Honestly, Isaiah 11 could be the Source of a month’s worth of Bible Study Lessons. And even then, we would have just begun! (I plan to have our printer produce a little “Bible Portion” Booklet containing nothing but this glorious chapter. And then I am going, the Lord willing, to preach a whole Revival from its 16 verses!) It is one of the most beautiful of all the Bible’s chapters on the coming Kingdom Rule of Jesus … on this earth. (On the Millennium!)

But today (by the way, Merry Christmas) I’d simply like to quickly survey this chapter, making a few comments that I trust will incite some of you to further study.

I enjoy the way the Holy Spirit is described in the opening Paragraph. “And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.” (Isaiah 11:2) It would be hard to categorize the Holy Spirit in a single Term or Name … so Isaiah elaborates a little! (I count a seven-fold exposition, myself!) Upon which enumeration I think of Revelation 5:6, which again associates Jesus (The Lamb) with “the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.” Yes, the dear Holy Spirit! (Even the “fruit” of the Spirit in our lives cannot be singularized! “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.” King James Version, a “cluster” of fruit. But this time, nine-fold!)

I am also impressed with the way Jesus “begins” His Millennial reign. By conquering the enemy … “and He shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.” Wow, Isaiah 11:4. (Sounds a lot like Psalm 2:8-9, describing the very same Event. “Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” Or even 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9, still at the Second Coming. “When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.”)

Jesus indeed “the Prince of Peace,” but only after being the “Mighty Warrior!”

And those Isaianic descriptions of nature during the Millennium, when the “curse” on earth has (obviously) been lifted! Such as: “The wolf (!) also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard (!) shall lie down with the kid (baby goat); and the calf and the young lion (!) and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear (!) shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion (!) shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp (a venomous snake nowadays), and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ (maybe an adder, a snake) den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain.” Verses 6-9! (Much like the very “Garden of Eden” being restored!) All sounding so poetic, but to be interpreted literally!

And then Jesus recalling (regathering) the people of Israel! An “inkling” of which we have seen happening in that little Nation since her rebirth in 1948, May 14th to be specific. Isaiah 11:11 … “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.” 

Our Lord even constructing a Highway on which they (the Jews) can return! “And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.” Verse 16, chapter’s end! (These Lines are written to sound like a second “Exodus!”) “And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod.” Verse 15, Isaiah writing not history, but prophecy!

Wow!

Now I must close.

Last of all, in my estimation … “all intertribal conflict (Jew against Jew) shall cease!” According to Verse 13 … “The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.”

Peace indeed, without and within!

Amen!

“Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” Revelation 22:20, the Bible’s final prayer!

Yes, Isaiah 11, worth deep study!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

Again, this Lesson was written December 25, 2018 (at 5:00 AM). Let’s keep Christ in Christmas, folks! Honor HIM today!

 

I have noticed an interesting facet of Isaiah 11 that I feel compelled to share with you. It has two paragraphs (a fact I had not previously noticed) … each clearly  bracketed with identical “markers.” As if the Holy Spirit wanted us to see His two divisions in this great Piece of Literature, “Holy Writ,” this Portion of the Word of God. (This is a literary device often called “inclusio.”)

Now, let me show you …

First, Isaiah 11:1-10, but for now just concentrate on the highlighted (capitalized) words. See their similarity. Look early and late in the Paragraph.

“1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of JESSE, and a Branch shall grow out of his ROOTS: 2 And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; 3 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: 4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. 5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. 6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. 10 And in that day there shall be a ROOT OF JESSE, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.”

See?

This is the Holy Spirit’s (the True Author of Isaiah) way of demarcating this Section, this first Unit of the chapter, of Isaiah 11. Verses 1 and 11 actually serve as “bookends” or “parentheses” or “brackets” to indicate a single theme of interest! (Jesus, the Greater Son of Jesse!)

Now look again …

“11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from ASSYRIA, and from EGYPT, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. 12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. 13 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. 14 But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them. 15 And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod. 16 And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from ASSYRIA; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of EGYPT.”

Indicating the global impact of the Kingdom Reign of Jesus! (North all the way to Assyria and then south to Egypt!) The global outreach of our Lord’s Magnetism!

We will talk more about the chapter tomorrow, the Lord willing.

But I found this set of “inclusio” markers captivating!

Genuine Effort has clearly been invested in writing this Portion of Scripture!

