Read Isaiah 11

The Messiah and His People

God offers the hope of a better day to His remnant and comfort to the faithful. We will face struggles in this life, both physical and spiritual, but continued reliance upon God and His power will bring tremendous blessings.

Isaiah prophesies of the coming Messiah and identifies the house of Jesse as the source of the promised deliverer. The Messiah will be the Rod from the stem of Jesse, the Branch that grows out of his roots. The enemies of God’s people will be left desolate without even a hint of life remaining, but Isaiah says the house of Jesse will grow strong once again. The apostle Paul makes reference to this prophecy in Romans 15.

“The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him” (Isaiah 11:1). The three pairs of attributes describing the Messiah should arouse confidence in His disciples. “Wisdom and understanding” have reference to His intellectual prowess and application of that intellect. “Counsel and might” show His ability to direct and advise His people and suppress His opponents. “Knowledge and…the fear of the Lord” refer to His spiritual acumen and respect for the divine mission.

The prophet turns his attention from the King to the citizens of the kingdom beginning in Isaiah 11:6, utilizing figurative language to describe the character of those citizens and how they would interact with each other. There is a description of peaceful cohabitation among several animals that would normally be antagonistic towards each other. Keep in mind that this is figurative language; it is not to be taken literally. The animals are representative of how the citizens of Christ’s kingdom should relate to each other.

Do these descriptions match the way you deal with your brothers and sisters in the Lord? If you have a “wolf” personality, do you peacefully “dwell with the lamb” (Isaiah 11:6)? This is what your King expects of you. “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, of the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9).

The kingdom is here. Are you living as a loyal subject to the King, or are you still selfishly looking out for your own best temporal interests?

Read Isaiah 9:1-7

A Description of the Messiah

God’s prophets often told of impending doom for impenitent men, but also gave hope to those who were seeking the righteous path. Isaiah prophesied about the coming Messiah on numerous occasions while warning the people of the consequences of their sin. In Isaiah 9:6, we are given a description of the coming Son: “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Some translations combine “Wonderful” and “Counselor” into one description, with no comma separating the two words (ESV, NASB, NIV), while others use punctuation to distinguish two separate attributes (KJV, NKJV, ASV). Indeed, He is Wonderful in every imaginable way. The book of Hebrews presents Jesus as the bringer of a “better hope” (7:19) and the surety and Mediator of a “better covenant” (7:22; 8:6).

The only way man can access these wonderful blessings is by following the words of the Counselor (John 12:48). Through the recorded revelation, inspired by the Holy Spirit, Jesus advises us in the path we should take.

Isaiah declares that the Messiah is “Mighty God.” The apostle John likewise affirmed this truth in the opening lines to his account of the gospel: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).

“Everlasting Father” is a term that can cause confusion, as Jesus is the Son and is separate from the Father. The confusion is removed when one considers the symbolic nature of the phrase and recognizes Jesus as the “Father of eternity, suggesting that ‘eternal duration owed itself to His paternity’” (Roy H. Lanier, Sr.).

Finally, Isaiah presents a description that is dear to all who are in Christ: “Prince of Peace.” No, He did not come to bring peace to the world in the sense of ending wars between nations and political conflicts. Rather, He brought peace to be enjoyed among His family, and between man and God.

We must recognize His Wonderful nature, heed His counsel, revere His might as God, and relish in the beauty of His creation. When we do, we can be at peace with God. What a marvelous thought!

Read Isaiah 7

The Coming Messiah

King Ahaz was facing opposition from Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah, the son of Remaliah, king of Israel. Isaiah report to Ahaz that his foes would not defeat hi, and challenged the king to request a sign of God—“ask it either in the depth or in the height above” (Isaiah 7:1). Inspiration tells us, though, that Ahaz “did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord his God” (2 Kings 16:2), so it is little surprise that he declined the divine offer for a sign here.

Isaiah then turns his attention away from the king as an individual and addresses “the house of David” (Isaiah 7:13) as a whole. He announced the sign to be given by God: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).

