Jesus was deadly with his breath

JESUS WAS DEADLY WITH HIS BREATH
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Isaiah11:4 but with righteousnessHe will judge the
poor, and with equity He will decide in favorof the
earth's oppressed. He will strike the earth with the rod
of His mouth and slay the wicked with the breath of
His lips.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
The Principles Of Messianic Rule
Isaiah11:3-5
R. Tuck
These are exemplified in the actualadministration of the head of the
Messianic kingdom. The picture presentedhere is designed to be in sharp
contrastwith that of the unjust judges referred to in Isaiah 1:23; Isaiah2:14,
15; Isaiah10:1, 2. The figure of clothing one's self, or being clothed, with
moral attributes is not infrequent in the Scriptures. The girdle is mentioned as
an essentialpart of Oriental dress, and that which keeps the other garments in
their proper place and qualifies the wearerfor exertion. The rules, or
characteristics, ofthe Messianic orspiritual kingdom may be illustrated
under the following headings.

I. RIGHTEOUSNESSAS BEFOREGOD. The absolutelyright is to be
sought; and it will be found in what
(1) God is;
(2) what Godcommands;
(3) what Godapproves.
Matthew Henry says, "He shall be righteous in the administration of his
government, and his righteousness shallbe his girdle; it shall constantly
compass him and cleave to him, shall be his ornament and honor; he shall gird
himself for every action, shall gird on his sword for war in righteousness;his
righteousness shallbe his strength, and shall make him expeditious in his
undertakings, as a man with his loins girt." Compare the kingdom ruled by
considerations ofrighteousness with the kingdoms ruled by considerations of
expediency.
II. EQUITY BETWEEN MAN AND MAN. The determination that every man
shall get his due, and bear his due. Many cases arise in which strict justice
must be toned by considerationof circumstances. In view of human infirmity,
the equitable must sometimes be put insteadof the right.
III. EFFICIENT PUNISHMENTOF THE WICKED. The strong hand on the
wrong-doeris ever an essentialof goodgovernment.

IV. FAITHFULNESS TO DUTY. Duty being distinguished from right in this,
that it is something we are bound to do, upon the authority of some one who
has the right to command us. "Faithfulness" is closelykin with "loyalty." And
Messiahis a theocratic King, a Vicegerentof Jehovah.
V. PEACE EVERYWHERE. Because, if righteousness prevails, nobody will
wrong others, and nobody will have wrongs to avenge. Jealousies, envyings,
violence, covetings, allfade before advancing righteousness;and when Jesus,
the righteous King, reigns over mind and heart and life, then the glory-day
will have come, and "no war or battle-sound" will then be "heard the world
around." - R.T.
Biblical Illustrator
But with righteousness shallHe judge the poor.
Isaiah11:4
The righteousness ofChrist's kingdom
J. H. Newman, D. D.
As it may in many ways be shown that the Church of Christ though one
Church with the Jewish, differs from it as being a kingdom, so now let me
dwell on this point: that though a kingdom like empires of the earth, it differs
from them in being a Church, i.e., a kingdom of truth and righteousness.That
Scripture speaks ofthe kingdom of Christ as not an earthly kingdom, not
supported by strength of arm or force of mind or any other faculty or gift of
the natural man, is plain. But considersome objections to which the
circumstances ofits actual history and condition give rise.
I. IT MAY BE SAID THAT THE EVENT HAS NOT FULFILLED THE
PROPHECIES;that the kingdom has indeed been large and powerful, but it
has not ruled according to justice and truth; that at times it has had very

wickedmen among its rulers, and that greatcorruptions, religious and moral,
have been found in it; and that worse crimes have been perpetrated under
colourof religion than in any other way. But this may be granted in the
argument; yet the Scripture accountof the Church remains uncompromised.
It is a kingdom of righteousness,becauseit is a kingdom founded in
righteousness.
II. IN THE GOSPEL, CHRIST'S FOLLOWERS ARE REPRESENTED AS
POOR, DESPISED,WEAK, AND HELPLESS. Such preeminently were the
apostles. Butin the prophets, especiallyin Isaiah, the kingdom is represented
as rich and flourishing and honoured, powerful and happy. If the Church of
Christ were to seek power, wealth, and honour, this were to fall from grace;
but it is not less true that she will have them, though she seeks them not — or
rather, if she seeksthem not. Such is the law of Christ's kingdom, such the
paradox which is seenin its history. It belongs to the poor in spirit; it belongs
to the persecuted;it is possessedby the meek; it Is sustainedby the patient. It
conquers by suffering; it advances by retiring; it is made wise through
foolishness.
III. TEMPORALPOWER AND WEALTH, THOUGH NOT ESSENTIAL
TO THE CHURCH, ARE ALMOST NECESSARYATTENDANTSON IT.
(J. H. Newman, D. D.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(4) With righteousnessshallhe judge the poor . . .—The picture which Isaiah
had drawn of the corrupt judges of his time gives point to the contrast(Isaiah

1:23; Isaiah 2:14-15;Isaiah10:1-2). The poor whom they trampled on should
be the specialobjects ofthe care of the true King (Matthew 11:5).
He shall smite the earth . . .—The “earth” stands here, if we acceptthe
reading, for the rulers who are for the time supreme in it. A slight alteration
of the Hebrew gives shall smite the tyrant, which forms a better parallelism
with the “ungodly” of the next clause. The phrase “the sceptre of his mouth”
is significant. The word which the Messiah-King speaks shallbe as the sceptre
which is the symbol of authority. So in Revelation1:16, “a sharp two-edged
sword” comes forth from the mouth of the Christ of St. John’s vision. The
latter clause, “with the breath of his lips shall he slay. . . ,”has a parallel in
Hosea 6:5.
BensonCommentary
Isaiah11:4. With righteousness — With justice and impartiality; shall he
judge the poor — Whom human judges commonly neglectand oppress, but
whom he shall defend and deliver; and reprove with equity for the meek of
the earth — Shall condemn their malicious enemies, and give sentence for
them. He calls them meek, whom before he called poor, partly to show his
justice in defending them when they are most exposedto the contempt and
injuries of men; and partly to signify that his subjects should be poor in spirit,
as well as poor in the world, and not poor and proud, as many worldly
persons are. And he shall smite the earth — That is, the men of the earth,
intending chiefly the carnaland wicked, as it is in the next branch of the
verse;with the rod of his mouth — With his word, which is his sceptre, and
the rod of his power, (Psalm 110:2,)which is sharper than a sword, (Hebrews
4:12,) by the preaching whereofhe subdues the world to himself, and will
destroy his enemies, 2 Thessalonians 2:8. This he adds farther, to declare the
nature of Christ’s kingdom, that it is not of this world, and that his sceptre
and arms are not carnal, but spiritual, as it is said 2 Corinthians 10:4. And
with the breath of his lips — With his word, breathed out of his lips; whereby
he explains what was meant by the foregoing expression, rod;shall he slay the
wicked— The impenitent and unbelieving, the obstinate and irreclaimable,

who will not obey the truth, but persist to obey unrighteousness. These he will
slay or destroy, by the terrible judgments which he will execute upon them.
This latter part of the verse will be eminently fulfilled in the destruction of
antichrist, to whom St. Paul applies it 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8, (compare
Revelation19:21,)who is, by way of eminence, calledthe Wickedone, the man
of sin, and ο αντικειμενος, the adversaryto God’s truth and people.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
11:1-9 The Messiahis called a Rod, and a Branch. The words signify a small,
tender product; a shoot, such as is easilybroken off. He comes forth out of the
stem of Jesse;when the royal family was cut down and almost levelled with
the ground, it would sprout again. The house of David was brought very low
at the time of Christ's birth. The Messiahthus gave early notice that his
kingdom was not of this world. But the Holy Spirit, in all his gifts and graces,
shall rest and abide upon him; he shall have the fulness of the Godhead
dwelling in him, Col 1:19; 2:9. Many considerthat sevengifts of the Holy
Spirit are here mentioned. And the doctrine of the influences of the Holy
Spirit is here clearly taught. The Messiahwouldbe just and righteous in all
his government. His threatening shall be executedby the working of his Spirit
according to his word. There shall be greatpeace and quiet under his
government. The gospelchangesthe nature, and makes those who trampled
on the meek of the earth, meek like them, and kind to them. But it shall be
more fully shown in the latter days. Also Christ, the greatShepherd, shall
take care of his flock, that the nature of troubles, and of death itself, shall be
so changed, that they shall not do any realhurt. God's people shall be
delivered, not only from evil, but from the fear of it. Who shall separate us
from the love of Christ? The better we know the God of love, the more shall
we be changedinto the same likeness, and the better disposedto all who have
any likeness to him. This knowledge shallextend as the sea, so far shall it
spread. And this blessedpowerthere have been witnesses in every age of
Christianity, though its most glorious time, here foretold, is not yet arrived.
Meanwhile let us aim that our example and endeavours may help to promote
the honour of Christ and his kingdom of peace.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible

Shall he judge the poor - That is, he shall see that impartial justice is done
them; he shall not take part with the rich againstthe poor, but shall show that
he is the friend of justice. This is the quality of a just and upright magistrate,
and this characterthe Lord Jesus everywhere evinced. He chose his disciples
from among the poor; he condescendedto be their companion and friend; he
provided for their needs;and he pronounced their condition blessed;Matthew
5:3. There may be a reference here to the poor in spirit - the humble, the
penitent; but the main idea is, that he would not be influenced by any undue
regard for the higher ranks of life, but would be the friend and patron of the
poor.
And reprove - ‫חיכוה‬ hô̂̂̂ kiyach. And judge, decide, or argue for; that is, he shall
be their friend and their impartial judge; Isaiah11:3.
With equity - With uprightness, or uncorrupted integrity.
For the meek of the earth - ‫ץריויונע‬ ‛anevēy'ārets. For the humble, the lower
class;referring to those who were usually passedby, or oppressedby those in
power.
And he shall smite the earth - By the "earth" here, or the land, is meant
evidently "the wicked," as the following member of the parallelism shows.
Perhaps it is intended to be implied, that the earth, when he should come,
would be eminently depraved; which was the fact. The characteristic here is
that of an upright judge or prince, who would punish the wicked. To "smite"
the earth, or the wicked, is expressive of punishment; and this characteristic is
elsewhere attributed to the Messiah;see Psalm2:9-12; Revelation2:27. The
trait is that of a just, upright, impartial exercise of power - such as would be
manifested in the defense of the poor and the innocent, and in the punishment
of the proud and the guilty.