A lovely chapter, both in composition and content!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

Written Monday morning, December 24, 2018 … May each of you enjoy a blessed Christmas! With JESUS in the center of all you deliberations!

 

Yes, Isaiah 11, the entire chapter (all 16 verses) describes Jesus!

Jesus, when He comes again to earth! 

When He returns to rule (reign) as King!

This Thing is so vast one hardly knows where to begin!

Notice verse 1 … “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.”

This is simply telling us that the coming King (Messiah, Jesus Christ our Lord) will be Davidic. Will by nature (in His humanity) be related to Royalty! (Both Mary the Virgin … and Joseph her legal husband had Jewish blood, specifically descending from the Tribe of Judah, from the heritage of Jesse, David’s father! That’s what the genealogies of Matthew and Luke try to prove to us.)

Jesus is here termed a “rod,” in Hebrew “choter,” basically (etymologically) a “little shoot, a mere twig,” but with great growth potential! The main idea again … Jesus “sprang from Judah,” the ruling (kingly) Tribe of Israel. (Hebrews 7:14 … “For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda.”)

The word “stem” means the shortened “trunk” of a cut-down tree. Just the stub!

The Noun (Name) “Jesse” loosely means “I am.” In the sense of “standing out” or “existing.” (Some scholars add the meaning “to possess.”) His name is mentioned 42 times in the Bible, primarily as the father of David.

But now here is the interesting word!

“Branch” (spelled “netzser”) means “sprout,” a synonym to the noun “rod” which Isaiah just penned. Jesus’ (human”) heritage. Or should I say “qualification” for Kingship? But look! “Netzser” is related to the Hebrew word “nazarite” or possibly even “Nazarene!” (The word is derived from a “root” verb meaning “to guard, watch, protect!”)

That’s linkage to Jesus, for sure! (Agreed: our Lord technically was not a “nazarite,” but certainly was a “Nazarene!”) See Matthew 2:23 here … “And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a NAZARENE.”

“Shall grow,” is “para” in Hebrew, meaning “bear fruit!” Also “to increase!” (I am thinking of Luke 2:52 now … “And Jesus INCREASED in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.”)

Oh yes!

And that last word in verse 1, “roots” can mean “depths!”

Profound!

In fact, Biblically Jesus is said to be both the “Root” of David and the “Offspring” of David! He was “before” David, being everlasting … and will reign long “after” David, both millennially (for 1,000 glorious years) and eternally (generations without end)! Read with me Revelation 22:16 … “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the ROOT and the OFFSPRING of David, and the bright and morning star.”

Hallelujah!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

I already knew late yesterday what I wanted to emphasize in this Lesson. In which I am trying to explain an expression I have heard all my Christian life. That phrase being “the lost tribes of Israel!” 

I realize this is a reference to the “10 Tribes” of the (after Solomon’s Kingdom was severed) North. That is … all Israel except the Tribes of Judah and Benjamin! Nationally she (those 10 Tribes) is called by different names in the Bible, even in Isaiah’s Prophecy alone. (“Israel, Ephraim, Samaria,” typically, though other names were used as well … even “Sodom” a few times, due to her egregious sinning!)

As a general rule … the Northern Kingdom far outpaced the little South Kingdom (“Judah, Jerusalem”) in their iniquity. In fact, that nation (the North) did not have a single godly King in all her history. (From Jeroboam I all the way through to Hoshea!)

For her blatant rebellion and sinfulness … God allowed Assyria to decimate those backslidden people! The fierce Assyrian armies attacked and conquered and deported the Ten Tribes! The infamous date generally assigned to this Tragedy, 721 BC. (Isaiah was still preaching when it happened!)

Assyria furthermore brought numerous heathen groups (clans of polytheistic people) into the land of Israel, Samaria, resulting in further degradation, in every way, but particularly spiritually. Virtually changing the land’s ethnic composition! (Hence the “hatred/animosity” between the “Jews” ands the “Samaritans, so evident tin New Testament days!)

So now … where are the “10 Tribes?”

Well, secular history says indeed that they are “lost,” forever!

Assimilated into the “world community” of citizens!

“Globalism” at work, I imagine some would aver!

And it is accurate to say that the rest of Old Testament history (mostly) deals with little Judah! With Judah and Jerusalem … the north not mentioned a lot at all.

