Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Isaiah 11:6

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Isaiah 11:6. The wolf also shall, c. - "Then shall the wolf," c.] The idea of the renewal of the golden age, as it is called, is much the same in the Oriental writers with that of the Greeks and Romans: - the wild beasts grow tame serpents and poisonous herbs become harmless all is peace and harmony, plenty and happiness: -

Occidet et serpens, et fallax herba veneni

Occidet. VIRG. Eclog. iv. 24.

"The serpent's brood shall die. The sacred ground

Shall weeds and noxious plants refuse to bear."

____Nec magnos metuent armenta leones.

VIRG. Eclog. iv. 22.

"Nor shall the flocks fear the great lions."

Non lupus insidias explorat ovilia circum,

Nec gregibus nocturnus obambulat: acrior illum

Cura domat: timidae damae cervique fugaces

Nunc interque canes, et circum tecta vagantur.

VIRG. Georg. iii. 537.

"The nightly wolf that round the enclosure prowled,

To leap the fence, now plots not on the fold:

Tamed with a sharper pain, the fearful doe

And flying stag amidst the greyhounds go;

And round the dwellings roam, of man, their former foe."

DRYDEN.

Nec vespertinus circumgemit ursus ovile,

Nec intumescit alta viperis humus.

HOR. Epod. xvi. 51.

"Nor evening bears the sheepfold growl around,

Nor mining vipers heave the tainted ground."

DRYDEN.

Εσται δη τουτ' αμαρ, ὁπηνικα νεβρον εν ευνᾳ

Καρχαροδων δινεσθαι ιδων λυκος ουκ εθελησει.

THEOC. Idyl. xxiv. 84.

There shall be a time when the ravenous wolf shall see the kid lying at ease, and shall feel no desire to do it an injury.

I have laid before the reader these common passages from the most elegant of the ancient poets, that he may see how greatly the prophet on the same subject has the advantage upon the comparison; how much the former fall short of that beauty and elegance, and variety of imagery, with which Isaiah has set forth the very same ideas. The wolf and the leopard not only forbear to destroy the lamb and the kid, but even take their abode and lie down together with them. The calf, and the young lion, and the fatling, not only come together, but are led quietly in the same band, and that by a little child. The heifer and the she-bear not only feed together, but even lodge their young ones, for whom they used to be most jealously fearful, in the same place. All the serpent kind is so perfectly harmless, that the sucking infant and the newly weaned child puts his hand on the basilisk's den, and plays upon the hole of the aspic. The lion not only abstains from preying on the weaker animals, but becomes tame and domestic, and feeds on straw like the ox. These are all beautiful circumstances, not one of which has been touched upon by the ancient poets. The Arabian and Persian poets elegantly apply the same ideas to show the effects of justice impartially administered, and firmly supported, by a great and good king: -

"Mahmoud the powerful king, the ruler of the world,

To whose tank the wolf and the lamb come, together to drink."

FERDUSI.

"Through the influence of righteousness, the hungry wolf

Becomes mild, though in the presence of the white kid."

IBN ONEIN.

JONES, Poes. Asiat. Comment., p. 380.

The application is extremely ingenious and beautiful: but the exquisite imagery of Isaiah is not equalled.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

The Messiah’s kingdom (11:1-12:6)

A leading theme of this part of the book is that God preserves a remnant out of the destruction of Israel and Judah. Earlier this remnant was likened to the stump of a tree from which springs new life (see 6:13). The remnant is now identified with the royal line of David (son of Jesse) from which comes the Messiah (11:1). The Messiah reverences God and, having the Spirit of God in unlimited measure, knows how to apply God’s wisdom in ruling God’s people. He is the Prince of Peace who governs with perfect love and perfect justice. He is not deceived by outward appearances, and has a particular concern for those who are the victims of injustice and oppression (2-5).
In the Messiah’s kingdom there is no hate, fear, cruelty or danger, but perfect peace and harmony. People truly know God, and therefore they no longer do evil to each other (6-9).
The blessings of the Messiah’s kingdom were foreshadowed in the return of the Jews from their captivity in Babylon. The prophet pictures God’s people coming from many nations to dwell together under the Messiah’s rule (10-12). The tension that once existed between Israel and Judah is now gone, for the two kingdoms are united again. They work together in overpowering any nation that threatens the peace of the messianic kingdom (13-14). In a migration of people likened to the exodus from Egypt, those held in foreign captivity return to their homeland (15-16).
Just as Moses and his people sang a song of praise to God for his deliverance from Egypt, so the returned exiles sing their praise to God for his deliverance from Babylon. Now that he has forgiven them, they have no need to fear. God’s salvation brings with it confidence, strength, refreshment and joy (12:1-3). Those who have received this salvation not only want to praise God, but they also want to tell others of him and all that he has done (4-6).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea."

This is one of the most talked-about passages in the Bible; and it is a mainstay of many premillennarian groups of believers, most of whom appeal to the passage in Romans 8:22, "The whole creation groaneth and travaileth together in pain until now," supposing that in the millennium the lower animate creation shall participate in the blessings of Redemption in Christ when that day arrives. Regarding that verse in Romans, "The word for creation means exactly what the same word means in Mark 16:15, namely, all mankind, having no reference whatever to the lower creations such as animals."The Emphatic Diaglott (New York: Watchtower Publishing Company), footnote on page 531. Theories always assume that such harmony among the lower orders of life once existed in Eden prior to the fall of Adam, and the conditions mentioned in these verses would be merely the restoration of what once previously existed; but there is no Biblical evidence of such. There is not a word in all the Bible that backs up such fantastic theories.

Our understanding of this paragraph views it as not literal in any sense whatever. Note that the peace, harmony, and tranquillity depicted here exist only in God's holy mountain (Isaiah 11:9), not all over the world. This passage can no more be taken literally than the description of a sprout coming up out of Jesse, or of a rod or a sharp sword coming out of the mouth of Messiah. "The prophet is not looking to a time when animals of the natural world will live without enmity; but he is describing the peace of those in Jehovah's holy mountain, the kingdom of God."Homer Hailey, p. 123.

As Archer put it, "The picture of the fierce predatory animals living peaceably with the weak and defenseless symbolizes the removal of all natural fear and hostility between men."Gleason L. Archer, Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, p. 621.

The asp (Isaiah 11:8) probably refers to the "great yellow viper common in Palestine."J. R. Dummelow's Commentary, p. 423.

