to which the circumstances of its actual history and condition give rise.
I. It may be said that the event has not fulfilled the prophecies; that the kingdom has indeed been large and powerful, but it has not ruled according to justice and truth; that at times it has had very wicked men among its rulers, and that great corruptions, religious and moral, have been found in it; and that, as has sometimes been said, worse crimes have been perpetrated under colour of religion than in any other way. But this may be granted in the argument; yet the Scripture account of the Church remains uncompromised. It is a kingdom of righteousness, because it is a kingdom founded, based, in righteousness.
II. In the Gospel, Christ’s followers are represented as poor, despised, weak, and helpless,-such preeminently were the Apostles. But in the Prophets, especially in Isaiah, the kingdom is represented as rich and flourishing and honoured, and powerful and happy. If the Church of Christ were to seek power, wealth, and honour, this were to fall from grace; but it is not less true that she will have them, though she seeks them not-or rather, if she seeks them not. Such is the law of Christ’s kingdom, such the paradox which is seen in its history. It belongs to the poor in spirit; it belongs to the persecuted; it is possessed by the meek; it is sustained by the patient. It conquers by suffering; it advances by retiring; it is made wise through foolishness.
III. Temporal power and wealth, though not essential to the Church, are almost necessary attendants on it. They cannot be long absent from it; it is but a matter of time, as we speak, when they will be added.
J. H. Newman, Sermons on Subjects of the Day, p. 237.
Isa 11:6
It is plain, from the words of the text, that Isaiah was one of those prophets and righteous men who desired to see and hear the things which Christ’s disciples saw and heard. But it may be said that he desired to see the kingdom of Christ, because he thought that it would bring with it a greater and happier change in the state of the world than it has done; because he looked forward to it as to a time when the wolf should dwell with the lamb, and the leopard lie down with the kid-that is, when there should be nothing but peace and comfort everywhere. What, then, are we to think of such passages as those in my text? The question deserves to be answered, because unless we understand it we must read very great portions of the books of the prophets with no benefit; and it may be useful also in order to find out whether there be not more reality of happiness in the Gospel than we are commonly inclined to give it credit for.
I. The Gospel makes a man industrious, sober, and careful of his time; which no one, I suppose, would deny to be three great benefits. It is the great excellence of the Gospel, that it furnishes us with the strongest of all helps to overcome temptation,-the fear of God and the hope of reward, at first; and afterwards, as the Spirit of Christ changes us more and. more into Christ’s image, it really makes us lose our relish for what is bad; so that, at last, there is much less temptation to overcome.
II. The Gospel makes us care as much as we ought, and no more, for the things of this life; for worldly cares or sorrows, or prospects of gain or loss, of honour or disgrace. He who went through life as a Christian, learning to look at the world from the beginning with a Christian’s eye, would find himself strong in the strength of Christ to bear whatever was laid upon him, and would say with the Apostle, in perfect sincerity, “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.”
T. Arnold, Sermons, vol. i., p. 47.
References: Isa 11:6.-Preacher’s Monthly, vol. iv., p. 188; J. H. Hitchens, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxv., p. 9.
Isa 11:9
I. Most exactly have the figures which the Holy Spirit condescended to apply to Himself been fulfilled in the course of the dispensation; nay, even to this day. His operation has been calm, equable, gradual, far-spreading, overtaking, intimate, irresistible. What is so awfully silent, so mighty, so inevitable, so encompassing as a flood of water? Such was the power of the Spirit in the beginning, when He vouchsafed to descend as an invisible wind, as an outpoured flood. Thus He changed the whole face of the world. The ark of God moved upon the face of the waters.
II. And what the power of the Spirit has been in the world at large, that it is also in every human heart to which it comes. (1) Any spirit which professes to come to us alone, and not to others, which makes no- claim of having moved the body of the Church at all times and places, is not of God, but a private spirit of error. (2) Vehemence, tumult, confusion, are no attributes of that benignant flood with which God has replenished the earth. That flood of grace is sedate, majestic, gentle in its operation. (3) The Divine Baptism, wherewith God visits us, penetrates through our whole soul and body. It leaves no part of us uncleansed, unsanctified. It claims the whole man for God. Any spirit which is content with what is short of this, which does not lead us to utter self-surrender and devotion, is not from God.
III. The heart of every Christian ought to represent in miniature the Catholic Church, since one Spirit makes both the whole Church and every member of it to be His temple. As He makes the Church one, which, left to itself, would separate into many parts, so He makes the soul one, in spite of its various affections and faculties, and its contradictory aims.
J. H. Newman, Sermons on Subjects of the Day, p. 126.
References: Isa 11:9.-J. Budgen, Parochial Sermons, vol. ii., p. 226; H. W. Beecher, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xvi., p. 145.
Isa 11:10
I. “There shall be a root of Jesse,” i.e. a thrifty scion shall spring forth from that old decayed family. The prophet does not represent our Saviour as a stately and luxuriant tree, but as a sucker from an unpromising and apparently dead root.
II. The prophet goes on to portray His glorious office: “He shall stand for an ensign of the people.” It was customary, in olden time, during the continuance of a war, for the prince or commander to set up an ensign on a lofty tower or mountain top, and to summon the people to rally round it. So, also, was the Lord Jesus to be lifted up on the Cross, that He might draw all men unto Him, and through the faithful preaching of the Gospel to gather together into one great army the true children of God who are dispersed abroad. He stands as an ensign of the people, not merely to attract the eyes of all, and to fix them on Himself, but to warn them of the silent but sure approach of deadly foes, and to indicate the spot where weapons offensive and defensive may be obtained.
III. To this glorious ensign the prophet declares that “the Gentiles shall seek.” When St. Paul quotes the verse (Rom 15:12) he varies the language by a single word. “In His name shall the Gentiles trust.” There is no inconsistency between this seeking and trusting. The one is the cause, the other the effect; or rather each, in turn, is both cause and effect. When we trust in Christ we seek Him; and when we seek Him we are sure to find how worthy He is of our confidence.
