The prophecies given by Isaiah contain more descriptions of the Messiah than any other book in the Old Testament. Here Isaiah provides a wonderful description of the Holy Spirit's power working through the promised Messiah. In Old Testament times, anointing oil would be poured upon the head of the High Priest to signify the power of the Spirit given by God to enable the priest to do God's work. Isaiah's reference to this anointing oil that will destroy the voice is more fully described by him in 61:1. "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound." Jesus would later quote these words as being fulfilled in Himself (Is. 61:1; see also Luke 4:18).
In the Messiah's first coming, Jesus came with the anointing of the Holy Spirit to destroy the yoke of sin's curse that lay upon the neck of all humanity. His has come to break the yoke of our slavery to sin. This anointing of Christ also brings to us a full range of transformation. These blessings are described in 11:1-10, and will be completely fulfilled during the 1,000-year reign of Christ after His second coming (Rev. 20:1-4). But these benefits are already ours as we now taste of the powers of the age to come (Heb. 6:5). Christ brings to us now His wisdom, understanding, counsel, and power for all who walk in the benefits of His anointing. We are promised in scripture that we have been blessed "with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ"(Eph. 1:3). It is this same anointing that Jesus promised would give power to the message of the gospel, the power to heal broken hearts and the power to liberate the oppressed and enslaved by sin (Luke 4:18-19).
The power we seek is not in man or the programs of man. Over the last 2,000 years the anointing of Christ has moved throughout the world destroying the enslaving yoke of sin. Let faith make this anointing your own now.
20 And it shall come to pass in that day
That the remnant of Israel,
And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob,
Will never again depend on him who defeated them,
But will depend on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
21 The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob,
To the Mighty God.
22 For though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea,
A remnant of them will return;
The destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness.
23 For the Lord God of hosts
Will make a determined end
In the midst of all the land.
24 Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts: "O My people, who dwell in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrian. He shall strike you with a rod and lift up his staff against you, in the manner of Egypt. 25 For yet a very little while and the indignation will cease, as will My anger in their destruction." 26 And the Lord of hosts will stir up a scourge for him like the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb; as His rod was on the sea, so will He lift it up in the manner of Egypt.
27 It shall come to pass in that day
That his burden will be taken away from your shoulder,
And his yoke from your neck,
And the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil.
Deliverance from Assyrian Invasion v. 20 the remnant of Israel – A group God preserved during the judgments inflicted by the Assyrians and later the Babylonians will arise again by God's own hand. v. 22 overflow with righteousness – Just as the Jews were overrun by Assyria the day will come when they will be overrun with the blessing of God's righteousness. destruction decreed – This points to actions God ordained to bring about His purposes on the earth. Using the Assyrians to destroy the land of the Jews was designed to ultimately result in the spread of righteousness. When the Jews returned from captivity to their land, there is no record of idolatry ever becoming part of their national life again. | v. 24 do not be afraid – Often God tells His people not to be afraid because He is always acting for their ultimate good. v. 26 slaughter of Midian – This is a reference to the total defeat of the Midianites by Gideon (Jdg. 7:24-25). rock of Dreb – This is where Gideon killed the two princes of Midian, Dreb and Zeet. v. 27 because of the anointing – Anointing refers to God's empowering by the Holy Spirit for service. This was done figuratively when priests were anointed with oil upon their head. Here it seems to refer to God's display of power that delivered the Jews from the bondage of oppression by foreign powers. |
The Reign of Jesse's Offspring
1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 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.
Chapter 11 The Reign Of The Messiah v. 1 a rod – This is a term for a shoot or a twig that grows out of a stump or rootstock. The image refers to the line of Jesse, King David's father. There will come one in whom all of the promises of the future age of blessing upon Israel will be realized: the Messiah. This is one of the many passages that developed the concept of the Messianic hope of Israel. When Jesus came to Jerusalem, it was the hope of many Jews that He would establish this kingdom at that time as the promised Messiah. The difficulty the nation had was in accepting that His first coming was to provide forgiveness of sins for the Jews and the entire world through His sacrificial death on the cross. His promised second coming would fulfill the promise of the Messiah's glorious reign. v. 2 Spirit of the Lord – The work of the Messiah will be realized through the power of the Holy Spirit. In John 1:33-34, the heavenly Father revealed to John the Baptist he would know the Messiah was the one on "whom you will see the Spirit descending and remaining." Jesus Himself pointed to this aspect of the Holy Spirit's empowering as proof that He was Messiah when He quoted Isaiah's prophecy about the Messiah, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He has anointed me"(Is. 61:1, Luke 4:18). | spirit of wisdom – This is the ability to understand a situation and determine the best approach to render the highest good. understanding – This is the ability to perceive the true nature of a person or situation. spirit of council – This is the ability to take understanding and wisdom regarding a situation and enable another person to possess that same insight in such a way that they can rightly act upon it. might – This refers to the power that's able to act upon the wisdom, understanding, and council of the Spirit. knowledge – This refers to the knowledge that first perfectly originates in God and is then imparted by the Holy Spirit. fear of the Lord – This points to the attitude of someone who has reverence for God and all that God wills. When Christ took upon Himself the form of a man He perfectly lived in a respect for and harmony with the will of the Father. |
3 His delight is in the fear of the Lord,
And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes,
Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;
4 But with righteousness He shall judge the poor,
And decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins,
And faithfulness the belt of His waist.