Peake also rejected the notion that this paragraph refers literally to wild beasts, because such a notion would be utterly contrary to the fact that Isaiah attributed the wonderful conditions described "to a diffusion of the knowledge of Jehovah (Isaiah 11:9);… peace among men (in God's kingdom) is intended."Peake's Commentary Series, p. 445.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

The wolf also - In this, and the following verses, the prophet describes the effect of his reign in producing peace and tranquility on the earth. The description is highly poetical, and is one that is common in ancient writings in describing a golden age. The two leading ideas are those of “peace” and “security.” The figure is taken from the condition of animals of all descriptions living in a state of harmony, where those which are by nature defenseless, and which are usually made the prey of the strong, are suffered to live in security. By nature the wolf preys upon the lamb, and the leopard upon the kid, and the adder is venomous, and the bear, and the cow, and the lion, and the ox, cannot live together. But if a state of things should arise, where all this hostility would cease; where the wild animals would lay aside their ferocity, and where the feeble and the gentle would be safe; where the adder would cease to be venomous, and where all would be so mild and harmless that a little child would be safe, and could lead even the most ferocious animals, that state would represent the reign of the Messiah. Under his dominion, such a change would be produced as that those who were by nature violent, severe, and oppressive; those whose disposition is illustrated by the ferocious and bloodthirsty propensities of the lion and the leopard, and by the poison of the adder, would be changed and subdued, and would be disposed to live in peace and harmony with others. This is the “general” idea of the passage. We are not to cut the interpretation to the quick, and to press the expressions to know what particular class of people are represented by the lion, the bear, or the adder. The “general” image that is before the prophet’s mind is that of peace and safety, “such as that would be” if a change were to be produced in wild animals, making them tame, and peaceful, and harmless.

This description of a golden age is one that is common in Oriental writers, where the wild beasts are represented as growing tame; where serpents are harmless; and where all is plenty, peace, and happiness. Thus Jones, in his commentary on Asiatic poetry, quotes from an Arabic poet, “Ibn Onein,” p. 380:

Justitia, a qua mansuetus fit lupus fame astrictus,

Esuriens, licet hinnulum candidurn videat -

‘Justice, by which the ravening wolf, driven by hunger, becomes tame, although he sees a white kid.’ Thus, also, Ferdusi, a Persian poet:

Rerum Dominus, Mahmud, rex. potens,

Ad cujus aquam potum veniunt simul agnus et lupus -

‘Mahmud, mighty king, lord of events, to whose fountain the lamb and the wolf come to drink.’ Thus Virgil, Eclogue iv. 21:

Ipsae lactae domum referent distenta capellae

Ubera; nec magnos metuent armenta leones -

Home their full udders, goats, unurged shall bear,

Nor shall the herd the lordly lion fear.

And immediately after:

Occidet et serpens, et fallax herba veneni

Occidet -

The snake, and poison’s treacherous weed shall die.

Wrangham.

Again, Eclogue, v. 60:

Nec lupus insidias pecori, nec retia cervis

Ulla dolum mediantur: amat bonus otia Daphnis.

So also Horace, “Epod.” 16:53, 54:

Nec yespertinus circumgemit ursus ovile,

Nec intumescit alta viperis humus.

See also “Claudian,” Lib. ii. v. 25ff; and Theocritus, Idyl xxiv. 84, as quoted by Gesenius and Rosenmuller.

These passages are beautiful, and highly poetic; but they do not equal the beauty of the prophet. There is an exquisite sweetness in the passage of Isaiah - in the picture which he has drawn - particularly in the introduction of the security of the young child, which does not occur in the quotations from the pagan poets.

That this passage is descriptive of the times of the Messiah, there can be no doubt. It has been a question, to what particular part of his reign the prophet has reference. Some have referred it to the time when he came, and to the influence of his gospel in mitigating the ferocity of his enemies, and ultimately disposing them to suffer Christens to live with them - the infuriated enemies of the cross, under the emblem of the wolf, the bear, the leopard, and the adder, becoming willing that the Christian, under the emblem of the lamb, and the kid, should live with them without molestation. This is the interpretation of Vitringa. Others have referred it to the Millennium - as descriptive of a state of happiness, peace, and universal security then. Others have referred it to the second coming of the Messiah, as descriptive of a time when it is supposed that he will reign personally on the earth, and when there shall be universal security and peace, and when the nature of animals shall be so far changed, that the ferocity of those which are wild and ravenous shall cease, and they shall become harmless to the defenseless. Without attempting to examine these opinions at length, we may, perhaps, express the sense of the passage by the following observations:

(1) The eye of the prophet is fixed upon the reign of the Messiah, not with reference to time, but with reference to the actual facts of that reign. He saw the scene pass before his mind in vision (see the Introduction, Section 7, 3: (4.) (5.), and it is not the nature of such descriptions to mark the “time,” but the order, the passing aspect of the scene. “Under the reign of the Messiah,” he saw that this would occur. Looking down distant times, as on a beautiful landscape, he perceived, under the mild reign of the Prince of peace, a state of things which would be well represented by the wolf dwelling with the lamb, the leopard crouching down with the kid, and a little child safe in their midst.

(2) It was, “in fact,” partially fulfilled in the earliest times of the gospel, and has been everywhere. Under that gospel, the mad passions of men have been subdued; their wild ferocious nature has been changed; their love of conquest, and war, and blood taken away; and the change has been such as would be beautifully symbolized by the change of the disposition of the wolf and the leopard - suffering the innocent and the harmless to live with them in peace.

(3) The scene will not be fully realized until the reign of the Messiah shall be extended to all nations, and his gospel shall everywhere accomplish its full effects. The vision of Isaiah here has not yet received a full completion; nor will it until the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, Isaiah 11:9. The mind is, therefore, still directed onward. In future times, under the reign of the messiah, what is here described shall occur - a state of security, and peace, and happiness. Isaiah saw that splendid vision, as in a picture, pass before the mind; the wars, and persecutions, and trials of the Messiah’s kingdom were, for a time at least, thrown into the back ground, or not represented, and, in that future time, he saw what is here represented. It has been partially fulfilled in all the changes which the Messiah’s reign has made in the natural ferocity and cruelty of men; in all the peace which at any time the church has been permitted to enjoy; in all the revolutions promoting human safety, welfare, and happiness, which Christianity has produced. It is to receive the complete fulfillment - τὸ ἀποτελέσμα to spotelesma - only in that future time when the gospel shall be everywhere established on the earth. The essential thing, therefore, in the prophecy, is the representation of the peace, safety, and harmony which shall take place under the Messiah. So to speak, it was a taking out, and causing to pass before the mind of the prophet, all the circumstances of harmony, order, and love in his reign - as, in a beautiful panoramic view of a landscape, the beauties of the whole scene may be made to pass before the mind; the circumstances that might even then, if surveyed closely, give pain, were hid from the view, or lost in the loveliness of the whole scene.

(4) That it does not refer to any literal change in the nature of animals, so that the ferocity of the untamed shall be wholly laid aside, the disposition to prey on one another wholly cease, and the poisonous nature of the adder be destroyed, seems to me to be evident:

(a) Because the whole description has a highly figurative and poetical cast.

(b) Because such figurative expressions are common in all poetry, and especially among the Orientals.

(c) Because it does not appear how the gospel has any tendency to change the nature of the lion, the bear, or the serpent. It acts on men, not on brutes; on human hearts, not on the organization of wild animals.

(d) Because such a state of things could not occur without a perpetual miracle, changing the physical nature of the whole animal creation, The lion, the wolf, the panther, are made to live on flesh. The whole organization of their teeth and digestive powers is adapted to this, and this alone. To fit them to live on vegetable food, would require a change in their whole structure, and confound all the doctrines of natural history. The adder is poisonous, and nothing but a miracle would prevent the poisonous secretion, and make his bite innocuous. But where is a promise of any such coutinued miracle as shall change the whole structure of the animal creation, and make the physical world different from what it is? It is indeed probable that wild animals and venomous serpents will wholly retire before the progress of civilization and Christianity, and that the earth may be inhabited everywhere with safety - for such is the tendency of the advance of civilization - but this is a very different thing from a change in the physical nature of the animal creation.