With the rod of his mouth - The word ‫טבׁש‬ shêbetrendered here 'rod,' denotes
properly a stick, or staff; a rod for chastisementorcorrectionProverbs 10:13;
Proverbs 13:24; Job9:34; Job21:9; the staff, or scepterof a ruler - as an
emblem of office; a measuring rod; a spear, etc.;Note, Isaiah 10:5. It is not
elsewhere appliedto the mouth, though it is often used in other connections. It
means that which goes outof the mouth - a word command threatening
decision;and it is implied that it would go forth to pronounce sentence of
condemnation, and to punish. His word would be so just, impartial, and
authoritative, that the effect would be to overwhelm the wicked. In a sense
similar to this, Christ is said to have been seenby John, when 'out of his
mouth went a sharp two-edgedsword'Revelation1:16; that is, his commands
and decisions were so authoritative, and so certain in their execution, as to be
like a sharp sword; compare Hebrews 4:12; Isaiah 49:2 : 'And he hath made
my mouth like a sharp sword.'The discriminating preaching, the pungent
discourses, the authoritative commands of the Lord Jesus, whenon earth,
showed, and his judicial decisions in the day of judment will show, the manner
of the fulfillment of the prediction.
And with the breath of his lips - This is synonymous with the previous
member of the parallelism. 'The breath of his lips' means that which goes
forth from his lips - his doctrines, his commands, his decisions.
Shall he slaythe wicked- That is, he shall condemn the wicked;or, he shall
sentence them to punishment. This is descriptive of a prince or ruler, who by
his commands and decisions effectuallysubdues and punishes the wicked;that
is, he does justice to all. Grotius interprets this, 'by his prayers,'referring it to
Hezekiah, and to the influence of his prayers in destroying the Assyrians. The
Chaldee Paraphrasttranslates it, 'And by the word of his lips he shall slay the
impious Armillus.' By "Armillus," the Jews meanthe lastgreatenemy of
their nation, who would come after Gog and Magog and wage furious wars,
and who would slay the MessiahBenEphraim, whom the Jews expect, but

who would be himself slain by the rod of the MessiahBenDavid, or the sonof
David. - "Castell."
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
4. judge—see thatimpartial justice is done them. "Judge" may mean here
"rule," as in Ps 67:4.
reprove—or, "argue";"decide." But Lowth, "work convictionin."
earth—Compare with Mt 5:5, and Re 11:15.
earth—its ungodly inhabitants, answering to "the wicked" in the parallel, and
in antithesis to the "poor" and "meek," namely, in spirit, the humble pious
(Mt 5:3). It is at the same time implied that "the earth" will be extraordinarily
wickedwhen He shall come to judge and reign. His reign shall therefore be
ushered in with judgments on the apostates(Ps 2:9-12;Lu 18:8; Re 2:27).
rod of … mouth—condemning sentences whichproceedfrom His mouth
againstthe wicked(Re 1:16; 2:16; 19:15, 21).
breath of … lips—his judicial decisions (Isa 30:28; Job15:30; Re 19:20; 20:9-
12). He as the Word of God (Re 19:13-15)comes to strike that blow which
shall decide His claim to the kingdom, previously usurped by Satan, and "the
beast" to whom Satan delegateshis power. It will be a day of judgment to the
Gentile dispensation, as the first coming was to the Jews. Compare a type of
the "rod" (Nu 17:2-10).
Matthew Poole's Commentary

Judge the poor; defend and deliver them, as judging is oft used, as Deu 32:36
Jeremiah5:28 22:16, &c. Or,
judge for the poor; the prefix lamed being understood out of the next clause,
as is usual in the Hebrew language. He mentions the poor, partly to signify the
justice of this Judge, because human judges commonly neglectand oppress
the poor; and partly to declare the nature of Christ’s kingdom, and the
quality of his subjects, who should, for the generality of them, be the poor and
contemptible sort of men, Matthew 11:5 Jam 2:5. Reprove; or, as this word
seems to be taken, Isaiah11:3, condemn, to wit, their malicious and furious
enemies.
For the meek; on their behalf, or giving sentence for them. He calls them
meek, whom before he calledpoor, partly to show his justice in defending
them who are most exposedto the contempt and injuries of men and partly to
signify that his subjects should be poor in spirit as wellas in the world, and
not poor and proud, as many worldly men are.
Smite, i.e. slay, as this word is used, Isaiah37:36, and very commonly, and as
it is expounded in the next clause.
The earth; the men of the earth, the wicked, as it is in the next branch of the
verse;fitly called earth, either because oftheir earthly minds and
conversations, as theyare called
the men of this world that have their portion here upon the earth, Psalm
17:14, or because the far greatestpart of the inhabitants of the earth is
wicked;the whole world lies in wickedness, 1Jo 5:1,9;for which reasonthey
are oft calledthe world, as John 16:20 17:9,25, &c.

With the rod of his mouth; with his word, which is his sceptre, and the rod of
his power, Psalm110:2, which is sharperthan a sword, Hebrews 4:12; by the
preaching whereofhe subdued the world to himself, and will destroy his
enemies, 2 Thessalonians 2:8. This he adds, further to declare the nature of
Christ’s kingdom, that it is not of this world, and that his sceptre and arms
are not carnal, but spiritual, as it is said, 2 Corinthians 10:4.
With the breath of his lips; with his word breathed out of his lips, whereby he
explains what he meant by the foregoing rod.
Shall he slaythe wicked;either spiritually, by inflicting deadly plagues upon
their souls;or properly, which he doth very frequently by his terrible
judgments executedupon many of them, and will certainly do, and that fully
and universally, at his coming to judgment.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
But with righteousness shallhe judge the poor,.... The poor sinner, that is
sensible of his spiritual poverty, and comes and acknowledgeshis sins and
transgressions, andprays for pardoning grace and mercy, and hungers and
thirsts after righteousness;such Christ justifies with his own righteousness,
acquits and discharges themfrom all sin and condemnation, as also protects
and defends them againstall their enemies and oppressors:
and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth; that is, shall take the part
of the meek, the lowly, and the humble, who are under a sense oftheir sins
and unworthiness, apply to him for grace, righteousness,pardon, and eternal
life; and for their sakes reprove wicked men that would distress and crush
them; and in a just and equitable manner, in a way of righteous retaliation,
render tribulation to them that trouble them:

and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth: that is, either he shall
smite the consciencesofearthly and unregenerate men, by the ministration of
his word, the rod of his strength, so that they shall be convinced of sin, and
humbled for it, and be brought to repentance towards God, and faith in
himself; or he shall smite the nations of the earth, the antichristian states, and
destroy them, Revelation19:15.
and with the breath of his lips shall he slaythe wicked;either by the words of
his mouth, as before; see Hosea 6:5 so that they become dead men in their own
apprehensions, have no hope of life and salvationby their own works, see
themselves dead in law, and liable to eternaldeath and damnation; or this is
to be understood of the destruction of the wickedat the lastday, by a sentence
of condemnation pronounced upon them by Christ; and particularly of
antichrist, the wickedand lawless one, the man of sin and son of perdition,
whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and destroy with
the brightness of his coming, 2 Thessalonians 2:4 in which place the apostle
seems to have respectto this; nor is the Targum foreign from the sense given,
which is
"he shall smite the sinners of the earth with the word of his mouth, and with
the speechofhis lips he shall slay the wickedArmillus.''
Armillus seems to be a name hammered out of Romulus, and designs the
Romish antichrist; for elsewhere the Jews expresslysay, that Armillus is he
whom the nations callantichrist (z); by whom they suppose that Messiah, the
son of Josephshall be slain, and afterwards he himself shall be slain by
Messiahthe sonof David; or it is the same with a destroyer of the people, a
name that well agrees withantichrist; see Revelation11:18. This whole, verse
is applied to the Messiah, bothby ancient and modern Jews (a).

(z) Abkath Rocel, p. 52. Ed. Huls. Vid. Buxtorf. Lex. Talmud, p. 221, 222, 223,
224. (a) Shirhashirim. Rabba, fol. 22. 3. Midrash Ruth, fol. 33. 2. Pesikta apud
Yalkut Simeoni, par. 2. fol. 66. 4. Nachman. Disputat. cum Fratre Paulo, p, 41.
Geneva Study Bible
But with righteousness shallhe judge the poor, and reprove with equity for
the meek of the earth: and he shall {b} smite the earth with the rod of his
mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
(b) All these properties canagree to no one, but only to Christ: for it is he who
touches the hearts of the faithful and mortifies their concupiscence:and to the
wickedhe is the favour of death and to them who will perish, so that all the
world will be smitten with his rod, which is his word.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
4. The specialobjects of his care are the defenceless anddown-trodden classes
(cf. ch. Isaiah 1:23, Isaiah 10:2). Observe that the sporadic outbreak of
injustice and violence does not appear to be excluded from Isaiah’s conception
of the Messianic age;only, the transgressorsare at once discoveredand
destroyed.
the meek of the earth] Possibly“the oppressedin the land.” Two words (‘ânî
and ‘ânâv) are often confounded in the Hebr. Text; the former means simply
to be in abjectcircumstances, the latter includes the religious virtue of
resignationto an adverse lot (Rahlfs, ‘Anî und ‘Anaw in den Psalmen).
he shall smite the earth] The word for “earth” (’ereç)is probably written
wrongly for ‘ârîç “oppressor.” It is not permissible, with Del. &c., to explain

“earth” in the N.T. sense of“the (ungodly) world,” or “Wicked,” in the next
clause, ofthe Antichrist (cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:8).
with the rod of his mouth … with the breath of his lips] Cf. Revelation1:6.
The Messiah’s sentence has a self-fulfilling energy (cf. Hosea 6:5; Acts 5:1-10).
This reveals the operation of the “spirit of might,” as Isaiah11:3 represents
the effectof the “spirit of wisdom.”
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 4. - With righteousness shallhe judge the poor (comp. Isaiah32:1, "A
king shall reign in righteousness"). Itwould be characteristic ofthe Messiah's
rule that the poor should be earedfor, that oppressionshould cease, and
judgment be no more perverted in favor of the rich. There is an intended
contrastbetweenthe Messiah'srule in this respect, and that of the princes of
Judah (Isaiah1:23; Isaiah 3:15; Isaiah10:1, 2). Christian countries still, for
the most part, follow their Lord's example in this particular, if in no other,
having judges that are incorruptible, and tribunals that are free from any
leaning againstthe poor. Reprove;or, plead (as in Job 16:21). The meek of the
earth; rather, the humble, or afflicted. Low condition, not meekness ofspirit,
is what the word used expresses.He shall smite the earth. A slight alteration
of the text produces the meaning, be shall smite the terrible one (comp. Isaiah
29:20), which improves the parallelism of the clauses. Butthere is no need of
any alteration, parallelism in Isaiahbeing often incomplete. The Messiahat
his coming will "smite the earth" generally(see Malachi4:6, and comp.
Matthew 10:34, "I came not to send peace on the earth, but a sword"), and
will also especiallychastise"the wicked." The rod of his mouth... the breath of
his lips. "The Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-
edgedsword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of souland spirit, and of
the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the
heart" (Hebrews 4:12). The sayings of Christ pierce the conscienceand
penetrate the soul as no other words that ever came from a human mouth. In
the lastday words from his mouth will consignto everlasting life or to
everlasting destruction.