J. N. Norton, Golden Truths, p. 11.
References: Isa 11:10.-Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. viii., p. 274. Isa 11:12, Isa 11:13.-H. W. Beecher, Sermons, 3rd series, p. 254. Isa 12:1.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xvi., No. 928. Isa 12:1-3.-R. M. McCheyne, Additional Remains, p. 217.
Fuente: The Sermon Bible

CHAPTER 11
The Coming King and His Kingdom
1. The King: Who He is and what He will do (Isa 11:1-5) 2. The peace and blessing He brings (Isa 11:6-10) 3. The gathering of scattered Israel (Isa 11:11-16) It is a great vision of the future which this chapter unfolds. The critics deny that the blessed Person mentioned in the opening verses is our Lord Jesus. They think Hezekiah or Josiah is meant. 2Th 2:8 shows that it is our Lord. Link Isa 11:1-5 with Isa 9:6-7. Again His coming in humiliation and His coming in exaltation are here interwoven. We behold His reign in righteousness. Isa 11:6-10 need not to be spiritualized, as it is so often done. Romans tells us (Rom 8:18-23) that a literal groaning creation, travailing together in pain until now, will be delivered of its groans and curses. The hour of deliverance strikes with the manifestation of the Sons of God. However, this manifestation does not take place till the Lord is manifested the second time. In the coming kingdom to be established on earth and ruled over by the King from above, creation will be put back into its original condition.
Israels regathering will be from a worldwide dispersion. It will be the second time. It does not and cannot mean the return from Babylon, but the return from their present exile of almost 2,000 years.
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)

The Davidic kingdom
The order of events in Isaiah 10, 11, is noteworthy. Isaiah 10. gives the distress of the Remnant in Palestine in the great tribulation. Psa 2:5; Rev 7:14 and the approach and destruction of the Gentile host under the Beast.; Dan 7:8; Rev 19:20. Is. 11. immediately follows with its glorious picture of the kingdom-age. Precisely the same order is found in Revelation 19, 20. (See “Kingdom,” O.T.,; Gen 1:26-28; Zec 12:8 N.T.; Luk 1:31-33; 1Co 15:28. Also (See Scofield “Mat 3:2”) See Scofield “Mat 6:33”.
That nothing of this occurred at the first coming of Christ is evident from a comparison of the history of the times of Christ with this and all the other parallel prophecies. So far from regathering dispersed Israel and establishing peace in the earth, His crucifixion was soon followed (A.D. 70) by the destruction of Jerusalem, and the utter scattering of the Palestinian Jews amongst the nations.
shall come forth a rod
This chapter is a prophetic picture of the glory of the future kingdom. This is the kingdom announced by John Baptist as “at hand.” It was then rejected, but will be set up when David’s Son returns in glory Luk 1:31; Luk 1:32; Act 15:15; Act 15:16.
Branch (See Scofield “Isa 4:2”)
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes

And there shall: The prophet having described the destruction of the Assyrian army under that of a mighty forest, here takes occasion to represent the Great Person, who makes the subject of this chapter, as a slender twig, shooting out of the trunk of an old tree; which tender twig, though weak in appearance, should become fruitful and prosper. Isa 53:2, Zec 6:12, Rev 5:5, Rev 22:16
of Jesse: Isa 11:10, Rth 4:17, 1Sa 17:58, Mat 1:6-16, Luk 2:23-32, Act 13:22, Act 13:23, Rom 15:12
a Branch: Isa 4:2, Jer 23:5, Jer 33:15, Zec 3:8, Zec 6:12
Reciprocal: Gen 49:10 – until Exo 40:12 – General Num 17:5 – blossom Rth 4:14 – that his Rth 4:22 – Jesse 1Sa 16:1 – Jesse 1Sa 16:13 – the Spirit 1Sa 20:27 – the son 1Sa 22:7 – the son of Jesse 2Sa 7:12 – I will set 2Sa 23:5 – to grow 1Ki 2:33 – his house 1Ki 11:39 – not for ever 1Ch 2:12 – Jesse 2Ch 9:8 – to do judgment 2Ch 10:16 – David Job 14:7 – that it will sprout Psa 80:15 – the branch Isa 16:5 – judging Isa 45:8 – let the earth Isa 48:16 – the Lord God Isa 59:21 – My spirit Jer 50:20 – the iniquity Eze 17:22 – highest Eze 17:24 – have brought Eze 19:11 – she had Eze 34:23 – my servant Eze 34:29 – I will Dan 11:7 – out of Amo 9:11 – raise Mic 5:2 – yet Mat 1:1 – the son of David Mat 22:42 – The Son Mar 10:47 – thou Luk 1:69 – in Luk 1:78 – dayspring Luk 2:40 – filled Luk 3:32 – was the son of Jesse Luk 7:19 – Art Luk 18:38 – Jesus Luk 20:41 – Christ Luk 24:44 – in the prophets Joh 6:27 – for him Joh 7:27 – no man Joh 7:42 – not Act 13:32 – how Act 26:6 – the promise Rom 9:5 – of whom Heb 2:9 – Jesus Heb 7:14 – sprang
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

From the Cradle to the Cross
Isa 11:1-10
INTRODUCTORY WORDS
The Holy Spirit in various parts of the Old Testament gave us all that we need to know beforehand about the birth, the life, the death, and the resurrection of our Lord. The Second Coming and the Reign of Christ was also given by the Spirit in the Old Testament writings, in a detailed way.
We will just now confine ourselves to this: “From the cradle to the Cross.” We will use only such Scriptures as are given us by the Prophet Isaiah. We are not dealing with the birth of Christ inasmuch as that part of the theme was presented in another study.
