1 “And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a Branch out of his roots shall bear fruit; 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; and His delight shall be 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, 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 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 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 basilisk’s 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. 10 “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Root of Jesse, which standeth for an ensign of the peoples, unto Him shall the nations seek; and His resting-place shall be glorious.”
Golden Text.—“The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”Isa. 11: 9.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
(1) What did the prophet see coming forth in the future? V. 1. Note 1. (2) What was to rest upon Him? V. 2; chapter 61: 1; Matt. 3: 16; John 1: 32, 33. (3) What should be the result of this baptism? V. 3. (4) What will be the result to us of such a baptism?—We shall have power and wisdom, etc. See John 16: 13, 14; Acts 1: 8; 1 John 4: 17. (5) How shall He judge the poor? How shall He reprove? V. 4, first part. Note 2. (6) What shall He do to the earth, and to the wicked? V. 4, last part; Ps. 2: 6-12; 2 Thess. 2: 7, 8. (7) What is said of His righteousness and faithfulness? V. 5. Note 3. (8) What is said of the peaceable condition of the earth under His rule? What will sustain this universal peace? Vs. 6-9. Note 4. (9) What position will this Root of Jesse occupy “in that day”? Who will come to Him? What is said of His rest? V. 10; Isa. 66: 22, 23. Note 5.
NOTES.
1. “Shoot” and “Branch.”—These symbols stand for the kingdom of Judah, representing the royal line, and Jesus the Messiah. The vine, pruned back every year to a mere stump, in appearance dead, sends forth new branches in the spring, on which the fruit is borne. So, at the time when Judah was greatly humiliated, with nothing but a stump left, then the Messiah springs forth. The producing value of the vine grown in Palestine, as also on the Pacific Coast, depends wholly on its being systematically cut back. “He purgeth [or pruneth] it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” John 15: 2. Jesse is specially mentioned because from him sprang David, to whom the promise was made that “of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, He would raise up Christ to sit on His throne.” Acts 2: 30; see also Rev. 22: 16.
2. “With righteousness shall He judge.”—One thing that God has always required of His people is righteous judgment, especially toward the poor. See Ps. 72: 1, 2; Isa. 58: 6, 7, 10; 59: 1-4, 8, 9, 14, 15. The neglect of righteous judgment was a cause of the downfall of both Israel and Judah. See Isa. 22: 29-31. Moreover, this want of righteous judgment, this oppression of the poor, is a characteristic of the last days. See James 5: 1-8.
3. Righteousness a girdle.—The girdle is an essential article in oriental dress, especially in action, as it secures the other garments in place and holds up the outer garment from the feet. To “gird up the loins” signified preparation for active service. See 1 Peter 1: 13. Faithfulness implies no deviation whatever from principle or promise. The “girdle of his reins” was that which held him firm in his self-denial for the truth’s sake.
4. When fulfilled.—Verses 6 to 9 could not possibly be fulfilled in the earth while still under the curse of sin. That such a condition applies to the new earth is shown by Isaiah himself in chapter 65: 17-25. Verse 4 of the lesson confirms this view; for it is after judgment has been executed upon the wicked, and the earth purified from sin and made new. That the reign of righteousness will be in the earth made new is made clear in 2 Peter 3: 9-13 and Revelation 21.
5. In that day.—The day of Christ, from His first advent to all eternity, from the beginning of His reign on the throne of grace onward. The seeking of Christ is here; His rest is found here first in the heart freed from sin, a pledge of His eternal rest in His everlasting kingdom. He is now the ensign lifted up by the true Gospel. Isa. 62: 10. Verse 10 covers the whole lesson, verses 1 to 9.
