Commentary - Isaiah 11:1-5

Bird's-eye view

This magnificent prophecy in Isaiah 11 comes on the heels of a description of God's judgment against the proud and mighty Assyrian empire, which God depicts as a great forest being chopped down (Isaiah 10:33-34). Out of that scene of utter devastation, where the great trees of men have been leveled, God promises that a new and different kind of shoot will emerge. This passage is a glorious announcement of the Messiah's coming and the nature of His kingdom. It begins with His humble origins, traces His divine anointing by the Holy Spirit, describes the character of His righteous rule, and climaxes with the worldwide peace He will establish. This is not a political program that can be achieved through human effort; it is a description of the world being renewed by the personal reign of Jesus Christ. The central theme is the contrast between the world's way of exercising power through brute force and the Messiah's way of ruling through perfect wisdom, righteousness, and the power of His word. This is a foundational text for a robust, optimistic, and Christ-centered eschatology.

Isaiah shows us that the hope for the world is not found in the lofty cedars of Lebanon, the great empires and powers of this age, but in a tender shoot from a stump that everyone thought was dead. This King, endowed with the fullness of God's Spirit, will establish a kingdom that turns the world's values upside down. He champions the cause of the poor and afflicted, and He defeats wickedness not with armies, but with the breath of His lips. His reign is one of perfect integrity, and the result is a creation restored to peace. This is the gospel kingdom, inaugurated at Christ's first coming and destined to fill the whole earth before He returns in glory.

Outline

Context In Isaiah

Isaiah is a book of judgment and hope, often in alternating waves. Chapters 7-12 form a section often called the "Book of Immanuel." It begins with the threat of invasion from Syria and Israel and God's promise of a sign: a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, Immanuel (Isa 7:14). This is followed by prophecies of judgment on Israel and the nations. Chapter 9 gives us the glorious prophecy of the child who will be born, the son who will be given, whose name is Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isa 9:6). Chapter 10 describes God using Assyria as the "rod of His anger" to punish unfaithful Israel, but then promises to judge Assyria for its arrogance. It is at the end of this section, after the tall trees of Assyria are felled, that our text in chapter 11 appears. It provides the ultimate answer to the chaos and judgment described previously. The true King is coming, not like the arrogant king of Assyria, but a righteous ruler from the line of David who will establish a kingdom of true justice and peace. This chapter is therefore the positive fulfillment of the Immanuel promise, showing what the world will look like when God is truly with us in the person of His Son.

Key Issues

The Royal Branch

The imagery Isaiah employs here is potent. The great dynasty of David, which began with such promise, had been reduced by sin and judgment to what looked like a dead stump. Jesse was David's father, a man of no great political importance from the small town of Bethlehem. To speak of a shoot from the "stem of Jesse" rather than the "throne of David" is to emphasize the humility of the Messiah's origins. The royal line had been cut down. To all outward appearances, the promises to David had failed. The political might and glory were gone. But God's promises do not depend on outward appearances. He specializes in bringing life out of death. When the world saw a stump, God saw the point from which new, vibrant, and everlasting life would spring. This is the story of the gospel in miniature. The world looked at a crucified man on a cross and saw the end. God saw the beginning of the restoration of all things. The Branch that bears fruit is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, though He was the Son of David, came in humility and was raised in power, and it is His life that produces all the fruit of salvation in the world.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.

After the great forest of the Assyrian army is chopped down, and by implication, after the royal line of Judah is reduced to a mere stump, God makes a promise. A shoot, a tender green twig, will come forth. A branch will grow. The Hebrew word for branch here is netzer, which is likely the root of the name for Jesus' hometown, Nazareth. This fulfills the prophecy that He would be called a Nazarene (Matt 2:23). The point is one of radical contrast. The world's kingdoms are like mighty, towering trees that are destined to be felled. God's kingdom begins as something small, seemingly insignificant, emerging from a dead-looking source. But this Branch is different. It will "bear fruit." This is not just survival; it is life, abundance, and blessing for the world. This is Jesus, the Son of David, born in obscurity but destined to reign forever.

