Isaiah Chapter 11 — Stephen Kaung

The Shoot of Jesse and the Coming Kingdom

Isaiah chapter eleven, we will read from verse one through verse ten. And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stalk of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall be fruitful. And the Spirit of Jehovah 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 Jehovah.

And his delight will be in the fear of Jehovah. And he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears. But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity 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 shall be the girdle of his reign, and faithfulness the girdle of his loins.

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the cow and the young lion and the fatted beast together, and the little child shall lead them. And the cow and the she-bear shall feed, their young one shall lie down together.

And the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and the sucking child shall play on the hole of the adder, and the weaned child shall put forth his hand to the viper's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters cover the sea.

And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse standing as a banner of the peoples. The nation shall seek it, and his resting place shall be glory. We know that in the original Hebrew text there is no division of chapters and verses.

Therefore, when we read the Bible, we need to remember that the division of chapters and verses come later on, and they are arbitrary. Oftentimes they are helps, but sometimes they seem to cover up the thought that God may want us to see.

Now when we begin with this chapter, we find the first word is end. And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse. In other words, this word end shows us that it is a continuation of what has preceded this.

To get the right impression of this passage, we have to see the continuity of thought there. Now as you read the preceding words, you will find that God disciplined his people of Israel because of their unfaithfulness.

And God used a very strange instrument to discipline his own people. He raised up the Assyrians as the rod of his anger. Now if you read Isaiah chapter 10, say begin with verse 5. Ah, the Assyrians, the rod of my anger, and the staff in their hand is my indignation.

I will send him against a hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge to take the spoil, and to seize the prey, and to tread them down like a mire of the streets. God raised up the Assyrians, used the Assyrians as a rod of his anger to punish his own people.

Why? Because his own people were a hypocritical nation. God disciplined his own with the enemy. But unfortunately the Assyrians, the enemy, did not realize that it was God who used them to discipline his people.

They thought that they were mighty. They thought that they could do anything they liked to. Therefore you'll find in verse 7, but he mean it not so, neither does his heart think so, for it is in his heart to extirpate and cut off nations, not a few.

While the Assyrians were used by God, they thought that they were the mighty ones. And instead of executing the will of God, they desired to do things for themselves, and often times they overdid it. And that was the situation.

So the Assyrians came, they conquered the nation of Israel, and yet they did more than they should to God's people. Now when such situation was created, how would God react? God reacted against his people, his unfaithful people, by raising up the Assyrians.

But the Assyrians had overdone themselves. And so God reacted again for his people against his enemy. And how did God react? What was God's reaction? And that we find in the passage that we read in the 11th chapter.

Christ as God's Divine Reaction

And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall be fruitful. In other words, here you'll find when God reacts, he is not just reacting against a situation, he is not just reacting with another act.

You'll find that when God reacts, he reacts with a person. In other words, his reaction is in a person. He reacts to every situation with a person. And that person, of course, is our Lord Jesus Christ.

Brothers and sisters, this morning we would like to see the principle of divine reaction. The principle of divine reaction is not just some action, it is a person. Whenever God really reacts, you'll find he always reacts with a person.

That person is his total reaction to all situations. And that person is our Lord. In your own experience, you can find that. When God reacts in your situations, in the things that you are involved with, do you think that God just reacts with another action, and that's it?

Whenever God really reacts, you'll find he always reacts with his Son. He always brings in his Son. His Son is the reaction to all actions. To all things. And in the case with the nation of Israel, this is very evident.

God reacted by raising up a shoot out of the stock of Jesse. We would like to ask this question. Why does not the Bible say, there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of David? Because our Lord Jesus is the Son of David.

And the Son of David is greater than David, because he's also the Lord of David. And why should the prophet said, a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, instead of David? Probably this is the reason. Because we know that David was a king.

David reigned and ruled. And yet, when Israel was disciplined by God, because of their unfaithfulness, the nation was destroyed. The royal seed was not only taken into captivity, but even after they did return, you know, before Christ was born, where was the royal seed of David?

