Community Bible Study -- Isaiah

Text of Presentation, Lesson 6, Isa 11:1-12:6

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Hope for Restoration; the Song of Trust
"A Hope to Live For"

Last week we discussed that great Messianic prophesy in chapter 9:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given. . . . He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom . . . from that time on and forever (9:6-7).

We skipped over the balance of chapters 9 and 10 - containing additional prophesy of the destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel, and a succinct statement of God's reason:

Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed (10:1-2).

Chapter 10 continues with more prophesy of destruction . . . but this time of Assyria:

When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, "I will punish the king of Assyria" (10:12) . . . "O my people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrians. . . . Very soon my anger against you will end and my wrath will be directed to their destruction" (10:24-25).

In the middle of chapter 10, Isaiah introduces the concept of a "remnant," which he carries through tonight's focal passages in chapter 11:

In that day the remnant of Israel, the survivors of the house of Jacob, . . . will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. A remnant . . . will return to the Mighty God (10:20-21).

The "easy" interpretation of this prophesy is the return of the Jews from Babylonian captivity in 538 BC - as Isaiah prophesies in chapter 44. That may be true . . . but this prophesy sounds more like a spiritual return to God; and since Isaiah uses the term "in that day" - which clearly refers to the Messianic Era in 11:10-11 - a better interpretation may be that a remnant of Jews will "truly" trust God again in the Messianic Era.

The focal passage begins with 11:1. Isaiah continues his forestry image. The terms "shoot" and "branch" refer to the Messiah, as we mentioned discussing chapter 4. And in chapter 6, Isaiah prophesied the forest of Israel's pride will be thoroughly cut down and burned . . . but a green "shoot" will spring up from one of the stumps (6:13).

The house of David - represented by King Ahaz - brought disaster on the nation of Judah by failing to trust God when attacked by Israel and Syria; but that's not the end of the story. Although the tree of Davidic pride has been cut down and burned, there is still life in the original root, and that life confirms God's trustworthiness and faithfulness (cf 2 Sam 7). Because, as promised in 9:6-7, God will one day bring the Messiah, a descendant of David, to rule over his people with fairness and justice in the Spirit of God, forever.

Notice that the Messiah is not referred to as a descendant David, but a descendant of David's father Jesse. Why is that? Perhaps to emphasize discontinuity with Ahaz and the present house of David. The Messiah is not just be another descendant of the discredited royal line; he will be a "branch" from the original "root" . . . from the roots of David.

This descendant of Jesse will rule with a different spirit than that which characterized so many Davidic monarchs: it will be the Spirit of the Lord. Modern Christians have Jesus' promise that all believers will be filled with the Holy Spirit, so we don't appreciate the special meaning this term has to Isaiah's hearers. In the Old Testament, such language always means someone marked by a special, God-given ability and motivation. It extends from Joseph (Gen. 41:38) through Bezalel (Ex 31:3) and Othniel (Judg 3:10) and David (1 Sam. 16: 13); the prophets through Micah (Mic 3:8); and John the Baptist (Lk 1:15); all had "the Spirit of the Lord" upon them. Thus, the Messiah will not rule in the power and motivation of the fallen human spirit, but by the life and breath of God Himself.

As a result, the Messiah's reign will be characterized by "wisdom," "understanding," "counsel," "power," "knowledge," and "the fear of the LORD" - characteristics lacking among the Jews of Isaiah's day (1:3) but found wherever God is truly present (Prov 9:10; Isa 33:6). His wisdom will spring from an experiential knowledge of the One true God, and the hallmark of his reign will be concern for obeying, pleasing, and glorifying God - which is what Isaiah means by "the fear of the LORD" in 11:2-3.

Most Davidic monarchs in Judah - and all the kings of Israel - were concerned with maintaining their power rather than pleasing God; but Isaiah says in 11:3-5 this ruler will be different. He will not "judge" on the basis of appearance or image . . . or "decide" based on what the outcome might mean to him. Instead, he will concern himself with what is right, according to the unchanging standards of God. The "justice" he dispenses will be based on God's regulations, applied uniformly to both "poor" and "needy" and rich and powerful; and the latter will not escape justice if they are "wicked." His words will be more powerful than the mightiest "rod" a king might use to enforce his will, and the "breath" (ruab, "spirit") of his lips will not only pronounce a sentence on the "wicked": it will actually kill them. This will happen because "righteousness" and "faithfulness" will be at the very heart of the Messiah's existence (11:5). (The Hebrew actually means to his underwear - what is left when everything else is stripped away!)