2 The Spirit of Yahweh will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and might, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of Yahweh.

What qualifies this Branch to rule? It is not a political mandate or military might. He is qualified by the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of Yahweh will rest on Him, signifying a permanent, abiding presence. This is not a temporary gift for a specific task, as with the judges or even Saul. This is the fullness of the Spirit dwelling in Him. Isaiah then unpacks this anointing with three pairs of qualities. First, wisdom and understanding, the ability to see the world as it truly is and to grasp God's purposes. Second, counsel and might, the capacity to devise the right course of action and the power to carry it out. Third, knowledge and the fear of Yahweh, a deep, intimate relationship with the Father that results in reverent obedience. This is a perfect description of the Lord Jesus, upon whom the Spirit descended like a dove, and who lived in perfect communion with His Father.

3 And He will delight in the fear of Yahweh, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor render a decision by what His ears hear;

His relationship with the Father is not one of mere duty; He delights in the fear of Yahweh. His obedience is His joy. Because He is perfectly attuned to the Spirit, His judgment is not based on superficial evidence. Human judges are limited; they can only go by what they see and hear. They must rely on witnesses and appearances, which can be deceiving. But the Messiah's judgment is penetrating and perfect. He sees the heart. He is not fooled by outward piety or swayed by public opinion. He knows the truth of every matter because He is Himself the Truth. This is a profound comfort for the righteous and a terrifying reality for the hypocrite.

4 But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with uprightness 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 put the wicked to death.

His perfect judgment is not arbitrary; it is directed toward a specific end: justice for the vulnerable. In a world where the poor and afflicted are routinely ignored or exploited, the Messiah's reign is characterized by righteousness and uprightness on their behalf. He is their champion. But this is a two-edged sword. Championing the righteous means judging the wicked. And how does He execute this judgment? Not with tanks and bombs, but with the rod of His mouth and the breath of His lips. His Word is His weapon. When Christ speaks, things happen. He speaks a word of condemnation, and empires fall. He speaks a word of judgment, and the wicked are undone. This is what happened when He pronounced judgment on Jerusalem, and it is what continues to happen throughout history as His gospel confronts and overthrows the kingdoms of this world. The power of His kingdom is the power of His authoritative, creative, and destructive Word.

5 Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist.

A belt holds a man's garments together, preparing him for action. For this King, the very things that gird Him for His work are His perfect character. Righteousness and faithfulness are not just things He does; they are what He is. Righteousness refers to His perfect conformity to God's standard, His absolute moral purity. Faithfulness refers to His covenant-keeping integrity, His utter reliability. He will never break His word or fail in His promises. These two qualities are wrapped around Him, defining His every action. Because He is righteous and faithful, His people can have absolute confidence in His rule. His government is not built on shifting political sands, but on the bedrock of His own immutable character.

Application

First, this passage gives us our central definition of hope. Hope is not wishful thinking about political improvements. Hope is a person, and His name is Jesus. When the world looks like a clear-cut forest, a field of dead stumps, we are not to despair. We are to look for the shoot from the stem of Jesse. God's greatest works begin in the most unlikely places. The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. Do not despise the day of small things. The church may look weak and the world may look strong, but the Branch from Jesse's roots is the one who will bear fruit that fills the world.

Second, we must understand the nature of Christ's rule. He rules by His Spirit and His Word. This means that the central business of the church is the preaching of that Word and the cultivation of life in the Spirit. We are not to be seduced by the world's methods of power. The world trusts in what it can see and hear, in polls and political maneuvering. The Messiah judges by a different standard, and we are called to live by that same standard. We are to care for the poor and the afflicted, not as a matter of political calculation, but as a matter of righteousness, because our King does.

Finally, this passage is the foundation for our confidence in the victory of the gospel. The one who is girt with righteousness and faithfulness cannot fail. The one who slays the wicked with the breath of His lips cannot be defeated. His kingdom is advancing, and it will continue to advance until the earth is filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Isa 11:9). Our task is not to build this kingdom in our own strength, but to live as faithful citizens of the King who is building it, trusting in the power of His Spirit and proclaiming the authority of His all-powerful Word.