There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
(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 the fear of Jehovah.
(3) And He shall delight in the fear of Jehovah.
He shall judge, but not according to the sight of His eyes,
He shall reprove, but not according to the hearing of His ears
(4) But He shall judge the poor with righteousness,
and He shall reprove with equity for the lowly of the earth;
and He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
and with the breath of His lips He shall kill the wicked.
(5) Righteousness shall be the belt of His waist,
and faithfulness the belt of His loins.
(6) The wolf shall camp with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
and a little child shall lead them.
(7) The cow and the bear shall graze;
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
(8) The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,
and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.
(9) They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah
as the waters cover the sea.
(10) In that day will be the root of Jesse,
who stands as a signal of the peoples--
to Him the nations will resort,
and his resting place shall be glory.
(11) In that day it will come about that the Lord will extend His hand a second time
to acquire the remnant that remains of His people,
from Assyria,
from Lower Egypt,
from Upper Egypt,
from Ethiopia,
from Persia,
from Babylonia,
from Hamath (Syria),
and from the coastlands of the sea.
(12) He will raise a signal to the nations
and He will gather the banished of Israel,
and assemble the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
(13) The jealousy of Ephraim shall turn away,
and those who harass Judah shall be cut off;
Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah,
and Judah shall not harass Ephraim.
(14) But they shall fly by the slope of Philistia seaward,
and together they shall plunder the Sons of the East.
Edom and Moab, the sending of their hand,
and the sons of Ammon, their subjects.
(15) And Jehovah will utterly destroy the tongue of the Sea of Egypt,
and He will wave his hand over the River (Euphrates)
with the blast of His breath,
and He will strike it into seven channels,
and He will let them travel with shoes on.
(16) And there will be a highway from Assyria
for the remnant of His people that remains,
like that which was for Israel in the day of its going up from the land of Egypt.
Do you ever:
Welcome to planet earth! We’ve got problems, haven’t we!
Ever since Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the garden of Eden, mankind together with all creation has been plunged into the corruption of sin. All the injustice and confusion and danger and fighting in the world are the results of people living in the rebellion they inherited from our first father and mother.
But praise God, who did not leave us to perish in the sinful mess we made of our lives. He loved us and sent His son, Jesus to be the propitiation for our sins and to start over creating a kingdom of peace on earth, a kingdom whose citizens are people like you and me who trust in Jesus and are being transformed by His Holy Spirit that lives in us.
God knows exactly what we’re going through, and that’s why He gave us this prophecy of hope through Isaiah. The whole of chapter 11 is a glorious vision of the fulfillment of Jesus’ kingdom, it expands upon the vision Isaiah wrote down in chapter 4 as a picture of our glorious future to renew our hope and strengthen our faith through the pain and hardship of the present.
Chapter ten ended with the vision of the Assyrian army’s march up to Jerusalem in King Hezekiah’s time, ending in the sudden destruction of that army by the angel of the Lord. The final verses of chapter 10 compare this unexpected turnover to the felling of a mighty tree with an iron axe.
Chapter 11 verse 1 continues the metaphor of trees with the picture of a stump after the tree has been chopped down, which sends out new shoots that grow into a tree again that bears fruit. The meaning of this metaphor is that from the ruin of the Israelite nation which was severed by civil war, destroyed by foreign nations, and carried off until there was no nation left – from this stump would come a new start for God’s people. The New Testament makes the fulfillment of this prophecy clear:
Luke 4:14-21 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. (15) And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. (16) And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. (17) And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, (18) "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, (19) to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." (20) And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. (21) And he began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
Romans 15:8-12 For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, (9) and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, "Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name." (10) And again it is said, "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people." (11) And again, "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him." (12) And again Isaiah says, "The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope."
Revelation 22:16 "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star."
This is Jesus!
By the way, God is making you like Christ, so God is making you like Christ in all of these areas
Praise God that He has sent Jesus to be the standard by which we should live. But it doesn’t end with that. There is the promise of perfect peace in His heavenly kingdom:
The perfect peace of heaven is what we have ahead of us to look forward too, but to get to that point, two special days were appointed by God: a day for Jesus to be crucified to reconcile us to God and a day for the church to be established as the vehicle for this new growth of God’s people from the stump of Jesse.
1. “In that day” #1 - V.10 speaks of the day that Jesus was crucified
§ Simeon’s prayer in Luke 2:31-35 speaks of Jesus being appointed for a signal or “sign that is spoken against” but also a “light for the Gentiles”
§ In Numbers 21, this same word for “signal” is used of the bronze serpent lifted up on the pole by Moses to bring God’s healing from snake-bites.