Keil and DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament
ProfessorScheggtravelledby this very route to Jerusalem(cf., p. 560, Anm.
2): From Gifneh he went direct to Tayibeh (which he imagined to be the
ancient Ai), and then southwards through Muchmas, Geba, Hizmeh, 'Anata,
and el-Isawiye to Jerusalem.
Isaiah10:28Aestheticallyconsidered, the description is one of the most
magnificent that human poetry has ever produced. "He comes upon Ayyath,
passes throughMigron; in Michmash he leaves his baggage. Theygo through
the pass:let Geba be our quarters for the night! Ramah trembles; Gibeah of
Saul flees. Screamaloud, O daughter of Gallim! Only listen, O Laysha! Poor
Anathoth! Madmenah hurries away; the inhabitants of Gebim rescue. He still
halts in Nob today; swings his hand over the mountain of the daughter of
Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. Behold, the Lord, Jehovahof hosts, lops down the
branches with terrific force;and those of towering growthare hewn down,
and the lofty are humbled. And He fells the thickets of the forest with iron;
and Lebanon, it falls by a Majestic One." Whenthe Assyrian came upon
Ayyath ( equals Ayyah, 1 Chronicles 7:28 (?), Nehemiah 11:31, generallyhâ-
‛ai, or 'Ai), about thirty miles to the north-east of Jerusalem, he trod for the
first time upon Benjaminitish territory, which was under the swayof Judaea.
The name of this 'Ai, which signifies "stone-heap,"tallies, as Knobel observes,
with the name of the Tellel-hagar, which is situated about three-quarters of
an hour to the south-eastof Beitn, i.e., Bethel. But there are tombs, reservoirs,
and ruins to be seenabout an hour to the south-eastof Beitin; and these
Robinsonassociateswith Ai. From Ai, however, the army will not proceed
towards Jerusalemby the ordinary route, viz., the greatnorth road (or
"Nablus road"); but, in order to surprise Jerusalem, it takes a different route,
in which it will have to cross three deep and difficult valleys. From Ai they
pass to Migron, the name of which has apparently been preservedin the ruins
of Burg Magrun, situated about eight minutes' walk from Beitn.

(Note:I also find the name written Magrum (read Magrun), which is
probably taken from a more correcthearsaythan the Machrn of Robinson
(ii.127).)
Michmash is still to be found in the form of a desertedvillage with ruins,
under the name of Muchms, on the easternside of the valley of Migron. Here
they deposit their baggage(hiphkid, Jeremiah36:20), so far as they are able to
dispense with it - either to leave it lying there, or to have it conveyed after
them by an easierroute. For they proceedthence through the pass of
Michmash, a deep and precipitous ravine about forty-eight minutes in
breadth, the present Wady Suweinit. "The pass" (ma‛bârâh) is the defile of
Michmash, with two prominent rockycliffs, where Jonathan had his
adventure with the garrisonof the Philistines. One of these cliffs was called
Seneh(1 Samuel14:4), a name which suggestses-Suweinit. Through this defile
they pass, encouraging one another, as they proceedalong the difficult march,
by the prospectof passing the night in Geba, which is close athand. It is still
disputed whether this Geba is the same place as the following Gibeah of Saul
or not. There is at the present time a village calledGeba' below Muchms,
situated upon an eminence. The almost universal opinion now is, that this is
not Gibeahof Saul, but that the latter is to be seenin the prominent Tell
(Tuleil) el-Fl, which is situated farther south. This is possibly correct.
(Note:This is supported by Robinsonin his Later Biblical Researchesin
Palestine (1857), by Valentiner (pastor at Jerusalem), and by Keil in the
Commentary on Joshua, Judges, etc. (Joshua 18:21-28), where allthe more
recentwritings on this topographicalquestionare given.)
For there can be no doubt that this mountain, the name of which signifies
"Bean-hill," would be a very strong position, and one very suitable for Gibeah
of Saul; and the supposition that there were two places in Benjamin named
Geba, Gibeah, or Gibeath, is favoured at any rate by Joshua 18:21-28, where

Geba and Gibeath are distinguished from one another. And this mountain,
which is situatedto the south of er-Rm - that is to say, betweenthe ancient
Ramah and Anathoth - tallies very well with the route of the Assyrian as here
described; whilst it is very improbable that Isaiahhas designatedthe very
same place first of all Geba, and then (for what reasonno one can tell) Gibeah
of Saul. We therefore adopt the view, that the Assyrian army took up its
quarters for the night at Geba, which still bears this name, spreading terror in
all directions, both eastand west, and still more towards the south. Starting in
the morning from the deep valley betweenMichmashand Geba, they pass on
one side of Rama (the present er-Rm), situated half an hour to the westof
Geba, which trembles as it sees them go by; and the inhabitants of Gibeath of
Saul, upon the "Bean-hill," a height that commands the whole of the
surrounding country, take to flight when they pass by. Every halting-place on
their route brings them nearerto Jerusalem. The prophet goes in spirit
through it all. It is so objectivelyreal to him, that it produces the utmost
anxiety and pain. The cities and villages of the district are lost.
He appeals to the daughter, i.e., the population, of Gallim, to raise a far-
sounding yell of lamentation with their voice (Ges. 138, 1, Anm. 3), and calls
out in deep sympathy to Laysha, which was close by (on the two places, both
of which have vanished now, see 1 Samuel 25:44 and Judges 18:29), "only
listen," the enemy is coming nearer and nearer;and then for Anathoth
(‛Anâtâ, still to be seenabout an hour and a quarter to the north of
Jerusalem)he utters this lamentation (taking the name as an omen of its fate):
O poor Anathoth! There is no necessityforany alteration of the text; ‛anniyâh
is an appeal, or rather an exclamation, as in Isaiah 54:11;and ‛anâthoth
follows, according to the same verbal order as in Isaiah 23:12, unless indeed
we take it at once as an adjective written before the noun - an arrangementof
the words which may possibly have been admissible in such interjectional
sentences.The catastrophe so much to be dreaded by Jerusalemdraws nearer
and nearer. Madmenah (dung-hill, see Comm. on Job, at Job 9:11-15)flees in
anxious haste:the inhabitants of Gebim (water-pits) carry off their
possessions(‫,זץוּה‬ from ‫,ץּוּה‬ to flee, related to chush, hence to carry off in flight,
to bring in haste to a place of security, Exodus 9:19, cf., Jeremiah4:6;

Jeremiah6:1; synonymous with hēnı̄s, Exodus 9:20; Judges 6:11; different
from ‛âzaz, to be firm, strong, defiant, from which mâ‛oz, a fortress, is
derived - in distinction from the Arabic ma‛âdh, a place of refuge: comp.
Isaiah30:2, to flee to Pharaoh's shelter). There are no traces left of either
place. The passageis generallyunderstood as implying that the army rested
another day in Nob. But this would be altogetheratvariance with the design -
to take Jerusalemby surprise by the suddenness of the destructive blow. We
therefore render it, "Evento-day he will halt in Nob" (in eo estut subsistat,
Ges. 132, Anm. 1) - namely, to gather up fresh strength there in front of the
city which was doomed to destruction, and to arrange the plan of attack. The
supposition that Nob was the village of el-'Isawiye, which is still inhabited,
and lies to the south-westof Ant, fifty-five minutes to the north of Jerusalem,
is at variance with the situation, as correctlydescribed by Jerome, when he
says:"Stans in oppidulo Nob et procul urbem conspiciens Jerusalem."A far
more appropriate situation is to be found in the hill which rises to the north of
Jerusalem, and which is calledSadr, from its breast-like projectionor
roundness - a name which is related in meaning to nob, nâb, to rise. From this
eminence the way leads down into the valley of Kidron; and as you descend,
the city spreads out before you at a very little distance off. It may have been
here, in the prophet's view, that the Assyrians halted.
(Note:This is the opinion of Valentiner, who also regards the march of the
Assyrians as an "execution-march" in two columns, one of which took the
road through the difficult ground to the east, whilst the other inflicted
punishment upon the places that stoodnear the road. The text does not
require this, however, but describes a march, which spreadalarm both right
and left as it went along.)
It was not long, however(as the yenōphēph which follows ἀσυνδέτως implies),
before his hand was drawn out to strike (Isaiah11:15; Isaiah19:16), and
swing over the mountain of the daughter of Zion (Isaiah16:1), over the city of
the holy hill. But what would Jehovahdo, who was the only One who could

save His threateneddwelling-place in the face of such an army? As far as
Isaiah10:32, the prophet's address moved on at a hurried, stormy pace;it
then halted, and seemed, as it were, panting with anxiety; it now breaks forth
in a dactylic movement, like a long rolling thunder. The hostile army stands in
front of Jerusalem, like a broad dense forest. But it is soonmanifest that
Jerusalemhas a God who cannot be defied with impunity, and who will not
leave His city in the lurch at the decisive moment, like the gods of Carchemish
and Calno. Jehovahis the Lord, the God of both spiritual and starry hosts. He
smites down the branches of this forestof an army: sē‛ēphis a so-calledpiel
privativum, to lop (lit. to take the branches in hand; cf., sikkēl, Isaiah5:2);
and pu'rah equals pe'urah (in Ezekielpō'rah) is used like the Latin frons, to
include both branches and foliage - in other words, the leafy branches as the
ornament of the tree, or the branches as adorned with leaves. The instrument
He employs is ma‛arâtzâh, his terrifying and crushing power (compare the
verb in Isaiah 2:19, Isaiah 2:21). And even the lofty trunks of the forest thus
clearedof branches and leaves do not remain; they lie hewn down, and the
lofty ones must fall. It is just the same with the trunks, i.e., the leaders, as with
the branches and the foliage, i.e., with the greatcrowdedmasses. The whole of
the forestthicket (as in Isaiah 9:17) he hews down (nikkaph, third pers. piel,
though it may also be niphal); and Lebanon, i.e., the army of Asshur which is
now standing opposite to Mount Zion, like Lebanon with its forestof cedars,
falls down through a Majestic One ('addı̄r), i.e., through Jehovah(Isaiah
33:21, cf., Psalm 76:5; Psalm93:4). In the accountof the fulfilment (Isaiah
37:36)it is the angelof the Lord (mal'ach Jehovah), who is represented as
destroying the hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp in a
single night. The angelof Jehovah is not a messengerofGod sent from afar,
but the chosenorganof the ever-presentdivine power.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES

BRUCE HURT
Isaiah11:4 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.:
But with: Isa 32:1 2Sa 8:15 23:2-4 1Ki 10:8,9 Ps 45:6,7 72:1-4,12-1482:2-4 Jer
23:5,6 33:15 Mt 11:5 Rev19:11)
Decide:Isa 1:17 Pr 31:8,9 Jer5:28
Afflicted: Isa 29:19 61:1 Zep 2:3 Mt 5:5 2Co 10:1 Ga 5:23 Titus 3:2 Jas 3:13
He will strike: Job4:9 Ps 2:9 110:2 Mal 4:6 2Th2:8 Rev 1:16 2:16 19:15
breath: Isa 30:33 Ps 18:8 Ac 9:1)
MESSIAH RIGHTEOUS JUDGE WARRIOR-KING
But - Always observe for contrasts and take note of what is being contrasted.
Instead of seeing and hearing the externals, the Messiahwill see the truth and
thus will judge with perfect righteousness. In short, Messiahwill not be misled
by deceitful appearancesorlying words, but will read men’s hearts (cp 1Sa
16:7).
He will judge the poor and decide with fairness for the afflicted - Isaiah had
pointed out that Judah (especiallyher leaders)had perverted justice resulting
in suffering for the poor and weak suffered (Isaiah1:17, 23, 10:2). As Gray
says "it is natural that the securing of the rights of these classesbecomesa
permanent feature of the ideal ruler." (A critical and exegeticalcommentary
on the book of Isaiah)

