Isaiah 11:1

And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. 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... 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.

The branch from Jesse's stem bears the fullness of God's Spirit—wisdom, might, and perfect righteousness—and through Him comes both judgment and glorious restoration.

Judgment and the Returning Remnant

As we've been seeing in our study through Isaiah, the nation of Israel is about to receive a judgment from the Lord. Assyria was on the move. In chapter 10 we saw the Assyrian armies come through the northern ten tribes, destroy the north, and come right up to the neck of Judah, surrounding Jerusalem. There God would judge the Assyrians as well and cut them down.

So far, the first eleven or twelve chapters of Isaiah deal with judgment upon God's own people. This is very similar to what the Lord speaks through the apostle Peter—that judgment must begin first at the house of the Lord. God judges His own people before directing His attention to the surrounding nations. That shift will take place when we reach chapters 13 through 23.

As we finish this section, we now see God speak of the restoration He will bring upon His own people. I've mentioned throughout Isaiah that God's punishment is for the purpose of purification. One of the main words God spoke was that a remnant would return. In chapter 7, when God began to speak of judgment on Judah, He sent Isaiah to King Ahaz and told him to bring his son, Shear-Jashub, whose name means a remnant shall return. We see the return of that remnant spoken of here.

A Rod Out of the Stem of Jesse

The first few verses speak about the one who would come through the line of David. This is a messianic prophecy. David, the great king of Israel, was the son of Jesse of Bethlehem. After David served the Lord many years—and we know David was not perfect—he wanted to build a temple for God. God told him he would not build it because of the warfare in his life, but said, "As it is in your heart, it is good." For it is the Lord who searches the hearts of men (Jeremiah 17:10).

So God made a promise to David in 2 Samuel 7, telling him there would never fail to be a descendant from him upon the throne. This is a messianic prophecy of the coming Messiah, the Son of David—a title often attributed to Jesus in the Gospels. Here, 700 years before Jesus came, we read that a rod would come out of the stem of Jesse, a branch shall grow out of his roots, and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him.

Seven spirits are mentioned: the Spirit of the Lord, of wisdom, of understanding, of counsel and might, of knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord. Seven is the number of perfection and completion. In Revelation, Jesus is the one who has the seven spirits. This sevenfold work is clearly speaking of the coming Messiah. And we see this literally fulfilled in Matthew 3, where at His baptism the heavens opened and the Spirit of God descended like a dove and rested upon Him, and a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

The Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding

The first thing mentioned is the Spirit of wisdom. In Hebrew, this word speaks of skill in war and prudence in affairs of judgment. This one would have all wisdom in how to execute righteousness—wisdom in ethics and administration. James 3:17 describes the wisdom from above as "first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy." When I read that, I think of Jesus. He is that wisdom that has come down.

The important thing is that Jesus doesn't merely have wisdom—He is wisdom. It's part of His nature. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:30 that Christ Jesus "of God is made unto us wisdom." And in Ephesians 3:10, Paul says God will reveal "the manifold wisdom of God" through the church to the principalities and powers in heavenly places. God's wisdom is seen in the way He has redeemed and uses you and me. He has made us a spectacle to all creation, and throughout eternity He will reveal just how awesome His wisdom is.

Jesus also has the Spirit of understanding. He was present and active in creation; He can discern what needs to be done in every circumstance. Have you ever come to a place where you don't understand what to do? In those moments, Jesus has all understanding. In Luke 2:47, the people were astonished at His understanding and His answers—and He was just a boy in the temple. And in Luke 24:45, after His resurrection, "then opened he their understanding that they might understand the scriptures." He still opens our understanding today—not only of Scripture but of the difficulties we face.

Some accuse Jesus of not understanding their trials. But Hebrews 4:15 says we have a high priest who can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, "but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace." Never be turned away by the enemy's lie that the Lord does not understand.

The Spirit of Counsel and Might

Next, He has the Spirit of counsel. We saw in Isaiah 9 that He is the Wonderful Counselor. He is the one we should run to in difficult times. We're told to trust in the Lord with all our hearts and lean not on our own understanding. How many of us have been guilty of leaning on our own understanding even this week? The older we get, the more we realize we don't have all the answers.

Proverbs 15:22 says, "Without counsel, plans go awry." But Psalm 16:7 says the Lord gives counsel, Psalm 73:24 says He guides us with His counsel, and Psalm 33:11 says His counsel stands forever. What happens if we disregard His counsel? Psalm 107:10–12 describes those who "rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High." As a result, they sit in darkness, bound in affliction and iron, their hearts brought down with labor. Those bound in sin and death are there because they have disregarded the counsel of God.