The fair interpretation of this passage is, therefore, that revolutions will be produced in the wild and evil passions of men - the only thing with which the gospel has to do as great “as if” a change were produced in, the animal creation, and the most ferocious and the most helpless should dwell together. The wolf (זאב z^e'êb) is a well-known animal, so called from his yellow or golden color. The Hebrew name is formed by changing the Hebrew letter ה (h) in the word זהב zâhâb, “gold,” to the Hebrew letter א - Bochart. The wolf, in the Scriptures, is described as ravenous, fierce, cruel; and is the emblem of that which is wild, ferocious, and savage among human beings; Genesis 49:27 : ‘Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf;’ Ezekiel 22:27 : ‘Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey;’ Matthew 7:15 : ‘Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves;’ John 10:12; Matthew 10:16; Luke 10:3; Acts 20:29. The wolf is described as sanguinary and bloody Ezekiel 22:27, and as taking its prey by night, and as therefore particularly an object of dread; Jeremiah 5:6 : ‘A wolf of the evenings shall spoil them; Habakkuk 1:8 : ‘Their horses are more fierce than the evening wolves;’ Zephaniah 3:3 : ‘Her judges are evening wolves, they gnaw not the bones until tomorrow.’ in the Scriptures, the wolf is constantly represented in contrast with the lamb; the one the emblem of ferocity, the other of gentleness and innocence; Matthew 10:16; Luke 10:3. The pagan poets also regard the wolf as an emblem of ferocity and cruelty:

Inde lupi cen

Raptores, atra in nebula quos improba ventris

Exegit caecos rabies, etc. -

(Virg. AEn. ii. 355ff.)

As hungry wolves, with raging appetite,

Scour through the fields, nor fear the stormy night -

Their whelps at home expect the promised food,

And long to temper their dry chaps in blood -

So rushed we forth at once.

Dryden.

Cervi, luporum praeda rapacium.

Hor. Car. Lib. iv. Ode iv. 50.

See a full illustration of the nature and habits of the wolf in Boehart, “Hieroz.” Part i. B. iii. ch. x. pp. 821-830. “Shall dwell.” גר ger. Shall sojourn, or abide. The word usually denotes a residence for a time only, away from home, not a permanent dwelling. The idea here is, that they shall remain peacefully together. The same image occurs in Isaiah 65:25, in another form: ‘The wolf and the lamb shall feed together.’

The lamb - Everywhere the emblem of mildness, gentleness, and innocence; and, therefore, applied often to the people of God, as mild, inoffensive, and forbearing; John 21:15; Luke 10:3; Isaiah 40:2. It is very often applied, by way of eminence, to the Lord Jesus Christ; John 1:29; Acts 8:32; Isa 2:7; 1 Peter 1:19; Revelation 5:6, Revelation 5:8, Revelation 5:12-13; Revelation 6:16; Revelation 7:9-10, Revelation 7:14, Revelation 7:17, “et al.”

And the leopard - נמר nâmêr. The leopard, a well-known wild beast, was regarded in Oriental countries as second in dignity only to the lion. The Arabic writers say, ‘He is second in rank to the lion, and, as there is a natural hatred between them, victory is alternate between them.’ Hence, in the Scriptures, the lion and the leopard are often joined together as animals of the same character and rank; Song of Solomon 4:8 :

From the lions’ den,

From the mountains of the leopards.

See Jeremiah 5:6, and Hosea 13:7 :

Therefore I will be unto them as a lion,

As a leopard by the way will I observe them.

The leopard is distinguished for his spots; Jeremiah 13:23 : ‘Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?’ it has small white eyes, wide jaws, sharp teeth, and is represented as extremely cruel to man. It was common in Palestine, and was an object of great dread. It lurked for its prey like the lion, and seized upon it suddenly Jeremiah 5:6; Hosea 13:7, and was particularly distinguished for its velocity Habakkuk 1:8), and is often referred to in the classic writers as an emblem of fleetness. See “Bochart.” The image used here by Isaiah, that ‘the leopard should lie down with the kid,’ as an emblem of peace and safety, occurs almost in the same form in the Sybilline oracles, Lib. iii:

παρδάλιές τ ̓ ἐριφοίς ἅμα βοσκήσονται, -

parklies t' eriphois hama boskēsontai, -

‘Leopards shall feed together with kids.’ “See” Bochart, “Hieroz.” Part i. B. iii. ch. vii. pp. 786-791.

With the kid - The young of the goat; Genesis 37:21; Leviticus 23:19; Luke 15:29. Like the lamb, it was an emblem of gentleness, mildness, and inoffensiveness.

And the calf - Another emblem of inoffensiveness and innocence.

And the young lion - The Hebrew word used here - כפיר k^ephı̂yr - denotes one that is old enough to go abroad for prey. It is employed as emblematic of dangerous enemies Psalms 34:2; Psalms 35:17; Psalms 58:7; and also as emblematic of young heroes, or defenders of a state; Ezekiel 38:15; Nahum 2:12.

And the fatling - The calf or other animal that was well fed, and that would be therefore particularly an object of desire to a wild beast. The beauty of the image is heightened, by the circumstance that now the ravenous beast would live with that which usually excites its keenest appetite, without attempting to injure it.

And a little child shall lead them - This is an especially beautiful image introduced into the picture of peace and prosperity. Naturally, the lion and the leopard are objects of dread to a young child. But here, the state of peace and safety is represented as not only so entire that the child might live with them in safety, but their natural ferocity is so far subdued and tamed, that they could be led by him at his will. The verisimilitude of the picture is increased by the circumstance, that these wild beasts may be so far tamed as to become subject to the will of a man, and even of a child.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

6.The wolf shall dwell with the lamb. He again returns to describe the character and habits of those who have submitted to Christ. As there is a mutual relation between the king and the people, he sometimes ascends from the body to the head, and sometimes descends from the head to the body; and we have already seen that Christ reigns, not for himself, but for those who believe in him. Hence it follows that he forms their minds by his heavenly Spirit. But the Prophet’s discourse looks beyond this; for it amounts to a promise that there will be a blessed restoration of the world. He describes the order which was at the beginning, before man’s apostasy produced the unhappy and melancholy change under which we groan. Whence comes the cruelty of brutes, which prompts the stronger to seize and rend and devour with dreadful violence the weaker animals? There would certainly have been no discord among the creatures of God, if they had remained in their first and original condition. When they exercise cruelty towards each other, and the weak need to be protected against the strong, it is an evidence of the disorder (ἀταξίας) which has sprung from the sinfulness of man. Christ having come, in order to reconcile the world to God by the removal of the curse, it is not without reason that the restoration of a perfect state is ascribed to him; as if the Prophets had said that that golden age will return in which perfect happiness existed, before the fall of man and the shock and ruin of the world which followed it. Thus, God speaks by Hosea:

I will make a covenant with the beast of the field, with the fowl of the heaven, and with the creeping things.
(Hosea 2:18.)