This Righteous Ruler stands in marked contrastto the unjust leaders of
Judah in Isaiah's day…
The LORD enters into judgment with the elders and princes of His people, “It
is you who have devoured the vineyard; The plunder of the poor is in your
houses. 15 “Whatdo you mean by crushing My people And grinding the face
of the poor?” Declaresthe LORD God of hosts. (Is 3:14-15).
Woe to those who enactevil statutes And to those who constantly record
unjust decisions, so as to deprive the needy of justice and rob the poor of My
people of their rights, so that widows may be their spoil and that they may
plunder the orphans. (Isa 10:1-2).
He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth - Messiahrule will be
manifested in exertion of supernatural power. In Revelationwhen Messiah
returns to defeatHis enemies and establishHis earthly one thousand year
kingdom John records…
And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the
nations (Gentiles);and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the
wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. (Rev 19:15)
Garland comments: If Jesus literally and physically slays His enemies at His
SecondComing (Rev 19:21), how is it that the sword is figurative—coming out
of His mouth? It represents the sword of the Spirit, the word of God: that
which God has setforth as His spokenwill (Eph 6:17). Those who are slain
meet their doom because they are judged by God’s righteous word (Heb 4:12).
They have consistentlyviolated its precepts and standards and their
destruction has been prophesied. In many ways, the action of their slaying is

the unavoidable result of what God has said. This is why Jesus slays His
enemies with His lips: “He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked” (Isa. 11:4). His mouth
is like a sharp sword (Isa. 49:2). Hence, when Antichrist is destroyed, he is
consumed “with the breath of [the Lord’s] mouth” (2Th 2:8). The ultimate
reasonthey are slain is found in God’s testimony—the law written in stone
found in the ark of the covenant(Rev 11:19;Rev 15:5). The written law is His
word, thus the weaponis said to come forth from His mouth. (A Testimony of
Jesus Christ - Revelation19:15)
Isaiahagain describes the Messiahin similar terms…
He (God the Father) has made My (Messiah's)mouth like a sharp sword, in
the shadow of His hand He has concealedMe;and He has also made Me a
selectarrow, He has hidden Me in His quiver. (Is 49:2)
In Psalm 2 we read that…
Thou (Messiah)shalt break them (Ps 2:2 The kings of the earth take their
stand, And the rulers take counseltogetherAgainstthe LORD and against
His Anointed) with a rod of iron, Thou (Messiah)shaltshatter them like
earthenware.'" (Ps 2:9)
Comment: This is not the gradual conversionof the world to Christ – it is the
forceful and aggressive interventionof God to bring the nations into
obedience to the Son… The associationof the rod with His mouth points to the
Word of God as embodied in the law – which is the basis by which the world is
to be judged. (See Dr Garland's notes on Psalm 2 - Why Do the Nations
Rage?)

With the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked - Another figurative
description that emphasizes Messiah'ssupernatural powerto inflict physical
harm!
Paul records a parallel description of Messiah's striking ofthe Antichrist…
And then that lawless one (Antichrist) will be revealed(the first 3.5 years he is
not fully revealed, but at the midpoint of the last 7 years his sinister Satan
empoweredcharacterwill be fully revealed) whom the Lord will slaywith the
breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming
(2Thes 2:8)
CHARACTERISTICS OF MESSIAH'S RULE
DURING THE MILLENNIUM
Dr John Walvoorddescribes the…
From a governmental standpoint, the reign of Christ in the millennium will
have three important characteristics.
First, it will be a rule over the entire earth. It was God’s intent from the
beginning of the creationof man that the earth should be ruled over by man.
Adam sacrificedhis right to rule when sin entered the human race, God’s
purpose, however, is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. In Psalm 2:6-9 God declares His
purpose to set His king in Zion who will have as His possession“the uttermost
parts of the earth.” In Daniel 2:35 a stone which fills the whole earth is an

anticipation of the universal rule of Christ. Daniel 7:14 is explicit: “And there
was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples,
nations, and languages shouldserve him: his dominion is an everlasting
dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be
destroyed.” This idea is repeated in Daniel7:27 and becomes a frequent theme
of prophecy (cf. Ps 72:8; Mic 4:1-2; Zech 9:10). The title of Christ given in
Revelation19:16, “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS,” makes it
plain that He is supreme ruler over the entire earth.
The secondimportant characteristic ofthe millennial rule of Christ is that His
government will be absolute in its authority and power. This is demonstrated
in His destruction of all who oppose Him (cf. Ps 2:9; 72:9-11 ; Isa 11:4). Such
an absolute rule, of course, is in keeping with the person and majesty of the
King in whom is all the powerand sovereigntyof God.
The third important aspectofthe government of Christ in the millennium will
be that of righteousness and justice. Mostof the millennial passages
emphasize this as the outstanding feature of of the millennium. Isaiah11:3-5
assures the poor and the meek that their cause will be dealt with righteously
in that day. The wickedare warnedto serve the Lord lest they feel His wrath
(Ps 2:10-12). It seems evident from many passagesthat no open sin will go
unpunished…
Another important characteristic ofthe millennial rule of Christ is that His
government will be absolute in its authority and power. This is demonstrated
in His destruction of all who oppose Him (cf. Ps 2:9; 72:9-11 ; Isa 11:4). Such
an absolute rule, of course, is in keeping with the Personand majesty of the
King in Whom is all the power and sovereigntyof God. (The Righteous
Government of the Millennium)

Isaiah11:5 Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, and faithfulness
the belt about His waist.:
righteousness:Isa 59:17 Ps 93:1 2Co 6:7 Eph 6:14 1Pe 4:1 Rev 1:13
faithfulness: Isa 25:1 Ho 2:20 Heb 2:17 1Jn 1:9 Rev 3:14)
Righteousness… the belt… faithfulness the belt - These attributes (like a belt
firmly attached to one's body) were intimately associatedwith the Messiah
and affectedeverything He did.
MacArthur comments that…
The belt, which gatheredthe loose garments together, is figurative for the
Messiah’s readinessforconflict. Righteousnessandfaithfulness are His
preparation. Cf. Eph. 6:14. (MacArthur, J.: The MacArthur Study Bible
Nashville: Word)
PAUL APPLE
Isaiah11:1-10 -- Justice, Peaceand Unity in the Messianic Kingdom
BIG IDEA:
IN THE FUTURE MESSIANIC KINGDOM THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE
LORD INCARNATE IN THE PERSON OF THE MESSIAH WILL
ESTABLISH JUSTICE, PEACE AND UNITY

INTRODUCTION:
- Imagine a world where the court system administers perfect justice;
- Imagine a world where one could live in perfectpeace and harmony without
any threat of violence or hostility; where even the animals no longer prey on
one another but graze together side by side – a reversalof the curse of the fall
- Imagine a world where all peoples are unified in their submission to the
majestic presence ofthe One True God whose name is Faithful and True
(Rev. 19:11) – no more Jew/Gentile conflict; no more striving for the prideful
enlargementof earthly kingdoms
This is the picture of the future Messianickingdomthat Isaiah presents in
Chapter 11.
We have mentioned many times in our study of this greatbook, that the
prophetic perspective has a telescoping effect – both events associatedwith the
First Advent and the SecondAdvent of the Messiahcanbe blended together
in the same passage. It is that mountain peak effectwhere you don’t see the
valley that lies between. That is certainly true in today’s passage. Butin a
similar vein, the same perspective canbe applied to OT contentthat relates to
the 1000 yearMessianic Kingdom which then merges into the eternal state
after the Lord puts down the final rebellion of the wicked. The distinction
does not getclarified until the lastfew chapters of the Book ofRevelationthat
lays out the chronologyfor these end game events.

Isaiah’s vision here relates primarily to that Millennial Kingdom on earth that
will see a reversalof those negative impacts on the environment that canbe
tracedback to the Fall of Man in Genesis 3. Rememberthe words of the
Apostle Paul: “Forthe anxious longing of the creationwaits eagerlyfor the
revealing of the sons of God. For the creationwas subjectedto futility, not
willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creationitself
also will be setfree from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory
of the children of God. Forwe know that the whole creationgroans and
suffers the pains of childbirth togetheruntil now.” (Rom. 8:19-22)
IN THE FUTURE MESSIANIC KINGDOM THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE
LORD INCARNATE IN THE PERSON OF THE MESSIAH WILL
ESTABLISH JUSTICE, PEACE AND UNITY
I. (:1-5) THE ESTABLISHMENT OF JUSTICE -- MESSIANIC KING
RULING IN WISDOM AND RIGHTEOUSNESS– DELIGHTING IN THE
FEAR OF THE LORD = THE BEGINNING OF KNOWLEDGE
A. (:1) Human Origins
1. Humble Beginnings
“Then a shootwill spring from the stem of Jesse,”
Contrasting tree prophecy – end of Chap. 10 we saw the proud Assyrians
characterizedas the trees of Lebanon – cut down by God’s judgment; here we
see a humble shoot springing up from a stump – nation of Israelcut down –
things look like they might be over – but the Redeemercomes to the rescue

For He (Messiah)grew up before Him (God the Father) like a tender shoot,
and like a rootout of parched ground. He has no stately form or majesty that
we should look upon Him, (Isaiah53:2).
Famous passagefrom Job 14 – where is hope for man in light of the finality of
death??
The Messiahbrings that hope for the nation of Israel -- Resurrection
implications – life from the dead
Beall:The Hebrew word for stump ([z:GE) is used only three times in the OT:
Job 14:8; Isa 40:24; and here–again, evidence againstthe “two Isaiah” critical
view of the book. Similarly, the term for branch, rc,nE, is used only 4 times in
the OT, 3 times in Isaiah: here, Isa 14:19, and Isa 60:21 (i.e., in both portions
of the book). The OT fulfillment of Matt 2:23 (“He shall be calleda
Nazarene”)may possibly be found in a word play with rc,nE, speaking of the
Lord's lowly beginnings. The humble origins of the Messiahis stressedagain
in Isa 53:1- 3 (see also Matt 2:23; John 1:46). A relatedword, xm;c,, is used
messianicallyin Zech 3:8 and 6:12; and Jer 23:5 and 33:15.
2. Fruitful Results
“And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.”
Fruit is the evidence of life

Conceptof the righteous branch
B. (:2) Divine Empowerment and Enlightenment
1. Divine Empowerment
“And the Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him,”
Bob Utley: Qal perfect denoting a settledcondition. It will abide and remain.
This same truth is stated in different ways in 42:1 )”Behold, My Servant,
whom I uphold; My chosenone in whom My souldelights. I have put My
Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.”);59:21;61:1
(“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Becausethe Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to …”) ; Matt. 3:16; Luke
4:18.
Beall:we know from the NT that at Jesus'baptism, “the heavens were opened
to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting
upon Him” (Matt 3:16). The same words are used in Isa 61:1, quoted by the
Lord in Luke 4:18-19 (“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me . . . “).
Van Parunak:Throughout the OT, we are reminded that people can only do
something worthwhile when God acts through them by his spirit.
PreceptAustin: Like David (1Sa 16:13 “ThenSamuel took the horn of oil and
anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came
mightily upon David from that day forward.”), this king will be energizedby

the Lord’s Spirit. The Holy Spirit will rest on the Messiah(permanently; not
temporarily come upon, e.g., Nu 11:25, 26), a prophecy that was fulfilled at
His first coming but will also be fulfilled at His SecondComing. This is a
fascinating and somewhatmysterious statementin view of the unity of the
Trinity. And yet the Gospels speak ofthe role of the Holy Spirit in the life of
Jesus. Beloved, while this is indeed a greatmystery, Jesus'dependence on the
Holy Spirit to controland empowerministry during His time on earth should
also be a greatencouragementto all believers and a strong motivation for us
to seek to learn to walk by the Spirit.
Oswalt:The promised shootfrom the stump of Jessewillbe characterizedby
the very breath of God about him. Everything about his leadershipwill testify
to a supernatural endowment for his calling. It is this which is critical. Unless
the Messiahis truly endued with the Spirit of God, the results of his rule will
be no different from those of an Ahaz.
At the time of the exodus Bezalel, mastercraftsman on the tabernacle, was
noted for his ability To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver,
and in brass, And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to
work in all manner of workmanship.
He had this ability because Godfilled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom,
and in understanding, and in knowledge,and in all manner of workmanship
(Exod 31:3-5; cf. 35:30-35).
The enabling of the Spirit of God is evident in those whom God places overhis
people.