What was the condition of David's seed? Joseph, Joseph. David's seed was a carpenter in Nazareth. He was not in Jerusalem. He was not sitting on the throne of David. Instead, you'll find Joseph was a commoner, a carpenter.

And stuck somewhere, hidden somewhere in the hills of Nazareth, unknown. The house of David was reduced to a very low state. And I think this probably is the reason why. You'll find when God reacted, He reacted at a time when the house of David was in its lowest state.

Out of the stock of Jesse, because Jesse was a commoner. It wasn't until David that this became a royal family. So out of the stock of Jesse, there came forth a shoot and a branch out of his root. So this speaks of the humanity of our Lord Jesus.

God reacted by bringing in His own Son. And when His Son was brought into this world, He was born of the family of Jesse. He came as a man, as a human being just like we are. How He, the Son of God, emptied Himself and took upon Himself the form of a man.

He was a man just like we are. And yet, He was very fruitful. Very fruitful. Now what characterized this man? What was this man different from any other man? And here in verse 2 you'll find, And the Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him.

The Spirit Resting Upon Christ

I believe this is fulfilled at the time when Jesus was baptized. You remember when Jesus came to John the Baptist to be baptized? At first John the Baptist refused to baptize Him, because somehow John the Baptist sensed the dignity that was in Jesus.

He felt that this man was greater than He. He should be baptized by Him instead of baptizing Him. So he refused to baptize Jesus. And yet the Lord Jesus said, Do it for the sake of righteousness. And John did it.

And you remember when Jesus, after Jesus was baptized, as He came out of the water, the Bible said, The Holy Spirit, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him as a dove, and a boy rested.

You know, in the Old Testament time, the Spirit of God sometimes came upon a particular person, and gave Him some special gift or special ability to do certain things. But never did the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, come into any man and dwell permanently with that person.

Never. Some prophets, some kings in the Old Testament time, some great leaders, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and enabled them to do great things. And yet the Holy Spirit never took up His abode in any.

And so there might be a few special cases. Now you do find a few special cases. You can study your Bible and try to find who they are. But let me just mention one man, David. You know, one day David prayed a prayer.

It was a prayer of repentance. In Psalm 51 he prayed. He asked the Lord, Do not take the Holy Spirit away from me. In other words, even though with David, it seemed as if the Holy Spirit was given to him, and yet it wasn't permanent.

He could come and he could go. But not so with our Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus was the first man. The first man upon whom the Spirit of God descended and took up His abode in Him. He rested in Him. Permanent.

When John saw this, he bore witness and testified that this is the Son of God. How did John the Baptist know that Jesus is the Son of God? Because he was told, upon whom the Spirit shall descend and abide, this is the one who shall baptize with the Holy Spirit.

So when he saw it, he bore witness and said, This is the Son. Dear brothers and sisters, our Lord Jesus, as a man, He was with the Holy Spirit. He and the Holy Spirit are one. And God gave Him the Holy Spirit without measure.

Without measure. And this Spirit that was in Him was described as the sevenfold Spirit. The Spirit of Jehovah 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 Jehovah. Now not that the Holy Spirit are seven in number. No. The Holy Spirit is one. One Spirit. But this Holy Spirit is so full and complete. So there is the sevenfoldness of the Holy Spirit.

Just like what you see in the book of Revelation. You'll find that before the throne, there were seven lambs. Seven torches. Which are the seven Spirits of God. And actually, one Spirit, but sevenfold.

And seven in the Scripture always speak of fullness, completeness. The Spirit of Jehovah. The Spirit of the God who is covenanted with man. And some commentators think that the Spirit of Jehovah emphasizes especially on the Spirit of prophecy.

The Holy Spirit of inspiration. He is the Spirit of wisdom and understanding. Now wisdom and understanding form a pair. It is very difficult to distinguish wisdom and understanding. Now one man put it this way.

