Bible Commentaries
Isaiah 11

Verses 1-16

The Messiah and His Work (11:1-16)

Chapter 11 is composed of two main sections: verses 1-9, concerned with the Messiah, his inspiration and his work; and verses 10-16, concerned with the Messianic age and the regathering of the exiled peoples of Israel and Judah from among the nations. The materials in the chapter thus deal with eschatology, that is, with the ultimate future for which, by faith, the people of Judah and Jerusalem could hope after the coming judgment and purification had taken place. Other passages of similar import are 2:2-4; 4:2-6; 9:2-7; and 10:20-21.

The beautiful prophecy of the Messiah and of the Messianic age in 11:1-9 should be studied along with 9:2-7. In neither of these passages is the actual term “Messiah” used. It was, however, the theological title of the Davidic king in Jerusalem, and meant “anointed,” referring to his induction into office by the holy oil of anointing, so that it was understood that he was especially separated in his office to a particular work to be done in behalf of the Lord. Contrary to a common belief, Messianic passages are very infrequent in Old Testament literature; that is, if the term “Messianic” is applied strictly to those prophecies having to do with the king of David’s line whom God will provide as leader of his people and with the new age on earth which will arrive with the new king. Of course, the people of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament writers will see events of their times fulfilling in remarkable ways a variety of passages in various contexts of the Old Testament. Yet, historically, the promise of the new king in the line of David whom God will provide in the eschatological age will be found only among the Judean prophets who are very familiar with the theology of the Davidic monarchy and with the promises of God to David. The chief of these passages are those in Isaiah 9, 11, and Micah 5:2-4. There are other references, but not as central to the prophecies, in Jeremiah and Ezekiel. In the postexilic period, references will also be found in the prophecies of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

Verses 1-3 describe God’s king as a branch growing from the stump of Jesse, that is, from the family of David’s father. He will be empowered by the “Spirit of the Lord” and also with such enlightenment and strength of character as will be necessary for him to accomplish his great work. Yet “his delight,” indeed his whole concentration, will be upon his reverence for the Lord—for so the term “fear” should be understood in such a context as this. The term “Spirit of the Lord,” called “holy Spirit” in Psalms 51:11 and in the New Testament, is in the Old Testament an agent sent forth by God to work within human beings so that they may be enabled to do the work which God calls them to do. It is thus an agency of the divine Government.

The second section extends from the middle of verse 3 to the end of verse 5. These lines depict the manner in which the new king will use his sovereignty. All that he does will be within the context of his saving righteousness, his compassion for the weak, the meek, and the poor of the earth, and his determination that the strong and the powerful shall not oppress them. Indeed, righteousness and faithfulness are said to be clothing that he wears.

The final portion of the prophetic poem (vss. 6-9) describes the radically changed situation in the world at that time when God, through his righteous king, will actually be in charge of the whole earth. In that day there will be a transformation of all life so that the unhealthy and unnatural killing and destroying going on among human beings and between human beings and animals and between animals and other animals will come to an end. Thus none shall hurt or destroy any more, “for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” The word “knowledge” here, as elsewhere in prophecy, does not refer simply to a body of knowledge or factual data. It refers rather to the acknowledgment of God’s sovereign claim upon us and our glad willingness to follow wherever that claim may lead us. Of course, we cannot understand a world in which there will be no killing of animals for meat whatsoever. Yet the point of these lines is that they forecast the future peace of the whole of God s creation, the peace which can come only in our common allegiance. There can be no loving of neighbor and wholesomeness of heart between those of very different natures except in the context of a previous commitment and purification of heart in the sovereignty of God.

It is not entirely clear that the second part of chapter 11 forms one composition. Indeed, it would seem that there is a gathering together of fragments, not all of them of the same date. Verse 10 pictures the Messiah as a kind of flagstaff in the midst of the nations to which all peoples of the world will rally. The remainder of the chapter (vss. 11-16) portrays the new age as a time when the Lord will recover the remnant of his people, the outcasts and dispersed of Israel and Judah, from every part of the earth. Indeed, out of the Assyrian empire there will be as it were a special highway for the return of Israel (vs. 16), and their exodus will be comparable to that from the land of Egypt in the days of Moses. In spite of God’s judgment, and his destruction of Judah, the grace of God is known and the people can hope. They will indeed have a future which God will provide because God does not lie. It is because of prophecies such as this that the Hebrews as a people survived the destruction of their nation and the annihilation of most of their brethren and remained a people of the Lord. The disasters that were to mean the death of the nations and of the nations’ gods meant the survival of Israel and the deepening of faith and hope and loyalty.