READINGS

Isaiah 11 (NKJV)

The Reign of Jesse’s Offspring

(Is. 9:1–7)

1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,

And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.

2 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 His delight is in the fear of the LORD,

And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes,

Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;

4 But with righteousness He shall judge the poor,

And decide with equity for the meek of the earth;

He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,

And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.

5 Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins,

And faithfulness the belt of His waist.

6 “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,

The leopard shall lie down with the young goat,

The calf and the young lion and the fatling together;

And a little child shall lead them.

7 The cow and the bear shall graze;

Their young ones shall lie down together;

And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole,

And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den.

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.

10 “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse,

Who shall stand as a banner to the people;

For the Gentiles shall seek Him,

And His resting place shall be glorious.”

11 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 who are left,

From Assyria and Egypt,

From Pathros and Cush,

From Elam and Shinar,

From Hamath and the islands of the sea.

12 He will set up a banner for the nations,

And will assemble the outcasts of Israel,

And gather together the dispersed of Judah

From the four corners of the earth.

13 Also the envy of Ephraim shall depart,

And the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off;

Ephraim shall not envy Judah,

And Judah shall not harass Ephraim.

14 But they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines toward the
west;

Together they shall plunder the people of the East;

They shall lay their hand on Edom and Moab;

And the people of Ammon shall obey them.

15 The LORD will utterly destroy the tongue of the Sea of Egypt;

With His mighty wind He will shake His fist over the River,

And strike it in the seven streams,

And make men cross over dry-shod.

16 There will be a highway for the remnant of His people

Who will be left from Assyria,

As it was for Israel

In the day that he came up from the land of Egypt.

UNDERSTANDING

And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to
the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be
glorious.”

The Vision of Hope and Restoration in Isaiah 11

Isaiah 11 stands as one of the most profound and cherished passages in the
Old Testament, offering a vision of hope, peace, and divine restoration that
resonates across time. Spoken through the prophet Isaiah to the people of
Judah during a period of political turmoil and spiritual decline, this chapter
unveils God’s promise of a coming Messiah and a transformed world. Today,
we’ll explore its historical context, its messianic prophecy, and the radical
peace it envisions—drawing from the text itself and its echoes throughout
Scripture.
Let’s begin with the setting. Isaiah prophesied in the 8th century BCE, a time
when the kingdom of Judah faced threats from Assyria and internal
corruption among its leaders. The opening of Isaiah 11 follows the judgment
pronounced in chapter 10, where God declares Assyria, the “axe” in His
hand, will itself be humbled (Isaiah 10:15). Chapter 11 shifts from this tone of
judgment to one of renewal, beginning with a vivid image: “There shall come
forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear
fruit” (Isaiah 11:1). The “stump of Jesse” refers to the lineage of David,
Jesse’s son, which by this point had been reduced to a mere shadow of its
former glory under King David. Yet, from this seemingly dead stump, life
emerges—a tender shoot, a new king.

This shoot is no ordinary ruler. Verses 2 through 5 describe his character:

“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” (Isaiah 11:2). Unlike earthly kings who often rely on
human strength or cunning, this leader is endowed with divine attributes. His
reign is marked by justice and righteousness: “With righteousness he shall
judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth” (Isaiah
11:4). Here, we see a king who doesn’t favor the powerful but lifts up the
marginalized—a theme echoed in Psalm 72:2, where the ideal king “judges
your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice.”

For us Christians, this passage is unmistakably messianic, pointing to Jesus

Christ. The New Testament connects this prophecy to Him in several ways. In
Romans 15:12, Paul quotes Isaiah 11:10—“The root of Jesse will come, even
he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope”—to affirm
Jesus as the fulfillment of this promise, extending salvation beyond Israel to
all nations. The “Spirit of the Lord” resting upon Him recalls Jesus’ baptism,
where the Spirit descends like a dove (Matthew 3:16), and His ministry,
which consistently championed the poor and oppressed, fulfilling the justice
Isaiah foretold.

But Isaiah 11 doesn’t stop with the Messiah’s arrival. Verses 6 through 9
paint a breathtaking picture of cosmic peace: “The wolf shall dwell with the
lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat… The nursing child
shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand
on the adder’s den” (Isaiah 11:6, 8). This isn’t just poetic flourish—it’s a
reversal of the natural order marred by sin. Since the fall in Genesis 3,
creation has been marked by hostility and predation, yet here, harmony
reigns. Why? Because “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as
the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9). Knowledge of God transforms
everything. This vision aligns with later promises, like Habakkuk 2:14, and
finds its ultimate fulfillment in Revelation 21:4, where “death shall be no
more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore.”

The chapter closes with a promise of restoration for God’s people. Verses 11
through 16 describe a second exodus, where God gathers the scattered
remnant of Israel “from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros… from the four
corners of the earth” (Isaiah 11:11-12). This recalls the first exodus from
Egypt (Exodus 14), but it’s grander, global, and final. The “highway” for the
remnant (Isaiah 11:16) symbolizes unobstructed return, a theme of God’s
faithfulness seen in Jeremiah 31:9, where He leads His people “with weeping
and supplications” back to their land.

What does this mean for us today? Isaiah 11 is a tapestry of hope woven
with threads of justice, peace, and redemption. It reminds us that God’s plan
moves beyond judgment to restoration, through a Messiah who rules not by
might alone but by the Spirit. It challenges us to live in light of this coming
kingdom—pursuing righteousness, caring for the meek, and trusting in the
One who makes wolves and lambs lie down together. As we await the
fullness of this promise, we’re invited to reflect the Messiah’s character in
our lives, knowing that “his resting place shall be glorious” (Isaiah 11:10).

In summary, Isaiah 11 offers a vision that begins with a shoot from a stump
and ends with a world renewed. It’s a prophecy fulfilled in part through
Christ’s first coming, yet it points us toward His return, when peace will cover
the earth as waters cover the sea. Let’s hold fast to this hope, for the God
who spoke through Isaiah is the same God who keeps His word.

PRAYER
HEAVENLY FATHER

COME JESUS, COME. AMEN

Have a blessed day everyone 🙏