• The Spirit of Godwas on Moses, and on the seventyelders who ruled with
him (Num 11:15).
• Joshua was enabled by the Spirit in his leadership(Num 27:18;Deut 34:9).
• The ability of the judges to deliver Israelis repeatedly explained by the
phrase, “The Spirit of the Lord came upon him” (Othniel, 3:10; Gideon, 6:34;
Jephthah, 11:29; and notably Samson, 14:6, 19; 15:14;cf. 13:25).
• Saul's anointing as king was followedby the coming of the Spirit of God
upon him (1 Sam 10:10). His victory over the Ammonites was attributed to the
endowment of that Spirit (11:6).
• When the Lord replacedSaul as king, the Spirit left him, and came upon
David (1 Sam 16:13, 14):
13 Then Samueltook the horn of oil, and anointed [David] in the midst of his
brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day
forward. ... 14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, ...
The Spirit also comes upon prophets, throughout Israel's history. But
interestingly, in spite of the universal references to the Spirit during the
Exodus, judges, and Sauland David, no later civil ruler is ever said to enjoy
this endowment, until the promised Rod out of the ruined stump of Jesse.
Recall1 Sam 16:13, “the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day
forward.” It was his permanent endowment, and even after he died, it was
reservedfor the One who would one day appear, not just as his successor, but
bearing his name.

2. Divine Enlightenment
a. Inner Discernment – Focus on the Mind -- Insight
“The spirit of wisdomand understanding,”
And Jesus keptincreasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and
men. (Lk 2:52)
He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what
was in man. (Jn 2:25)
Beall:wisdom, the ability to make wise decisions;and understanding,
perception as to the true nature of things.
Van Parunak:They both relate to the mind's ability to discern the meaning of
the observedworld.
b. Outward Encouragement – Focus on the Impact on Others --
Encouragement
“The spirit of counseland strength,”

Beall:The attributes go right back to the names of the Messiahgivenin 9:6:
“Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God.” Good counselwithout the powerto
carry it out is worthless (compare Ahithophel's wise counselrejectedby
Absalom).
c. Upward Fellowship– Focus on the Relationship with the Father -- Piety
“The spirit of knowledge andthe fearof the LORD.”
Prov 2:5, “Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the
knowledge ofGod.”
C. (:3) Delighting in the Fearof the Lord
“And He will delight in the fear of the LORD,”
Van Parunak:“His delighted smell shall be of the fear of the Lord.” . . . He
will be able to look into the heart of people, to see whether they truly fear the
Lord or not. And when he senses thatfear of God in them, he will rejoice in it,
because it resonates withthe most fundamental characteristic ofhis own
personality.
Motyer: from the noun “scent”. The verb “to smell a (pleasing)odour” came
to mean “to delight in”, “reactpleasurablyto” (Gn. 8:21).
Not a man pleaser

Not involved in taking bribes
Net Bible note: In Amos 5:21 the Hiphil of ruakh, “smell” carries the nuance
of “smell with delight, get pleasure from.” There the Lord declares that He
does not “smellwith delight” (i.e., get pleasure from) Israel’s religious
assemblies, whichprobably stand by metonymy for the incense offeredduring
these festivals. In Isa 11:3 there is no sacrificialcontextto suggestsucha use,
but it is possible that “the fearof the Lord” is likened to incense. This coming
King will getthe same kind of delight from obeying (fearing) the Lord, as a
deity does in the incense offeredby worshipers.
D. (:4-5) Messianic Ministry of Adjudication
1. Objective and Thoroughin Rendering Decisions
“And He will not judge by what His eyes see,”
“Normake a decisionby what His ears hear;”
2. Righteous and Fair in Supporting the Vulnerable
“But with righteousness He will judge the poor,”
“And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth;”

3. Powerful and Swift in Judging the Wicked
“And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,”
“And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.”
Beall:This verse is alluded to in Rev 19:15, 21:“From his mouth issues a
sharp sword with which to smite the nations, and he will rule them with a rod
of iron” (the last phrase takenfrom Ps 2:9).
Grogan:In the divine economy, the word is active and powerful (cf. Gen1:3;
Isa 55:10-11), andthe Messiah’s wordof judgment will be utterly effective (cf.
John 12:48). He judges as “the Word of God” (Rev 19:13-15). This testifies to
his greatpower(cf. v. 2), because, unlike many a monarch, he is wellable to
execute the judgments he pronounces. In him word and consequentaction are
virtually one.
Garland (quoted by PreceptAustin): If Jesus literally and physically slays His
enemies at His SecondComing (Rev 19:21), how is it that the sword is
figurative—coming out of His mouth? It represents the swordof the Spirit,
the word of God: that which God has setforth as His spokenwill (Eph 6:17).
Those who are slain meet their doom because they are judged by God’s
righteous word (Heb 4:12). They have consistentlyviolated its precepts and
standards and their destruction has been prophesied. In many ways, the
actionof their slaying is the unavoidable result of what God has said. This is
why Jesus slays His enemies with His lips: “He shall strike the earth with the
rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked”
(Isa. 11:4). His mouth is like a sharp sword(Isa. 49:2). Hence, when Antichrist

is destroyed, he is consumed“with the breath of [the Lord’s] mouth” (2Th
2:8)
4. Righteous and Faithful in All His Judicial Activities
“Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins,”
“And faithfulness the belt about His waist.”
Motyer: The garments express the inherent realities and capacities ofa person
and the purposes to which he commits himself (59:16-17;61:10;Ps. 132:9, 16,
18). The belt symbolizes readiness foraction.
JIM BOMKAMP
VS 11:3-5 - “3 And He will delight in the fearof the Lord, And He will not
judge by what His eyes see, Normake a decisionby 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.” -
Isaiahtells us that the MessiahwhenHe comes will be just and fair
4.1. Having told us that the Messiahwould have the Spirit of the ‘fear of
the Lord’, he now tells us that the Messiahwill ‘delight’ in the fear of the
Lord.

4.2. Isaiahtells us that the Messiahwill not judge by what ‘His eyes see’
or ‘His ears hear’, which means that He will not judge by outward
appearances but rather on the basis of the heart and motives of people.
4.2.1. In fulfillment of this prophesy, in Matt. 15:16-20 we read what Jesus
said to the Phariseeswho had accusedHis disciples of not washing their hands
in the traditions of the Pharisees,and from this we see that Jesus judgedthose
Pharisees because ofwhat He knew filled their hearts, “16 And He said, “Are
you still lacking in understanding also?17 “Doyou not understand that
everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is
eliminated?18 “But the things that proceedout of the mouth come from the
heart, and those defile the man.19 “Forout of the heart come evil thoughts,
murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.20“These are
the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashedhands does not
defile the man.””
4.2.2. We saw alreadythat Jesus knew what was in man. Jesus knew the
hearts of men, as we see in incident after incident in the gospels.
4.3. Isaiahtells us that it is with ‘righteousness’ thatthe Lord will judge
the poor, as it is only one who has true righteousness thatis truly qualified to
be a judge of men.
4.3.1. Jesus warnedHis disciples not to judge, but rather to leave judgment to
the Lord, for only the Lord canjudge fairly for only He knows not only all
that has happened (being omniscient) but also the hearts of people.

4.4. The judgment that comes from the Lord will come from His mouth
and lips, for His judgment will be righteous and just and just as He spoke the
world into existence He will also pronounce judgment upon the world.
4.4.1. In Rev. 19:5 we read that Jesus, whenHe appears at the end of the 7
year Tribulation of the book of Revelation, will smite the nations with His
mouth, “15 And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may
smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the
wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.”
4.4.1.1.SeeRev. 1:16.
4.5. Isaiahtells us that when the Messiahcomes that righteousnesswill be
the belt around His loins and faithfulness the belt around His waist. The Lord
will be under-girded by these traits as they will characterize all that He does.
4.5.1. In Rev. 19:11, we read the description of Jesus coming upon a horse at
His secondcoming at the end of the 7 year Tribulation, and He is described as
faithful and true and judging the world in righteousness, “11 And I saw
heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called
Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wageswar.”
RICH CATHERS
Isaiah11 Study Notes

