ISAIAH CHAPTER 11 1) And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: 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 of the fear of the LORD; 3 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: 4 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. 5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. a) rod: choter {kho'-ter} Lexicon says "branch or twig or rod." stem: geza` {geh'-zah} Lexicon says "stem, trunk, stock (of trees)" branch: netser {nay'-tser} Lexicon says "sprout, shoot, branch (always fig.)" root: sheresh {sheh'-resh} Translated "root 30, bottom 1, deep 1, heels 1" Lexicon says 1) root 1a) root (literal) 1b) root (of people involving firmness or permanence) (fig) 1c) root, bottom (as lowest stratum) (fig) b) figurative language relating to the Messiah which even many Jewish writers admit. It was prophetic of someone yet future for it says "shall come forth," so it could not mean Hezekiah as some writers have thought for he was already born and was at least 10 or 12 years old at this time, according to Gill. c) rod out of the stem of Jesse: Jesse was the son of Boaz and the father of king David. See also verse 10: Isa 11:10 And 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. Remember stem means trunk or stock and root means bottom. So, Gill says, "because of his unpromising appearance, arising 'out of the stem of Jesse'; from him, in the line of David, when that family was like a tree cut down, and its stump only left in the ground, which was the case when Jesus was born of it:" Gill says concerning that line, " Jesse's family was at first but a mean and obscure one; it became very illustrious in David's time, and in some following reigns; from the Babylonish captivity, till the time of Christ, it was very low; and at the birth of Christ was low indeed, his supposed father being a carpenter, and his real mother Mary a poor virgin, dwelling at Nazareth; and it seemed very unlikely, under these circumstances, that he should be the King Messiah, and be so great as was foretold he should; and have that power, authority, and wisdom he had..." So the language that tells us the Messiah came out of his roots and the stem or trunk shows the low estate into the world in which he came. Isa 53:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, [there is] no beauty that we should desire him. { root is the bottom } d) branch: If you will notice the word Branch is in capital letters and was a well known name for the Messiah King. Isa 4:2 In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth [shall be] excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. Jer 23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. Jer 33:15 In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. Zec 3:8 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they [are] men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH. Zec 6:12 And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name [is] The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD: e) There is little doubt in the New Testament that this is the Lord Jesus Christ: READ: Mat 1:6 through Mat 1:16 Re 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. Re 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. Ac 13:22 And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the [son] of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will. 23 Of this man's seed hath God according to [his] promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus: Ro 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. { context is Jesus Christ in verse 8 of chapter 15 } f) the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him: Though he was God manifest in the flesh he was truly a man. And he had the spirit of God without measure. All other men who have been born of God have had the spirit with measure but not so Christ. Joh 3:34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure [unto him]. Isa 42:1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, [in whom] my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. Isa 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD [is] upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to [them that are] bound; { Jesus himself quoted this and told the people that very day it was fulfilled in their ears. Lu 4:18-21 } Mt 3:16 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: Ac 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. g) the spirit of: wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge and fear of the Lord. From this verse we see perfectly well that know one understood the fear of the Lord and did Jesus Christ. 1Co 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: The wisdom that is from above: Jas 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, [and] easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. 18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. wisdom and understanding: Christ confounded the teachers and doctors of his day with his understandinf and wisdom. Joh 7:15 And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? Mt 7:28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: 29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Lu 2:47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. Mt 13:54 And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? Mr 6:2 And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? h) counsel and might: His name is Counselor and the Mighty God. Isa 9:6 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. Christ had many MIGHTY works: Mt 13:54 And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? i) knowledge and fear of the Lord: Christ had full knowledge of the law of God, the strictness of it, he had knowledge full well of the consequences of the judgement against sinners, the seriousness of sin. He understood full well and had perfect understanding of the punishment that was due men, and the tremendous fear that would grip their minds when they were to be judged. Ec 1:18 For in much wisdom [is] much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow. Jesus was aquanted with grief and was a man of sorrows. Isa 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were [our] faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Paul had continual sorrow in his heart for his brethren according to the flesh who were lost and without God, for he had some understanding and knowledge of their end (See Rom 9:2). It seems that the time in which we live is a time of sorrow and not laughter. Lu 6:21 Blessed [are ye] that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed [are ye] that weep now: for ye shall laugh. Lu 6:25 Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep. When Belshazzar saw the handwriting on the wall we read "Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another" (Da 5:6). The moment before they were having a good old time in laughter and merry making without any worries. Concerning the wicked David wrote: Ps 73:17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God; [then] understood I their end. 18 Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. 19 How are they [brought] into desolation, as in a moment! they are UTTERLY CONSUMED WITH TERRORS. 20 As a dream when [one] awaketh; [so], O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image. { utterly consumed: full end with no room for anything else. } Jesus Christ had the spirit of the fear of the Lord: Lu 22:44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. j) Christ's judgement: It will be a true judgemnet and not something that just appears right or just sounds right. He will not judge with outward appearance. Joh 8:16 And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me. Jer 23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. 