We ended last week by looking at a prophecy that had a double edge to it. It would have a fulfillment in the coming invasion by Assyria, as well as possibly another second fulfillment with the coming of the Antichrist. The section ended by describing the march of an army on Jerusalem, but only to have the army cut down by the Lord.

But the picture we were left with was that of a wood cutter chopping down a mighty forest. We stay with that picture of trees that have been chopped down as we continue on. The now we look to another tree, one that had been chopped down already.

Jesse was the father of King David. This is talking about Jesus (Rev. 22:16).

The "tree" of Jesse would be a reference to the kings of Judah, all of whom were descended from David (and Jesse). The interesting thing is that in Isaiah’s day, the "tree" of Jesse had not been cut down yet. They were "cut down" at the time of Nebuchadnezzar, when the nation of Judah was taken captive to Babylon. In Jesus’ day, there were still descendants of David (like Jesus), but there were no kings.

This is talking about the relationship of the Holy Spirit to Jesus. (Mat. 3:16-17)

If you notice, there are actually seven aspects of the Holy Spirit listed here. The number seven is seen as the number of "perfection", the idea being that the Holy Spirit is on Jesus in the fullest sense. It’s possible that this might be what John sees as the "seven spirits" before God’s throne. (Rev. 4:5)

quick understanding – ruwach – (Hiphil) to smell, scent, perceive odor, accept; of delight (metaph). The idea is that of delighting in the smell of something. Think of that smell when fresh bread is baking in the oven. Or on Thanksgiving as the smell of the roasting turkey begins to fill the house. There’s great delight in those odors. But here, the thing that Jesus would delight in is the fear of the Lord.

Unlike Jesus, here’s one of the areas that I fail the most in. Too often I make these quick judgments or decisions based on one little thing I’ve seen or heard. Yet many times I haven’t heard the full story.

The poor and meek will find that Jesus is on their side.

He will one day punish sin. (Rev. 19:15)

These will be important aspects of Jesus’ reign. He is righteous in that everything He does will be absolutely right and correct. He is faithful in that He will never falter. We’ll always be able to depend on Him.

Currently, all of creation is suffering from the curse that came as a result of Adam’s sin. But Jesus comes back, one of the things that happens is that there will be a lifting of the curse. All of creation is very anxious for this to occur. (Rom. 8:19-23)

No more carnivorous animals. They’ll all be vegetarians.

suckling child – a child that is still young enough to be nursing. Probably 3 years old or younger.

asp – cobra / cockatrice – viper

I think my sons will think this is absolutely cool. I am not convinced that my wife will agree with them.

Jeremiah tells us of this too:

ensign – nec – something lifted up, standard, signal, banner, sign. Jesus, the "root of Jesse", will be a rallying point for the whole world.

His resting place is where He lives, in Jerusalem, at the temple (Psa. 132:13-14).

second time – The first time that the Lord gathered Israel from having been scattered in these places was in 537 BC, under the leadership of Zerubbabel after the Babylonian captivity. This second time would have to be what has begun happening to Israel in this last century as the Jews have been migrating to their homeland, and especially since 1948, when Israel was declared again to be a nation.

corners – literally, "wings". Today, Jews are coming to Israel from all over the world.

There will no longer be a division in the nation of the north versus the south.

the river – the Euphrates. It will be dried up into small streams, making a way across easy.

As the Euphrates river becomes fordable, people from Assyria will make their way to Israel, just like when Israel crossed the Red Sea.