There is no little controversy over the nature of this prophecy. All faithful Christians recognize the fulfillment in the virgin birth of Christ, as inspiration reveals in Matthew 1:22-23. The question is often asked, however: was this a dual-fulfillment prophecy that was also fulfilled during the days of Isaiah? The answer varies depending on who you ask or which commentary you read; there are sound Biblical scholars on each side of this argument.

If this prophecy was of Christ and Christ alone, what was the significance of that to the people of Isaiah’s day? The late brother Wayne Jackson wrote that the prophet “uses the youth period of Immanuel…as a method, a sort of measuring device, to suggest how long Judah would suffer affliction at the hands of the Syrian/Israel alliance. Before the child would reach an age mature enough to refuse evil and choose good (i.e., accountability), the confederation of Rezin and Pekah would be destroyed (15, 16). Within two or three years after this prophecy was given, these rulers were both dead (cf. 2 Kings 15:30; 16:9).” (Isaiah: God’s Prophet of Doom and Deliverance, 22).

Today, we can look to this prophecy and its fulfillment in the gospel and have great confidence in the abundant power of God to bring about what He has promised. Just as the Messiah came into the world to bring salvation, He will return to take the saved home with Him.

Read Isaiah 6

“Here I Am! Send Me!”

The sixth chapter of Isaiah is a record of his calling to the prophetic office. It also offers an awe-inspiring glimpse at the throne of God, His robe, and the seraphim who worshiped Him. Their words of praise echo throughout the history of the world: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” (Isaiah 6:3).

Why is the word “holy” repeated three times? Two possibilities have been suggested. One, the symbolism of the number three represents perfection or completeness. Thus, repeating the word three times emphasizes God’s perfect or complete holiness.

A second explanation is that the word is repeated three times, once for each Person of the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Later in the chapter, Isaiah heard the “voice of the Lord, saying: ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’” (Isaiah 6:8). The plurality of the Godhead is a Scriptural concept that was not new to the writers of the New Testament, though it was perhaps misunderstood to an extent until Jesus and the Holy Spirit revealed more in the first century.

Upon witnessing this grand scene of worship, Isaiah declares himself unfit for any service. “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:5). God, however, showed the prophet that he could be forgiven of his sin. It is after Isaiah’s forgiveness that the Lord asks for a volunteer to “go for Us” (Isaiah 6:8).

Isaiah’s answer is one of zeal and determination: “Here I am! Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8). Guy N. Woods commented on this passage in the first quarter of the 1964 Adult Gospel Quarterly, “He did not ask if the work were easy, the task light; he did not inquire whether the effort would be long or short; nor what advantages would accrue to him in so doing. It was an unqualified, and unconditional surrender to the will of God.”

God wants servants today who are willing to serve in the same manner, unconditionally committed to the cause of the truth without regard for personal gain in this life. He calls for people of faith to “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1). Are we doing all that we can for the Lord? Do we recognize His call and respond, “Here I am! Send me!”?

Read Isaiah 5:1-7

Isaiah’s Parable of the Vineyard

When we hear the word “parable,” our minds typically turn to the New Testament parables Jesus employed in his teaching. However, there are examples of parables in the Old Testament as well. Isaiah uses the image of a vineyard to teach a message about God’s care for and disappointment in His people.

God is portrayed as “my Well-beloved,” the one who has planted a vineyard. Isaiah says that this vineyard is “on a very fruitful hill” (Isaiah 5:1). God gave this vineyard every advantage to succeed: “He dug it up and cleared out its stones, and planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst, and also made a winepress in it; so He expected it to bring forth good grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes” (Isaiah 5:2).

“My Well-beloved” expresses His disappointment in the vineyard. “What more could have been done to My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes?” (Isaiah 5:4).

With all the advantages given to Israel, why did they fail? Was God to blame? He called on them to judge for themselves (Isaiah 5:3), then proceeded to explain His intentions going forward. “And now, please let Me tell you what I will do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned; and break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will lay it waste; it shall not be pruned or dug, but there shall come up briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain on it” (Isaiah 5:5-6).

Judgment was coming. God wanted His vineyard to succeed but “wild grapes” were the result. Still today, God wants to save lost souls. “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

He will not violate man’s free will and force compliance. It is each person’s choice whether they will serve God or become modern-day “wild grapes” like Israel of old.