Isaiah, Chapter 11

We currently live at a unique time in history. We are alive in the time period of history after Christ first walked the earth, yet before He returns again. In Isaiah, Chapter 11, however, we get another view of what life was like before He came the first time. While previous chapters in this book have dealt with the judgment of Israel and her enemies, here we see a different view. We see more prophecy, but it takes on a different spin away from being judgmental. It becomes a prophecy steeped in hope. That hope is that a Savior, in the form of Christ, will be coming not only to judge, but to instill peace for Israel. Not only will that Savior be instilling peace for Israel, Isaiah hints that He will change the world as a whole.

1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
       from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

 2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
       the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
       the Spirit of counsel and of power,
       the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD -

 3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.
       He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
       or decide by what he hears with his ears;

 4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
       with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
       He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
       with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.

 5 Righteousness will be his belt
       and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

 6 The wolf will live with the lamb,
       the leopard will lie down with the goat,
       the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
       and a little child will lead them. – Isaiah 11:1-6

All of these descriptions can be applied to Christ. Now imagine living in a time where we knew nothing of His life here except for these promises. This is also further proof that His life was more than something special, as He lived up to each and every one of these promises more than 800 years after they were written. Not only did He live up to them then, he continues to live up to them even now. Even in his judgment He is righteous and loving. As verse three says, He judges not with eyes and ears, but with his heart. This is an attribute that few men possess. Most of the time we judge with what we see and hear. It takes a special discernment that Christ possessed to be able to look beyond what we see and hear and judge with the heart.

10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious. – Isaiah 1:10

In Matthew 1 we are given the genealogy of Jesus. We see that he is descended from David, who was the son of Jesse. Therefore, he is the root of Jesse and fulfills this prophesy mention in verse 10. We know that the nations will rally to Him and that He is glorious. This is further proof that the Word is true, and we can rest in that Truth.

TODAY'S QUESTIONS:

1. In what other ways does Jesus fulfill these prophesies?
   
2. Why was it important for God to link Jesus with King David?
   
3. What does Isaiah mean by, 'A little child will lead them'?