6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this [is] his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Jer 33:15 In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. Re 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him [was] called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. k) the meek and the poor: Blessed are the poor in spirit. Christ will have mercy on the poor and meek. Mat 5:3 Blessed [are] the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed [are] they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed [are] the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. l) smite the earth with the rod of his mouth: Christ had perfect understanding of the destruction of the wicked becuase He will be the one executing it. Re 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. m) girdle of his loins: girdle is a waistband, the innermost piece of clothing. Loins are the hip area. Reins was translated loins 9 times and reins 1 time. The Lexacon says, "as seat of pain (woman's travail)." Christ shall adorn righteousness and faithfulness as a garment. 6) 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. 7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. a) Gill says that these verses are not to be taken literally but show th epeace of Messiah's kingdom, in that men who are like wild beasts are tamed by the Gospel and then led by God's ministers who are as babe in Christ. Gill says that some even interpret this little child as Christ himself. This sort of interpretation is what helps fuel the A-mill version of eschotology. I can see no reason why these verses can not be taken literally. When God made these creatures we read: Gen 1:30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. It appears that before the fall there was no killing of animals by man or by other animals for the sake of food. It was not until after the flood that God told Noah: Ge 9:3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. So why would it not be resonable that the nature of these animals would be changed back to what they were before the fall of man. Eze 34:25 And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. Ho 2:18 And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and [with] the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely. 9) 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. a) Gill says that the church will be at peace after the destruction of Antichrist. He says that it has had some shodow of fulfillment during the preaching of the apostles, and again in the times of Constantine when paganism was abolished and the whole empire became christian and then again during the reformation. I can not see that it had any sort of fulfillment during these times. The true preachers of the Gospel have experienced some sort of persecution in every age. There has never been a time that the whole earth was full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. When we look out at the sea we see no land but a surface that is entirely water. This could only have its fulfillment during the Millineal Kingdom of Jesus Christ on the earth, were he will reaign litterally over nations and the whole world will be under his rule. 10) And 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. a) the root of Jessie here is certainly the Lord Jesus Christ as has been proven before. Paul seems to be quoting this verse in Romans. Ro 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. But to me this does not prove that Paul thought these verses in Isaiah had their total fulfilment during his time, but was quoting this to prove that the Gentiles were to be included in God's plan of grace also along with the circumcision. b) The Gentiles do seek the Lord Jesus Christ now and his rest is indeed glorious, but it will be greater during the kingdom reign of Christ when all persecution and suffering will be eliminated. c) Gill even admits that this rest speaks of resurection day when the saints will be rasied in glorified bodies and the ultimate rest will be brought to fruition. Heb 4:9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. 11) And 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. 12 And 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. a) In that day: It would be the same day as spoken of before, when the lamb shall lie down with the wolf, etc. b) a second time: The first was when He brought the whole house of Israel (all 12 tribes) out of Egypt. Gill says that the second could not have been fulfilled during the return from the Babylonish captivity, for only Judah and Benjamin returned, nor during time of Hezekiah, but only could be referring to the times of Messiah. He says that Moses was called the first redeemer and Messiah the second by the Jews. c) remnant of His people: It is the remnant again which He has chosen, but it is from all 12 tribes. Notice that Israel and Judah are both mentioned, which shows that all 12 tribes are to be included. They are to be gathered from the four corners of the earth to which they have dispersed. d) Gill thinks these lands mention are places that Jews were in during Gospel times, but this does not seem to be the sense of it. Jews who were saved during the preaching of the Gospel were not assembled and gathered together, but were probably in churches with Gentiles still in the places in which they were saved. But notice the words, "shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth." Which shows that a remnant from all 12 tribes will be gathered from a dispersion into the world and be brought back to their land and assembled together in one place. Since it would be a great number it would nat make sense that this is an assembly as a new testament church but rather an assembly as a nation under Jesus Christ the Messiah. The ensign for the nations is the Messaih the Lord Jesus Christ who will reign over the nation of Israel and be their king and it will be a sign to the antions of the world. 13) The 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. a) The envy Ephraim was of Judah, where the temple was built. The tibe of which david the King was from and so many prophecies concerning him and that the Messiah should come from Judah. Gill says that this is an allusion that there would be no envy between Gentiles and Jews or vice versa in the Gospel Church, but this seems not to be the case at all. But rather there will be no jealousy between the two when they are all assembled together under Messiah their king who will love them both and they will love him and each other as brothers. READ READ READ: Ezek 37:16-24 b) The adersaries of Judah shall be cut off: Gill thinks this is just symbolic of the advasaries of Christians being cut off, such as the papist. But it is to be taken literal again and speaks of the advasaries of Judah being cut off at the 2nd coming of Christ. READ: Zech 12:1-10; 14:1-21 14) But 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. a) Gill spiritualizes all of this again and says that the subjection of these people is when they are brought into the Gospel Church by the ministers of the Gospel and made subject to Christ. Spoil means to take their possesions in battle. In Ezek 38 we see the enemies of Israel spoiled. Zech 14:14 And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance. 15) And 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. 16 And 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. a) Gill says that this is the removal of all impediments for his people to come to the Christian religion, but again this seems to be speaking of the Jews returning to their homeland, so that they may return as when Moses lead them out of Egypt over dry ground.