Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
Isaiah 11:1-4
Chapter Isaiah 11:1 The Coming of The Son of Jesse.
‘And there will come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse,
And a branch out of his roots will bear fruit.'
The word translated ‘stock' means the basic element of the tree (Isaiah 40:24; Job 14:8). Here the stock is Jesse, the father of David (1 Samuel 16:1) and the father of the Davidic house. Each descendant was thought of as ‘David. (Rehoboam, Solomon's son, is called ‘David' and ‘son of Jesse' in 2 Chronicles 10:16). But the tree has wilted, for the present representative of the Davidic house has been rejected (Isaiah 7:9). Thus a return must be made to the stock. Another David is required. And here He is promised. A shoot (young growth) will come forth from the stock, and a branch (sapling) from the roots. The failed branch of the Davidic house has been replaced by a new growth.
The importance of this cannot be overemphasised. This One is not just one of a long line of Davidic kings, He goes back to the root. The miraculous birth of Isaiah 7:14 is required. And it is this shoot and this sapling Who will bear the fruit that God looked for from that house.
‘And 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 of the fear of Yahweh.
Once again there will come a king on Whom has come the Spirit of Yahweh. It is noteworthy that the last king who was said to have received the Spirit of Yahweh was David. But here the benefits are sevenfold indicating divine completeness. Here is the greater David. For the Spirit Who has come upon him is the Spirit of Yahweh, the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Yahweh. When we remember that the fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom we see here the source of ultimate wisdom, founded in the might of Yahweh. He is the Mighty, All-Wise One, seven times wiser than Solomon, the wisest of the wise (see 1 Kings 3:12).
Note how the couplets go together. Wisdom is the basic fullness of knowledge, understanding its outworking. Counsel is the duty and expression of wisdom of princes, and might the ability to carry it through (He is the Counsellor and the Mighty God (Isaiah 9:6)). Knowledge constantly refers to awareness about God and His ways and ‘the fear of Yahweh' is the result of that knowledge carried to fruition. This last part is then doubly emphasised. Faithfulness to Yahweh is all.
‘And his delight will be in the fear of Yahweh,
And he will not judge after the sight of his eyes,
Nor reprove after the hearing of his ears,
But with righteousness will he judge the poor,
And reprove with equity on behalf of the meek of the earth.'
His great delight will be to serve and reverence Yahweh, and His reign will be in total justice. For all His judgments and reproofs will give consideration to what Yahweh is in His awesomeness and holiness. They will not be on the basis of what is seen on the surface or be based on hearsay, but will be given in true righteousness and on the basis of equity. The poor and the meek, those who have previously been at the mercy of unjust decisions based on bias, prejudice and desire for gain, will receive full justice. Those who deserve rebuke will be dealt with. The poor will be vindicated. He is the Everlasting Father.
The picture is an ideal one of the perfect king and judge, and the point is that everlasting righteousness will have come in (Psalms 119:142; Daniel 9:24 compare Psalms 72:2).
‘His delight will be in the fear of Yahweh.' This will necessarily be so because the ‘Spirit of Yahweh' rests on Him making Him delight in the fear (awe) of Yahweh. Where the Spirit is there is ‘His fear'.
‘And he will smite the earth with the rod of his mouth,
And with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.'
On the other hand he will punish those who are in rebellion against Him and who refuse His right to reign. For them His words will be like a rod of chastisement and His breath like a powerful weapon for slaughter. When He speaks just punishment will follow, and finally death for those who reject Him. Here we see the righteous King doing precisely what the Lord, Yahweh of hosts has done in Isaiah 10:33.
We can compare here Psalms 2:9, ‘you will break them with a rod of iron, you will dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. The thought is of final judgment. In the New Testament this is cited as, ‘you will shepherd them with a rod of iron' (Revelation 2:27; Revelation 12:5; Revelation 19:15), just as a shepherd uses his rod to smite the enemies of the sheep (note how in Revelation 2:27 it parallels the idea of the shattering of the potter's vessel, and in Revelation 19:15 parallels the treading of the winepress of His wrath. To translate as ‘rule' gives the wrong impression).