Three Promises to Sustain You in Hard Times – Isaiah 11:1-12:6
11 A shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse; a branch from his roots will bear fruit. (2) The Spirit of Jehovah will rest upon him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah. (3) He will delight in the fear of Jehovah. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, nor will he decide by what he hears with his ears; (4) rather, he will judge the needy with righteousness and render decisions with justice for the meek of the land. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. (5) Righteousness will be the belt around his waist and integrity will be the sash around his loins. (6) The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the young lion and the yearling will play together, and a little child will lead them. (7) The cow and the bear will graze together, their young will lie down together; and the lion will eat straw like the ox. (8) The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will reach his hand into the viper’s nest. (9) They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain; for, just as the waters cover the sea, so shall the earth be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah.
(10) On that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a signal for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious. (11) On that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. (12) He will give a signal for the nations and assemble the exiles of Israel; he will gather the scattered people of Judah from the four corners of the earth. (13) Ephraim’s envy will disappear, and those who trouble Judah will be cut off; Ephraim will no longer envy Judah, and Judah will no longer trouble Ephraim. (14) They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west; together they will plunder the people of the East. They will lay hands on Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be subject to them. (15) Jehovah will utterly dry up the gulf of the Egyptian sea; and with his scorching wind he will sweep his hand over the Euphrates River. He will break it up into seven streams so that men can cross over in sandals. (16) There will be a highway from Assyria for the remnant of his people who are left, as there was for Israel when they came up from the land of Egypt.
12 On that day you will say, I will give thanks to you, Jehovah, for although you were angry with me, your anger has been pacified and you have comforted me. (2) Look! God is the source of my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid; for Jehovah, Jehovah himself, is my strength and my song—indeed, he has become my Savior. (3) Therefore, with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
(4) On that day you will say, Give thanks to Jehovah, call upon his name! Declare his deeds among the peoples! Proclaim that his name is exalted! (5) Sing to Jehovah, for he has done awesome things; let this be made known throughout all the world! (6) Shout aloud and sing for joy, you who dwell in Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel who is present with you.
Now proceed to the next section of this study, entitled, Exploring the Passage.
