Life and Ministry of the Christ in Isaiah
#4 Isaiah 11
Isaiah 11 contains a wonderful prophecy of Christ. The thought of this chapter really being in chapter 10, where we read: 33 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. 34 And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one. God likens the nations around Israel to a forest and says he will cut down the mighty trees of this forest. The tree of Judah was also cut down, leaving only a stump. It is in the light that we begin chapter 11*
1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a blossom shall come up from his root:
What a promise, when all is bleak and looking hopeless, when the tree of David has been cut down to the root, there shall come forth a rod, a blossom - Christ, Son of David.
2 and the Spirit of God shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and godliness shall fill him; 3 the spirit of the fear of God.
And the Spirit of God shall rest upon him. Not a portion of the Spirit, but all the fullness of the Spirit, for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. This is why he is the Christ, he is anointed with the Spirit. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (Matthew 3:16-17)
I am persuaded this explains that expression in Revelation, the seven Spirits of God:
And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. (Revelation 3:1; also 1:4; 4:5; 5:6)
3 He shall not judge according to appearance, nor reprove according to report:
4 but he shall judge the cause of the lowly, and shall reprove the lowly of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the word of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he destroy the ungodly one.
5 And he shall have his loins girt with righteousness, and his sides clothed with truth.
6 And the wolf shall feed with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the young calf and bull and lion shall feed together; and a little child shall lead them.
7 And the ox and bear shall feed together; and their young shall be together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 And an infant shall put his hand on the holes of asps, and on the nest of young asps.
9 And they shall not hurt, nor shall they at all be able to destroy any one on my holy mountain: for the whole world is filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as much water covers the seas.
Christ, the root of Jesse, will bring in the kingdom of God. The kingdom is described as a time of righteousness and peace.
10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall arise to rule over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust, and his rest shall be glorious.
Another characteristic of the kingdom will be the gathering of the Gentiles. This is exactly what we have seen in the church - the gentiles coming to Christ. The apostle Paul says the gentiles glorify God for his mercy, quoting this verse in Romans 15:12:
And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust.
11 And it shall be in that day, that the Lord shall again shew his hand, to be zealous for the remnant that is left of the people, which shall be left by the Assyrians, and that from Egypt, and from the country of Babylon, and from Ethiopia, and from the Elamites, and from the rising of the sun, and out of Arabia.
12 And he shall lift up a standard for the nations, and he shall gather the lost ones of Israel, and he shall gather the dispersed of Juda from the four corners of the earth.
13 And the envy of Ephraim shall be taken away, and the enemies of Juda shall perish: Ephraim shall not envy Juda, and Juda shall not afflict Ephraim.
14 And they shall fly in the ships of the Philistines: they shall at the same time spoil the sea, and them that come from the east, and Idumea: and they shall lay their hands on Moab first; but the children of Ammon shall first obey them
15 And the Lord shall make desolate the sea of Egypt; and he shall lay his hand on the river with a strong wind, and he shall smite the seven channels, so that men shall pass through it dry-shod.
16 And there shall be a passage for my people that is left in Egypt: and it shall be to Israel as the day when he came forth out of the land of Egypt.
The prophecy also mentions that “12 ... he shall gather the lost ones of Israel, and he shall gather the dispersed of Juda from the four corners of the earth.
So, Christ will spring from the root of Jesse (born of the Virgin), he will be anointed with the Spirit of God, his will be a kingdom of righteousness and peace, the Gentiles will trust in him, and he will gather Israel. Amen! When is this all to be fulfilled?
Irenaeus, in The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching, speaks to this
"59. Moreover Isaiah himself yet further says: And there shall come forth a rod out of the roots of Jesse, and a flower from his root shall come forth. And the Spirit of God shall rest upon him ; the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and of might, the spirit of knowledge and of godliness : the spirit of the fear of God shall fill him. Not according to opinion shall he judge, and not according to speech shall he reprove: but he shall judge judgment for the humble, and show mercy to the humble of the earth. And he shall smite the earth with the word of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the impious man. And he shall be girt about his loins with righteousness, and with truth encompassed about his reins. And the wolf shall feed with the lamb, and the leopard with the kid, and the calf' and the lion shall pasture together. And a sucking child shall put his hand on the hole of the asps, and on the lair of the offspring of the asps, and they shall not hurt him. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, and he that riseth up to rule the Gentiles: in him shall the Gentiles hope : and his rising up shall be honour. By these words he states that He was born from her who was of the race of David and of Abraham. For Jesse was the descendant of Abraham, and the father of David; (and David's) descendant the virgin was who conceived Christ. Now (as to) the rod: for this cause also Moses with a rod showed the mighty works to Pharaoh: and with other men also the rod is a sign of rule. And by flower he means His flesh; for from spirit it budded forth, as we have said before.