He said wisdom is the power of discerning the nature of things through their appearances. In other words, we see things by the appearance. But if all you see are but appearances, then it is just the surface.

There is not much wisdom in it. It is very superficial knowledge. But wisdom penetrates behind the appearance of things and reveals to you the true nature of that thing. Now that is wisdom. Now what is understanding?

And that same person says understanding is the power of discerning the differences between things. In their appearances. One is discerning the true nature of a thing. Understanding is the discerning of the differences in things.

You can understand so you can prove and approve the more excellent thing. That's understanding. The Spirit of God is the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding. And He is the Spirit of counsel and might.

So His ability to come to the right conclusion. That's counsel. Might is the energy to carry out the counsel. That's might. You need wisdom and understanding to begin with. Then you need counsel and strength and might.

To put what you understand into practice and to realize it. And finally the last pair. The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah. The Spirit of knowledge is a knowledge that is obtained through fellowship of love.

Not just mental knowledge. But it is a knowledge that comes out of fellowship. Of love. To know Him and the One whom He sent. That is eternal life. And how do we know God? How do we know Him whom God has sent?

It is through fellowship of love. And you come to the knowledge of God. And the fear of Jehovah. This fear is not in contradiction with love. On the contrary, the more you love, the more you fear. You fear not because of punishment.

You fear because you do not want to displease the One whom you love. So there is a reverence. A holy awe that will be produced within that person. Now brothers and sisters, this is the sevenfold Spirit.

He is the Spirit of Jehovah. The Spirit of wisdom and understanding. The Spirit of counsel and might. The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah. And this Spirit rested upon Christ. One with Christ.

Christ's Spiritual Discernment and Righteous Judgment

And if you read the four Gospels, you will find this is how our Lord Jesus lived upon this earth. While He walked upon this earth, you'll find that He was just in the power of the Holy Spirit. You'll find there is inspiration in Him.

You'll find there is wisdom in Him. There is understanding in Him. There is counsel and might in Him. There is a knowledge of God and a fear of God in Him. You'll find our Lord Jesus exhibits the fullness of the Spirit.

And that characterizes. What does He do? And that is given to us from verse 3 through verse 5. And His delight will be in the fear of Jehovah. Now the word delight in the original is the word scent. S-C-E-N-T.

Or smell. Smell. Now when the translators translated this, they just couldn't understand. They just couldn't put the scent will be in the fear of Jehovah. That doesn't seem to make sense to them. And because of that, they translated it into delight instead.

But actually in the original, it is His scent shall be in the fear of Jehovah. And He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears. Here you'll find three things.

Seeing and smelling. And here you'll find the Lord Jesus, He will not judge after the seeing of His eyes. He will not reprove after the hearing of His ears. But His judgment will be based upon His smelling.

Now you know smelling is more subtle and far-reaching than seeing and hearing. How far can you see? How far can you hear? If we are all in this room, you can see. But suppose one is behind that partition, you cannot see, but you can hear the baby.

You still can hear. But brothers and sisters, scent or smelling is more far-reaching and subtle than seeing and hearing. I have some kind of a reaction against fish, as most of you know. If I go anywhere and someone is cooking fish, even if I'm on my way out, outside of the door, outside of the house, as I approach the door, I smell fish.

I don't see it, I don't hear it, but I smell it. And brothers and sisters, you know, scent is a very subtle thing. Very subtle thing. And when you come to the life of our Lord Jesus as God's reaction, you find that He judges not by hearing, not by seeing, but by smelling.

The Lord never judges anyone just by sight. He never judges anyone but by what He hears from you. No. He judges by His scent, His smelling. This is spiritual discernment. This is an inward ability. It does not base upon appearance.

Our Lord Jesus has a special scent, special smell. He knows without seeing you or without hearing a word from you. He knows exactly what you are, where you are, where you stand. And He judges by that scent.