Isaiah11:3 - Appearances canbe deceiving. Sometimes things aren’t quite
what we think they are.
Illustration - BoatRace and Management - The Americans and the Japanese
decided to engage in a competitive boat race. Both teams practicedhard and
long to reachtheir peak performance. On the big day the Americans felt
ready, but the Japanese wonby a mile. Afterward, the American team was
discouragedby the loss. Morale sagged. Corporate managementdecidedthat
the reasonfor the crushing defeat had to be found, so a consulting firm was
hired to investigate the problem and recommendedcorrective action. The
consultant's finding: The Japanese teamhad eight people rowing and one
person steering;the American team had one person rowing and eight people
steering. After a year of study and millions spent analyzing the problem, the
consultant firm concludedthat too many people were steering and not enough
were rowing on the American team. So as the next race day nearedthe
following year, the American team's managementstructure was completely
reorganized. The new structure: four steering managers, three area steering
managers and a new performance review system for the personrowing the
boat to provide work incentive. The next year, the Japanese wonby two miles.
Humiliated, the American corporationlaid off the rowerfor poor
performance and gave the managers a bonus for discovering the problem.
There may be some situations in our lives where we’ve made some pretty rash
judgments. We could be wrong. We may not know the whole picture.
Bring the lost sheephome. - As you read Isaiah11:10-16, you getthe idea that
the Lord is bringing His people home. He’ll take care of all the problems, all
the things that are standing in the way, and His people will come home. It’s
not too unlike how a Shepherd brings his flock home. He wants us to be a part
of what He’s doing now to bring the lostsheep home. This is an excerpt from
Phillip Keller’s A Shepherd Looks at the Good Shepherd and His Sheep
(pg.349-450):
How does an easternsheepman gather up his stray sheep? How does He
bring home the wanderers and stragglers? He does not use dogs the way

westernsheepmen do. He does not resort to horses or donkeys to herd them
home or round them up. Nor does he employ helicopters or Hondas as some
westernranchers do. No, the easternshepherd uses his own pet lambs and
bellwethers (sheepthat take the initiative, sheepthat are leaders)to gatherin
lost sheep. Becausethese pets are so fond of being near him and with him, he
has to literally go out into the hills and rough country himself taking them
along, scattering them abroad. There they graze and feed alongside the wild
and waywardsheep. As evening approaches the shepherd gently winds his
way home. His favorite pet lambs and bellwethers quietly follow him. As they
move along in his footsteps, they bring with them the lost and scatteredsheep.
It is a winsome picture full of pathos. In Matthew 10 Christ actually took his
twelve men and scatteredthem out among the lost sheepof Israel(vs. 6). He
warned them that He was sending them out as sheepin the midst of predators
who might try to prevent them from bringing home the lost (vs. 16). But they
were to go anyway, because the presence ofHis Spirit would be with them to
preserve them in every danger. This is a precise picture drawn for us in bold
colors of what our Good Shepherd requires of us. He does not demand that we
embark on some grandiose schemes ofour own designto do His work in the
world. He does not suggestthat we become embroiled in some complex
organizationof human ingenuity to achieve His goalof gathering in lost souls.
He simply asks me to be one who will be so attachedto Him, so fond of Him,
so true to Him, that in truth I shall be like His pet lamb or bellwether. No
matter where He takes me; no matter where He places me; no matter whom I
am alongside ofin my daily living, that person will be induced to eventually
follow the Shepherd because I follow Him.
THOMAS CONSTABLE
Verse 3

The coming "David" would also delight in fearing the Lord, not fearing Him
out of dread, much less, lacking respectfor Yahweh. He would make decisions
on the basis of reality rather than appearances, having the ability to see
through issues. Suchabilities demand more than a merely human ruler (cf.
John 18:36-38). An earlierMessiahpassage( Isaiah9:6) showedHim to be
divine, but this one presents Him as a dependent human being, "a
combination that requires the Incarnation for its explanation." [Note:
Grogan, p87.]
Verse 4
Justice for the poor was hard to find in the ancient world because the poor
could not afford to bribe their Judges , and they possessedlittle political
influence. But Israel"s coming king would do what was right for the poor and
be fair with the afflicted (cf. Revelation1:5; Revelation3:14). His words of
judgment would result in the death of the wickedrather than giving them
preferential treatment for what they could do for the judge (cf. Isaiah 55:10-
11; Genesis 1:3;Hebrews 4:12; 2 Thessalonians 2:8;Revelation1:16;
Revelation19:15;Revelation19:21). Clearly, this king will acknowledge God
as His sovereign.
Verse 5
Righteousnessand faithfulness (to God) would be His outstanding and
determining characteristics. Thesewere the marks of the Israelites" God(cf.
Isaiah5:16; Isaiah65:16;Psalm 40:10;Psalm 119:75;Psalm119:142;
Zechariah 8:8). A belt in Isaiah"s culture held togethereverything else that
the personwore. So the figure here pictures everything about the king as
thoroughly righteous and pleasing to God.

THE KINGDOM IS COMING
Dr. W. A. Criswell
Isaiah11:1-9
8-17-75 10:50 a.m.
You are sharing, you who listen on the radio and watching on television, the
services ofthe First BaptistChurch in Dallas. And this is the pastorbringing
the messageentitledThe Coming Kingdom; The Kingdom is Coming.
It is an expounding of a prophecy in the latter part of the tenth chapter of
Isaiahand the first part of the eleventh. Last Sunday, we spoke ofthe
prophecy in the first part of the tenth chapter of Isaiah, and now we go to the
latter part of that chapter and the beginning of the eleventh:
Behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts—the Lord of Sabaoth—
shall lop the bough with terror: and the high ones of stature shall be hewn
down, and the haughty shall be humbled.

And God shall cut down the thickets of the forestwith iron, and the cedars of
Lebanon shall fall by the arm and hand of the Mighty One.
But there shall come forth a Rod, a shoot, out of the stem, the stump, the stalk
of Jesse,and a Branch, a netzer, a Nazarene, shallgrow out of his roots:
The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and
understanding, the Spirit of counseland might, the Spirit of knowledge and of
the fearof the Lord.
[Isaiah 10:33-11:2]
And then it describes the personof the coming King. Beginning at verse 6 we
have a description of the kingdom. First: a glorious King is coming; and
second, the glorious kingdom over which He shall assuredlyand triumphantly
reign.
The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the
kid; the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;and a little child shall
lead them.
The cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shalllie down together:
And the carnivorous, ravenous lion will eat straw like an ox.
The sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, the adder; the weaned
child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’den, the cobra’s den.

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain: for the earth shall be
filled with the knowledge ofthe Lord, as the waters coverthe sea.
[Isaiah 11:6-9]
Could you imagine a more glorious and optimistic prophecy than this; the
King and the coming kingdom? All of it arose out of the exigency, tragic and
sorrowful, of the day in which Isaiah lived. From horizon to horizon of the
civilized world, Assyria held the earth in an iron grip, a merciless and cruel
empire. It was Assyria that, invading Palestine, destroyedforever the
Northern Kingdom with its capital at Samaria [2 Kings 17:18, 23]. And four
times in the life of this Isaiahdid he ravage and overrun Judah. Had it not
been for an intervention of God in answerto the prayer of the goodKing
Hezekiah[2 Kings 19:15-19, 32-36], Assyria would have destroyed little
Judah.
But the prophecy begins and concludes in a violent and tremendously distinct
contrast. First, the prophecy concerning Assyria, “God will lop off its boughs;
the mighty hand of the Lord will cut it down like a cedarin Lebanon” [Isaiah
10:33-34]. It will be felled. Then, and isn’t it a shame there’s a chapter
heading there? When Isaiahwrote it there was no chapter heading, just
following through immediately. Contrasting the destruction of Assyria, then
he speaks ofthe resurrection, the renaissanceofIsrael. “There shall come
forth a Shoot, a Rod, out of the stem”—the stump, the stock—“ofJesse, anda
Branch shall grow out of his roots” [Isaiah11:1].
The contrastthere is betweena cedarand an oak. Whena cedaris cut down,
belonging as it does to the genus of the pine family, there are no shoots;there
are no suckers;there are no outgrowths. When a cedaris cut down, like all

the pine family, there’s nothing left but the stump, and it rots and decays in
the ground.
The prophet Isaiahsays the great, vast, merciless empire of Assyria will be
like that. God Himself shall fell the giant cedarand when it is cut down, it
shall be forever destroyed. So completely did the Assyrian Empire vanish
from the earth that, in centuries after, the army of Alexander the Great
marched over its great capitalcity of Nineveh unaware, absolutely
unknowing, that a great empire and a greatcivilization lay buried beneath his
feet.
God said Assyria shall be destroyedlike a mighty cedarthat is cut down and
there will be no shoot, there will be no rod that will come out of the stump that
remains. Then the prophet by inspiration contrastingly speaks ofIsraelas an
oak tree. And when an oak is cut down, here from the roots and there from
the stump will you see rods, shoots springing up. It still has life in its roots
and in the stem, the stump [Isaiah 10:33-11:1].
And out of the destruction of Israel, and out of the final, ultimate captivity of
Judah, there shall yet be God’s life remaining. And then the marvelous
prophecy, “Out of that stump there will grow a Branch” [Isaiah 11:1].
Matthew refers to this, a netzer, a Nazarene;and He will be the Lord God of
righteousness [Matthew 2:23].
The New Testamentrefers to that verse often. In the twenty-second, the last
chapter of the Revelation, the Lord speaks ofHimself as the Rootand the
Offspring of David, referring to this [Revelation22:16]. Out of the root of
David, the offspring of David, the Messiahshallrise. And then follows after,
the descriptionof the incomparably glorious triumphant kingdom [Isaiah
11:6-16].

Isn’t that a remarkable thing just to look at? And contrasting it with Assyria,
let us contrastit also with the Greek culture and life that so pervaded the
world, and still does. Without exception, the Greeks lookedback to their
golden days. Their heroes lived a long time ago. EvenPlato thought of that
utopian continent, named by him Atlantis, that once existed beyond the Pillars
of Hercules, beyond the gates of Gibraltar, out in the vast ocean, now
submerged, forevergone. The golden day to Plato, was a yesterday, forever
destroyed.
All of the poets and dramatists of the ancient cultured world lookedback to
the primeval time for the day of bliss, and joy, and innocence. The Hebrew
prophets and the apostles andthe child of God in the Bible is just the
opposite;never looking back but always forward. The greatHero is yet to
come. And the marvelous and messianic kingdom is on its way, yet to be
consummated, yet to be realized.
That spirit of hope and optimism, how ever abysmal and full of despair the
present might be—that spirit of triumph is always writ large on the pages of
the sacredBook. WhenJosephdies in Egypt, he calls his brethren and makes
them swearbefore God that they will take up his bones and carry them back
to the PromisedLand. “For,” saidJoseph, “Godwill surely visit you”
[Genesis 50:24-25].
When Moses facedanultimate decease,he called his brethren and said, “God
shall raise up a Prophet”—capital“P”—“Godshall raise up a Prophet like
unto me, and to Him shall ye hearken” [Deuteronomy 18:15]. There is a great
Messiahcoming. When the children of Judah were carried into captivity, into
Babylon, the prophet Jeremiah said, “Yet after seventy years, God will visit
you, and you can return to the home in Canaan’s fair and happy land”
[Jeremiah 29:10]. In 70 AD, Titus destroyedthe earthly Jerusalem, but in the