As if he had said, “When God shall have been reconciled to the world in Christ, he will also give tokens of fatherly kindness, so that all the corruptions which have arisen from the sinfulness of man will cease.”

In a word, under these figures the Prophets teach the same truth which Paul plainly affirms, that Christ came to gather together out of a state of disorder those things which are in heaven and which are on earth. (Ephesians 1:10; Colossians 1:20.) It may be thus summed up: “Christ will come to drive away everything hurtful out of the world, and to restore to its former beauty the world which lay under the curse.” For this reason, he says, that straw will be the food of the lion as well as of the ox; for if the stain of sin had not polluted the world, no animal would have been addicted to prey on blood, but the fruits of the earth would have sufficed for all, according to the method which God had appointed. (Genesis 1:30.)

Though Isaiah says that the wild and the tame beasts will live in harmony, that the blessing of God may be clearly and fully manifested, yet he chiefly means what I have said, that the people of Christ will have no disposition to do injury, no fierceness or cruelty. They were formerly like lions or leopards, but will now be like sheep or lambs; for they will have laid aside every cruel and brutish disposition. By these modes of expression he means nothing else than that those who formerly were like savage beasts will be mild and gentle; for he compares violent and ravenous men to wolves and bears which live on prey and plunder, and declares that they will be tame and gentle, so that they will be satisfied with ordinary food, and will abstain from doing any injury or harm. On this subject it is proper to argue from the less to the greater. “If Christ shall bring brute animals into a state of peace, much more will brotherly harmony exist among men, who will be governed by the same spirit of meekness.” And yet Isaiah does not mean that any are mild and peaceful by nature before they are renewed, but yet he promises, that whatever may have been their natural disposition, they will lay aside or conquer their fierceness, and will be like lambs and sheep.

And a little child shall lead them. This means that beasts which formerly were cruel and untameable, will be ready to yield cheerful obedience, so that there will be no need of violence to restrain their fierceness. Yet we must attend to the spiritual meaning which I noticed, that all who become Christ’s followers will obey Christ, though they may formerly have been savage wild beasts, and will obey him in such a manner, that as soon as he lifts his finger, they will follow his footsteps, as it is said that his people shall be willing. (Psalms 110:3.) Those who are not endued with this meekness do not deserve to be ranked among the sheep. Let us, therefore, permit ourselves to be ruled and governed by him, and let us willingly submit to those whom he has appointed over us, though they appear to be like little children. Besides, I think that the ministers of the word are compared to children, because they have no external power, and exercise no civil government over them.

A question arises, Do we find any persons who are meek, though they have not been tamed by the gospel? The Prophet appears to insinuate this, when he compares some men to sheep, and others to wolves and bears; and certainly among men who follow the bent of their natural disposition, we shall perceive an astonishing diversity. Some are mild and gentle, others are fierce and violent; but it is certain that all men are untamed till Christ subdues them by the gospel; all are swelled with ambition and pride before they are cured by this medicine. Many will be able to make a false and hollow profession of modesty and humility, but they will swell with inward pride. In short, where the Spirit of Christ is not, there will be no true meekness.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Shall we turn to Isaiah, chapter 11, for the beginning of our study this evening.

In the tenth chapter, the closing part of chapter 10 of Isaiah, and again, let me remind you that the chapter distinctions were made by men, not by the authors. But years later, in order that we might be able to ready reference scriptures, in order that you might be able to find them easily, they divided the Bible into chapters and verses. And that is only for our benefit so that we can reference. And so in the dividing of the Bible into the chapters and verses, this is not the way the Bible was written, but is only divided that way for our benefit so that we can find a passage more easily. Rather than saying, "Well, it's in Isaiah," we can say, "Well, it's in Isaiah the eleventh chapter in the first verse." And that way we can find it and it makes it much easier for us. But in the dividing, they did their best to make the proper divisions of chapters, but unfortunately, many times they cut off a thought, more or less, in the middle. And because we are in a habit of reading a book a chapter at a time, sometimes we start the new chapter without reference to the previous chapter in reading the Bible. Or we start just in one area and we just quit at the end of the chapter, and many times the thought is carried over right on into the next chapter.

Now this is one of those areas where the thought in the end of chapter 10 is that God in His judgment is going to cut down the nations like the trees of Lebanon. Just going to hew them down and there's just going to be stumps. God's going to wipe out the nations and all, leaving just sort of stumps. And so with all of these stumps,

There shall come forth [a stem or] a rod [a branch] out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots ( Isaiah 11:1 ):

So you have the picture now of the nations being leveled. Looking like just a forest that has been cut down; down to the stumps. But out of one, and that is out of Jesse, there is going to be a new life, a new branch coming forth, a stem. And, of course, this is a beautiful prophecy concerning Jesus Christ and the Kingdom Age. As the nations have been leveled as the result of the battle of Armageddon and out of the debris the new life will arise and Jesus the Branch out of the stem of Jesse.

And so this again is a prophecy concerning the Messiah, declaring that He shall come actually from the house of Jesse, which, of course, was the father of king David. And so it is a reaffirmation of God's promise to David that God would build David a house. That out of David's lineage the Messiah would come.

And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and ( Isaiah 11:2 )

Heroic actions would be a better translation of the Hebrew word that is translated might. Not only does He make the right decisions, but He has the power to work these decisions out, to put them into action. A lot of times we may know the right thing to do, but we haven't the capacity to do it. His is not only the counsel, the knowledge of what to do, but the ability to carry it out. "The spirit of counsel and heroic actions."

the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD; And he shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked ( Isaiah 11:2-4 ).

Now this is a reference to the second coming of Jesus Christ. This branch that is growing out of the roots of the tribe of Judah, the house of Jesse, the lineage of David. When He arises, the anointing of God's Spirit upon Him, and, more or less, is referred to as the sevenfold anointing of the Spirit.

In Revelation you read in the reference to the Holy Spirit there around the throne of God, and the seven spirits which are before the throne of God. A difficult verse to interpret. We know that there is one Holy Spirit. What is the reference to the seven spirits that are there before the throne of God? There have been many suggestions that have been offered as to the possible interpretation of the seven spirits. Some have declared that there are seven archangels such as Michael and Gabriel. And in one of the books of the Apocrypha, the book of Esdras, you have Sanskrit, and Uriel and Raphael, and you have the names of seven what they call archangels or chief angels. And some believe that the seven spirits refer to the seven chief angels or archangels that are before the throne of God. That is one possibility.

Another possibility is that the seven spirits before the throne of God are a reference to the sevenfold working of the Spirit in Jesus Christ. As we find here in the use, this eleventh chapter verses Isaiah 11:2 , and Isaiah 11:3 , as a reference for the interpretation of the sevenfold working of the Spirit in Jesus Christ: the spirit of wisdom, understanding, the spirit of counsel, and the spirit of might, or the heroic actions that we mentioned, the spirit of knowledge, and the fear of the Lord, and of quick understanding--the sevenfold working of the Spirit. So which is the correct interpretation? Well, I just suggest you look into it and pray about it and find out what you're comfortable with. No way you can be dogmatic in that. They are both possible that they are correct, and it's possible that they're both wrong and that there is something else that we'll discover when we get to heaven. We'll say, "Oh, that's what they're talking about seven spirits before the throne. All right, you know."