1. Our Scripture says: “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse.” As we think of this statement, we must remember that David was the stem of Jesse, and that Christ was the stem of David. The lineage covering each distinctive son from Jesse to Christ is given us in the Book of Matthew. This lineage comes down to us by the way of Solomon and presents the kingly line concluding with Joseph, the legal but not actual father of Christ. Had Joseph been the actual father of Christ, the Lord Jesus could never sit on the throne of David and prosper. This is established by a verse of Scripture found in Jer 22:30, where the following words are spoken concerning Coniah, the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah. “Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his day: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David and ruling any more in Judah.”
A second genealogy is given in the Gospel of Luke in which Jesus Christ is traced back to David and beyond, through Nathan, David’s son. This genealogy starts with Heli, the father of Mary, and does not cover the kingly line. Jesus, therefore, is the stem of Jesse and of David through Nathan and Heli and Mary without being the son of Joseph. His right, judicially, to the throne of David is therefore doubly his. He has that right as a son of David, through Nathan. He also has it as the legal son of David, through Solomon, inasmuch as by Joseph’s marriage to Mary, Christ became the legal heir to the throne.
2. Our Scripture suggests that the watchful eye of God, the Father, was upon God the Son as He grew up before Him as a Branch out of Jesse’s roots. When we think that the Word of God, is forever settled in Heaven, and that it was given unto men by the Spirit; we cannot but also think of how the Father has watched over the written Word, through many translations. Through the centuries which have intervened since the Bible was written it has been Divinely kept from mutilation. We believe that we have the Bible, today, without any doctrine or vital message marred by reason of the years or of translations.
When we think of Jesus Christ, the Logos made flesh, and dwelling among us; we cannot but remember how the eye of God also watched over Him in the days of His infancy. Both the written Word, and Christ, the Living Word, were kept sacredly secure from harm in the hand of God. Both were hated and yet preserved; both have been maligned, thrust by human sword, and yet both still live, and are alive forevermore.
That Jesus grew up before the Father, and under the Father’s watching eye, is established by the word of the angel commanding Joseph to flee into Egypt, when Herod sought the young Child to slay Him. The hidden years from the cradle to the twelfth year, and from the twelfth year to the baptism may be hidden to men, and to history; but they were never hidden to God. There was not a moment that God was not watching over His Son.
This is all certified by the words which were spoken by the Father at the baptism, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
I. THE FORERUNNER OF CHRIST (Isa 40:3)
“The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”
Following the birth of Christ, we are brought by God, through the Prophet Isaiah, to the hour preceding His baptism and public ministry.
1. We have before us the preaching of John the Baptist. We remember the story of how Zecharias, the father of John, had his lips opened, as he, filled with the Holy Ghost, prophesied at the circumcision of his infant child John, who afterward became known as John the Baptist.
Zecharias said, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He hath visited and redeemed His people, and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David.” Then turning to his child, and quoting from Isa 40:3, our key text, he said: “And thou, child, shalt be called the Prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways.”
2. We have before us a prophecy that proclaimed Jesus Christ as Lord and God. Men of today may hesitate to ascribe unto Jesus Christ the dignity of Deity, but the Prophets of old never so hesitated. Nor did the angel who made announcement to Mary of Christ’s birth, so hesitate; nor did the Father, Himself, so hesitate.
Isaiah, the Prophet, time and again ascribed Deity to Christ. In this same 40th chapter of Isaiah, we read in Isa 40:9 a command concerning Christ: “Lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!” The next verse continues, “Behold, the Lord God will come.”
II. THE SPIRIT’S ANOINTING (Isa 11:1-3)
During the years in Nazareth Christ was known in no large way, because God was seeking to hold back the further annunciation of His Sonship, until the hour came for His public ministry. Thus, after thirty years of almost unrecognized and unknown experiences, Jesus Christ was suddenly thrust upon the conscience of the Jewish people by His Baptism.
1. The journey to the Jordan. It was at least sixty miles that Christ pressed along His way, perhaps afoot; to the place where John was baptizing in the river Jordan. John had already announced that there was One coming after him, who was preferred before him, because He was before him. In this statement John acknowledged the Deity and eternity of Christ, the Son of God, inasmuch as Christ was not before John in any physical sense; John being six months older than Jesus. Jesus was, therefore, before John only, in the sense that He was the Eternal Son, without beginning and without end.
2. The baptism in the Jordan. When Jesus came to John, John hesitated, saying: “I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me?” Jesus immediately replied: “Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.” Then, John suffered Him.
3. The coming of the Spirit. As Jesus stood in the waters, following His baptism, we read in the Bible that He prayed. As He prayed, the heavens were opened and the Spirit descended in bodily form, as a dove, and lighted upon Him. All of this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was written by the Spirit, through the Prophet Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him.” The Spirit, also, had written through the Prophet in Isa 42:1, “Behold My servant whom I uphold; Mine elect, in whom My soul delighteth; I have put My Spirit upon Him.”
The Lord evidently stopped at the water’s edge after His baptism, and claimed the promise of the coming of the Spirit as set forth in the references above.
The glory of this anointing of the Spirit, is set forth in our key text: “The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.” May God grant to each one of us, that we may have a like anointing; and the Spirit resting upon us.
III. THE THREE YEARS OF MINISTRY OUTLINED (Isa 61:1-3)
Our key verses proclaim to us, a resume of the three years which Christ spent among men, the years between His baptism and His ascension. If you want to sum up the Life of Christ, you will find it, here, in an epitomized form. The words in Isaiah, are quoted in the 4th chapter of Luke, and, afterward, we read, “And He began to say unto them, This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears.” Let us note some of the things which Isaiah foretold of Christ:
1. Christ was to be anointed to preach good tidings unto the meek. The word “good tidings” is suggestive of “good news.” The word “Gospel” covers the meaning of the word “good tidings.” This is what Christ preached, and this same good news, is what He has given us to preach.