Revelationthe seersees a New Jerusalemcoming down from Godout of
heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband [Revelation21:2].
That spirit of hope and optimism, howeverdark the present hour may be,
ever characterizes the upness, the God-wardness ofthese who are able to see,
by eyes of faith, the purpose of God for the human race.
Now it is that kingdom that is coming of which we speak this holy and present
moment. It is coming in time and in history under a twofold way, manner.
First, the kingdom is coming in time and in history; slowly, gradually, but
surely and really.
A thing that is hard for us to realize—God’s hand is in history. He never
withdraws it; and what to us seems like blackness, anddarkness, and despair,
and failure, and destruction, and decay, and death has in it an ultimate
purpose of Almighty God. For the kingdom is coming;and it comes, and it
comes in God’s way and in God’s will, but surely and certainly.
In the first verse in the Bible, Godcreatedthe heavens and the earth [Genesis
1:1]. But the secondverse is a dark verse, “And the earth became waste and
void, and darkness coveredthe face of the deep” [Genesis 1:2]. I think, when
Lucifer fell [Isaiah 14:12], the whole universe fell with him. Greatstars
collided and burst. The whole creationof God was destroyed. Sin always
destroys.
Then what? Does Godleave it chaotic and dark and void and waste? No.
For the verse continues, “And the Spirit of God brooded over the face of the
deep” [Genesis 1:2], bringing order and beauty out of chaos. So it is with
God’s hand in modern history. It is as dark in some places ofthis world as it

can be. But the hand of God is in China. The hand of God is in Russia. The
hand of God is in the nations of Africa and in the isles of the sea and, though
America seems bound to a dissolution and disintegration, the hand of God is
in America.
The kingdom is coming slowly, surely, secretly, clandestinely;it’s on its way.
The Lord Himself said that. The Lord said, “The kingdom of God cometh not
with observation” [Luke 17:20]. You can’t see it. It’s only God that cansee it
and understand, but the kingdom of God cometh not with our observation
[Luke 17:20].
Again, in the fourth chapter of Mark He said the kingdom of God is like a
man that plants a seedin the earth, and he goes to sleep, and he goes to sleep,
and he arises and goes back to sleep [Mark 4:26-29]. And he doesn’tknow
how, he didn’t know the mystery of it, nor does any man ever know the
mystery of it; but out of the dust of the ground the seedsprouts, germinates, a
little blade, a stalk, a bloom, a fruit. It is God’s secretwayof controlling the
destiny of His createduniverse.
So the kingdom comes and it comes and it comes, and in time and in history,
slowly, gradually, without observation. As the author of Hebrews says, “Do
not be wearynor fall into despair; for He that shall come, shall surely come”
[Hebrews 10:37]. I can’t understand. I don’t see it, but He does. And He has
promised the kingdom to His people, to us. “Be of goodcheer, little children,”
said the Lord. “It is your Father’s goodpleasure to give you the kingdom”
[Luke 12:32]. Notonly is the kingdom in time and in history, coming slowly,
gradually, surely, in God’s infinite wisdom; but in time and in history the
kingdom is coming suddenly, cataclysmically, triumphantly, openly,
victoriously, personally.

In the Revelation, in the twenty-secondchapter, three different times the Lord
will say, “Behold, I come tachu” [Revelation22:7, 12, 20]. “Behold, I come
swiftly”—suddenly, cataclysmically. There is a thousand years in God’s clock
that is as a moment, but as a day [2 Peter3:8]. And when this time of
consummation comes, the kingdom will come. We shall see our Lord, and His
reign shall be establishedin the earth [Revelation11:15, 19:15]. He said it is
as lightning that shines from the eastto the west—openlyand publicly
[Matthew 24:27]. It is a glorious and triumphant day for the people of God;
the intervention of God in human history.
Paul, in the eleventh chapterin the Book of Romans, said, “When the fullness
of the Gentiles, when the plerōma,”—plerōma is a simple Greek word
meaning full number—“When the full number of the Gentiles be come in”
[Romans 11:25], then, then, is the consummation of the age and the
establishment of the kingdom. When the last man comes downthis aisle
whose name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life [Revelation20:15, 21:27];
when the lastsoul is saved who is knownto God in His elective, predestinarian
purpose; when that one responds, the consummation shall come. The Lord
shall appear and establishHis kingdom in the earth [Revelation11:15].
But not only is the kingdom coming twofold: gradually, and without
observation, and cataclysmically, openly and triumphantly; but the kingdom
is also in its componentconstituency, in its inherent nature; it is also twofold.
The kingdom is first, spiritual. The Lord said to Pilate, “My kingdom is not
of this world” [John 18:36]. That is, it’s not like Rome, or Athens, or
Assyrian’s Nineveh, or Babylonia’s Babylon. It is not like a Washingtonor a
London or a Paris or a Peking or a Moscow. “Mykingdomis not of this
world” [John 18:36]. It is of a different order and of a different nature. The
apostle Paul by inspiration wrote, “My brethren, flesh and blood cannot
inherit the kingdom of God; neither does corruption inherit incorruption” [1
Corinthians 15:50]. It is of a different order. It is a spiritual kingdom.

But second, it is also spatial. It is in time. It is in history. It is in place. It is
as real as anything we know that is real. There shall be a new heaven, but it
will be a heaven, an actualheaven. There shall be a new city, a new capital,
but it will be a real city, a capital city. There shall be a new earth, but it shall
be a real earth, this earth, renovated[Revelation21:1-2]. There shall be a
new body, but we shall have a real body [1 Corinthians 15:44-49].
I cannot understand the anomaly, the contradictioninherent in what the Bible
will say—a spiritual body. Those two words are self-contradictory. You
might as wellsay sweet-sour. You might as wellsay hot-cold as to saya
spiritual body. They are contradictory, but God says it. We shall have a
spiritual body in space, in time, in history; this body resurrectedand glorified,
but an actualbody [1 Corinthians 15: 44-49]. And this is the cardinal doctrine
of the Christian faith.
Our Lord is marked out—horizō, as Paul wrote it in Romans 1:4. He is
marked out. The word horizon, that’s where the line betweenthe sky and the
earth is marked out. Our Lord is marked out; He is designatedas the Son of
God by the resurrectionfrom among the dead [Romans 1:4]. When they
came to Him in the days of His flesh and said, “What sign do You give us that
You are the Son of God?” [Matthew 12:38]. He said, “As Jonahwas in the
belly of the whale three days and three nights; so the Son of Man shall be in
the heart of the earth three days and three nights” [Matthew 12:40]. His
resurrectionis the greatsign of His deity.
When they came to Him on another occasionand said, “Give us a sign” [John
2:18], He said, “Destroythis temple, and in three days I will raise it up” [John
2:19]. And John writes by inspiration, “But He spake of the temple of His
body” [John 2:21]. The resurrectionof our Lord is the greatsign, is the great
proof, is the greatdesignation, the marking out that this is the Son of God, the
Savior of the world [Romans 1:4].

Now it is the same thing in His presentationof Himself to His disciples. It is
that the real Jesus that gives authenticity to the Christian faith. It is not a
metaphysic; it is not a philosophy; it is not a speculation;it is an actuality. It
is real. The disciples, when they saw Him come into the room with the doors
closed, were afraid. They were terrified, affrighted, thinking that they were
looking upon a spirit [Luke 24:36-37;John 20:19].
And the Lord said, “Why, a spirit hath not flesh and bones such as ye see Me
have. Come, handle Me and see that it is I, Myself.” And when they believed
not for joy, He said, “Have you here any meat, anything to eat? And they
gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and of a honeycomb, and He did eat before
them” [Luke 24:39-43]—the actualLord Jesus. It is a spiritual kingdom, but
it also spatial; it is also real; it is also material. God invented matter. He
createdit; He must like it. God invented eating. He createdit; He must like
it, and I do, too.
In the kingdom, we shall sit down at the banquet feastwith Abraham, and
Isaac, and Jacoband shall break bread with the Lord. We shall be party to
the marriage supper of the Lamb [Revelation19:7-9]. The whole kingdom is
as real in its realization, in its actualization, in its consummation, as of any
part of human life that we know today, only it will be immortalized, and
glorified.
The greatcardinal doctrine of the Christian faith is the actualresurrection
from the dead [1 Corinthians 15:50-51;1 Thessalonians 4:14-17]. All other
religions practically believe in some kind of immortality, the continuing life of
the spirit beyond the grave. But the only faith and the only religion that
believes in the resurrectionof this body from the dead is the Christian faith.
And it is a cardinal doctrine because it is based upon Easter;it is basedupon
the Lord’s Day. It is basedupon the triumphant resurrectionof our Lord

over death and sin and the grave [1 Corinthians 15:12-20]. BecauseHe lives,
the apostle says, we shalllive also [John 14:19]. And as He has a glorified and
risen body, immortalized, beautiful, so we shall have a raisedand risen body
glorified, immortalized and beautiful [1 John 3:2]. That’s what God says the
Christian faith is.
You have a saying in physics that all of you are familiar with: nature abhors a
vacuum. That is, whereverthere might be a vacuum in the earth, the whole
forces of the universe will rush to fill it. That’s why you have whirlwinds and
tornadoes and cyclones and what have you in this earth. There is a rushing in
order to fill a place that has somehow become under-pressurized. Nature
abhors a vacuum is an axiom in physics.
Now here is an axiom no less factual and no less true. The Christian faith
abhors disembodiment. Unclothing, nakedness,as the apostle calls it, the
spirit without a body, the Christian faith abhors. Look at this glorious
revelation in the fifth chapter of 2 Corinthians:
We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle—talking abouthis
body—it is dissolved, if we die and it decays, we have another house, another
tabernacle, made of God—a house not with human hands, but with God’s
hands—eternalin the heavens.
For in this body we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our
house which is from heaven:
If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked—disembodied.

[2 Corinthians 5:1-3]
Christianity abhors the idea of disembodiment. “If so be that being clothed
we shall not be found disembodied, naked. Forwe that are in this tabernacle
do groan, being burdened” [2 Corinthians 5:3-4]. We get sick, we getold, and
we finally die. “Notthat we would be unclothed” [2 Corinthians 5:4], even
though we grow old and are sick and invalid and die in this house in which we
now live. We don’t want to be unclothed, even though we hurt in this body.
We graspfor breath. We don’t want to die.
“Forwe that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened; not that we
would be unclothed”—disembodied—“butclothed upon”—in the spirit,
embodied, incarnate—“thatmortality might be swallowedup in life” [2
Corinthians 5:4]. God has promised those who trust in Him that He will raise
them from the dead [John 6:40, 54]. This body, these atoms, these molecules,
these muscles and tendons and the skin of the flesh, they shall be raisedfrom
the dead, from the dust, from the depths of the sea, from an oak tree that may
thrust its root through my substance, and its flowers and leaves and sap and
acorns. I don’t understand it. I cannot understand the powerof God.
I don’t understand anything that God does. Mysteryis His signature. If God
does it, all we do is just observe it. We don’t explain it or understand it. So it
is in the resurrectionfrom the dead. God takes these very atoms and these
very molecules and this body, and He raises it from the dead, glorified,
immortalized [1 Corinthians 15:52-53], like to the glorious body of our own
Savior when He was raisedthat Eastermorning from among the dead
[Matthew 28:1-7]. This is the kingdom that is coming. Spiritual? Yes, but
spatial and real and actual; an actualcity; an actualKing [Revelation21:1-5];
people who have actual bodies, who live in actualmansions [John 14:2-3].
This is the Christian faith.

