The Book of the Prophet Isaiah
Isaiah 11
Chapter XI · Vol. III, pp. 1161–1162
1 The peaceable kingdom of the Branch out of the root of Jesse. 10 The victorious restoration of Israel, and the vocation of the Gentiles.
1 And there shall come forth a arod out of the stem1 of bJesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots:
2 And cthe Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit cof wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge, and of the fear of the LORD;
3 And dshall make him of quick understanding2 in the fear of the LORD: and ehe shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
4 But gwith righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove3 with equity for the meek of the earth:4 and he shall hsmite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
g Ps.72.2,4,12-14. Re.19.11. Mat.5.35; 11.5. Ja.2.5. Zep.2.3; 3.12. Zec.11.7. 1 Co.1.26-29.
3 Or, argue.
4 Rather, 'And he shall judge in righteousness (or righteously) the poor (or helpless), and do justly with impartiality (or equity) to the meek of the earth.' The great truth intended to be set forth is, that under the just and benign reign of the Messiah those who are poor and helpless, and who therefore are liable to be oppressed by their fellowmen, shall enjoy perfect security and favour.—P.
h Job 4.9. Mal.4.6. 2 Th.2.8. Re.19.11,15; 1.16; 2.16. Ps.2.9; 110.1,2,5,6. Pr.16.14; 20.8.
6 Thek 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.
k ch.65.25. Ho.2.18. Job 5.23. Eze.34.25. 2 Co.5.14-21. 1 Co.6.9-11. Ep.4.22,23. Ro.5.1,10,20,21. Tit.3.3-7. He.12.14. Ro.14.17,19. Ac.18.24-26; 9.1-17. Mat.10.16. 1 Pe.2.1,2.
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'5 den.
5 Or, adder's.
9 Theyl shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for nthe earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
l ch.2.4; 35.9; 65.25; 60.18,21. Re.21.27. Ps.72.3,4. Ac.2.41-47; 4.4,32,33. 2 Th.3.16.
n Hab.2.14. Ps.72.19; 98.2,3; 22.27-31. ch.60.1,19; 54.13; 48.17; 30.26; 29.18. Je.31.33,34. Eze.47.1-11. Ac.2.17. 1 Co.2.6-16. Ep.3.8.
10 Ando 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 phis rest shall be glorious.
o ver.1. Ro.15.9-12. Re.22.16. ch.59.19. Jn.3.14,15; 12.32. Ps.22.27-30; 110.1-3; lxxii. Ac.2.5-12,36. Mat.2.1,2; 8.5,11; 15.22. Jn.12.21,24. Ac.x.-xx. Re.5.5,9.
p Mat.11.28. He.4.1, &c. Ps.132.8,13,14. Hag.2.9. ch.4.5. 1 Pe.2.5. Ep.2.19-22. Ac.2.41-47. Ro.15.10.
11 And it shall come to pass in that day, thatq the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from rAssyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from sCush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
q De.30.3,4; 32.43. Le.26.40. ch.27.12,13; 45.17; 49.6-26; 54.1-7; 59.19-21; lx.-lxii. lxv. lxvi. Je.23.8; 30.8-10; 31.36-40; 50.4,5. Eze.11.17-20; 20.34-44; 34.11-28; 36.24-37; xxxvii. xl.-xlviii. Ho.1.11; 3.5. Joel iii. Mi.7.14,15. Zec.8.13; x. xii. xiv. Ro.11.25,26. 2 Co.3.16. 1 Pe.1.1. Re.xix.
12 And he tshall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall uassemble the outcasts of Israel, and vgather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners6 of the earth.
13 Thex 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.7
14 Buty they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west;8 they shall spoil them of the east9 together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and 1Moab; zand the children of Ammon shall obey 2them.3
y ch.25.10; 34.5,6. Joel 3.10. Am.9.12. Nu.24.17. Ob.18. Zec.10.11. Mat.8.11.
8 'But they shall invade the Philistines on the west.'—Boothroyd.
9 Heb. the children of the east.
1 Heb. Edom and Moab shall be the laying on of their hand, Da.11.41.
z ch.60.14.
2 Heb. the children of Ammon their obedience.
3 In this verse is set forth the triumph of divine truth over all opposition. The nations here named were the most determined enemies of Israel; they therefore represent all the enemies of the church of Christ.—P.
15 And the LORD ashall utterly destroy the tongue4 of the bEgyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven 5streams, and make men go over dryshod.6
a Zec.10.11. Re.16.12. ch.19.23; ver.16, with Ex.14.16,21. Ps.74.13.
4 Or, bay, Jos.15.2,5.
b ch.19.5; 23.3. Ge.15.18; 41.1. Ex.1.12. Nu.34.5. Jos.13.3. Je.2.18. Eze.29.3,9; 32.2.
5 Into seven streams.
6 Heb. in shoes.
16 Andc there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; dlike as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.
c ch.19.23; 35.8; 27.13. Zec.10.10,11. Ro.8.28.
d Ex.14.26,29. ch.51.10; 63.12; 52.12; 48.21; 40.3,4; 42.15,16.