So I've got a lot of things that are filed up here in a catalog that says, "Wait for further information." And so I hesitate being dogmatic on some of these issues. Where the Bible doesn't speak clearly on a subject it's only sheer presumption for me to speak dogmatically. And I don't like to do that unless there is a clear indication in the scriptures. But those who say that it is the sevenfold or the complete working, seven being the number of completeness, complete working of the Spirit in the life of Christ that's manifest in the life of Christ, use this passage as a reference to that idea.

Now, He is coming to judge the earth and His coming in the brightness of His coming is said that the antichrist, the beast, will be destroyed with the sharp sword that goes forth out of His mouth. Now the Word of the Lord is like a sharp, two-edged sword. And there is such power in the Word of God and God said, "Let there be light: and there was light" ( Genesis 1:3 ). It's known as divine fiat, the ability of God to speak something into existence. The tremendous power in God's Word. God no sooner says it than it exists. It's a reality. The moment God declares it, it comes into existence or into being.

So here is this antichrist, the man of sin, son of perdition, who has demonstrated such marvelous power that all the world is wondering after him. Doing all of these wonders and signs and miracles so that the whole world is enthralled by this man of sin. Creating such a powerful military force that they say, "Who is able to make war with the beast?" ( Revelation 13:4 ) Seemingly to overcome everything that gets in his path. He starts moving down to conquer Africa. He passes through Egypt, gets to the borders of Libya and Ethiopia when the news comes that China is invading from the east. And so he takes his troops and returns from the invasion to Africa to meet this invasion from China. And they meet together there in the valley of Megiddo. And as these tremendous forces of man are in this horrible war there in these plains of Jezreel, the valley of Megiddo, Jesus comes again.

And this man who has deceived the world, this man who has caused the world to stand in awe and wonder at his power and all, this man who the world looks up to as the greatest leader the world has ever seen, the most powerful man who has ever lived, for Satan invests this man with all of his power and with all of his authority. Satan does for him what he volunteered to do for Jesus Christ if Jesus would bow down and worship him. When he took Jesus up into a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and said, "All of these will I give unto thee if You will bow down and worship me. And the glory of them for they are mine. I can give them to whomever I will." Jesus refused it, but this man accepts, and Satan gives to him his throne, his authority. And this man is ruling over the world with the powers of Satan behind him and the whole world stands in awe.

The two witnesses that God has sent that are anointed with power. Elijah and Moses or Enoch, whoever else is Elijah's companion, this man has power to put them to death. And thus, he asserts his power over God. Greater than God. And the whole world is wondering after him and saying, "Who can make war with him?" And Jesus comes and says, "You've had it." And the guy goes. And just the word that goes forth out of the mouth of Jesus Christ is all that's necessary. He doesn't get in a big conflict with him. Doesn't get into battle with him. He just speaks the word and the guy is totally wiped out. Oh, the power of the word of Jesus Christ.

Now He is coming then, He begins to judge, He gathers the nations together for judgment when He returns, Matthew 25:1-46 . Now when He judges, He doesn't call for witnesses. He doesn't need to. He doesn't need for someone to come in and testify against anyone else. In fact, when Jesus was here, John tells us that, "He didn't need that anybody should tell Him about any man, for He knew men, and He knew what was in man" ( John 2:24-25 ). That can be a rather frightening thing if you're on the wrong side of the fence.

To know that here is a man and that's what the woman at the well of Samaria when she went and told her friends. "Come and meet a man who told me everything I've ever done." Oh man, that's sort of heavy. Of course, that's the thing that attracted Nathanael when he met Jesus. He said, "Wow, behold an Israelite in whom there is no guile." He said, "How did you know me?" He said, "Well, when you were over there sitting under the fig tree I saw you." "Oh, truly You are the Messiah, the Son of God." He said, Jesus said, "You believe just 'cause I tell you I saw you on a fig tree? Stick around, you're going to see a lot more than that." But he realized that Christ had this perception, the ability to see right into a man.

And Jesus exercised this perceptive ability, that of being able to see right into it. And so He does not judge by hearing testimony or witness, He knows. I mean, He judges by that thorough, total knowledge that He has of each of us. The Bible says that "everything is naked and revealed before Him with whom we have to do" ( Hebrews 4:13 ). I mean, you can't hide or cover a thing when you stand before the Lord. He looks right through you and He sees everything. His x-ray vision perceives all. I'm thankful that I have the shield of, it's not a lead shield, but it's a blood shield. The blood of Jesus Christ that just wipes out all of the past. And I'm so glad for that forgiveness and that cleansing of the past through the blood of Jesus Christ so that when He looks at me, He sees me pure, righteous and holy. And that's the only way I want it. I want to stay in Christ. I want to abide in Him. I don't want to have to stand before Him and have Him look through me and read me off and all. I like it living in Christ where "there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus" ( Romans 8:1 ).

So He does not reprove after the hearing of the ears. He doesn't have to have anybody give testimony. "But in righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and will smite the earth with the rod of His mouth." The Bible tells us that in the Kingdom Age, He'll rule with a rod of iron. "And with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked."

And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins ( Isaiah 11:5 ).

Now the conditions that will exist when He reigns upon the earth:

The 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 ( Isaiah 11:6 ).

We see not the world that God created. We see a world that is suffering the curse because of man's sin. And the curse has spread out into the animal kingdom. It's spread out into the areas, the whole area of the earth. The earth is cursed. "Thorns and thistles shall the ground produce" ( Genesis 3:18 ). The animals at war with each other. That's why nature does not give us a true picture of God. It can declare to us His glory, His power, His majesty, His might, but it doesn't declare His love, because the earth is in rebellion against God. But when Jesus establishes His kingdom, even the animal kingdom will be at peace. And I can see a little child taking a lion by the mane and dragging it around, you know. What a tremendous pet that's going to make. My little daughter... my little daughter, that's been a while. My grown daughter, Cheryl, now a mother, as she was growing up always had a great fascination for lions. Loved to draw lions. She wanted a lion for a pet. Never got it, but the day will come when a little child will lead them about.

The cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like an ox ( Isaiah 11:7 ).

No longer carnivorous.

And a nursing child shall play on the hole of the asp [very poisonous snake], and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. 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 ( Isaiah 11:8-9 ).

Now that's what you're praying for when you pray, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" ( Matthew 6:10 ). As I say, you do not see the earth today as God created it, as God intended it. You see the earth as it is suffering as the result of man's rebellion against God. And that is why it is manifestly wrong to blame God for all of the pain and the hurt and the bloodshed and the evil and the hatred that is in the earth today and demonstrated in all of these horrible things. It won't be that way when Jesus comes to reign.

And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for a sign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious ( Isaiah 11:10 ).