When I first came to the church thirty-one years ago now, we had many
funerals. And when I buried the people, I didn’t know them. It did not find
repercussionin my heart then, as it does today. Now, when we bury our
beloved dead, almostwithout exception, there are those that I have knownfor
years and years. To me it’s like the dissolving of a family. Yesterday, I buried
a man in our congregation. I had known him for thirty years almost.
Tomorrow, I bury a sweetmother, a godly mother. I have known her ever
since I came to be undershepherd of the flock. And it has in my heart a
repercussion. Maybe I cry anyway. I cannot keepback the tears when I lay
these to rest, in the heart of the earth, in the dust of the ground, whom I have
known and loved for over a quarter of a century.
We have in the church, a chapelthat is dedicated to our Silent Friends, our
deaf. And for these many, many years, they have had a pastor. We don’t
have room in our congregationfor them to meet with us as we used to do. So
in order to find room for our people here, we took our deaf people and they
have their own service, and they have their own pastor. In those times, there
was a pastorof our Silent Friends named Brother Landon. And one of the
members of his little deaf congregationbecame ill and lay dying.
So he took me to see the chapelmember of our deaf who could not live and
was dying. When we went into the room, there he lay on the bed, facing that
final and inevitable hour that all of us some day shall face. Gatheredaround
him were the members of his family, here, here, here, here. And Brother
Landon, the pastor, and I took our places by the side of the members of the
family looking down on his face.
And while we were there, that deaf mute—who couldn’t speak, becausehe
couldn’t hear—that deaf mute pointed to this member of his family and then

to this one and then to this one and went all around to eachone, pointing with
his finger, and pointed to Brother Landon and pointed to me. After he had
pointed to eachone, who was gatheredaround the bed, he pointed to himself
like this, and then he pointed upward to heaven like that. And Brother
Landon said to me, “What he means to tell you is, ‘You, my sweetfamily, and
you, my pastor, I will meet you in heaven.’”
Do you believe that? If you do, you are a Christian. That’s the heart and the
cardinal doctrine of the Christian faith, that in Christ we shall see one another
again.
I will sing you a song of that beautiful land,
The farawayhome of the soul,
Where no storms everbeat on the glittering strand,
While the years of eternity roll.
Oh, how sweetit will be in that beautiful land,
So free from all sorrow and pain,
With songs on our lips and with palms in our hands,

To greet one another again.
[“Home of the Soul,” Ellen M. H. Gates]
An actualSavior; an actual kingdom; in an actualcity; in an actualhome;
living in a realand resurrectedbody. “Blessedhope” [Titus 2:13], Paul calls
it. Oh, precious faith! If you believe that and would trust God for it, would
you give yourselves to Him, with us this solemn morning hour? [Matthew
11:28].
In a moment we shall stand to sing our hymn of appeal. And while we sing it,
trusting the Lord as your Savior, giving your life to Him [Romans 10:8-13];or
a family coming into the fellowshipof the church; or a couple, hand in hand,
coming to the Saviorand to us; or just one somebody you, make the decision
now in your heart. And in a moment when we stand to sing, stand up walking
down that stairwayor coming down this aisle, “Pastor, I have decided and
here I am.” God speedyou and angels attend you in the way as you come,
while we stand and while we sing.
EXPOSITORYNOTESON
THE PROPHET ISAIAH
by
Harry A. Ironside, Litt.D.
Copyright @ 1952
ISAIAH CHAPTERS ELEVEN AND TWELVE

WHEN GOD’S ANOINTED TAKES OVER
THERE is a very close connectionwith that which now comes before us and
that which we have
seenin the lastchapter. After the Assyrian is destroyedand Israel will have
been delivered from
all her enemies, we have the peacefulreign of Him who is the Rodout of
Jesse’s stem, the
Branch of the Lord who is to bring all things into subjection to God and rule
with the iron rod of
inflexible righteousness.
Of Him we read:
“And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branchshall
grow out of
his roots:and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom
and
understanding, the Spirit of counseland might, the spirit of knowledge and of
the fearof
the Lord; and shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord:
and he shall
not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his
ears:but with
righteousness shallhe 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. And righteousness shallbe the girdle of his loins, and
faithfulness the

girdle of his reins” (verses 1-5).
Here we have the One who is presentedin the Book of the Revelationas
having the sevenspirits
of God: that is, the Holy Spirit in the sevenfoldplenitude of His power.
Coming by virgin birth
through David’s line He is the Branch out of the root of Jesse,the father of
David. Upon Him
rests “the Spirit of the Lord,”
- The Spirit of wisdom,
- And of understanding,
- The Spirit of counsel,
- And of might,
- The Spirit of knowledge,
- And of the fearof the Lord,
- The fearof the Lord is the spirit of reverence.
We are told in John that the Fathergiveth not the Spirit by measure to His
beloved Son (3:34).
From the moment of His birth the Lord Jesus was under the controlling
powerof the Holy Spirit,
for as Man on earth, He chose notto actin His own omnipotence but as the
Servant of the
Godhead.
After His baptism in the Jordan, the Spirit was seendescending upon Him as
a dove. This was

the anointing of which the Apostle Peterspoke, in preparation for His
gracious public ministry.
Neverfor one moment was He out of harmony with the Spirit. It was this that
made it possible
for Him to grow in wisdom as He grew in stature, and in favor with Godand
man. Confessedly,
this mystery is great:that the EternalWisdom should have so limited Himself
as Man in all
perfection that He grew in wisdom and knowledge from childhood to physical
maturity as under
the tutelage of the Father, who by the Spirit revealedHis will to Jesus from
day to day, so that
He could say, “I speak not mine own words but the words of Him that sent
Me.”
And as to the works He wrought, He attributed them all to the Spirit of God
who dwelt in Him in
all His fullness. Scripture guards carefully the truth of the perfect Manhoodof
our Lord, as also
that of His true Deity. We see Him here as the Servant of the Lord speaking
and acting according
to the Father’s will. So His judgment was inerrant and His understanding
perfect.
When in God’s due time He takes overthe reins of the government of this
world, all will be
equally right and just at last. David’s prophetic words will be fulfilled when
there shall be “He
that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God” (II Samuel 23:3).
Earth’s long

centuries of selfishmisrule will have come to an end, and Israel and the
nations will enjoy the
blessings ofMessiah’s graciousand faithful sway;then all wickedness willbe
dealt with in
unsparing judgment and the meek of the earth will be protectedand enter
into undisturbed
blessedness. In that day the curse will be lifted from the lowercreation and
the very nature of the
beasts of the earth will be changed.
The Coming and Consummation of Jehovah’s Kingdom
Isaiah11:1 - 12:6
Dr. S. Lewis Johnsoncontinues his exposition of Isaiah's prophecy concerning
the promised Messiah. Passagesthat confirm Jesus ofNazarethas the
Messiahare expouded.
SLJ Institute > The Prophets > Isaiah> The Coming and Consummation of
Jehovah’s Kingdom
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[Prayer] Father, we thank Thee again that we are able to look into this great
prophecy of Isaiah. We thank Thee that it is the Word of God. We thank
Thee, Lord, for the factthat Thou hast preserved it for us and now in the 20th
Century, we are able to read the things that the prophet has penned by divine
inspiration. Mayour thoughts be arrangedand given by the Holy Spirit and
may we understand in a waythat will profit us spiritually. For Jesus’sake,
Amen.
[Message]The subjectfor tonight is the coming and consummationof the
Kingdom, Isaiah chapter11 and chapter12. Just one word of brief review,
remember that a new phase in Judah’s History had come with King Ahaz. He
had come to the throne in 735 B.C. Ahaz is the king of no faith. We have been
saying in eachof our lastfew times together. Remember that in Ahaz’s day,
Syria and Ephraim, the northern kingdom, for at this time, Israelhad been
divided into the northern and southern kingdoms, were attempting to depose
Ahaz, the king of Judah, in order that they might set a usurper upon his
throne. They wished apparently to get rid somehow of the Davidic King and
Ahaz was that Davidic King. And while he was a poor successorofDavid, he,
nevertheless, was David’s legalsuccessor.
Now, Ahaz was encounteredby Isaiah, the Prophet, and exhorted by Isaiahto
rest himself upon God. And that God would seemhim through the difficulty
of the Syro-Ephraimitic Warwhen Syria and Ephraim made war against
Judah. But instead of leaning upon God, Ahaz leanedupon the King of
Assyria. Isaiahhad said to him, “Ahaz, if ye will not believe, surely ye shall
not be established.” Chapter7 and verse 9. But Ahaz did not think nearly so

much of the promises of God, as he thought of his own trust in the King of
Assyria, Tiglath-PileserIII, who is also calledPul in the Old Testament
Scriptures. In other words, he had a trust in his heart that meant far more to
him than trust in God. He had promises which to him, though of course, they
were insubstantial, meant more to him than the promises of the holy
Scriptures and the words of the Prophets. He had a trust in Asshur or
Assyria.
And of course, the lessonfor us is obvious. Very often, we have upon our lips
religious thoughts, religious words, we saythem, we go to church, we attend
the meetings. It is possible to even attend the Bible studies such as this but our
trust is really not in the Lord and in the promises which he has given us. Deep
down in our hearts, when the issues of life come, we lean upon ourselves and
instead of leaning upon the word of God and those promises. And that of
course, is why we fail. Becausetrust in Asshur or trust in the arm of the flesh
or trust in the world is always insubstantial. It cannever support us and it can
never bless us. On the other hand, trust in God is always substantialands
when we do lean upon him in the trials and problems and perplexities of life,
there is always something that is real and which holds us up. But Ahaz was
Mr. King No Faith.
Now as Isaiah describes this in the 7th chapter, with that he concludes, for a
time, his public ministry. And in the 8th chapter, remember, he beganhis
private ministry to his disciples. In the 8th chapter in the 16thverse, you can
see it very plainly, God tells him: Bind up the testimony, sealthe Law among
my disciples. And Isaiah says, “And I will wait upon the Lord who hiddeth his
face from the House of Jacoband I will look for him.” And then he receives a
messageand this messageis something that is the clue to the chapters that
immediately follow. Isaiah is told, “Behold, I and the children whom the Lord
had given me.” and “He is giving” of course, the Words of God that came to
Him, “Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are four signs
and four wonders in Israelfrom the Lord of Hosts, which dwelleth in mount

Zion. So three signs. For Isaiahhad two sons, one of them was named Maher-
Shalal-Hash-Baz. The other was named Shear-Yashub. And then Isaiah,
himself is the Third sign.
Three signs are given to the prophet which are to guide him during the times
of the Assyrian peril. And he is to keepthese truths and seek to understand
them for they are truths that we will enable him to rest his heart while all
outside is in turmoil and tumult. Now the three names that were given him
were Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, “speed, spoil, hurry, pray”. And remember
that was designedto tell Isaiahthe Prophet that there was going to come a
time of desolation. Because Ahaz had been disobedient, it was necessaryfor
the Assyrian to come. He was going to leanon the Assyrian but the Assyrian
was going to be a different kind of resting post than he imagined; for he was
going to invite the Assyrian to come help him but the Assyrian was going to
come into the land and, as a matter of fact, he was going to come right to the
very doors of Judah and almosttake it. And so this is a sign of approaching
judgment, discipline for the nation Israel.
Then the secondsign, Shear-Yashub; that name means “a remnant shall
return.” Now the purpose of this name was to give Isaiah hope and to remind
him that though the fortunes of Judah and Israel should reach the place
where it seemedas if everything was gone. Still, a remnant would return and
through that remnant, God would bring blessing to the nation Israeland
through Israelto the world. And so in the 10th chapter he says that a
“remnant shall return” Shear-Yashub. So Isaiah was to be comforted by the
sign Maher-Shalal-Hash-BazandShear-Yashub. Judgment is coming but a
remnant shall return.
Now, the third sign is the name of the Prophet himself, Isaiah. Isaiah means
“the salvationof God’ and son in chapter 11 and chapter 12 we are going to
read about the salvationof God. And this is the salvation that is going to make

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