2. Christ was to be sent to bind up broken hearts. The Gospel is a balm to weary, bruised, and broken hearts. Wherever our Lord went, He went about doing good. He knew how to say: “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
3. Christ was to come to set the captives at liberty. Here is a message to men and women, taken captives by the devil, and bound by the chains of sin. Jesus came to set them free. He actually did this thing, in many instances; noticeably, among them, may be mentioned the deliverance of Gadarene, and of Mary Magdalene, both of whom had been possessed of demons.
4. Christ was to come to give beauty for ashes; the oil of joy for mourning; the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. In other words, He came to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and to comfort all that mourn. People of today may imagine that being a Christian, robs one of his joy. The opposite is true. At His right hand, there are pleasures forevermore; and in His presence, there is fullness of joy.
IV. THE DAY OF GOD’S GRACE (Isa 42:2-4)
There was a remarkable thing that happened in Nazareth. When Jesus entered the Temple there was given Him the roll of the Prophet Isaiah. He turned to that portion, known in our Bible, as Isa 61:1-3, He read that portion of the Scripture in Isaiah which closed with the words: “The acceptable year of the Lord.” He omitted to read the words: “The day of vengeance of our God.”
There is another remarkable passage in Mat 12:1-50, beginning with Mat 12:17. Matthew, by the Spirit, told of certain things concerning Christ, and then said that those things happened “That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the Prophet, saying, Behold My servant, whom I have chosen; My beloved, in whom My soul is well pleased: I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.” Then Matthew recorded how Christ quoted the remarkable words in Mat 12:20 : “A bruised reed shall He not break, and smoking flax shall He not quench, till He send forth judgment unto victory.” Thus both Isa 42:1-25, and Isa 61:1-11, show us that the earthly life of our Lord was a life of mercy and of grace.
1. The day of Grace began with the Coming of Christ, and continues during this age. Frequently in the Book of Hebrews we read: “To day if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.” The expression “to day” covers this wonderful age of opportunity, and privilege to unbelievers. God pity the man or the woman who is not saved today, but remains an unbeliever in spite of the love of God, in spite of the open Bible, in spite of the call of the Holy Spirit This is the day in which the Angel of God’s mercy, pleads with men to be saved, and to flee from the wrath to come.
2. Our key text carries with it the thought that a day of judgment will follow the Day of Grace. Isa 42:3 says: “A bruised reed shall He not break, and the smoking flax shall He not quench: He shall bring forth judgment unto truth.” In Matthew it says: “Till He send forth judgment unto victory.”
There is a time coming, therefore, when Christ will leave the Father’s right hand, descend from Heaven in flaming fire, taking vengeance upon those who know not God. Let us all get into the covert, the Rock of Ages cleft for us, before the storm of God’s wrath falls, and before the judgments which are destined to follow this day of Grace, are upon the earth.
V. THE RUGGED CROSS OF CALVARY (Isa 52:14)
Do we not become more and more amazed, that the Spirit of God should, through the Prophet Isaiah, have written, beforehand, so much of the details of the Birth, the Life, the Ministry and the Death of our Lord?
Let us study Isaiah’s comments:
1. His visage was so marred-marred more than any man’s. Those who saw Jesus Christ in His hour of anguish and passion, were astonished as they beheld Him, How differently He looked, as He hung there for us, than He looked in the days when He went among men, teaching, preaching, healing the sick, and raising the dead. On the Cross His visage was marred more than any man’s. We can remember how, under the orders of Pilate, the back of our Lord had been beaten with those terrible stripes; we can remember how the rough and rugged Cross had been thrown across His shoulders, and how He had gone down under its weight; we can also remember how the crown of thorns had been pressed upon His brow, After all of this, they laid the Cross upon the ground and stretched Him upon it:
“Hark, I hear the dull blow of a hammer swung low.
They are nailing my Lord to the Tree.”
Thus it was that Jesus was crucified, nailed to the tree. Then the Cross fell down into the hole which had been dug for it. Now, we think of those wounds; of those strained nerves; of His visage marred by the blood-clotted hair, as it fell over the bloodstained face.
2. His form was marred more than the sons of men. Christ’s body seemed past recognition. It was this that startled the people. When we think of how Jesus Christ suffered for us, how little it makes all of our suffering for Him appear.
In the next chapter of Isaiah (53) we read of how Christ was despised and rejected of men. We behold Him as the Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. We catch the vision of His being wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquity. We are told the chastisement of our peace was upon Him. Yet, whatever happened to Him in that awful day when man’s judgment was a travesty, and man’s voracity a tragedy, we say all was done in accordance with the purpose of the Father, for: “It pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief.” It was God who made the soul of our Saviour, an offering for sin.
VI. THE PRAYER FOR HIS RETURN (Isa 64:1)
The Holy Spirit through the Prophet Isaiah did not only pre-write the Birth, the Earthly Life, the Ministry and the Death of our Lord, he also wrote the story of the Resurrection and of the Return of Christ. We now carry you to the story of His Return.
1. The deeper meaning of Isa 53:1-12. We cannot but feel, as we study this wonderful Calvary chapter, that the very words of this chapter breathe the prayer which the Children of Israel will utter when they see Christ coming in the clouds of Heaven.
We know according to Zechariah they will take notice of the wound marks in His hands.
It is then that Israel will say: “He is despised and rejected of men; a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him.”
It is then that the Children of Israel will say: “Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.”
It is at that time, when Christ comes again, and according to Revelation when “every eye shall see Him” that Israel will cry: “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.” So we could go on through the chapter, but it is not necessary.
