The Saviour’s Kingdom (Isaiah 11-12)
This prophecy of Isaiah is linked together by the phrase ‘in that day’ (11:10, 11; 12:1, 3). The phrase looks back to what is said in 11:1-9, which is the initial description of the day that the prophet has in mind.
The vision of the kingdom
One way to help us to understand an Old Testament passage is to ask whether it is mentioned in the New Testament. The second half of 11:4 is quoted by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:8: ‘And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.’ So we can deduce that the prediction of Isaiah is connected to the second coming of Jesus.
If we look back from 11:4b, we can trace where Jesus came from and what he did. In verse 1, the prophet says that he will come from the line of Jesse, which is another way of saying that he would be a descendant of David. The mention of Jesse may be a way of pointing to the insignificance of the roots of Jesus’ family tree. Although the line of David had become quite small by the time of Isaiah, in comparison to other world rulers, nevertheless one of his descendants (‘a branch) would produce lasting fruit. We know that Jesus came from the line of David at a time when the line had become very small.
So how was the predicted One going to produce fruit? In 11:2, we are told that he will have the Holy Spirit resting upon him to a remarkable degree, with seven aspects of the work of the Spirit in the life of Jesus being mentioned. The New Testament tells us that Jesus had the Spirit without limit, and the work of the Spirit in his life enabled him to serve God joyfully, as is described in the first line of verse 3. We could regard those features as a summary of his earthly ministry when he lived here.
Then in verses 3-5 we have a summary of his reign. Those who read the prophecy before the first coming of Jesus may have assumed that he would reign in the same place as he was endowed with the Spirit, perhaps from Jerusalem. We know from the New Testament that the place of power, from which Jesus reigns, is not on the earth, but is located in heaven.
From there, Jesus rules on behalf of his people, who are described as the poor and the meek, and we know that Jesus mentions them in the Beatitudes as two features of blessedness. The point being made in the prophecy is that when Jesus reigns he will work on behalf of his people, or as Paul puts it, Jesus ‘is head over all things for the benefit of his body, the church’.
Eventually, says the prophet, Jesus will strike the earth in judgement and destroy his enemies (11:4b), which we have observed that Paul states is what will occur when Jesus returns.
Verse 5 summarises what the Spirit-filled and Spirit-directed Messiah will do in his kingdom during his reign right to the end, or what he will do throughout the day of salvation.
After the day of judgement, the kingdom will be a curse-free zone. The reason why the wolf does not lie with a lamb and a leopard with a goat is because death appeared, even among the lower creation, because of the curse stated by God when Adam fell. Instead, death will be gone, and safety will mark life. The whole earth will be a place of worship – a holy mountain, and the whole earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord.
Verses 6-9 are not literal, because there will not be children playing with animals in glory. The prophet takes the best state of things that humans knew about – life in Eden – and says that the future experience will be better than the previous best because, unlike Eden, peace and safety will be permanent.
Two pictures of the reign of Jesus
The prophet then proceeds to give two pictures of the reign of Jesus, each highlighting aspects of his kingdom. The first is that there will be global interest in the coming Messiah (11:10). Here, Jesus is likened to a signal or a flag to which the nations will be drawn.
The point of a flag is that it is an emblem of a kingdom, and here we have a picture of those who move from being under other flags – those controlled by the devil – and becoming subjects of King Jesus. Who can calculate the number who have done this already?
Another reason for erecting a flag was to indicate that the ruler was present in the palace or castle on which it was raised. Or it could be set up beside his tent. When someone could see the flag, it informed him that the king was present and engaged in doing what was expected of him. The gospel is an announcement that Jesus present for sinners to approach him for mercy.
What will they receive from him when they enquire of him? The prophet says that they will discover the rest that Jesus can give. What marks people who do not have Jesus in their lives is the absence of rest or contentedness. They are searching for what is missing, and until they get to know him they are restless. But when they believe the gospel, they discover the rest of Jesus, the rest that comes from forgiveness, and the rest that comes from serving him as King.