§ John 3:14-16 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, (15) that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. (16) "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
§ John 12:31-33 Jesus answered, "Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. (32) And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all to myself." (33) He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.
§ Galatians 3:13-14 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us--for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"-- (14) so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. (cf. Deut 21:23)
§ Romans 15:8-9 For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, (9) and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, "Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name." Romans 15:12 And again Isaiah says, "The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope." (this is a quote from the Septuagint translation of Isa 10:11)
§ The cross of Jesus still stands as a signal to the world of God’s judgment for sin, Jesus’ satisfaction of God’s judgment, and the worldwide spread of His kingdom.
· T.S. Elliott, in his major poem, the Four Quarters, writes of the cross as “the axle tree… the still point of the turning world”
· My daughter and I just took a first-aid course from the Red Cross. Whether they are conscious of it or not, that cross remains a symbol of life-giving aid to those who are dying!
2. “In that day” #2 - v.11 speaks of the Pentecost experience of Acts 2
§ This is the ingathering of God’s people from all the nations and there is a special day in the book of Acts which is a focal point of Scripture and the beginning of the international church.
§ Acts 2:1-41 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. (2) And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. (3) And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. (4) And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. (5) Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. (6) And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. (7) And they were amazed and astonished, saying, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? (8) And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? (9) Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, (10) Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, (11) both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians--we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God." (12) And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" (13) But others mocking said, "They are filled with new wine." (14) But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. (15) For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. (16) But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: (17) "'And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; … David also (30) Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, (31) he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. (32) This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. (33) Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. (34) For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, "'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, (35) until I make your enemies your footstool.' (36) Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." (37) Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" (38) And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (39) For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself." (40) And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation." (41) So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.”
§ Notice the correlation between these two passages in their list of nations who are gathered to Jesus: If we take the words of the medieval Jewish commentator, Kimchi, who, being a non-Christian Jew had no motivation to show a correlation between Isaiah 11 and Acts 2, who said that the coastlands of the sea meant Turkey and Europe, and if we consider Ethiopia together with southern Arabia (as scriptures like Num. 12, Hab 3, and other historical references also do), then the list of nations who are prophecied to come to the root of Jesse in Isaiah 11 is, nation for nation, the same as the list of nationalities who were added to the church at Pentecost in Acts 2. That gives me goosebumps! (The only difference in the lists is that Isaiah breaks Egypt into subcategories and Acts breaks the coastlands down into subcategories.)
These two great days, the death and resurrection of Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit and inauguration of the worldwide spread of the church at Pentecost are the focal points of history, the lynchpins in God’s plan for dealing with all our problems.
How should we respond to this special root of Jesse?
i. Recognize who your fellow-soldiers are
ii. Stop harassing other Christians.
iii. Figure out how to fight shoulder-to-shoulder with them!
i. Various translations (ESV - “swoop on the shoulder of Philistia westward,” LXX -“sail in ships of the Philistines in the sea,” Jewish commentator – “march shoulder-to-shoulder against the Philistines”), but every different translation the common theme is military language of possessing the neighbor nations.
ii. Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world, so our possessing the nations is spiritual; it is sharing the Gospel with people and seeing them become part of God’s kingdom and part of the church.
iii. The early church did indeed migrate quickly out of Jerusalem and downhill to the coastal plain of Israel where the Philistines lived. The 9th and 10th chapters of Acts speak of Peter developing the church in the ancient Philistine port city of Joppa!
i. The last two verses describe the unstoppable power of God in accomplishing His purposes. They compare the power that God employed in Israel’s crossing of the Red Sea out of Egypt to the power that God can exercise to fulfill His promise and restore the remnant of His people from Assyria – even drying up the Euphrates River that stands as a boundary between Assyria and Palestine so that people wouldn’t even have to take off their shoes to cross the river. This same power is inexorably bearing down upon the earth to grow God’s kingdom and eliminate every obstacle that stands against God’s kingdom
ii. 1 Corinthians 15:22-26 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. (23) But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. (24) Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. (25) For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. (26) The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
iii. This conquering of all God’s enemies is something we engage with Jesus in doing, for Isaiah later tells us that we are to be working on the same highway He is working on “Make straight in the desert a highway for your God” (Isa 40:30). To change the idiom from an army to a road crew, we are conquering the world, one person at a time by building highways between people and God.
iv. Everyone around us has problems resulting from sin, too. They long for justice too, they are afraid of danger too, they are hurting too, they long for peace, too. As we tell people around us about Jesus, we can bring God’s answer to all their problems, too. God’s answer to all our problems is Jesus; He alone can bring about the healing, the peace, the freedom, justice, and protection for which we all long.