1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
The only Jesse in the Bible is King David’s father. This is a prediction that a descendant of David would come.
God promised David (a descendant of the Patriarch Judah) that there would always be a descendant of his on the throne. And there was. Even during the Babylonian captivity, Daniel was third ruler in the kingdom and he was of the tribe of Judah. (Though the Bible doesn’t explicitly say he was a descendent of David, the Babylonians had taken the children of royalty, so I don’t think it unreasonable to assume he was.)
Jesus Christ completely fulfilled this promise. He took the throne at Calvary and still sits on it today, as He will for all of eternity.
2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
Jesus will be wise, understanding, a great counselor, mighty, and have the right attitude towards God. He was in all ways our example.
3 And shall make Him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears:
Jesus was not a selfish person, but was always subject to God (while at the same time being God), doing only God's will, never what His own flesh wanted.
4 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.
This verse obviously has some symbolism. The Jews took it to mean He would be such a mighty warrior He would slay His enemy with a “blow of His breath.” In other words, very easily.
We know today that the symbolism was the other way around. Jesus DID conquer the world…with His Words! The Words of Jesus Christ have brought peace, good will, righteousness to every corner of the globe. Every country that has ever based their government on His principles has prospered and become a great place to live.
5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
Jesus wasn’t just a righteous man. He brought righteousness and faith to all who follow Him.
6 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.
Jesus ends long running feuds. He brings peace where all logic says there should be no peace.
Now, there are some who accuse the Christian faith of being violent because of the Crusades and Inquisition. The truth is, if you look at the actual events it becomes obvious that those were not really religious wars, but political. During the time of the inquisition it was sometime Catholic countries fighting Catholic countries. Obviously it was political power, not God that was the root cause.
And yet, even in the political Crusades, when the soldiers flying the flag of the Catholic church (a very fallen hybrid between Christianity and paganism) marched through a Muslim country on the way to Jerusalem they converted the Muslim inhabitants to Christianity.
They didn’t use the sword as Muslims always have to gain "converts." They would minister to the sick, help farmers repair their barns, show kindness to all the innocents they passed on the way.
We have letters between Muslim leaders of the time very concerned because they were losing so many people to this enemy Christianity.
(The area of Jerusalem was originally held by a “Christian” government, an inheritance from the Roman Empire. The Muslims attacked the city, raping and enslaving the inhabitants. The Pope called for volunteers to go kick the Muslims out and rescue the citizens. So even politically, there was justification for the European’s actions.)
7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.
Asps and cockatrices are deadly snakes (i.e. Cobras).
9 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 are commonly put in Heaven. Adam’s curse will be ended and there will be no more death or violence.
While I believe this is appropriate, I also believe it appropriate to put it in the Christian Age. We do not live a life of strife and fear. God is our protector and our guide. What might normally be our natural enemies, we don’t have to worry about.
10 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.
All the earth, no matter their bloodlines, seek Jesus.
"I. This prediction was in part accomplished when the great things God did for Hezekiah and his people proved as an ensign, inviting the neighboring nations to them to enquir of the wonders done in the land, on which errand the king of Babylon's ambassadors came. To them the Gentiles sought; and Jerusalem, the rest or habitation of the Jews, was then glorious,
"1. He shall stand, or be set up, for an ensign of the people. When he was crucified he was lifted up from the earth, that, as an ensign of beacon, he might draw the eyes and the hearts of all men unto him, (John 12:32). He is set up as an ensign in the preaching of the everlasting gospel, in which the ministers, as standard-bearers, display the banner of his love, to allure us to him (Cant. i. 4), the banner of his truth, under which we may enlist ourselves, to engage in a holy war against sin and Satan. Christ is the ensign to which the children of God that were scattered abroad are gathered together (John 11:51), and in him they meet as the center of their unity." -Matthew Henry
11 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.
At the time of Christ, God arranged it so anyone of any nation who wanted to serve Him learned about Jesus.
12 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.
Return from Babylon.
13 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.
The fight between Israel (led by Ephraim) and Judah ended and they were reunited into one country.
14 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.
15 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 dry-shod.
It was a mighty miracle to return the Jews to their homeland.
All barriers to the spread of the gospel will be removed.
16 And there shall be a 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.