Bible Commentaries
Isaiah 11

Verses 1-9

Isaiah 10:33-34 ; Isaiah 11:1-9

The advance of the Assyrian along the great north road is graphically described. It was marked by raided villages and towns. The night sky was lurid with flames. But his collapse would be as sudden and irretrievable as the felling of forest timber. As the one chapter closes we can almost hear the crash of the Assyrian tree to the ground, and there is no sprout from his roots. But in the next the prophet descries a fair and healthy branch uprising from the trunk of Jesse’s line. The vision of the King is then presented, who can be none other than the divine Redeemer on whom rests the sevenfold Spirit of God. The second verse defines the work of the Comforter, and is evidently the model of that royal hymn, Veni Creator Spiritus . But remember that He on whom this divine unction rested longs to share the pentecostal gift with the least of His disciples, 1 John 2:27 . Note that as man’s sin brought travail and groaning on all creation, so will His redemption deliver it, Romans 8:19-25 .

Verses 10-16

Isaiah 11:10-16 ; Isaiah 12:1-6

The prophet’s vision extends. He has seen the effect of redemption, as it emanates from Jesus Christ, upon the whole physical creation; now he beholds also the ingathering of all Israel. The ancient enmity between Ephraim and Judah would pass away. As Paul puts it afterward, “All Israel shall be saved,” Romans 11:25-26 . As they were brought out of Egypt, so shall they be brought from all the countries of the world, where they have dwelt during these Christian centuries. The return of the Jews under Ezra included those of one tribe only, and cannot fulfill the great dreams of all the prophets as here of Isaiah. The following chapter is the counterpart of Exodus 15:1-27 . When their enemies are overwhelmed in the great battle of Armageddon, the ransomed hosts of Israel shall break forth in this anthem.

The Isaiah 12:3 was chanted by the priests on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, John 7:37-38 . The little possessive pronoun my is the bucket with which we draw water from the depths of God. Our pilgrimage way is lined by these wells of saving help.