Spiritual. And this scent is based on the fear of Jehovah. Where does this scent come from? How do you develop this scent? In the fear of Jehovah. Brothers and sisters, our Lord Jesus never needs you to tell Him anything.

He never needs to see anything in you. He knows you. Spiritual knows that. He smells something. And as He smells, He judges. Therefore, His judgment is always true. He does not deal with you by what you appear to be.

He never deals with you by what people say about you. He will judge by His scent. And you remember the Lord Jesus say His judgment is true. Why? His judgment is righteous. Why? Because He does not judge according to Him.

But He judges according to the One who has sent Him. And for the glory of the One who has sent Him. Therefore, His judgment is always accurate as you grow in the Lord. As you grow in the fear of the Lord.

Your scent will also grow with you. You remember what Paul said? Paul in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, he said, For the love of Christ has constrained me. Knowing that one dies for all, then all die. And we will live.

We do not live for ourselves any longer. But we live for Him who has died for us and is raised from the dead for us. He said, Even though from now on I know no man after flesh. Even if I had known Christ after flesh, I know Him no longer after the flesh, but I know Him now in the Spirit.

You know, dear brothers and sisters, we know each other after flesh. In other words, we know by hearing and seeing. We know each other by seeing what you are and what you do. We know each other by hearing what you say.

Or what you are said by others. We know each other after flesh. And what a mistake Paul made with Christ. When he judged Christ after flesh, he judged Christ as an imposter. As one who deserved to be persecuted.

And he persecuted the followers of Christ from Jerusalem even to Gentile cities. But when Christ met him on the road of Damascus, yes, his eyes were blind, and yet his scent was initiated. He said, I no longer know Christ after flesh.

I know Him in Spirit. And because of that, he knows nobody after flesh. But he knows everybody according to Spirit. Paul, following Christ, he knew no one after the flesh. He knew people in the Spirit.

Spiritual Discernment in Christian Ministry

And because he had that spiritual discernment, he was able to minister to people's needs. You know, spiritual discernment is necessary for ministry. Spiritual discernment is not for criticism. Spiritual discernment is not even for ordinary fellowship.

Spiritual discernment is for ministry. You know, there is a problem. The more you know, the less you are able to fellowship. Why you know people too well to fellowship? The more you know, the more you are tempted to criticize.

Why? Because you know so much. But dear brothers and sisters, fellowship is based on love, not on discernment. In order to have fellowship, sometimes you have to close your eyes. It is based on love. But ministry must be based on discernment.

If you do not have that smell, you cannot minister. Why? Because when people are hungry, you think they are full. When people are full, you think they are hungry. You cannot smell. You cannot see. You do not know the real situation.

Spiritual discernment is necessary for ministry. And brothers and sisters, in a sense, we all have that scent in us. Anyone who is born of the Lord has a little scent in him. Why? If you read 1 John, you will find, even when John wrote to the little children, he said, little children, the spirit of Antichrist is in this world.

But, you know, you know, even if your knowledge is very limited, and yet the spirit of Antichrist is already in the world. Now, how can you be kept from the spirit of Antichrist? How could you be kept from it?

He said, there is the anointing within you. And the anointing within you will keep you and teach you. Now, is it not true? Sometimes you go to hear a person. He may preach the Word of God with great eloquence, or he may preach the Word of God with lots of truth in it.

But when you listen to a person, somehow you smell something. You cannot put your finger on that. You do not know what it is because you don't have the knowledge. And yet you do smell something is not quite right.

There is something in that person. There is something in what he says. It looks all right, appears all right, and yet it's not right. You sense something within you. Brothers and sisters, that is scent.

And that scent is in the fear of the Lord. And even with little children, that will keep us from hurt and harm. But this spiritual scent needs to be developed. And how is this to be developed? In the fear of the Lord.

The more you live in the fear of the Lord, the more the spiritual scent will be developed. And as this spiritual scent is developed, then you are able to judge, you are able to minister. And here you'll find our Lord Jesus, His scent will be in the fear of Jehovah, and He shall judge the poor and the meek.