Notes
Ver. 1-5. In a most weak and debased appearance, the Messiah shall spring from the family of David, when it is reduced to a very low and withered condition. And the Holy Ghost, bestowed on him above measure, and for ever secured to him, shall qualify him with ineffable wisdom and knowledge, courage and reverential awe of God: and he shall not judge of things according to external appearances; but with infinite exactness and equity shall he judge and save his own poor and afflicted people, and according to the threatenings of his Word, he shall easily destroy his wicked opposers: and equity and faithfulness shall at once fit him for and honour his ministrations. 6-9. Through the abundant spread of his gospel in the world, and the saving instructions of his Spirit, shall the most mischievous and untractable sinners of mankind be rendered meek, gentle, peaceful, and harmless. 10-16. And to him, as exhibited and offered in the gospel, shall multitudes of Gentiles come by faith, repentance, and daily worship: and his Spirit, by the effusion of his gifts, graces, and comforts, shall render his church eminently glorious. The Jews too, in the apostolic age, and in the fullness of time when, by the power of God, they shall be brought back to their own land, shall, with united hearts, embrace the gospel, and assist in the conversion of the Gentiles to Christ; while opposers, heathens, or antichristians shall be overcome, and every hinderance be removed.
Ver. 1. This prophecy is distinctly applied to Christ, Ro. 15. 12, and cannot, as some have thought, refer to Hezekiah, for he was already born—neither were the Gentiles gathered to the church of God during his reign—an event distinctly predicted as occurring during the reign of the Branch, ver. 10. C.
Ver. 3. This was remarkably exemplified in our Lord's unparalleled reproofs to the scribes and Pharisees, who appeared to the eyes of men fair without, but were yet as 'whited sepulchres' full of rottenness within, Mat. 23. 25-27, and in the choice that he made of humble fishermen, who appeared to the eyes of men utterly unqualified for the spiritual conquest and reformation of the world, but who nevertheless have already achieved that work in part, and are, by their word and the Lord's good Spirit, achieving it still. See 1 Co. 1. 26-31. C.
Ver. 4. Smite the earth. That is, men who 'are of the earth, earthy,' 'who mind earthly things.'—Slay the wicked. That is, judicially deliver over wicked nations to destruction by the hands of nations generally as wicked as themselves, but who nevertheless execute God's righteous purposes of judgment. C.
Ver. 9. A good rule of prophetic interpretation requires that the destructive animals here enumerated should be understood as emblems of men of like evil dispositions. The rule is this—when a particular prophecy commences emblematically, the remainder is to be interpreted emblematically. Some have, nevertheless, interpreted ver. 6-9 literally, as foreshowing changes yet to be effected in the dispositions and habits of animals of prey—a speculation upon which, however pleasing, it is better not to dogmatize. The Lord knoweth. Not that any direct evil can result from the expectation and belief of such a change; the danger lies in the indulgence of a spirit of speculation which may soon terminate in an attempt to be wise 'above that which is written.' C.——In this verse the strong and striking figures of the preceding passages are resolved into literal expressions. With such a key as is here afforded to the meaning, no rational and thoughtful critic can mistake the real sense of ver. 6-8. To interpret them literally, as if the influence of true religion would change the physical organization and natural instincts of beasts, is not only an outrage on common sense, but it is opposed to the true principles of interpretation. Ver. 6 can no more be interpreted literally than ver. 5. The whole passage is a highly figurative and graphic representation of the change that will be produced in human society by the reign of the Messiah. Love shall fill every heart, and beneficence shall characterize every act. P.
Ver. 10. His rest shall be glorious. His church glorified by the possession of his Word of truth, his ordinances, promises, and Spirit. See Ps. 132. 14; Col. 1. 27. C.
Ver. 11. The Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people. So called as somewhat similar to the first deliverance from Egypt. See ver. 16. C.
Ver. 12. This glorious prophecy stretches away onward into an indefinite and probably still distant future. It embraces the Jews alone—the natural, and not the spiritual Israel. It shows that the remnant of them shall be gathered into the Messiah's kingdom; but whether the remnant or residue of the nation then existing, or the remnant according to the election of grace, cannot be determined. The countries here enumerated are to be understood as the representatives of all those lands into which the Jews have been or shall be scattered. God's providence and grace will reach them everywhere, and draw them in again. P.
Ver. 15. Tongue. The same word is translated bay, Jos. 15. 2; 18. 19.—River. Most probably not the Nile, but the Euphrates: for though the Nile is called 'seven-streamed,' the title is poetical rather than literal. C.
Ver. 16. The general meaning of this whole chapter is that when the kingdom of the Messiah shall be finally and fully established, the Jews shall be gathered into it; all men shall be subject to the church; all obstruction and opposition shall be removed from the spread of the gospel; and universal peace and love shall prevail. P.
Reflections.—Come, my soul, behold the Lamb of God! Behold how he assumes my nature; is conceived and born of the Virgin, in the likeness of sinful flesh, and laid in the manger! Behold him filled with the Holy Ghost above measure, and qualified to save his people to the uttermost, and avenge himself of his enemies! Behold how his almighty grace transforms the most outrageous sinners into the most amiable saints! See his gospel rapidly spreading in the earth, and his power and glory revealed in the hearts of men. See him in prophecy conquering all opposition, removing every impediment, slaying the enmity, and making of Jews and Gentiles one new man, so making peace! Let me believe, let me plead, let me hope, let me rejoice, that he who has begun to fulfil these great and precious promises, will perfect the same in believers.