Isaiah 11:1 says, And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: The house of Jesse was the one that produced the house of David, who was the one that God’s promise of an everlasting kingdom was made to, and the Branch was Jesus Christ, who fulfilled God’s promise to David. Jesse was considered to be a small and insignificant family, before David became a mighty king. Jesus was considered to be a small and insignificant person before He began His ministry and then became the everlasting mighty King after His death, burial, and resurrection. He is said to be a rod out of the branch, which means a twig and not a mighty branch as Israel had been called before, according to Matthew Henry. He also points out that here the prophet moves from temporary restoration of Israel, God’s chosen people, to everlasting restoration of God’s chosen people, or all who will put their faith in Jesus Christ.
Verse two adds, 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; Isaiah said this coming Branch, Jesus Christ, would have everything resting on Him. This was made possible by the Spirit of God resting on Him. This happened when He began His ministry, though He Himself was God. This tells us that He was not just God, but fully human as well. When we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us, giving us access to all the power of God.
Verse three continues, 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: Jesus was going to judge by the actions of people and not just by their words. It is not enough to just proclaim empty words that proclaim that we are a Christian, but our lives should reflect that fact. Some people today profess to be followers of Christ but then change Who He is by proclaiming Him to just be one way to salvation. Some profess to be Christians, but their actions never show it. We are not saved by our actions or works, but once we are saved, our actions or works should show this to the world and to God.
Verse four states, 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. Isaiah said that God would judge the poor with righteousness. Too often, the poor in the world don’t get the justice that comes from the righteousness of God but are treated less fairly than the rich. Jesus Christ will never do this, but He will always deal righteously with everyone, I believe especially those who are poor materially who are treated unfairly by the powers of the world,
Verse five adds, And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. Jesus Christ is girded in righteousness and faithfulness. These two things are constantly surrounding Him. We can always rely on Jesus Christ’s actions to be righteous and for Him to always be faithful to those who put their faith in Him. He will always want what is best for His people, even when they may not know what they need themselves.
Verse six continues, 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. Isaiah said when the kingdom of Jesus Christ comes that even the animals that were now a threat to other animals would live in peace with one another and would be led by a child. Those animals that had been a threat to people would be tame. I believe this is the way it was in the beginning before mankind sinned and that when Jesus Christ returns, things will just be restored to what they should have been all along. Of course, this would also apply to all people who had been enemies. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we should live at peace with all people, especially our fellow Christians.
Verse seven says, And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. This is just a continuation of telling us about how peaceful things will be in the coming kingdom of God, which we can only be a part of by accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.
Verse eight adds, And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. Even small children will be able to play with what had been deadly animals in the coming kingdom of God. We are never going to see this in the world today, but it is the peace that we will see in the coming kingdom.
Verse nine continues, 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. In the coming kingdom of Christ, the knowledge of God will be as abundant as the waters that cover the sea. This is another way of saying that the whole world will be ruled by God’s purpose, from the animals to the people. In His coming kingdom, everything will be ruled by righteousness, not of man, but of God.
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