Now this is what the disciples were expecting Jesus to do when He came. And that is why they were so upset and disappointed when He was talking to them about the cross, about His death. "But Lord, when are You going to set up Your kingdom? When are You going to make this glorious ensign that all of the Gentiles will come flowing to Jerusalem and all to receive of the benefits and the glory?" But this remains with the second coming of Jesus Christ.

And 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, which shall be left ( Isaiah 11:11 ),

Now, God is gathering now, and has gathered now, the Jews back to Israel. In the process of gathering them back as the nation has been re-established, but not all are going back, not all are even interested in going back. There are many of them that are now leaving Israel because of the prohibitive taxes and inflation. And it's just difficult to live over there right now, and some 22,000 people left Israel last year and moved to other parts of the world because of the difficulty of living there under these trying conditions. So God will gather them the second time. When? When Jesus Christ comes again. Then He's going to gather together His elect from the four corners of the earth.

In verse Isaiah 11:12 :

And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the eaRuth ( Isaiah 11:12 ).

Now in Matthew's gospel chapter 24, those people who take a post-Tribulation rapture position usually use Matthew 24:1-51 as one of their key texts for proving their point. Where Jesus in talking to His disciples about the signs of His coming and the end of the age declares, "Immediately after the tribulation [verse Matthew 24:29 ] of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four [corners of the earth or from the four] winds, from one end of heaven to another" ( Matthew 24:29-31 ). And they say that that is when the rapture takes place as the Lord at that point gathers together His elect and His elect, they say, is the church.

Now they take that position because they are not thoroughly familiar with the Old Testament and God's dealing with the nation Israel. For Isaiah tells us, and he is referring to this very same event that Jesus referred to, as the elect are gathered together that the elect are actually from the house of Judah and they are the outcasts of Israel. They are not the church. And, of course, also Isaiah further confirms that in the twenty-seventh chapter and in verses Isaiah 11:12 , and Isaiah 11:13 , which, of course, we'll be getting to in a few weeks. "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt" ( Isaiah 27:12-13 ). So it's speaking of the trumpet and the gathering of the people together.

And in verse Matthew 24:31 of Matthew, "And they shall send His angels with a great sound of the trumpet" ( Matthew 24:31 ). Again, a reference to the gathering together of the Jews after His return. As He sets up the ensign and gathers together the Jews from the four corners of the earth where they have been driven in the dispersion. So that gives you a scriptural, clear understanding of Matthew 24:1-51 and shows that the elect cannot be the church.

I do not know why some men persist in their teaching that the church is going to have to go through the Great Tribulation. It is something that it seems that Walter Martin gets on almost every broadcast. He's like on a one-stringed guitar or something. It's about the only thing he can get wound up in. And it's really too bad because he has a very vast knowledge of the cults. Excellent knowledge of the cults. And he is a good teacher, but he seems to constantly be harping on this issue. But it's a harp with only one string and it doesn't make much music. I love Walter Martin. He's a good friend of mine. But we just happen to disagree at this point. And the unfortunate thing is he always puts his programs right around mine and where we only bring up the subject occasionally as we are teaching the whole gospel and declaring to you the whole truth of God, and I'm not out on a bandwagon to defend the position. It's just whenever we go through the Bible in declaring the whole counsel of God, we show you what the Bible teaches. But it seems that he has to harp every single broadcast on this particular issue. But I wish he'd get a few more strings in his harp. I'll hear from him on this and we'll have a good time. We really have a great love for each other. It's just that we have a good time when we get together. It's always exciting. I'm not through with it. We're going to pick it up again when we get to chapter 13. But we've got other things between now and then to talk about. We've got a lot of things to talk about.

So God is gathering together His elect from Israel, from Judah, from the four corners of the earth, Matthew 24:1-51 .

The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah ( Isaiah 11:13 ),

Now, of course, there was great jealousies and envies. There were civil wars between the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom. Ephraim representing the Northern Kingdom, and Judah, of course, the Southern Kingdom. And there won't be any more conflict between them. They'll be one as in the prophecy of Ezekiel, God said, "When He gathers them back together into the land, they will no longer be two nations but one nation" ( Ezekiel 37:22 ). This division between the northern and southern will be over and they will be one nation on the face of the earth. But rather than being on each other's throat, they will be on those around them.

And they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them ( Isaiah 11:14 )

That's the area of Gaza, the Gaza strip. And, of course, Israel did pounce upon them and destroyed them and took that territory.

They shall spoil them of the east together ( Isaiah 11:14 ):

That would be those of Jordan and the West Bank that they have taken.

they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab ( Isaiah 11:14 );

Jordan is modern Moab.

and the children of Ammon shall obey them. And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod. And there shall be a highway for the remnant that will come from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came out of the land of Egypt ( Isaiah 11:14-16 ). "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The rule of the Shoot 11:1-9

Messiah would meet certain qualifications (Isaiah 11:2-3 a) and would rule with absolute justice (Isaiah 11:3-5)-with the result that people would live in peace (Isaiah 11:6-9)

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Security and safety would result from this king’s rule. Whereas the conditions described may occur literally in the Millennium, Isaiah probably used them to represent those conditions figuratively. The presently rapacious-represented by the wolf, leopard, lion (twice), bear, cobra, and viper-will coexist peacefully with the defenseless-the lamb, the kid, the calf, the cow, the ox, the nursing child, and the weaned child. "The fatling" (NASB) breaks the parallelism and may be better rendered "will graze" (NET). People least able to control wild things will be able to exercise effective leadership over them then, because God will change their natures.

In that day death itself will have lost its sting (cf. Hosea 13:14; 1 Corinthians 15:55). People will have no fear of what is now fatal. The serpent will have been subdued (Genesis 3:15). Note again the recurrence of the child motif in this section, to stress the victory of humility over self-assertiveness (cf. Matthew 18:2-5). In short, these conditions indicate a return to paradise on earth (cf. Genesis 1:28-30; Psalms 8; 1 Corinthians 15:25-28; Hebrews 2:5-9).

Amillennial interpreters do not believe there will be a future reign of Messiah on the earth for a millennium. They believe the conditions Isaiah described here are either figurative descriptions of the peace that Christ has brought to humanity through His saving work, or they describe conditions in heaven.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

And the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,.... This, and the three following verses Isaiah 11:7, describe the peaceableness of the Messiah's kingdom; and which the Targum introduces in this manner,

"in the days of the Messiah of Israel, peace shall be multiplied in the earth.''