6o. Now, Not according to opinion shall he judge, and not according to speech shall he reprove : but he shall judge judgment for the humble, and shall show mercy to the humble on the earth – (by this) he the more establishes and declares His godhead. For to judge without respect of persons and partiality, and not as favouring the illustrious, but affording to the humble worthy and like and equal treatment, accords with the height and summit of the right-eousness of God: for God is influenced and moved by none, save only the righteous. And to show mercy is the peculiar attribute of God, who by mercy is able to save. And He shall smite the earth with a word, and slay the impious with a word only: this belongs to God who worketh all things with a word. And in saying: He shall be girt about his loins with righteousness, and with truth encompassed about his reins, he declares His human form and aspect, and His own surpassing righteousness.
61. Now as to the union and concord and peace of the animals of different kinds, which by nature are opposed and hostile to each other, the Elders say that so it will be in truth at the coming of Christ, when He is to reign over all. For already in a symbol he announces the gathering together in peace and concord, through the name of Christ, of men of unlike races and (yet) of like dispositions. For, when thus united, on the righteous, who are likened to calves and lambs and kids and sucking children, those inflict no hurt at all who in the former time were, through their rapacity, like wild beasts in manners and disposition, both men and women; so much so that some of them were like wolves and lions, ravaging the weaker and warring on their equals; while the women (were like) leopards or asps, who slew, it may be, even their loved ones with deadly poisons, or by reason of lustful desire. (But now) coming together in one name they have acquired righteous habits by the grace of God, changing their wild and untamed nature. And this has come to pass already. For those who were before exceeding wicked, so that they left no work of ungodliness undone, learning of Christ and believing on Him, have at once believed and been changed, so as to leave no excellency of righteousness undone; so great is the transformation which faith in Christ the Son of God effects for those who believe on Him. And he says: Rising up to rule the Gentiles, because He is to die and rise again, and be confessed and believed as the Son of God (and) King. On this account he says: And His rising up shall be honour: that is, glory; for then was He glorified as God, when He rose."
Oh there is so much more that could be said about this, insights from Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and more from Irenaeus, but it is enough to know this speaks of Christ and his kingdom. Paul told us, the kingdom of God is righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. We saw the righteousness and peace, where is the joy? Of course there is joy in the coming of Christ, but the prophecy spills over into chapter 12, which is a song of salvation, 3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. (KJV)
This Christ is Jesus, son of David; born of a virgin; who has brought the righteousness and peace and joy of the kingdom of God; the Gentiles are trusting in Him, and he shall gather the lost ones of Israel at His return!
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‡ Targum – paraphrase/explanation of the Jewish scriptures in the language of the listeners. "The Targum to the Prophets was composed by Jonathan b. Uzziel "from the mouths of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi," thus implying that it was based on traditions derived from the last prophets." (Jewish Encyclopedia)* LXX or Septuagint
Further word on root of Jesse
10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall arise to rule over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust, and his rest shall be glorious.
Christ will spring from the root of Jesse, be the son of David, but is here called “a root of Jesse.” The Book of Revelation takes up this idea:
5:5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
Jesus himself says, I am the root and offspring of David. He is not only of the house of David, his offspring, a rod from his root, he is the root of David - He gave the promise to David and is the fulfillment of the promise. This is the answer to his question put to the Pharisees:
While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he?
They say unto him, The Son of David.
He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? (Matthew 22:41-45)
He wanted them to see that he was both Son of David and Lord of David. He is a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a blossom come up from his root, but he is also the root itself. He raised up David, established him as king, and promised Christ would come from his family.
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