Who are the poor and the meek? The poor and the meek are those who are redeemed by the Lord. So far as the world is concerned, they are the poor and the meek. But the Lord shall judge them with equity.

The Lord shall punish the wicked. Why? Because He girds Himself with righteousness and faithfulness. Now, here is a problem. The judgment of the Lord is often beyond our understanding. You think, now if the Lord would judge the poor and the meek and also the wicked, now why is it that today you find the poor and the meek suffer, and the wicked seems to prosper?

Now, where is the judgment of the Lord? How does He judge? Does He know how to judge? Has He judged rightly? Now, oftentimes we have such questions. If you are the poor, you find you're oppressed. If you are the meek, you find you're deprived.

If you are wicked, you find you prosper. Where is the Lord? Where is His judgment? Where is His righteousness? Where is His faithfulness? Remember one thing. The Bible says the meek, blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Ah, if you are meek, certainly today you will lose the earth. Suppose you're very meek, and you have a property, and your next-door neighbor began to expand his houses into your property. Because you're meek, you will lose the earth.

And yet the Bible says, blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Now, what do you mean by that? The judgment of the Lord is beyond. Let me read a passage. And probably that will explain a little bit.

Suffering, Perseverance, and the Righteous Judgment of God

In the New Testament, in 2 Thessalonians. 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. You know that the young church in Thessalonica was greatly persecuted. They suffered a great deal. So Paul wrote this letter to comfort them.

And here you'll find verse 4. Chapter 1 verse 4. So that we ourselves make our boast in you in the assemblies of God for your endurance and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations, which ye are sustaining.

A manifest token of the righteous judgment of God. Think of that. They were being persecuted and in tribulation. And Paul said this is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God. Why did they suffer?

Was it because they did something wrong? No. Because they did something right. And yet they were persecuted. They were in tribulation. And Paul said this is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God that you are persecuted.

Can we understand this? To the end that he should be counted worthy of the kingdom of God for the sake of which he also suffered. Now you know. Here you'll find by all appearance, those who loved the Lord were persecuted and suffered.

And yet Paul said this was a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God. How? That you were counted worthy to be persecuted and suffer for the kingdom of God. And you were given grace for endurance and faith.

This is the manifest token of the righteous judgment. In other words, you have the kingdom of God in you. Oftentimes we look at things just for the present. Now if you see judgment just for the present, then you'll find the whole scene is distorted.

The righteous seem to suffer. The wicked seem to prosper. But dear brothers and sisters, if you can see far enough, the Lord is judging. The Lord is judging. Those who are righteous suffer. That they may be counted worthy for the kingdom of God.

Your suffering is for the kingdom of God. If you do not suffer, you cannot enter into the kingdom of God. If you're not willing to suffer, you are not qualified to enter into the kingdom of God. But while you suffer, you are given grace to endure.

You are given faith to continue. Now this is God's judgment. Do you see the point? Verse 6. If at least it is a righteous thing with God to render tribulation to those that trouble you, and to you that are troubled, we prostrate and add the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power.

It is true the wicked today seem to prosper. But their prosperity is the righteous judgment of God. God permits them to prosper so that they may be ready for the time of slaughter. Just like you feed a horde.

You let the horde prosper. You feed the horde. Why? For the day of slaughtering. Oh brothers and sisters, that is the way the Lord judges. And that's why it always is beyond us. Oftentimes we misunderstand him.

Oh, if only you can see what is immune. If only you can see the end, then you will find his judgment is righteous. And his judgment is faithful. He is dealing very faithfully with you. He is dealing very righteously with you.

And you will not misunderstand him. Why? Because he judges by his sin. He is not wrong at all. He is right. And you know what will be the ultimate result? What will be the consummation? The Lord is judging.

The Lord has been and is still judging all these days. Even today the Lord is judging. He is judging with equity. He is judging with righteousness and faithfulness. Even though we may not see it to be so.

