ISAIAH

Isaiah 11:1-5

quote:

"Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. 3 And He will delight in the fear of the LORD, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear; 4 But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. 5 Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist. "

A tender shoot will spring from a seemingly dead root stump. To emphasize its lowly beginning, Isaiah refers to it as the stem of Jesse, who having lived in Bethlehem, was among the least of those in Judah. In contrast to the once mighty empire of Assyria that would perish, the Davidic kingdom would rise again! Once again there will be a ruler on the throne of David, who is Immanuel the Messiah, ruling with the Spirit of the Lord resting upon Him.

John 1:33-34
"I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, 'He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.' 34 I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God."

He will embody a spirit of wisdom and understanding, counsel and strength and a knowledge and the fear of the Lord. The Messiah would have the ability to render right decisions not based on what His eyes saw or His ears heard, but upon the fact that He could perceive what was in the heart of every man. And with His counsel He would have the power to carry out these decisions.

John 2:24-25
"But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, 25 and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man."

The fear of the Lord involves a recognition of the holiness of God. This is the type of fear the seraphs manifested above the throne in chapter 6 – a fear coupled with reverence and devotion. True belief in the Father is a recognition that we are but dust before a Holy God, and will express itself in reverential awe.

Proverbs 1:7a
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;"

Matthew 11:27b
"no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."

Archaeology has helped us to understand the belt around His loins in verse 5. In ancient days a belt was worn by one who was ready to engage in wrestling an opponent. The objective was to take the belt from the other. Later this took on a figurative meaning and came to be used of anyone who was ready to face a contest or struggle. When the Messiah is described with a belt, we are to understand that He is to face a foe and to engage in a struggle. He faces His foe girded with righteousness and faithfulness. (The Book of Isaiah, Edward J. Young)

Revelation 19:11; 16
11 "And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war... 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."

Is there any doubt as to whom this prophecy refers? This is the Messiah prophesied by Isaiah, Jesus, who came as a babe born in Bethlehem of lowly birth, Who having the Spirit of the Lord rest upon Him -- lived to reveal the glory of the Father and will one day very soon return in glory!

In this study, I have linked some scriptures with this prophecy to identify Jesus as the Messiah. However, there is one other possible link. Have you ever wondered why Jesus was born in Bethlehem? Bethlehem means "house of bread" and Jesus is truly the bread of life. But why not Jerusalem? Jerusalem means "city of peace" and it would have been just as fitting for Jesus, the Prince of Peace to have been born there.

In verse 1 of chapter 11 we find a link with the circumstances surrounding Jesus' birth and His birthplace to the prophecy of the rise of the Davidic kingdom. Jesus was a descendant of Jesse and thus He could be called the "Son of David". Though verse one speaks of a Branch springing from a seemingly dead root stump, it is called the stem of Jesse, rather than of David. It was mentioned that a purpose in this was to establish its lowly origin from which the Davidic kingdom would again rise. Here then, is the link to Jesus. Jesse once lived in Bethlehem and Jesus was born of a lowly birth in Bethlehem as the prophet Micah prophesied.

Micah 5:2 2 "But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity."

Like Jesse who lived among the least of the clans of Judah, Jesus came from lowly status to become the ruler of the renewed Davidic kingdom. Perhaps God wanted to provide one more link to this passage as a clear indicator that Jesus is the Messiah.

God bless you,
Elianna