June 4
Reading: Isaiah 11
1 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 the LORD.
3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide disputes by what his ears hear,
4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek 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 dwell 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 the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.
10 In that day the root of Jesse,
who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—
of him shall the nations inquire,
and his resting place shall be glorious.
11 In that day the Lord
will extend his hand yet a second time
to recover the remnant that remains of his people,
from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush,
from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea.
12 He will raise a signal for the nations
and will assemble the banished of Israel,
and gather the dispersed of Judah
from the four corners of the earth.
13 The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart,
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 swoop down on the shoulder of the Philistines in the west,
and together they shall plunder the people of the east.
They shall put out their hand against Edom and Moab,
and the Ammonites shall obey them.
15 And the LORD will utterly destroy
the tongue of the Sea of Egypt,
and will wave his hand over the River
with his scorching breath,
and strike it into seven channels,
and he will lead people across in sandals.
16 And there will be a highway from Assyria
for the remnant that remains of his people,
as there was for Israel
when they came up from the land of Egypt.
Again, as in Isaiah 9:1-7, the prophesies of judgment upon Israel and Judah conclude with a promise of the Messiah. Isaiah 11:1-10 tells of a descendant of David who will reign as king. In Isaiah 4:2 we read of the “Branch of the Lord.” Then in Isaiah 6:13 we read of the stump remaining after Israel is chopped down that “the holy seed is in its stump.” Now, in Isaiah 11 we read that “a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit.” (vs. 1) and that “in that day the nations will resort to the root of Jesse.” (vs. 10)
What will this Davidic King be like? The description in verses 2-5 is exciting and exactly describes the character of Jesus the Messiah when He comes. The Spirit of the Lord rests on Him. He fears the Lord. He judges hearts rightly. He cares for the poor and afflicted. He speaks truth, even to people who resist it, to their dismay. He takes on the wicked. He is righteous and faithful.
What will the reign of this Davidic King be like? In verses 6-9 we read of a beautiful worldwide peace that He will bring. Verse 10 tells us that the nations will come to Him, and they have been for 2,000 years.
Verses 11-16 build on this universal reach of the Kingdom of this Messianic King. A remnant of His people will return to Him. (vs. 11) People from all the nations on earth will come to His standard. (vs. 12) And this King will destroy all His enemies.
It is true that every person on earth wants a utopia, a perfect world. Many think it is simply impossible. Others think that if we human beings could just get our act together and cooperate, we could build it. The Bible tells us that only the Lord’s Messiah can bring it. We must look to Him. Are you hoping in Jesus for the solutions to this world’s problems? If you are not, you will be disappointed and frustrated.