2. The astonished cry of Isa 63:1-3. As Christ comes down, Israel cries out: “Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in His apparel, travelling in the greatness of His strength?” (This is Israel’s cry.) Then comes the Lord’s response: “I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.” Once more the Children of Israel ask: “Wherefore art Thou red in Thine apparel, and Thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?” The Lord’s reply: “I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with Me.”
3. Isaiah, in our key verse, gives us next the cry of Israel as, looking forward unto the skies, they plead for Christ’s Return. Hear the words (Isa 64:1-2). Did you ever hear more tender, pleading words than these? The Lord shall hear this cry of His people and He will come down to deliver them. The City of Zion has long been as a wilderness, Jerusalem has long been as a desolation, but God is coming and Israel shall rejoice.
VII. THE AFTERMATH OF CHRIST’S RETURN (Isa 60:1-3)
Isaiah now gives, in these verses, a resume of those events which shall follow hard upon the Return of Christ to Israel, and to the earth. Of course, all students of prophecy know that Christ will restore the twelve tribes into one kingdom. They know, also, that the man who is called the Branch, will arise and build the temple. They all know that the nation of Israel will be saved in one day. Then what happens? These stirring events:
1. Israel’s glory will burst forth. Our first verse says: “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.” It will be a glorious day for Israel. Twenty-three hundred years have gone since Judah was carried into captivity in Babylon. The Jews have been trodden down under the feet of the Gentiles. We know there are some of the Gentiles who speak harshly of the Jews. We should remember, however, that God is going to take the stony hearts away from Israel and He will give her a heart of flesh. In that Day Israel will arise and shine. In that Day her light will have come and the glory of the Lord will have risen upon her.
2. Israel’s light will shine unto the Gentiles. At present, darkness covers the earth, gross darkness hovers over the people. That darkness will deepen as the days pass, unto the end. Evil men and seducers will become worse and worse; there will be wars and pestilences; however, the Lord will come and in coming, He will dispel the darkness.
It is then that we read: “The Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.”
The whole world, therefore, will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. The Gentile nations will come to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. The nation and the kingdom that will not serve Him, shall perish and be utterly wasted.
Those who, of yore, afflicted Israel will bend their knees unto Israel and Israel’s God. In that Day Jerusalem will be called the City of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel. God’s people will be righteous, and will inherit the land forever.
AN ILLUSTRATION
“On the head of Christ are many crowns. He wears the crown of victory; He wears the crown of sovereignty; He wears the crown of creation; He wears the crown of providence; He wears the crown of grace; He wears the crown of glory-for every one of His glorified people owes his honor, happiness and blessedness to Him.”
I remember at one of our testimony meetings a man got up and said he had got a great blessing at Keswick. They asked him, “What can you say about it?” “Well,” he replied, “I can say this: I was a Christian before I came to Keswick. Christ was my King, but I am afraid He was a constitutional sovereign and I was prime minister, Now He is absolute Lord, and that has made the difference in my life and brought a blessing.” Aye, that makes all the difference in the world, “Make Jesus King.” “Crown Him Lord of all,” and you will know the liberty of the glory of the sons of the Kingdom.-Rev. W. E. Moore.
Fuente: Neighbour’s Wells of Living Water

Isa 11:1. And, &c. The fifth section of the fifth discourse begins here, and concludes with the next chapter. It is two-fold: in the first part the kingdom of Christ is described; in what manner, arising from the smallest beginnings, it should go on to increase, till, at length, it attained the highest perfection, Isa 11:1-9. In the second part are set forth some remarkable events of that kingdom, illustrating its glory, with their consequences, Isa 11:10 to chap. 12:6: see Vitringa. There shall come forth a rod The prophet, having despatched the Assyrian, and comforted Gods people with the promise of their deliverance from that formidable enemy, now proceeds further, and declares that God would do greater things than that for them; that he would give them their long-expected and much-desired Messiah, and by him would work wonders of mercy for them. For this is the manner of the prophets, to take occasion, from particular deliverances, to fix the peoples minds upon that great and everlasting deliverance from all their enemies by the Messiah. And having said that the Assyrian yoke should be destroyed, because of the anointing, he now more particularly explains who that anointed person was. Bishop Lowth mentions another particular, which he thinks plainly shows the connection between this and the preceding chapter. The prophet had described the destruction of the Assyrian army under the image of a mighty forest, consisting of flourishing trees, growing thick together, and of a great height: of Lebanon itself crowned with lofty cedars, but cut down, and laid level with the ground, by the axe wielded by the hand of some powerful and illustrious agent; in opposition to this image he represents the great person, who makes the subject of this chapter, as a slender twig, shooting out from the trunk of an old tree, cut down, lopped to the very root, and decayed; which tender plant, so weak in appearance, should nevertheless become fruitful and prosper. Out of the stem Or, rather, stump, as the word properly signifies: by which he clearly implies that the Messiah should be born of the royal house of David, at that time when it was in a most forlorn condition, like a tree cut down, and whereof nothing is left but a stump, or root under ground. Of Jesse He doth not say of David, but of Jesse, who was a private and mean person, to intimate, that at the time of Christs birth the royal family should be reduced to its primitive obscurity.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Isa 11:1. A rod out of the stem of Jesse. See the note on Isa 4:2. Davids house had been cut down by Jehu, and latterly by the invasion against Ahaz: chap. 7. Now a branch shall arise out of Jesses root, notwithstanding all the excisions of the sword, to overshadow the church. This the elder rabbins with one consent expound of the Messiah, though modern Jews apply the prophecy to Hezekiah. This is the way to destroy the credibility of divine revelation, for none of the glorious things that follow in this chapter, were fulfilled in Hezekiahs days, nor in the days of any of his successors.
A branch shall grow out of his roots. naitzer, a shoot, a cion. Branches do not grow from the root, but from the tree. The Chaldaic paraphrase adds, A king shall come forth of Jesse, and Messiah shall be anointed of his sons sons.