The result of such leadership will be real peace: not merely cessation of war, but unity. 11:6-9 give extreme examples of predator and prey living together in harmony. Wolves, leopards, lions, and bears lie with lambs, goats, calves, and cows; a baby plays beside a nest of deadly snakes.

If this is to be taken literally, it can only happen in the millennial reign of the Messiah (cf Rev 20:1-6). The imagery speaks of a physiological change to a lion - whose present body is unable to chew or digest "straw like the ox" (11:7) - and of a fundamental change in human nature, to eliminate our natural aggressiveness because "the earth (is) full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea" (11:9).

This brings us back to the knowledge referred to in 11:2. The Israel that was too stupid to know where the barn was, spiritually speaking (1:2-3), will be able to act based on true knowledge. For the Hebrews, knowledge is based on experience . . . so when Isaiah speaks about "knowledge of the LORD," he speaks of knowledge based on a close relationship with God. The Messiah will make it possible to know God intimately.

In 11:10 the Messiah is called the "root of Jesse," not a branch from the root. This is reminiscent of Jesus' riddle to the Pharisees: If the Messiah is the "son of David," why does David call him "Lord"? (cf Matt 22:41-45). I think that's also what Isaiah means here: that the Messiah is the son of God, as well as the son of David.

In 11:10-12, Isaiah spells out a radical idea he introduced in chapter 2: the Messiah is not only a savior for the Jews, but for all peoples. Just as God ran up a "banner" to call nations to destroy the Jews, the Messiah is a "banner" (11:10,12) calling nations to God (cf 2:1-5). He will "reclaim the remnant" of the Jews from throughout the world.

What is the meaning of "a second time" in 11:11? Some suggest "the first time" was the Exodus from Egypt, and "a second time," the return of the Jewish remnant from exile in 538 BC. There is support for this in 11:16, but in 538 BC the Jews only returned from Babylon . . . not from a worldwide dispersion, as referred to in 11:11-12. Furthermore, since both 11:10 and 11:11 begin with "in that day," this "second" return of a remnant almost certainly occurs in the Messianic era.

11:13 confirms this . . . referring to the day Judah and "Ephriam" - ie, the northern kingdom of Israel, aka Samaria - end their mutual jealousy and hostility. This animosity began with the division of the kingdom after Solomon's death, and reconciliation definitely did not happen in 538 BC, because Samaria opposed the Jewish return to Jerusalem (cf Neh 4:2). But Jesus the Messiah held out the hand of friendship to the Samaritans at Sychar (cf Jn 4), and his apostles expanded this work (cf Acts 8).

The same is true of 11:16, which refers to a return of the remnant of God's people in Assyria. This did not happen in 538 BC; in fact, the people of Israel taken away to Assyria in 722/1 BC lost their identity and have never returned en masse.

Hence the "second time" probably refers to a future return in the Messianic Kingdom - as is the case with Isaiah's reference to a "remnant" in 10:20-21.

11:14-16 are probably meant to be taken figuratively . . . illustrating there will be no effective barrier to the return of God's people either from the south, from the north, or from anywhere else. Isaiah's language is reminiscent of the Exodus: united Israelites will "swoop down" and "plunder" their Exodus enemies . . . Philistines, Edomites, Moabites, Ammonites; God will dry up "the gulf of the Egyptian Sea," (the gulf of Suez) and "the Euphrates River" (cf Ex 14:21, Josh 3:17); his people will travel on a "highway" such "as there was (in the Exodus)." (Isaiah uses the "highway" motif four more times.)

Trying to apply these verses to ourselves . . . 11:1-9 speak of the characteristics of the kingdom of God. God keeps his promises, though not always the way we expect. The Jews of the New Testament era were certain God's promise of a descendant of David ruling over Israel meant a literal political/military leader would re-establish David's earthly throne. Thus when God kept His promise another way, they couldn't accept it. We look at the bible and say they should have been prepared for the Messianic Kingdom to have a more spiritual emphasis . . . but they viewed themselves as the "poor" whom the Messiah would vindicate when he destroyed their "wicked" oppressors with fire from his mouth (11:4). This makes a point to modern-day readers: we should read prophecy with humility, rather than arrogant certitude about exactly how the predictions will be fulfilled . . . and that applies to modern "prophets" who interpret Revelation with such confidence. In general, we need to read prophecy more with an eye to spiritual teaching and less to the mechanics of fulfillment. In that context, this passage speaks about the basis of true knowledge in the fear of the Lord, about the power of the Word of God, and about the hope for the healing of humanity's aggressive and oppressive instincts.