And yet he is. And you know what will happen ultimately? At the very end, as he judges and judges and judges, he will bring in his kingdom. At the very end you'll find the kingdom of God shall come upon this earth.

The Spiritual Preparation and Manifestation of God's Kingdom

And this is the way it should come. The spiritual reality must be here first. Before there can be the physical manifestation of the kingdom of God. Do you think that the kingdom of God will suddenly drop out of heaven upon the earth?

Not so. Not so. The kingdom of God will come upon this earth because through the 20 centuries the Lord is preparing the ground. The Lord is judging. The Lord is preparing his people. The Lord is bringing in the reality of the kingdom.

The spirit of the kingdom shall fill this earth first. There shall be a people who are filled with the spirit of the kingdom. And when this is arrived, then the kingdom of God shall publicly be manifested upon this earth.

And that is the millennium kingdom. A thousand. So here you'll find from verse Isaiah chapter 11, from verse 6 onward,. 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 little fetid beast together, and the little child shall lead them, and the cow and the she-bear shall feed.

The young one shall lie down together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and the second child shall play on the hold of the adder, and the weaned child shall put forth his hand to the vipers' den.

You'll find it is a description of the kingdom of God on earth. The curse of sin is removed. God has restored everything, the whole creation, to his original design. A general restitution has come upon this earth.

And you'll find not only the lion will not attack an ox, but the lion will eat straw like an ox. The very nature, the carnivorous nature of the lion is changed. He is no longer a meat-eating animal. He becomes a vegetarian.

He eats grass. The very nature is changed. Brothers and sisters, that's what happened in the Garden of Eden. It's a reversal of the curse of the fall of man. Before man fell in the Garden of Eden, all these animals lived together in peace with man.

But it was the sin of man that changed the nature of everything. Changed the nature of man, the organic nature, sinful nature. Changed the nature of these animals, changed the nature of the grass and everything.

That's the curse. But here you'll find through Christ. The redemption of Christ reaches not only to man, but the whole creation. And here you'll find the whole creation is redeemed, and is restored to its original state.

The nature is changed, transformed. And why? The reason is, they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain. For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea.

The Transforming Power of the Knowledge of the Lord

When the knowledge of the Lord shall fill the earth, as the water covers the sea, then nothing hurts. It is the knowledge of the Lord. Brothers and sisters, how important is the knowledge of the Lord?

Oh, how important that we know Him. Why? Because knowing Him is not just knowing something in your mind. Fill your mind and make your brain big, as it were. No. Knowing the Lord will transform you. What is the power of transformation?

The knowledge of the Lord. Why is it this world is like what we see today? The lack of the knowledge of the Lord. When the knowledge of the Lord shall fill the earth, as waters fill the sea, then nothing hurts.

Oh, brothers and sisters, how we look forward to that day. When the kingdom of God shall come upon this earth. How will the kingdom of God come upon this earth? Through Christ. He is God's reaction. Through Christ, He brings in His judgment.

He brings in the kingdom upon this earth. And He shall be as a banner, and all the nations shall flow to Him. And that is the beautiful picture of the consummation of God's reaction to this world. Through one person, Christ.

So, dear brothers and sisters, do remember this. The principle of God's reaction is Christ. And if we allow Christ to judge us, we learn to submit ourselves under His mighty hand. In due time, He will exalt us.

And to Him be all the praise. Our Heavenly Father, how we praise and thank Thee that Thy Son, our Lord Jesus, is Thy reaction to all things. We do praise and thank Thee that He does judge with His scent.

Not by hearing, not by seeing. And whatever He judges is right and faithful. So, Lord, we just commit ourselves to Thee afresh, trusting Thee and Thy judgment, knowing that Thou art preparing us for Thy kingdom.

Thou bring Thy kingdom upon this earth. And Lord, our prayer is Thy kingdom come. In Thy precious name, Amen.