The second feature of his kingdom is that of restoration of Israel (11:11-16). They will be scattered all over the world, but wherever they are, he will find them, and they will come under his banner. Isaiah takes incidents from the history of Israel to illustrate what the restoration will look like. What is intriguing about his history lesson is that he includes matters that were still future to him when he spoke, but which are long passed as far as we are concerned – the return from captivity in Assyria.
As far as the New Testament is concerned, converted Israelites and Jews are part of the people of God and not the whole. Their experience in Old Testament times illustrates what will occur in the days of the Saviour’s kingdom. What kinds of things will take place when Jesus reigns?
In addition to global ingathering, there will be harmony between those who opposed one another (Ephraim and Judah), there will be victory over their enemies (Philistines, Edomites, Moabites and Ammonites – of course, those ethnic groups have disappeared, so the prediction cannot be literal), and there will be divine removal of insurmountable barriers (the Red Sea and the Euphrates) for those he has redeemed. The king will provide a route from the land of captivity to his kingdom.
The response of the delivered (Isaiah 12)
In this chapter, the prophet predicts what will be the response of the members of the kingdom during the day of the Messiah’s power. We can see that they have two responses, one directed towards God (12:1-3) and the other to one another in the kingdom.
What will they say to God? They will express their gratitude to him for his amazing salvation. Their gratitude is connected to a marvellous discovery, which is that the anger which God had towards them has gone. The reason why it has gone is not mentioned here, but we know that the reason is because of what Jesus did on the cross.
Instead of facing the anger of God against them for their sins, they experience divine comfort. Isaiah’s words indicate that this was the divine intention, the desire of the Lord to give such grace to those who had rebelled against him. Their troubles had brought them into situation in which they needed the redeeming grace of God
This experience is to them a great wonder as we can see in the words, ‘Behold, God is my salvation.’ The obvious deduction for a saved sinner to make is that there is now no need for them to be afraid of divine judgement. They discover the amazing reality that the one they had opposed in their weakness now becomes their strength to help them in their spiritual struggles. In addition his salvation has given to them a new song, which to each of them is very personal. It is a joyful song, and the believer continues in this happy frame as they receive living water from the divine fountain. Moreover, they know that they can draw this living water constantly.
Then, there is the message that they mention to one another. Here we have an example of the method Paul endorses in Ephesians and Colossians when he encourages the believers to speak to one another is psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. What are they to say to one another?
In 12:4, three spiritual activities are mentioned, and we can see why each of them is suitable for the great day in which we live. The activities are praise, prayer and proclamation. Praise is given to him for his gracious actions, prayer is offered because of his great promises, and proclamation is done so that people will know what he has done.
Verse 5 describes what is known as doxological evangelism. I sometimes wonder if this is the secret of gospel success that we have forgotten. We often resort to arguing people into the kingdom, and that can descend into a battle of brains. Or we can present the gospel in a way that is clinical, with no sense of wonder that we have been delivered. In contrast to such methods, the people of God are exhorted by Isaiah that one of the most effective and appropriate ways to tell of the Lord’s great acts is to sing about them to other people.
The exhortation to the delivered people concludes with a reminder to them about where they are. They live in Zion, which is another way of saying that they belong to the city of God, and when we speak in this way we are reminded of the wonderful description of the heavenly city in Hebrews 12. Not that they sing about the city. Instead they sing about the God who lives in the city, and although they are sinners, they live in the presence of God.
Truly they have a great deal to rejoice in when they think about the day in which they live. They live in the time between the two comings of Jesus, when he has sent out his standard to the nations and is bring in his people and giving to them unity and victory as his kingdom increases all over the world. In Zion, they live with the great eternal God, the Holy One, the God we know as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Some applications
The proper response to the predictions detailed in chapter 11 is the praise described in the following chapter. How can we do this in a suitable manner? Here are some suggestions.
First, we should admire the character of the Saviour through the description given to him in this passage as having the Holy Spirit – Jesus always had those features when he interacted with people.
Second, we should appreciate the nature of the government of his kingdom as he reigns in heaven, judging the actions of humans in a righteous manner.
Third, we should announce that the standard (flag) of the Saviour is flying high, indicating that he is approachable at the moment.
Fourth, we should add our voices to the great choir that is praising God for his great works of salvation; this choir is composed of people from different parts of the world and from different levels of human society, and some of the members have already reached heaven.