Isaiah 11:3

The first part of Isaiah chapter 11 is speaking about the Messiah. The Bible says in Isaiah 11:3-5, “…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 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 shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.” A human judge can only judge “after the sight of his eyes,” or after “the hearing of his ears,” because a human judge cannot see the heart of man. But God knows all things and sees all things. That is one of the reasons that the judgments made by man can sometimes be the wrong judgments: man is too limited in his knowledge and always will be limited. It will be wonderful to have a judge who will judge with righteousness.

But before the Messiah judges the world with righteousness, He will take over the earth. That is what 11:4 is talking about when it says that the Messiah “shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth.” When it is time for Jesus to return to the earth, the armies of the world will be united against the Son of God. Of course, in the long run no one who is against God will win. Concerning the return of Christ to crush the enemies of God, the Bible says in Revelation 19:11-21, “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.”

It is important to notice that once Jesus sets up His kingdom, it will be a kingdom of “righteousness” and a kingdom of “faithfulness.” It will be a kingdom of righteousness because Jesus is righteous, and Jesus has the power and authority to establish righteousness. When Jesus rules, he will rule with a rod of iron. Another wonderful thing about Jesus is His faithfulness. Learn the good things about Jesus, and then remember that He is faithful. What He has done for others, He will do for you. Jesus has blessed others, and He will bless you. Jesus loves others, and He will love you. Jesus forgives, and He will forgive you. Notice that the Bible says in First John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” It is interesting to notice in First John 1:9 that these same two attributes of Christ, righteousness and faithfulness, are mentioned in Isaiah chapter 11. It says that Jesus is “faithful and just.” The word “just” means righteous. Isaiah chapter 11 speaks of the Messiah’s faithfulness and righteousness.

Concerning the kingdom that Jesus Christ shall set up on the earth, the Bible says in Isaiah 11:6-9, “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. 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, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. 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.” These verses tell us that not only shall the sinfulness of man be brought under control, but nature itself shall be transformed when Christ returns to the earth. Carnivores shall no longer be carnivores. Leopards, and wolves, and lions, and bears shall be as gentle as lambs. This transformation of all of the animals is also spoken about in Romans chapter eight. The Bible says in Romans 8:19-23, “For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.”

The fact that all of these animals are in the millennial kingdom of Christ makes it very likely that animals of every kind are also in heaven. Look at all the animals that are mentioned here: wolf, lamb, leopard, goat, calf, lion, cow, bear, ox, and snake. God created every animal, and He loves His creation. It is not surprising that the Kingdom of heaven will be filled with all the animals of His creation. When God saved Noah, God told Noah to take members of every animal into the ark. In other words God saved animals as well as man.

It is important to notice in Isaiah 11:9 just how and why all of these animals will finally be able to live in harmony with each other: no longer killing one another or fearing one another. It says, “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.” Even in the animal kingdom, having peace on the earth is related directly to the earth being “full of the knowledge of the LORD.” This great happening emphasizes the result of knowing the Lord. By faith a person’s life can be wonderfully transformed when that person accepts Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. When salvation is accepted by many people, those changed lives can have a significant effect on a community and on an entire nation. What does any nation need the most? Does it need more taxes or less taxes? Does it need more regulation or less regulation? What every nation needs most is to have more of its people saved and living in the knowledge of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. It is no wonder that Jesus told His followers, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” The greatest fulfillment of the benefits of universal salvation will be seen in the Kingdom that Jesus Christ sets up when He comes to the earth and rules from the throne of David. In that day “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.”

Of course, “the knowledge of the Lord” refers to more than becoming saved through faith in Christ. “The knowledge of the Lord” also refers to growing in the knowledge of the Lord through hearing the Word of God and putting it into practice. The Word of God needs to be taught in Spirit and in truth. There may be nothing more important than the teaching of the Word. The Bible says in Romans 10:14, “…as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”

The Bible says in Isaiah 11:10-16, “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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.”

Jesus is the Savior for both Jews and Gentiles. When Isaiah 11:10 speaks of “the people,” it is speaking of the people of the nation of Israel: the Jews. To the same Savior “shall the Gentiles seek.” In other words the Messiah came for the benefit of both Jews and Gentiles. Whether Jew or Gentile, for those who find the Lord Jesus “his rest shall be glorious.” Enter into the rest while you can. The turmoil of the world is not necessary, and the turmoil of the world can be torture for those who do not have a daily faith in Christ. The peace that Jesus offers is a much better alternative to anything the world offers. Enjoy the peace of Christ by faith in His presence and faith in His promises.

It says in Isaiah 11:11 that the Messiah shall “recover the remnant of his people.” Israel had been taken into captivity because of sin. The opportunities were gone. The blessings were gone. All seemed lost. In our present day there is nothing that Israel can do to fix the terrible state in which they find themselves. They are trampled down by the Gentile nations that hate them. So what hope do they really have for the future? Their hope is what God will do, and not what man will do. And when the Messiah is ready, He will bring all the Jewish people back to the promised land, and He will make of Israel the great nation that He always intended. The current nation of Israel is not the fulfillment of God’s promise. For one reason, there are currently still more Jews who live outside of Israel than who live in it. Another proof that this promise has not been fulfilled yet is that the temple mount is dominated by a Moslem place of worship. And of course, the current nation of Israel is not the leading country of the world. The Lord Jesus Christ has great plans. Blessed are all those who will be a part of His wonderful kingdom. Turn from your sins and turn to Jesus so that you can be a part of His wonderful kingdom.

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