He also has the Spirit of might. If you encounter a decision you cannot tackle, you need the Spirit of counsel; if you encounter an adversary greater than yourself, you need the Spirit of might. Jesus is strong, mighty, and brave. "God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing that He cannot do." Ecclesiastes 9 tells us wisdom is better than strength, yet it is wonderful to have the One who is the Spirit of might on our side.

Isaiah 40:29 says, "He gives power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increases strength." Zechariah 4:6 says, "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." Salvation is by His strength. Psalm 20 says, "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God." And Philippians 4:13 reminds us, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

The Spirit of Knowledge and the Fear of the Lord

He has the Spirit of knowledge—all perception, all skill. Jesus knows everything, including the hearts of all men. John 2:24 says He did not commit Himself to the people, "for he knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man." Jeremiah 17:9 asks who can know the deceitful heart of man, and the next verse says God searches the heart. First John 3:20 says, "God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things."

In John 21, when Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Him, Peter answered, "Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee." David declares in Psalm 139, "O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me... and art acquainted with all my ways." The Lord knows all about us.

Finally, He has the Spirit of the fear of the Lord. How can Jesus, being God, have the fear of the Lord? This speaks of the reverence of God the Father. When Jesus became a man, Philippians 2 tells us He stepped down into humanity and set Himself under all the laws He Himself had ordained. Throughout the Gospels, the Son is completely submissive to the Father's will. He made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant. If you want a picture of what it means to submit to God, read the Gospels and see how Jesus submitted to the Father.

The Perfect Judge

Because Jesus has the fullness of the Spirit, He is able to be the perfect Judge. Verse 3 says He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears. The Father has committed judgment into the hands of the Son (John 5). We're thankful that, though He has authority to judge all humanity, Jesus is patient and slow to anger, not willing that any should perish. But there is coming a day when He will judge.

Have any of you served on a jury? You are asked, without bias or prejudice, to examine the evidence and testimony and render a verdict based on what you see and hear. Yet even in our fairly good judicial system, murderers sometimes go free and the innocent are sometimes condemned. Twelve people see the same evidence and hear the same testimony, and still there is breakdown and the possibility of unrighteous judgment.

But Jesus, the perfect Judge, will not judge by the sight of His eyes or the hearing of His ears. We can be fooled by evidence and testimony; He cannot. Verse 4: "With righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth." No bribery, no coercion will move Him to a wrong verdict. On the day of Christ Jesus, when we watch the guilty cast into the lake that burns with fire, none of us will say, "What a shame." We will all say, "It is right, it is good," because the individual is guilty.

Shall Not the Judge of All the Earth Do Right?

Abraham questioned the righteousness of God's judgment in Genesis 18. Three visitors came to his tent—two appeared to be angels, and the third was the Lord Himself (I believe Jesus before His incarnation). After their meal, the Lord told Abraham that the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah's wickedness had come up to Him, and He was going to judge those cities.

Abraham drew near and pleaded: "Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? ...That be far from thee... Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" Abraham was wrestling with the justice of God—would it be right to destroy the cities if righteous people remained? The Lord answered that if He found fifty righteous, He would spare the place. Abraham bartered down—forty-five, forty, thirty, twenty, ten—and each time the Lord agreed He would not destroy it for their sake. The righteousness of God in His judgment is unimpeachable.

I believe the very fact that the earth remains today is because God has found some righteous here, and He has spared humanity for their sake. Jesus is the Judge of all the earth, and one day He will judge. He will not judge by outward sight or hearing but by the heart of man. It will have nothing to do with the good works or good words a man has done, but with whether his heart has been made new by Christ or still holds the dead fleshly heart we are all born with.

Revelation 19:15 tells us of that day when Jesus comes on a white horse, a sword going forth from His mouth to slay the wicked. Verse 5 of Isaiah 11 says righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins—as Ephesians 6 speaks of the belt of truth and breastplate of righteousness. When Jesus comes, He comes in truth and righteousness.

The Restoration

After the judgment comes restoration. Verse 6: "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb... and a little child shall lead them... 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." This beautiful prophecy concerns Jesus' rule and reign upon the earth—the millennial reign of Christ. After the great day of Armageddon in Revelation 19, where His robe is dipped in blood and He is called the Word of God, comes this awesome restoration. The earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord, because the One who has the Spirit of knowledge will reign here in righteousness.