(Now it is true that Judah was also taken into Captivity, due to her sins as well. In 586 BC, by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians. But she was allowed to return to her Land, roughly 70 years later! When Babylon fell to the Persians. So, the two Tribes were never said to be “lost.” Not by reputable Bible historians!)

It’s just Israel, Ephraim … “lost!”

But what a minute!

Isaiah chapter 10 (still our Text today) promises some good news in this regard!

God to Israel, the Land of Ephraim …

“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God. For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness.” Isaiah 10:20-22

“Remnant” … the “residue, remainder,” essentially “what’s left.”

God has saved, spared, preserved a “few!”

A “handful” who have “stayed” (leaned and trusted) upon the Lord!

God shall allow them to “return” to the Land, some day!

Their “disaster” (“consumption” truly meaning “destruction” even “cessation”) will be turned into revival! Their end will be … righteousness!

God will work on their behalf!

Yes, friends, the Jew will ALWAYS exist!

Folks, those Tribes are NOT lost, not to the Lord anyway! 

Read this amazing Paragraph … “Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: if those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then THE SEED OF ISRAEL also shall cease from being a NATION before me for ever. Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the SEED OF ISRAEL for all that they have done, saith the LORD.” Jeremiah 31:35-37, as long as the sun rises, that little Nation will continue!

Wow!

Israel forever!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

A quick “aside” … in Revelation chapter 7 … God knows where they are, all the Tribes of Israel. One more proof … they are not lost! An angel is told … “Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of ALL THE TRIBES OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL. Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand.” And so on … 

I rest my case!

 

(This morning at 8:30, the Lord willing, I will undergo cataract surgery on my right eye. Your prayers will be appreciated. God has certainly blessed the previous surgery, on the left eye. Glory to His Name!)

From early American history, specifically the Revolutionary War, one line comes to mind this morning: “The British are coming! The British are coming!” Alluding to that famous Poem, “Paul Revere’s Ride,” by Longfellow. But … the British were ultimately defeated! (Overcome by the providential Hand of God, many Christian historians believe.)

But much earlier (well over 2,000 years earlier) than the American Revolution, Isaiah the Prophet declared: “The Assyrians are coming! The Assyrians are coming!” Alluding to Isaiah 10:5, King James Version. But … the Assyrians were ultimately defeated as well! (No doubt by the omnipotent Hand of our great God!)

Wow!

Yes, the Assyrian Empire under the leadership of their wicked King Sennacherib, had set its sights set on Israel … then later, on her little sister nation Judah!

We will meet this same aggressive army (and their insolent General named Rabshakeh) later in the Prophecy (Book) of Isaiah, specifically in chapters 36 and 37. What thrilling Bible Texts await us there!

And what “big mouths” these godless people had! (“Godless” is not the best adjective here! They worshipped many “gods,” but not the True God of Israel!)

Here’s an example of their hubris, part of today’s Text: “For he (the Assyrian King) saith, Are not my princes altogether kings? (He boasts that his ‘princes’ were better than anybody else’s ‘Kings.’) Is not Calno as Carchemish? Is not Hamath as Arpad? Is not Samaria as Damascus? (Major cities/nations he has already conquered, or is about to conquer!) As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols (I defeated all their gods!), and whose graven images (idols) DID EXCEL them of Jerusalem and of Samaria (I have whipped far stronger gods than theirs, he thinks!); shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria (the Northern Kingdom) and her idols, so do to Jerusalem (the ‘Apple of God’s Eye,’ the Capital of Judah) and her idols?” Isaiah 10:8-11, sounding like an excerpt from the royal archives!

Pride personified!

Satanic in tone!

King Sennacherib likely did not know the difference between Jehovah God and the hundreds of false idols of the heathen world! He just knew (intoxicated on his own power) he could defeat them all! (Unless, of course, idolatry had become so rampant, even in Judah, that she was by then renown for such open disobedience to the Ten Commandments!)

And … The Assyrians came! The Assyrians came! 

But … God defeated them!

Now read with me Isaiah 10:12 please, the rest of today’s Text. Isaiah is speaking, then God is speaking: “Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work (that is, disciplining/chastening/judging Judah for her stubborn sins) upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I (the Lord Himself) will PUNISH the fruit of the STOUT (proud, ‘great’ in his own eyes) HEART of the KING of ASSYRIA, and the glory of his HIGH LOOKS.”

Wow!

Here is God controlling the nations of the world!

Here is Proverbs 21:1 in action: “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.”

Amen!

Let me stop writing now and worship a while!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell