1And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
The previous chapter ended with the words, “Behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror: and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled. And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one” (10:33-34). God’s judgment on Assyria was described as a lopping off of a bough, a hewing down of tall trees, a cutting down of thickets, and a felling of a forest. The words which immediately follow this description are those of 11:1: “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.” The Assyrian will be hewn down; one from the line of Jesse will arise.
Jesse was the father of king David, but in this verse Isaiah makes no mention of David, though his kingship was certainly remembered with highest esteem in Judah at that time. The one Isaiah is speaking of will be greater than David. The person of this prophecy will be a rod out of the stem of Jesse; thus, he will come after Jesse. But also, he will be a “shoot” (not the same word for “branch” as in 4:2) out of the roots of Jesse; thus, his origins precede and are independent of Jesse. Verse 10 of this chapter calls him “a root of Jesse.” Using similar words in Revelation 22:16, Jesus said, “I am the root and the offspring of David.”
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;
Revelation 1:4-5 speak of “the seven Spirits which are before his throne,” and Revelation 3:1 speaks of “the seven Spirits of God.” Seven manifestations of the Holy Spirit are given in verse 2 of Isaiah 11. As illustrated in design by the golden lampstand in the tabernacle, the lamp on the central post of its frame represents “the spirit of the LORD.” Then, two-by-two, the other six lamps represent the Holy Spirit as “the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.” God the Holy Spirit, in the fullness of His manifestations, will rest upon the one who is in the line of Jesse and whose origins precede and are independent of Jesse. This one will be a man, also evidenced by his having the spirit “of the fear of the LORD.” He will have the right perspective that every human being ought to have concerning the awfulness of a man’s offending God.
3and 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: 4but 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. 5And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
The person that Isaiah has spoken of in verses 1-2 of this chapter will govern the earth. He will govern with righteousness, equity, and faithfulness. He will not be swayed by external appearances or partial information; he will know the truth in every situation and will judge what is offensive to God. Those who have no prestige in society but have been treated unjustly will have their case heard by an all-knowing, righteous judge. “The rod of his mouth” and “the breath of his lips” refer to his word. This one in the line of Jesse upon whom rests the Spirit of the LORD will condemn and kill the wicked of the earth just by speaking his word.
The one of whom Isaiah speaks in these verses of chapter 11 is the same one of whom he spoke in verses 6-7 of chapter 9:
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”
6The 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. 7And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw 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 cockatrice' 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.
Verses 6-8 give six examples of animals which today are predators: wolves, leopards, young lions, bears, lions, and poisonous snakes. In verse 9, God said that in the future, “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 predator and the prey will live together in peace. Not even a small child will be at risk in the presence of creatures which would surely attack today if given opportunity.
Verse 7 states that “the lion shall eat straw like the ox.” It seems likely that this detail implies that the other predators, too, will cease to be carnivores. Probably such was the case in the world before Adam sinned.
In verse 9, God spoke of “my holy mountain.” That mountain is Mount Zion in Jerusalem, the location at that time of Solomon’s temple. In 2:3, Isaiah said that in the last days, “many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.” Jerusalem and Mount Zion, the location of the future millennial temple, will be the center of government of the king who will come in the line of Jesse. Verse 9 relates the safety which will exist on mount Zion to a worldwide knowledge of the LORD. Thus, mount Zion here represents the worldwide kingdom of Christ. The safety on mount Zion will be characteristic of the kingdom of Christ in all the earth. A true and universally accepted knowledge of the LORD will bring peace in all the world. Words very similar to the words in verses 6-9 are also found in Isaiah 65:25.
10And 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.
The time setting “in that day,” as in the previous chapters, refers to the future Day of the LORD. “In that day,” a root of Jesse – that is, the branch out of the roots of Jesse (verse 1), upon whom the Spirit of the LORD will rest (verse 2), who will rule the earth in righteousness (verses 3-5) – will be sought by and will give rest to Gentiles also. In history, by the voices of Isaiah and the other prophets, God offered rest to Israel: “To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear” (Isaiah 28:12). At His first coming, Christ also made the same offer: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Most of Israel still would not hear. Because of their unbelief, they have been and will be judged. When He returns, Christ will rule the nations with a rod of iron (Revelation 12:5). His righteous reign will bring peace: “And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever” (Isaiah 32:17). For all nations in submission to Him, “His rest shall be glorious.”
11And 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. 12And 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.
“In that day,” a remnant of Israel will find rest in their own land. God will gather this remnant a second time, as He did when He brought His people out of Egypt in the past (see verse 16). Whether they be in the region of Assyria, in Egypt, in Pathros or Cush (both in the southern Nile valley), in Elam (in southwestern Iran), in Shinar (the region of Babylon), in Hamath (north of Damascus), or on an island of the sea (western extremities), God will bring them home to the land that he promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Verse 10 states that the prophesied root of Jesse will Himself “stand for an ensign” of peoples, who will seek Him. In speaking of the aftermath of the future days of tribulation, Jesus told His disciples, “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 winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:30-31). Jesus will be the ensign, by His presence. He will gather the believing remnant of Israel and bring them home.
Verse 12 says that Christ will gather both “the outcasts of Israel” and “the dispersed of Judah.” Thus, none of the twelve tribes of Israel has ceased to exist. James began his letter with the words, “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.” The book of Revelation anticipates another, yet future captivity for the Jewish people (Revelation 13:10). The Lord Jesus will send His angels to gather the remnant of Israel, who are scattered “from one end of heaven to the other.”
13The 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. 14But they shall fly 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. 15And 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. 16And 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.
The strife between the northern and southern kingdoms that came to a climax in the alliance between Israel and Syria against Judah in the time of Ahaz will be no more. Rather, they will join together to overcome their enemies to the west and to the east.
When the LORD brings the remnant of His people back to the land of Israel, He will “utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea” (probably the Gulf of Suez) and “shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams.” The Hebrew preposition translated “in the seven streams” is commonly translated “to.” There is no article before “seven streams.” The prophecy probably means that God will smite the Euphrates River (note the use of “river” in 7:20) so as to divide it into seven streams which may easily be crossed, even while wearing sandals. When the future Assyrian, the Antichrist, again carries many of Israel to Babylon, God will dry up the waters as He did at the Red Sea in the past, so that His people may return. Whether in Egypt or in Mesopotamia, the remnant of Israel will return to God and to the land He promised them.
Note: All Scriptures are quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.