But before that restored beauty comes the judgment, because punishment brings about purification.

The Serpent Lifted Up

In John 3, Jesus explained the second birth to Nicodemus using a story from Numbers. When the children of Israel complained, God sent fiery serpents that bit and killed them. When the people cried out, God told Moses to fashion a bronze serpent and lift it on a pole, so that whoever looked upon it would be healed. Many died because they refused to look—even though all they had to do was trust in the bronze serpent. It seemed foolish: I've been bitten, and all I must do is put my faith in that?

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10 that these Old Testament stories were written for our example. The serpent lifted in the wilderness was a type of Jesus lifted up on the cross. Ever since Genesis 3, the serpent is associated with sin. The serpent on the pole pictures sin placed up high. The serpent was made of bronze—the metal of judgment in Scripture—so the picture is that sin is judged there on the pole. If you put your trust in sin being judged, you will be saved from the serpent's bite.

Every person ever born has been bitten by the serpent of sin and is doomed to die eternally. Yet sin was judged on the cross 2,000 years ago when Jesus was lifted up. If we will look to Him, trust in Him who was judged for our sin, we will be saved.

A Banner for the Nations

Verse 10: "In that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek." The children of Israel largely bought the lie that they alone would be saved. Yet throughout the Old Testament, God revealed that He desired all peoples to come to the knowledge of the truth. Israel was to be the priests who revealed this to the world, and they failed. So God has called a new priesthood—you and me—to bring that truth to the world.

Jesus, the root of Jesse, is set up as a banner on the cross so all the Gentiles would seek after Him, "and his rest shall be glorious." When we seek Him, we find rest, just as He said in Matthew 11:28: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

Verses 11–16 describe how God will set His hand a second time to recover the remnant of His people from Assyria, Egypt, and the nations, gathering the outcasts of Israel and the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. When this prophecy was spoken, Israel was divided into the northern kingdom (Ephraim) and southern kingdom (Judah), fighting each other. But God says no more will Ephraim envy Judah or Judah vex Ephraim. He will restore His people, gather Gentiles from all nations, judge the wicked, and lift up a banner so His people return by a highway to the Lord.

Drawing Water from the Wells of Salvation

Chapter 12 records their praise: "O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid... Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation."

Notice He is not the way to salvation—He is salvation. The Hebrew word here is Yeshua, from which we get the name Jesus. "Behold, God is my salvation" means "God is my Jesus." So I will trust and not be afraid. If your trust is in Him, you have no reason to fear.

Jesus is the source of living water. In John 7:37 He stood and cried, "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink... out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." In John 4, He told the woman at the well, "Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."

Yet His own people have largely rejected Him. Jeremiah 2:13 says, "My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water." Jeremiah 17:13 adds that those who depart from the Lord "shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters." Two thousand years after Jesus rose from the dead, the children of Israel largely continue to reject the fountain of living waters.

But the promise of Isaiah 12 stands: when the Lord returns and judges the ungodly, He will rule and reign, and His own people—with the Gentiles who have turned to Him—will rejoice and draw water from the wells of salvation. "Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people... for he hath done excellent things." I look forward to that day, which is not yet fulfilled. But before it comes, a day of great judgment is coming, and we must proclaim this truth, for that day could come at any time. Very little remains prophetically before it does.

Closing Prayer

Father God, You spoke through Isaiah and said, "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters." Lord, You are calling to this world that those who are thirsty would come—even those who have no money, to come and buy and eat without price. Why is it, Lord, that so many in this world foolishly spend their energy, time, and assets on things which do not satisfy? Oh, that we would listen to You, that we would eat that which is good and delight in what You desire to give. Those who hear and come, their soul shall live, and You promise an everlasting covenant.

I thank You that You have made an everlasting covenant through Your Son with us, the church. Jesus, as You said, "This is the new covenant in my blood." You came and died and poured out everything that we might be saved and drink of the well of salvation. We pray for those tonight in our families, among our friends and coworkers, who don't know You. I thank You that still today You extend that call. Lord, stir our hearts to bring that call to those who are thirsting and dying. We know You will come again and judge, and Your judgment will be righteous and just, but there is no way we would want that judgment for any other person. So give us boldness by Your Spirit, pour out Your Spirit in abundance, and send us forth ready to speak the truth to those in need. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.