Read Isaiah 11
The Branch From Jesse
11 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
6 The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
9 They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. 11 In that daythe Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt,from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean.
12 He will raise a banner for the nations
and gather the exiles of Israel;
he will assemble the scattered people of Judah
from the four quarters of the earth.
13 Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish,
and Judah’s enemies will be destroyed;
Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,
nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim.
14 They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west;
together they will plunder the people to the east.
They will subdue Edom and Moab,
and the Ammonites will be subject to them.
15 The Lord will dry up
the gulf of the Egyptian sea;
with a scorching wind he will sweep his hand
over the Euphrates River.
He will break it up into seven streams
so that anyone can cross over in sandals.
16 There will be a highway for the remnant of his people
that is left from Assyria,
as there was for Israel
when they came up from Egypt.
Go Deeper
Anytime a wildfire destroys a forest, there is opportunity for regrowth. Isaiah 10 ended with the prophecy of God cutting down the proud as if they were mighty trees. In Isaiah 11, the Lord now looks over a barren forest full of stumps and ripe for the opportunity for regrowth. Out of those stumps, a branch emerges. But this is not simply a tinder branch, but one that is full, filled with life and hope. Even the declaration that this Messiah will come from the stump of Jesse, a humble man of much less significance than his son (King David), points to the humility of Jesus (v. 1).
Isaiah 11 points to what life will look like under the Messiah’s reign and His restored Kingdom that is to come. The perfect character of the Messiah is described: His delight is in the fear of the Lord, he judges with righteousness, he has the power to cast judgment on the wicked, and righteousness shall be the belt of his loins (v. 4-5). These qualities are mirror images of God’s character.
There is a comfort that can be found in this chapter, because in the midst of revolutionary change there is also incredible hope. This hope is the casting out of the wicked, and rebirth of a strong nation that is deeply rooted in the spiritual empowerment of the Messiah. This passage also points to a day where all people–both Jews and Gentiles–will live under the sovereign reign of the Messiah. Paul references this in Romans where he says that “The root of Jesse will appear, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; the Gentiles will hope in him” (15:12). God’s plan has always been for all people to be reconciled back to Him.
Just as this was a message of hope for the people of Isaiah’s time, we too, can look forward to the day where God reconciles all things back to Himself. As followers of Jesus, we have a hope that is like “an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” (Hebrews 6:19). We need to consistently remind ourselves of this hope, and that this life is as bad as it will ever get. There is a day coming where everything will be at peace again, much like the scene we read about in this chapter (v. 6-9). Let’s cling on to this hope today.
Questions
- What does this passage teach you about the character of God? What does it teach you about humanity?
- Why is it so notable that the Messiah came from the line of Jesse?
- What mental picture comes to mind as you read Isaiah 11?
Keep Digging
To learn more about what it means for Jesus to come from “the root of Jesse”, check out this helpful article from GotQuestions.org.
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2 thoughts on “Isaiah 11”
We read today of a branch, stump, shoot, root and fruit, all heavily loaded with symbolism and hope for the believer. I immediately got a mental image of the giant redwood tree we recently studied about in my 3rd grade class. What appears to be lifeless, hopeless, and cast off actually begins to produce new life. Christ emerges as the fulfillment of God’s promise that a descendant of David would reign forever. I’m reminded that this is a process, the cutting had to take place before new growth appeared. What in our lives needs to be pruned so that we may bear much fruit? John 15:6 declares “My true disciples produce much fruit. This brings great glory to my Father.”
I am so lookin forward to the hope of His return. Jesus tells us how to pray and and to start off is His Kingdome coming. Matt 6:10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. I think often about something JP said once,(very paraphrased) this is the unbelievers heaven, here this earth, the now, and our hell. For them this is as good as it will ever get, what a sobering thought. For me this is the bad, which has some really good parts. “For the believer there is hope beyond the grave, because Jesus Christ has opened the door to heaven for us by His death and resurrection.” -Billy Graham John 14:1-3 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 1 John 1:28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming Abiding with Him, talk with Him, walk with Him, He is always there listening ready willing and desires this relationship with us.
God thank You for Loving me so much!! Thank You for this day to proclaim You. Thank You for boldness to do so. God give me words that glorify, edify and exalt You in all I say and do in Jesus name amen
WOOHOO AND WOOHOO!!!!