Isaiah 11:1-10

The Final Result (Isaiah 10:33 to Isaiah 11:10 ).

And now the scene suddenly changes. After the detail of the march the final result is dismissed in two sentences as a new prophecy opens up. Assyria is by now almost irrelevant. In mind now are all the enemies who come from the north in their proud and arrogant presumption against God’s people, all the enemies of Israel. They will be hewn down like a condemned forest and fall before the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, preparing the way for the new growth of the Spirit endued King. And then will arise God’s solution for the world, the anointed son of David, and He will establish everlasting righteousness.

All The Enemies of the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts Will Be Severely Dealt With And His King Will Reign In Righteousness (Isaiah 10:33 to Isaiah 11:4).

The destruction of the high and mighty ones, and the raising up of His righteous king go together. It is as though from the felled forest grows up the shoot and branch of Jesse. Out of seeming disaster God will bring triumph.

Analysis of Isaiah 10:33 to Isaiah 11:4.

a Behold the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, will lop the boughs with terror, and the high ones of stature will be hewn down, and the lofty will be brought low. And He will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One (Isaiah 10:33-34).

b And there will come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots will bear fruit (Isaiah 11:1).

c And the Spirit of Yahweh will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Yahweh (Isaiah 11:2).

c And His delight will be in the fear of Yahweh, and He will not judge after the sight of His eyes, nor reprove after the hearing of His ears (Isaiah 10:3).

b But with righteousness will He judge the poor, and reprove with equity on behalf of the meek of the earth (Isaiah 10:4 a).

a And He will smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked (Isaiah 10:4 b).

In ‘a’ the Lord Yahweh of hosts will reveal His righteousness (compare Isaiah 10:22) by bringing down the high ones and the lofty ones, cutting down the forests as the Mighty One and in the parallel His chosen One will smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and slay the wicked with the breath of His lips. In ‘b’ a shoot will come forth from the stock of Jesse and a branch from his roots (in contrast with the high and lofty forests), and in the parallel He will judge the poor with righteousness and reprove the meek with equity, this in complete contrast with the king of Assyria. In ‘c’ The ‘Spirit of Yahweh’ will rest on Him, and He will be just and right, and in the parallel His delight will be in the ‘fear of Yahweh’ and He will judge fairly and honestly.

Isaiah 10:33

‘Behold the Lord, Yahweh of hosts,

Will lop the boughs with terror,

And the high ones of stature will be hewn down,

And the lofty will be brought low.

And he will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron,

And Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.’

All who oppose God are in mind here, all the proud foes from the north. This includes Assyria and its attack on God’s people, but it also includes all others who come through Lebanon from the north. This prophecy is placed here, not only to emphasise Assyria’s defeat, but also to demonstrate God’s final victory on all who come from the north. It is the ultimate victory against the ultimate enemy. It was from the forests of Lebanon that the enemy continually emerged. But now the forests of Lebanon will be no more, with all that they represent of the foes from the north. They will be laid bare. All God’s enemies will be cut down and destroyed to prepare the way for the son of David, and it is inevitable, for they are in opposition to the sovereign Lord, Yahweh, Lord of all the hosts of heaven and earth.

The vivid picture brings home the direct action of God. No longer the indirect forest fire (Isaiah 10:16-19), but the direct action of the woodcutter which will be on all that is against God and His people. Note that the action takes place outside the land. His people will now be safe under their King. (It is the geography of parable, not to be taken literally).

The emphasis is on the humbling of proud man before the terror of Yahweh. The boughs are lopped. The huge giants of the forest are hewn down, the tallest of the trees are brought low. The impenetrable thickets are chopped down with iron. The whole of Lebanon will fall at the hands of the Mighty One. For a similar world picture see Isaiah 2:10-21. We know Who has done it, but how it will come about is not described.

And then, in contrast, from the stump of a tree will blossom the One Who will change the world.