6 "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,
The leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
The calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze;
Their young ones shall lie down together;
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole,
And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper'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.
v. 3 shall not judge – This reveals that the Messiah's rule will not be limited to the observance of the external. He will evaluate all things with the resources of the Spirit. v. 4 decide with equity – With complete incorruptible integrity, the Messiah will decide issues that involved taking advantage of society's poor and vulnerable. v. 5 righteousness – This distinguishes the Messiah from all other human leaders. Jesus will always rule from a position of what is truly right. faithfulness – This refers to being trustworthy and committed to what is right. belt – When a person prepared to work or run, he would fold his robe in half and use a belt to hold it close to his body. The thought here is of pulling righteousness and faithfulness close in your life. | v. 6 the wolf – Verses 6-8 present a beautiful word picture of the Messiah's reign when it is established at Christ's return. Here defenseless animals that generally serve as prey for aggressive animals live in total safety and harmony. This becomes a description of the total absence of all hostility during the Messiah's reign. This applies not only to the animal kingdom but to human society as well. v. 9 shall not hurt – The tragic cycle of hurt and destruction that sin brings to all humans will cease during the reign of Jesus. At Jesus the Messiah's second coming, He who promised He would heal the "broken hearted"(Luke 4:18) will cause such a total change in human society that no one will hurt anyone else under His reign of love. full of the knowledge – This complete knowledge of God is the source of peace among men upon the earth. As Paul said, beholding Him we are changed from glory to glory into His very image (2 Cor. 3:18). Obviously, to be like Jesus is to be meek and loving rather than hurtful and destructive (v. 8). |
10 "And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse,
Who shall stand as a banner to the people;
For the Gentiles shall seek Him,
And His resting place shall be glorious."
11 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 who are left,
From Assyria and Egypt,
From Pathros and Cush,
From Elam and Shinar,
From Hamath and the islands of the sea.
12 He will set up a banner for the nations,
And will assemble the outcasts of Israel,
And gather together the dispersed of Judah
From the four corners of the earth.
13 Also the envy of Ephraim shall depart,
And the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off;
Ephraim shall not envy Judah,
And Judah shall not harass Ephraim.
14 But they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines toward the west;
Together they shall plunder the people of the East;
They shall lay their hand on Edom and Moab;
And the people of Ammon shall obey them.
v. 10 Gentiles shall seek Him – In the Old Testament scripture the entire human race was divided into two categories—Jew or Gentile. Here we see the Messiah as the means of breaking down hostility between Jew and Gentile. v. 11 to recover the remnant – This is not a description of the Jews return from Babylon after the 70-year captivity but rather a description of the regathering of the Jews from all nations during the close of the present age and second coming of Christ. set up banner – The banner was a type of flag used by military leaders as a rally point for their soldiers. The Messiah will draw people from all nations to himself. | v. 12 gather together the dispersed – This promise of a second regathering (v. 11) is literally fulfilled in our own time at the end of World War II when Israel was restored to the Jews after nearly 1,900 years of their dispersion. v. 13 envy of Ephraim – Ephraim was the largest tribe of the northern kingdom. After the division of Israel into two kingdoms, Ephraim was generally in conflict with the southern kingdom of Judah. This tragic hostility will also be resolved when Jesus reigns over Israel and the world in a Kingdom marked by love. v. 14 the Philistines – The nations listed here were an ongoing threat and source of conflict to God's people. It is prophesied that during the reign of Christ in Jerusalem these nations will be under the authority of Christ's Kingdom. |
15 The Lord will utterly destroythe tongue of the Sea of Egypt;
With His mighty wind He will shake His fist over the River,
And strike it in the seven streams,
And make men cross over dry-shod.
16 There will be a highway for the remnant of His people
Who will be left from Assyria,
As it was for Israel
In the day that he came up from the land of Egypt.
v. 15 tongue of the Sea of Egypt – The word tongue was used to describe anything that had a similar shape (Acts 2:3). The Sea of Egypt refers to that portion of the Red Sea that is shaped much like a tongue. This is considered the place the Jews crossed over during their exodus from Egypt and is seen here as a picture of God's future deliverance when Christ sets up his Kingdom in Jerusalem. | the river – This term is applied to the Euphrates River. This mighty river like the Red Sea is not an obstacle to God's complete restoration of the Jews. v. 16 a highway – This portrays the ease with which God will provide a way to bring the Jews back to Israel. |
