Isaiah 11: 15

1
Isaiah 11 1-5

• A CRITICAL ANALYSIS
• BY
• RUSS KOVASH

2
Isaiah 11 1-5

• There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of
  Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
  And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
  the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the
  spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of
  knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his
  delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He
  shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide
  by what his ears hear but with righteousness he
  shall judge the poor, and decide 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 he shall slay the wicked.
  Righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist
  and faithfulness the girdle of his loins.

3
FIVE MAJOR POINTS

• Who was Isaiah?
• Regional happenings
• The shoot, stump, and branch
• The attributes of the perfect king
• How the king will wage war

4
Who was Isaiah?

• Son of Amoz
• Two sons one of which was named Shear-Jashub,
  which meant a remnant shall return
• Politician, but not politically correct
• Pride as the greatest sin
• Strong advocate for social justice
• His name means Yahweh is salvation
• Condemned moral and religious abuses

5
Regional Happenings

• First half of 8th century B.C. saw an era of
  peace and material prosperity under King Uzziah
• King Uzziah dies in 742 B.C. and Isaiah receives
  his summons from God to be his ambassador.
• Tremendous upheavel breaks out
• Ahaz becomes king makes ties to a pro-Egyptian
  party.
• Assyrians ravage Judah and Jerusalem and all
  appears lost.

6
Assyrian Domination

• Five separate kingdoms fall
• Northern Syria
• Damascus
• Israel
• Judah
• Egypt

7
The Shoot, Stump and Branch
8
The Shoot

• Comes from the Hebrew word (neser), which derives
  from the verb (nsr), which means keep in store
  or preserve
• Also refers to a purified remnant or holy
  seed
• Note Isaiahs son, Shear-Jashub

9
Other References To Remnants

• And the daughter of Zion is left like a booth in
  a vineyard, like a lodge in a cucumber field,
  like a besieged city. If the Lord of hosts had
  not left us a few survivors, we should have been
  like Sodom, and become like Gomorrah (Isaiah
  18-9)
• And though a tenth remain in it, it will be
  burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose
  stump remains standing when it is felled. The
  holy seed is its stump. (Isaiah 613)
• A thousand shall flee at the threat of one, at
  the threat of five you shall flee, till you are
  left like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain,
  like a signal on a hill. (Isaiah 3017)

10
The Stump

• Refers to two things
• 1) Gods people are nearly wiped out.
• 2) The Assyrian power and pride which eventually
  collapses.

11

• GODS PEOPLE
• When Israel was cut down, a tiny shoot restored
  the nation with the end of war. Thus, genuine
  security was established, which was always sought
  but never attained

• ASSYRIAN DYNASTY
• When Assyria was cut down by Babylon, Persia, and
  Media, nothing from this stump arose again.

12
Why Jesse?

• Why did Isaiah use Jesse, the father of David,
  rather than David?
• To emphasize how the kingdom had sunk to such a
  low level
• To stress the lowly origin where the royal family
  came
• Jesse lived in Bethlehem and was considered the
  least among the tribes of Judah

13
The Branch

• Unlike the outward and material prosperity when
  King Uzziah reigned, the branch will produce a
  fruitfulness of a spiritual nature.

14
The Perfect King

• Verse 2 and 3a spell out the attributes that
  people always hoped for in a king but never
  really got.
• 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 the fear of the Lord. And his
  delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.

15
The Perfect King

• Wisdom and Understanding
• Possessing these virtues will allow the king to
  be a righteous administrator of justice

16
The Perfect King

• Council and Might
• These virtues allow for effective military
  leadership. Unless a king had the ability to
  gather data for decision-making, and the
  forcefulness to make decisions, the king was
  doomed for failure.

17
The Perfect King

• Knowledge and Fear of the Lord
• This king will possess absolute knowledge which
  will result in absolute justice. He will go
  further than the senses to determine fair ruling,
  and he will look into peoples hearts.
• He will exemplify holiness and acknowledge a
  profound reverence for Yahweh.

18
Other Attributes

• The emphasis of the ruler will change as he will
  no longer see himself as privileged but
  responsible. Thus, he will be a servant, not
  because he is too weak to dominate but because he
  is strong enough not to need to crush.
• He will have correct motivation and will not
  allow self-serving to stain his kingship
• He will accept no bribes or be influenced by the
  wealthy
• He will display preferential treatment for the
  poor, and announce harsh verdicts on the arrogant
  and wicked.

19
A Comparative Analysis

• Attributes of the Perfect King
• He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or
  decide by what his ears hear.
• He will accept no bribes or be influenced by the
  wealthy.
• He will have correct motivation and will not
  allow self-serving to stain his kingship.

• Ancient Texts of Taoism
• He sees where there is the deepest obscurity he
  hears where there is no sound. In the midst of
  the deepest obscurity, he alone sees and can
  distinguish.
• He considers not property or money to be any
  gain he keeps aloof from riches and honors he
  does not account prosperity a glory, nor is
  ashamed of indigence

20
A Comparative Analysis

• Isaiah 11 4
• but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
  and decide with equity for the meek of the earth.

• Psalm 9
• thou hast sat on the throne giving right
  judgement.
• and he judges the world with righteousness, he
  judges the people with equity.
• The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a
  stronghold in times of trouble.

21
Wrestlemania

• What is the meaning of the girdle?
• A garment which bound the other clothing together
• A symbol of power and preparedness
• Emblem of royalty or a sign of royalty.
• In ancient times, a girdle/belt was worn by one
  who was ready to engage in a bout of wrestling
  with an opponent. The object of the bout was to
  wrestle the belt from the opponent.

• Support for two vases in the form of two
  wrestlers. Tutub/Khafaje. Early Dynastic I, Fara
  (ancient Shuruppak) period, c. 2900-2680 BC.
  Copper, h. 10.2 cm, w. 8.8 cm. IM 41085.
  (B78-80).

22
Wrestlemania

• Later on, the girdle/belt took on a figurative
  meaning. It came to be used by anyone ready to
  face a struggle or contest
• In verse 5, Isaiah refers to the king as girding
  himself with righteousness and faithfulness.
• This may indicate that the shoot is preparing
  to engage in battle, and that he is fully
  equipped for the struggle.
• He does not utilize ordinary weapons of war
  rather he girds himself with the greatest of
  protection which cannot be destroyed or taken
  away from him.
• This will always guarantee a victory!!

23
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

• THINGS ARE NOT ALWAYS WHAT THEY SEEM
• WHAT APPEARED TO BE DEAD, THE STUMP, WAS NOT AND
  CONTAINED LIFE
• WHAT APPEARS TO BE BREAD AND WINE IS THE BODY AND
  BLOOD OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
• WHAT APPEARED TO BE JUST AN ORDINARY MAN, WAS
  ALSO GOD

24
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

• WHERE WILL WE PLACE OUR HOPE?
• IF WE PLACE OUR HOPE IN EARTHLY THINGS, WE ARE
  BOUND TO BE DISAPPOINTED AS THEY CAN BE TAKEN
  AWAY AT ANY MOMENT.
• THEREFORE, WE MUST PLACE OUR HOPE IN THINGS THAT
  ARE INDESTRUCTIBLE RIGHTEOUSNESS AND
  FAITHFULNESS.

25
THE END!!!!!!