Isa 11:2. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. It did so at the Jordan, when the Messiah was baptized; and in the sevenfold gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, fear, quickness of understanding. Rev 4:5.
Isa 11:6. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb. The Sibyls, the Voluspa, the Poets of Greece and Rome, and of the Eastern world, have all the same sentiments as are here, with far greater force and beauty, expressed by Isaiah. It has often been said, that the sibylline prophetesses borrowed their verses from Isaiah. Since the enlargement of human knowledge, of northern antiquities and of Indian literature, this notion can no longer be maintained.
It is granted that the sibyls, or pythonesses of the heathen temples, can have no fair claims to inspiration. On the contrary, their augurs, as stated on Isa 41:23, were evidently the emanations of the deliberate wisdom of the rulers of the temples; or if otherwise, they spake by a diabolical influence, as the pythoness who followed Paul and Silas at Philippi. Act 16:16-18. Yet the Cuman sibyl, contemporary with Abraham, and Sibylla Erythra, as cited on Psa 50:3, ought not to be classed with the pythonesses of the gentile temples. They knew God, and were devout worshippers of the true God, according to the covenant of Noah. Their reputation has been unspotted, their persons and memory regarded as sacred by the Greeks, the Romans, and the Christians. The names of Justin Martyr, of Clemens of Alexandria, of Constantine the emperor, of Lactantius, a father of polished literature, with many others of the ancients, must have great weight in the future ages of the church.Yet some doubts remain whether those women were really inspired, or whether they only turned the traditions of the holy patriarchs into sacred verse? Bishop Horsley, of our own times, after stating what is known of the ancient sibyls, declines giving his own opinion on this delicate point. In either case, their verses diffused among the gentiles the promise of God made to the fathers respecting the advent of Christ, the end of the world, and the terrors of a future judgment. From these scattered rays of divine truth the Pagan Poets gained their ideas of the renewal of the golden age, and sang of happier times which were coming on the world. In comparison of the Hebrew Prophets their light was darkness; but they establish the fact, that God left not himself without witness among the nations; and are collateral evidence of the truth of Revelation, from Moses down to Jesus Christ.
Virgil, in his fourth Eclogue, has given us a selection of the old Cuman verses concerning the expected golden age, and the advent of the Prince. But he basely spoils his verse by flattering Pollio, the consul, that this Prince should be his son.
Ille Dem vitam accipiet, Divisque videbit Permixtos heroas, et ipse videbitur illis: Pacatumque reget patriis virtutibus orbem. Eclog. 4:15.
The son shall lead the life of gods, and be By gods and heroes seen, and gods and heroes see. The jarring nations he in peace shall bind, And with paternal virtues rule mankind. DRYDEN.
In the following lines, he speaks of the subduction of ferocity from the wild beasts, and of the cessation of venom in serpents.
Nec magnos metuent armenta leones. Eclog. 4:22. Nor shall the lowing herds fear the great lions. Occidet et serpens, et fallax herba veneni Occidet. Eclog. 4:24.
The serpents brood shall die. The sacred ground Shall weeds and poisnous plants refuse to bear. DRYDEN.
The Poet closes this singular Eclogue with the following invocation:
Incipe, parve puer, risu cognoscere matrem: Matri longa decem tulerunt fastidia menses. Incipe, parve puer, cui non risere parentes, Nec Deus hunc mens, Dea nec dignata cubili est.
Begin, oh lovely boy, to recognize thy mother with a smile. Ten long months did thy mother bear thee, the child on whom parents never smiled, nor god honoured with his table, nor goddess with her bed.
Of the number of the sibyls, and the high estimation in which their mysterious books have been held in different ages of the world, a brief account has already been given in the second and third page of the Introduction to this section of the Commentary. And to this we may now add, that the objection that those books were forged, does not seem entitled to refutation, it being impossible to forge the traditions of the whole primitive world. But should we admit that the sibyl forged her books, which is no delicate compliment to the Roman senate, it is impossible to forge the Indian and the Scandinavian traditions, who hung their hopes on the Messiah. The earnest expectation of the creation waited for the manifestation of the sons of God. Rom 8:19.
Isa 11:8. Cockatrice. See on Pro 23:32.
Isa 11:11. The second time to recover the remnant of his people. It is added, from the four corners of the earth, in the next verse. The sixteenth verse compares this second gathering with that from Egypt. Though our divines with one consent understand this passage of the gathering of the Jews under the Messiah, by some Elias or great prophet, who shall persuade the Jews, as Dr. Thomas Burnet thinks, to believe in Christ. Yet I have doubts of a secular gathering to Jerusalem to any great extent,because that city has no navigationbecause the temple of Ezekiel seems too large to be built with human hands because the last temple is to be exalted above the hillsand because the apostles, Paul and John, expound it as the temple of the christian church. Hebrews 12. Revelation 21.
REFLECTIONS.
Isaiah, led by the Spirit, had just painted the calamities of Israel, and in sentiments the same as Moses, when he foresaw what would follow apostasy. His soul now softened with the weight of vengeance; now the dark and long portentous cloud cleared up, and visions of the Messiahs kingdom and glory opened. He saw the branch, or rather the shoot, grow out of the root of Jesse, whose fruit should give life to the world, and whose leaves should heal the nations. Et egredietur rex de filis Ishai, says the Chaldaic paraphrase: et Messias de filiis filiorum ejus germinabat. A king shall come from the sons of Jesse, and the Messiah shall issue from his posterity. Hence those who understand this prophecy of Hezekiah, would do well to consider that he was already born; that the epithets are too strong for any mere creature; that there was no diffusion of sacred knowledge to cover the earth, and convert the gentiles; nor was there any permanent glory, or universal gathering of the people in his day. Neither can the prophecy be understood of the gathering of the people in Judea, after Cyrus liberated the captive Hebrews; for then Jesses families were only governors, and the number of those who returned was small. Hence the Chaldee is assuredly right in referring this most luminous prophecy to the age of the Messiah.
The glory of his person is next described. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him; yea, it was said to John, on whomsoever thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. Joh 1:33. The Holy Spirit without measure replenished his humanity with gifts and grace correspondent to his mission. In a moral view, both as a prince and a priest, righteousness was the girdle of his loins.
We have next the peace and happiness of his kingdom. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid. The heathens as well as the Jews expected the golden age to be restored; for they justly regarded their own wicked and bloody times as the iron age. We know not what the millennium will be till it comes; but assuredly the age of righteousness shall follow the ages of wickedness. The Messiah shall effectuate the change by vengeance on those who despise his mercy. He shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. Here the Chaldaic paraphrase describes the objects of the Lords wrath by their name, for the antichrist. Armillium improbum, the wicked one, whose body is decorated with bracelets, rings and crowns. And it is very remarkable that St. Paul should so obviously refer to the Chaldaic paraphrase, when he says, Then shall that wicked (one) be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming. 2Th 2:8. Now, there can be no permanent peace in the church, here called Gods holy mountain to distinguish it from the wild wastes of the world, till the wicked one, or in another view, the mother of harlots, so gorgeously arrayed, is destroyed. Whence come wars? Come they not of mens lusts? We must therefore seek to fill the earth with the knowledge of God, and the hearts of men with the spirit of love, before wars can cease. Then the angry wolf and the fierce greedy lion, divested of their ferocity, shall lie down with the lamb, an emblem of that spirit of meekness and of peace which shall be diffused abroad among the inhabitants of the earth.
We have lastly the conversion of the gentiles, connected with the gathering of the Jews. This is not a partial gathering, as from Babylon, but from the face of the whole earth, and under the whole heaven, as Moses expresses himself concerning their dispersion. Deuteronomy 27:64. The names of the countries are here called by the names of the fathers who first inhabited them. Genesis 10. The Hebrews would not falsify their venerable scriptures to adopt the prevailing names of the gentiles, though this is done in the Septuagint. Cush is called Ethiopia: the islands of the sea may signify the whole of Europe: and the phrase, to fly on the shoulders of the Philistines, seems to import, that many of the Jews under the auspices of some christian power, shall return armed to their own country, and possess the land given by oath to their fathers. Destroying the tongue of the Egyptian sea, imports, according to the Septuagint, the making of its commerce desolate, which will then be diverted towards the holy land. Surely there is something in these prophecies which should keep Israels hope alive, and elevate the soul of the christian world to confident exertions in the Lords work. And according to our mode of calculating Daniels prophecies, the time must now be near.
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Isa 11:1-9. The Messiahs Divine Equipment.If the reference to the hewn stump of Davids house implies the overthrow of the monarchy, the passage presumably is not Isaiahs. This inference, perhaps, is not necessary; and if Isa 9:2-7 is his, the same judgment should probably be passed on Isa 11:1-9. The Messiah is to spring from the family of Jesse, i.e. he will be a second David. This family is described as the hewn stump of a tree. It is in a fallen condition, shorn of all its royal glory. Yet it has the sap of life in it, and from it this new shoot springs. To equip him for his work the spirit of Yahweh rests upon himnot seven spirits, but one spirit with six modes of manifestation, intellectual, practical, and religious. Equipped with the Divine spirit of discernment, the Messiah will not need to depend on the sight of his eyes (i.e. mere appearances) or the hearing of his ears (i.e. the testimony of witnesses). He will be infallibly guided in his decisions. He will judge with righteousness, smite the violent (so read for smite the earth), and slay the wicked. Righteousness and faithfulness will be his equipment for action or conflict. Natural enemies will be at peace, and the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Yahweh.
Isa 11:3 a. Read, and he will cause the fear of Yahweh to rest upon him. The clause is probably a variant of the first clause of Isa 11:2.
Isa 11:5. The girdle binds the clothes together and prepares for marching or fighting.
Isa 11:6 f. Parallelism suggests that two enemies, not three, should be mentioned in the third clause, and that there should be a verb. Read, perhaps, and the calf and the young lion shall feed. Instead of shall feed in Isa 11:7 read shall become friends. There is a redundant clause in Isa 11:6 f.; either the parallel line has fallen out, or the redundant line is not original. Perhaps the last clause of Isa 11:7 has been inserted from Isa 65:25, or it might have stood originally after the first clause of Isa 11:6. In the latter case, the last clause of Isa 11:6 seems to be an insertion.
Isa 11:9. Probably the reference is no longer to the wild beasts, for Isa 11:9 b attributes it to the diffusion of the knowledge of Yahweh. Peace among men in Yahwehs holy mountain, i.e. Canaan, is intended.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible

11:1 And there shall come forth a {a} rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
(a) Because the captivity of Babylon was a figure of the spiritual captivity under sin, he shows that our true deliverance must come by Christ: for as David came out of Jesse, a man without dignity, so Christ would come of a poor carpenter’s house as out of a dead stock, Isa 53:2 .
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

The rule of the Shoot 11:1-9
Messiah would meet certain qualifications (Isa 11:2-3 a) and would rule with absolute justice (Isa 11:3-5)-with the result that people would live in peace (Isa 11:6-9)
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

The prophet had just described Assyria cut down like a forest of trees (Isa 10:15-19; Isa 10:33-34). Likewise, Israel would have only a remnant left after God finished judging her (Isa 10:20-23; cf. Isa 6:11-13). Now he pictured a shoot (Heb. nezer) sprouting from one of the stumps left after Israel’s harvesting (cf. Isa 4:2; Isa 6:13; Isa 53:1-3; Job 14:7). A shoot would sprout from Jesse’s family tree stump. Some interpreters believe that Matthew had this shoot (nezer) in mind when he wrote that Jesus fulfilled prophecy by being called a Nazarene (Mat 2:23). [Note: E.g., Delitzsch, 1:282.] The reference to humble Jesse, rather than to glorious David, stresses God’s grace in providing a deliverer from a lowly family. It also indicates that Messiah would be another David, not just a son of David, and that the house of David would lack royal dignity when Messiah appeared. Other prophets referred to the coming ideal Davidic king as "David," picturing him as the second coming of David, so to speak (cf. Jer 30:9; Eze 34:23-24; Eze 37:24-25; Hos 3:5; Mic 5:2). The figure of a "branch" (Heb. neser, sapling), referring to Messiah, also appears in Jer 23:5; Jer 33:15, and in Zec 3:8; Zec 6:12.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

BOOK 3
PROPHECIES FROM THE ACCESSION OF HEZEKIAH TO THE DEATH OF SARGON
727-705 B.C.
THE prophecies with which we have been engaged (chapters 2-10:4) fall either before or during the great Assyrian invasion of Syria, undertaken in 734-732 by Tiglath-pileser II, at the invitation of King Ahaz. Nobody has any doubt about that. But when we ask what prophecies of Isaiah come next in chronological order, we raise a storm of answers. We are no longer on the sure ground we have been enjoying.
Under the canonical arrangement the next prophecy is “The Woe upon the Assyrian”. {Isa 10:5-34} In the course of this the Assyrian is made to boast of having overthrown “Samaria” (Isa 10:9-11) “Is not Samaria as Damascus? Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?” If “Samaria” mean the capital city of Northern Israel-and the name is never used in these parts of Scripture for anything else-and if the prophet be quoting a boast which the Assyrian was actually in a position to make, and not merely imagining a boast, which he would be likely to make some years afterwards (an entirely improbable view, though held by one great scholar), then an event is here described as past and over which did not happen during Tiglath-pilesers campaign, nor indeed till twelve years after it. Tiglath-pileser did not require to besiege Samaria in the campaign of 734-32. The king, Pekah, was slain by a conspiracy of his own subjects; and Hoshea, the ringleader, who succeeded, willingly purchased the stability of a usurped throne by homage and tribute to the king of kings. So Tiglath-pileser went home again, satisfied to have punished Israel by carrying away with him the population of Galilee. During his reign there was no further appearance of the Assyrians in Palestine, but at his death in 727 Hoshea, after the fashion of Assyrian vassals when the throne of Nineveh changed occupants, attempted to throw off the yoke of the new king, Salmanassar IV Along with the Phoenician and Philistine cities, Hoshea negotiated an alliance with So, or Seve, the Ethiopian, a usurper who had just succeeded in establishing his supremacy over the land of the Pharaohs. In a year Salmanassar marched south upon the rebels. He took Hoshea prisoner on the borders of his territory (725), but, not content, as his predecessor had been, with the submission of the king, “he came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years.” {2Ki 17:5} He did not live to see the end of the siege, and Samaria was taken in 722 by Sargon, his successor. Sargon overthrew the kingdom and uprooted the people. The northern tribes were carried away into a captivity, from which as tribes they never returned.
It was evidently this complete overthrow of Samaria by Sargon in 722-721, which Isaiah had behind him when he wrote Isa 10:9-11. We must, therefore, date the prophecy after 721, when nothing was left as a bulwark between Judah and the Assyrian. We do so with reluctance. There is much Isa 10:5-34 which suits the circumstances of Tiglath-pilesers invasion. There are phrases and catch-words coinciding with those in chapter 7-9:7; and the whole oration is simply a more elaborate expression of that defiance of Assyria, which inspires such of the previous prophecies as Isa 8:9-10. Besides, with the exception of Samaria, all the names in the Assyrians boastful catalogue-Carchemish, Calno, Arpad, Hamath, and Damascus-might as justly have been vaunted by the lips of Tiglath-pileser as by those of Sargon. But in spite of these things, which seem to vindicate the close relation of Isa 10:5-34 to the prophecies which precede it in the canon, the mention of Samaria as being already destroyed justifies us in divorcing it from them. While they remain dated from before 732, we place it subsequent to 722.
Was Isaiah, then, silent these ten years? Is there no prophecy lying farther on in his book that treats of Samaria as still standing? Besides an address to the fallen Damascus in Isa 17:1-11, which we shall take later with the rest of Isaiahs oracles on foreign states, there is one large prophecy, chapter 28, which opens with a description of the magnates of Samaria lolling in drunken security on their vine-crowned hill, but Gods storms are ready to break. Samaria has not yet fallen, but is threatened and shall fall soon. The first part of chapter 28, can only refer to the year in which Salmanassar advanced upon Samaria-726 or 725. There is nothing in the rest of it to corroborate this date; but the fact, that there are several turns of thought and speech very similar to turns of thought and speech in Isa 10:5-34, makes us the bolder to take away chapter 28 from its present connection with 29-32, and place it just before Isa 10:5-34.
Here then is our next group of prophecies, all dating from the first seven years of the reign of Hezekiah: 28, a warning addressed to the politicians of Jerusalem from the impending fate of those of Samaria (date 725); Isa 10:5-34, a woe upon the Assyrian (date about 720), describing his boasts and his progress in conquest till his sudden crash by the walls of Jerusalem; 11, of date uncertain, for it reflects no historical circumstance, but standing in such artistic contrast to 10 that the two must be treated together; and 12, a hymn of salvation, which forms a fitting conclusion to 11. With these we shall take the few fragments of the book of Isaiah which belong to the fifteen years 720-705, and are as straws to show how Judah all that time was drifting down to alliance with Egypt-20, Isa 21:1-10; Isa 38:1-22; Isa 39:1-8. This will bring us to 705, and the beginning of a new series of prophecies, the richest of Isaiahs life, and the subject of our third book.
Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary

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