The wild and tame creatures shall agree together, and the former shall become the latter; which is not to be understood literally of the savage creatures, as if they should lose their nature, and be restored, as it is said, to their paradisiacal estate, which is supposed to be the time of the restitution of all things; but figuratively of men, comparable to wild creatures, who through the power of divine grace, accompanying the word preached, shall become tame, mild, meek, and humble; such who have been as ravenous wolves, have worried Christ's sheep, made havoc of them, breathing out slaughter and threatenings against them, as did Saul, through converting grace, become as gentle and harmless as lambs, and take up their residence in Christ's fold, and dwell with, yea, some of them even feed, Christ's lambs and sheep, as the above mentioned person:

and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; such who are like the leopard, for the fierceness of his nature, and the variety of his spots; who can no more change their hearts and their actions, than that creature can change its nature and its spots; are so wrought upon by the power of divine grace, as to drop their rage against the saints, alter their course of life, and attend on the word and ordinances, lie down beside the shepherds' tents, where the church feeds her kids, or young converts:

and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; either dwell and feed together, or lie down together, or walk together, since it follows:

and a little child shall lead them; become through the grace of God so tractable, that they shall be led, guided, and governed by the ministers of the Gospel, Christ's babes and sucklings, to whom he reveals the great things of his Gospel, and out of whose mouths he ordains praise. Bohlius a interprets this little child of Christ himself, by whom they should be led and directed, see Isaiah 9:6 and the following passages are referred to the times of the Messiah by the Jewish writers b; and Maimonides c in particular observes, that they are not to be understood literally, as if the custom and order of things in the world would cease, or that things would be renewed as at the creation, but in a parabolical and enigmatical sense; and interprets them of the Israelites dwelling safely among the wicked of the nations of the world, comparable to the wild beasts of the field.

(This verse may apply to the future state when all things will be restored to their original state before man fell. By Adam's sin, death and bloodshed were introduced into the creation. Romans 5:12. In the final state these will be removed and the wild nature of animals become tame. Editor.)

a Comment. Bibl. Rab. in Thesaur. Dissert. Philolog. par. 1. p. 752. b Tzeror Hammor, fol. 25. 3. Baal Hatturim in Deut. 11. 25. c Hilchot Melachim, c. 12. sect. 1. & Moreh Nevochim, par 3. c. 11. p. 354.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:   2 And 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 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:   4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.   5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.   6 The 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.   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' 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.

      The prophet had before, in this sermon, spoken of a child that should be born, a son that should be given, on whose shoulders the government should be, intending this for the comfort of the people of God in times of trouble, as dying Jacob, many ages before, had intended the prospect of Shiloh for the comfort of his seed in their affliction in Egypt. He had said (Isaiah 10:27; Isaiah 10:27) that the yoke should be destroyed because of the anointing; now here he tells us on whom that anointing should rest. He foretels,

      I. That the Messiah should, in due time, arise out of the house of David, as that branch of the Lord which he had said (Isaiah 4:2; Isaiah 4:2) should be excellent and glorious; the word is Netzer, which some think is referred to in Matthew 2:23, where it is said to be spoken by the prophets of the Messiah that he should be called a Nazarene. Observe here, 1. Whence this branch should arise-from Jesse. He should be the son of David, with whom the covenant of royalty was made, and to whom it was promised with an oath that of the fruit of his loins God would raise of Christ,Acts 2:30. David is often called the son of Jesse, and Christ is called so, because he was to be not only the Son of David, but David himself, Hosea 3:5. 2. The meanness of his appearance. (1.) He is called a rod, and a branch; both the words here used signify a weak, small, tender product, a twig and a sprig (so some render them), such as is easily broken off. The enemies of God's church were just before compared to strong and stately boughs (Isaiah 10:33; Isaiah 10:33), which will not, without great labour, be hewn down, but Christ to a tender branch (Isaiah 53:2; Isaiah 53:2); yet he shall be victorious over them. (2.) He is said to come out of Jesse rather than David, because Jesse lived and died in meanness and obscurity; his family was of small account (1 Samuel 18:18), and it was in a way of contempt and reproach that David was sometimes called the son of Jesse,1 Samuel 22:7. (3.) He comes forth out of the stem, or stump, of Jesse. When the royal family, that had been as a cedar, was cut down, and only the stump of it left, almost levelled with the ground and lost in the grass of the field (Daniel 4:15), yet it shall sprout again (Job 14:7); nay, it shall grow out of his roots, which are quite buried in the earth, and, like the roots of flowers in the winter, have no stem appearing above ground. The house of David was reduced and brought very low at the time of Christ's birth, witness the obscurity and poverty of Joseph and Mary. The Messiah was thus to begin his estate of humiliation, for submitting to which he should be highly exalted, and would thus give early notice that his kingdom was not of this world. The Chaldee paraphrase reads this, There shall come forth a King from the sons of Jesse, and the Messiah (or Christ) shall be anointed out of his sons' sons.

      II. That he should be every way qualified for that great work to which he was designed, that this tender branch should be so watered with the dews of heaven as to become a strong rod for a sceptre to rule, Isaiah 11:2; Isaiah 11:2. 1. In general, the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. The Holy Spirit, in all his gifts and graces, shall not only come, but rest and abide upon him; he shall have the Spirit not by measure, but without measure, the fulness of the Godhead dwelling in him, Colossians 1:19; Colossians 2:9. He began his preaching with this (Luke 4:18), The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. 2. In particular, the spirit of government, by which he should be every way fitted for that judgment which the Father has committed to him and given him authority to execute (John 5:22; John 5:27), and not only so, but should be made the fountain and treasury of all grace to believers, that from his fulness they might all receive the Spirit of grace, as all the members of the body derive animal spirits from the head. (1.) He shall have the spirit of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and knowledge; he shall thoroughly understand the business he is to be employed in. No man knows the Father but the Son,Matthew 11:27. What he is to make known to the children of men concerning God, and his mind and will, he shall be himself acquainted with and apprised of, John 1:18. He shall know how to administer the affairs of his spiritual kingdom in all the branches of it, so as effectually to answer the two great intentions of it, the glory of God and the welfare of the children of men. The terms of the covenant shall be settled by him, and ordinances instituted, in wisdom: treasures of wisdom shall be hid in him; he shall be our counsellor, and shall be made of God to us wisdom. (2.) The spirit of courage, or might, or fortitude. The undertaking was very great, abundance of difficulty must be broken through, and therefore it was necessary that he should be so endowed that he might not fail or be discouraged,Isaiah 42:4; Isaiah 42:4. He was famed for courage in his teaching the way of God in truth, and not caring for any man, Matthew 22:16. (3.) The spirit of religion, or the fear of the Lord; not only he shall himself have a reverent affection for his Father, as his servant (Isaiah 42:1; Isaiah 42:1), and he was heard in that he feared (Hebrews 5:7), but he shall have a zeal for religion, and shall design the advancement of it in his whole undertaking. Our faith in Christ was never designed to supersede and jostle out, but to increase and support, our fear of the Lord.

      III. That he should be accurate, and critical, and very exact in the administration of his government and the exercise of the power committed to him (Isaiah 11:3; Isaiah 11:3): The Spirit wherewith he shall be clothed shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord--of an acute smell or scent (so the word is), for the apprehensions of the mind are often expressed by the sensations of the body. Note, 1. Those are most truly and valuably intelligent that are so in the fear of the Lord, in the business of religion, for that is both the foundation and top-stone of wisdom. 2. By this it will appear that we have the Spirit of God, if we have spiritual senses exercised, and are of quick understanding in the fear of the lord. Those have divine illumination that know their duty and know how to go about it. 3. Therefore Jesus Christ had the spirit without measure, that he might perfectly understand his undertaking; and he did so, as appears not only in the admirable answers he gave to all that questioned with him, which proved him to be of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord, but in the management of his whole undertaking. He has settled the great affair of religion so unexpectedly well (so as effectually to secure both God's honour and man's happiness) that, it must be owned, he thoroughly understood it.

      IV. That he should be just and righteous in all the acts of his government, and there should appear in it as much equity as wisdom. He shall judge as he expresses it himself, and as he himself would be judged of, John 7:24. 1. Not according to outward appearance (Isaiah 11:3; Isaiah 11:3): he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, with respect of persons (Job 34:19) and according to outward shows and appearances, not reprove after the hearing of his ears, by common fame and report, and the representations of others, as men commonly do; nor does he judge of men by the fair words they speak, calling him, Lord, Lord, or their plausible actions before the eye of the world, which they do to be seen of men; but he will judge by the hidden man of the heart, and the inward principles men are governed by, of which he is an infallible witness. Christ will judge the secrets of men (Romans 2:16), will determine concerning them, not according to their own pretensions and appearances (that were to judge after the sight of the eyes), not according to the opinion others have of them (that were to judge after the hearing of the ears), but we are sure that his judgment is according to truth. 2. He will judge righteous judgment (Isaiah 11:5; Isaiah 11:5): Righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins. He shall be righteous in the administration of his government, and his righteousness shall be his girdle; it shall constantly compass him and cleave to him, shall be his ornament and honour; he shall gird himself for every action, shall gird on his sword for war in righteousness; his righteousness shall be his strength, and shall make him expeditious in his undertakings, as a man with his loins girt. In conformity to Christ, his followers must have the girdle of truth (Ephesians 6:14) and it will be the stability of the times. Particularly, (1.) He shall in righteousness plead for the people that are poor and oppressed; he will be their protector (Isaiah 11:4; Isaiah 11:4): With righteousness shall he judge the poor; he shall judge in favour and defence of those that have right on their side, though they are poor in the world, and because they are poor in spirit. It is the duty of princes to defend and deliver the poor (Psalms 82:3; Psalms 82:4), and the honour of Christ that he is the poor man's King, Psalms 72:2; Psalms 72:4. He shall debate with evenness for the meek of the earth, or of the land; those that bear the injuries done them with meekness and patience are in a special manner entitled to the divine care and protection. I, as a deaf man, heard not, for thou wilt hear,Psalms 38:13; Psalms 38:14. Some read it, He shall reprove or correct the meek of the earth with equity. If his own people, the meek of the land, do amiss, he will visit their transgression with the rod. (2.) He shall in righteousness plead against his enemies that are proud and oppressors (Isaiah 11:4; Isaiah 11:4): But he shall smite the earth, the man of the earth, that doth oppress (see Psalms 10:18), the men of the world, that mind earthly things only (Psalms 17:14); these he shall smite with the rod of his mouth, the word of his mouth, speaking terror and ruin to them; his threatenings shall take hold of them, and be executed upon them. With the breath of his lips, by the operation of his Spirit, according to his word, and working with and by it, he shall slay the wicked. He will do it easily, with a word's speaking, as he laid those flat who came to seize him, by saying I am he,John 18:6. Killing terrors shall arrest their consciences, killing judgments shall ruin them, their power, and all their interests; and in the other world everlasting tribulation will be recompensed to those that trouble his poor people. The apostle applies this to the destruction of the man of sin, whom he calls that wicked one (2 Thessalonians 2:8) whom the Lord will consume with the spirit of his mouth. And the Chaldee here reads it, He shall slay that wicked Romulus, or Rome, as Mr. Hugh Broughton understands it.

      V. That there should be great peace and tranquillity under his government; this is an explication of what was said in Isaiah 9:6; Isaiah 9:6, that he should be the Prince of peace. Peace signifies two things:--

      1. Unity or concord, which is intimated in these figurative promises, that even the wolf shall dwell peaceably with the lamb; men of the most fierce and furious dispositions, who used to bite and devour all about them, shall have their temper so strangely altered by the efficacy of the gospel and grace of Christ that they shall live in love even with the weakest and such as formerly they would have made an easy prey of. So far shall the sheep be from hurting one another, as sometimes they have done (Ezekiel 34:20; Ezekiel 34:21), that even the wolves shall agree with them. Christ, who is our peace, came to slay all enmities and to settle lasting friendships among his followers, particularly between Jews and Gentiles: when multitudes of both, being converted to the faith of Christ, united in one sheep-fold, then the wolf and the lamb dwelt together; the wolf did not so much as threaten the lamb, nor was the lamb afraid of the wolf. The leopard shall not only not tear the kid, but shall lie down with her: even their young ones shall lie down together, and shall be trained up in a blessed amity, in order to the perpetuating of it. The lion shall cease to be ravenous and shall eat straw like the ox, as some think all the beasts of prey did before the fall. The asp and the cockatrice shall cease to be venomous, so that parents shall let their children play with them and put their hands among them. A generation of vipers shall become a seed of saints, and the old complaint of homo homini lupus--man is a wolf to man, shall be at an end. Those that inhabit the holy mountain shall live as amicably as the creatures did that were with Noah in the ark, and it shall be a means of their preservation, for they shall not hurt nor destroy one another as they have done. Now, (1.) This is fulfilled in the wonderful effect of the gospel upon the minds of those that sincerely embrace it; it changes the nature, and makes those that trampled on the meek of the earth, not only meek like them, but affectionate towards them. When Paul, who had persecuted the saints, joined himself to them, then the wolf dwelt with the lamb. (2.) Some are willing to hope it shall yet have a further accomplishment in the latter days, when swords shall be beaten into ploughshares.

      2. Safety or security. Christ, the great Shepherd, shall take such care of the flock that those who would hurt them shall not; they shall not only not destroy one another, but no enemy from without shall be permitted to give them any molestation. The property of troubles, and of death itself, shall be so altered that they shall not do any real hurt to, much less shall they be the destruction of, any that have their conversation in the holy mountain,1 Peter 3:13. Who, or what, can harm us, if we be followers of him that is good? God's people shall be delivered, not only from evil, but from the fear of it. Even the sucking child shall without any terror play upon the hole of the asp; blessed Paul does so when he says, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? and, O death! where is thy sting?

      Lastly, Observe what shall be the effect, and what the cause, of this wonderful softening and sweetening of men's tempers by the grace of God. 1. The effect of it shall be tractableness, and a willingness to receive instruction: A little child shall lead those who formerly scorned to be controlled by the strongest man. Calvin understands it of their willing submission to the ministers of Christ, who are to instruct with meekness and not to use any coercive power, but to be as little children,Matthew 18:3. See 2 Corinthians 8:5. 2. The cause of it shall be the knowledge of God. The more there is of that the more there is of a disposition to peace. They shall thus live in love, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, which shall extinguish men's heats and animosities. The better acquainted we are with the God of love the more shall we be changed into the same image and the better affected shall we be to all those that bear his image. The earth shall be as full of this knowledge as the channels of the sea are of water--so broad and extensive shall this knowledge be and so far shall it spread--so deep and substantial shall this knowledge be, and so long shall it last. There is much more of the knowledge of God to be got by the gospel of Christ than could be got by the law of Moses; and, whereas then in Judah only was God known, now all shall know him,Hebrews 8:11. But that is knowledge falsely so called which sows discord among men; the right knowledge of God settles peace.