If 11:10-16 prophecies the literal return of God's people to their land - as many believe - it speaks to the problem of taking prophesy too figuratively, not leaving room for literal fulfillment. In our times we have seen the Jewish people gathered into Israel from all over the world. It can be argued that 11:14 was fulfilled in the "7-Day War" in 1967, when Israel conquered the Gaza Strip - ancient Philistia - and defeated the kingdom of Jordan, which encompasses ancient Ammon, Moab, and Edom . . . and today Jordan is one of the few Arab nations at peace with Israel.

However, when Jews began to return to Israel in the last century, the Christian church was so certain it was the "spiritual Israel" - with all of God's promises having fulfillment in the life of the church - that many Christians were taken by surprise when the Jews overcame such odds to establish a nation in 1948 . . . and successfully defended that nation in 1967 and 1974. It's easy to say we should not have been surprised, given Paul's statement in Romans 9-11 about the Jews not being rejected . . . but it's always easier to see where we have been than where we are going.

Therefore, whereas we should be careful about being too confident of literal fulfillment of prophesy, we should likewise be suspicious of preemptive assertions that a certain prophesy has only spiritual significance.

Nevertheless, the return of the remnant in chapters 10-11 clearly involves the Messianic Era, and talks of a spiritual return to God (10:20-21), as well as a physical return to the Jewish homeland. The re-establishment of the nation of Israel in 1948 with Jews from all over the world may not be all there is to this prophesy; we need to be humble and keep and open mind. It is obvious God is not finished with his plans for the Jews, and we may look forward with excitement to see exactly how he fulfills his promises.

One thing is clear: the established church is not going to usher in the kingdom described by Isaiah . . . even symbolically. Christian "kingdoms" have been more enlightened and humanitarian than non-Christian ones; the two great blots on recent history - Fascism and Communism - are both godless. Yet it is true that human aggression and oppression have sometimes been justified in terms of the bible. So we look to a day yet to be when "they will neither hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain" (11:9), and know it will take a power not our own to bring that to pass.

But at the same time, this is not an excuse for Christians to sit on their hands and wait for God to deliver us from this mess. Christ's kingdom has both come and is yet to come. The Holy Spirit is available in fullness to every believer, and will enable us to know God in a way that changes our individual behavior. The intractable sinful nature of humanity does not justify failing to participate fully in all Christ died to make available to us now.

We can know God in ways that will forever change our thinking and acting, and that change can affect our communities in positive ways. We can participate with Christ as he seeks to help the needy and bring justice to the poor. We can surrender our "rights" to him and thus any need to aggressively claim what is ours, knowing he will supply our needs better than we ever can ourselves (cf Eph 3:20-21, Phil 4:19).

We conclude with chapter 12, a beautiful two-part hymn which closes the first subdivision of chapters 7-39. The theme is trust of God, who has turned His righteous anger to "comfort" or encouragement. As on the shores of the Red Sea in the Exodus, the people can say what they have learned about God: He is "strength," he is "song," he is "salvation." Who would not trust such a God? Drawing "water from the wells of salvation" is not only to avail oneself of the deliverance God has offered, but also to live out the implications of that salvation in obedience and witness (cf Ps 116:13-14). Just as was the case with Isaiah, who was cleansed so he could declare God's word to the people, the immediate results of redemption and salvation (12:1-3) are witness to the nations (12:4-6).

12:4 gives a short course in the behavior of the believer: thanks, prayer, and witness. We witness to what God "has done" and to the obvious conclusion: There is no one with a character ("name") so high and holy as His. We witness to this in songs; no other form of human expression captures the whole human psyche like singing. Works like those God has performed must be sung "to all the world" (12:5).

This chapter is filled with theology. God is the One who initiates salvation. There is nothing Israel did to earn God's grace toward them. lf there is to be reconciliation, it must to come from God. Trust (or faith) does not produce reconciliation but is a response to the reconciliation announced by God . . . and it is the only adequate response. When God himself has satisfied His justice and invites us to trust him, what else can we do?

It's hard to read chapter 12 without thinking of the work of Jesus the Christ. God reconciled us to himself through his own work on the Cross. Reconciliation is usually a two-way street . . . but there was nothing we could offer God in the way of negotiation. We were condemned sinners, estranged from God and alienated from life (cf John 3:18 Eph 4:18; Col 1:21). But God found a way to satisfy His justice in that the Messiah died in our place. In place of judgment, God offers encouragement.

The Messiah came to enable us to stand before the Accuser and know ourselves forgiven . . . to tell us all is not lost when we fail again . . . to enable us to stand before a mocking world with love and fortitude. None of this comes from us, but from the power of the Messiah's cross and resurrection. After we have alienated ourselves from God, He has found a way for us to come home again. That is news the whole world needs to hear; how can we keep silent?