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Israel's
Messianic Kingdom, Isaiah 11, Page 5
1.
International Allegiance to Israel's
Davidic King. Isa.
11:10
2.
The Second Regathering of Israel. Isaiah.
11:11-12
3. The Cessation of Rivalry between
Ephraim (Samaria) and Judah. Isaiah
11:13
- The removal of Ephraim's hostility toward Judah. Isa. 11:13a
- "Then
the jealousy of Ephraim will depart" – "jealousy" is the noun qin'âh (7068),
ardor, zeal, jealousy (BDB). Ephraim
is the proper noun 'ephrayim (669),
the second son of Joseph, reckoned among the sons of Jacob, but later,
the kingdom of Northern Israel,
since Ephraim was the largest,
strongest tribe therein (adapted from BDB). Ephraim
means "fruitful" (Gen. 41:52). "will depart" is the Qal Perfect
of the verb sûr (5493),
to turn aside, out
of one's course, from following
(BDB).
- The unity of the twelve tribes
of Israel
had a shaky history. The first king, Saul, was of the tribe
of Benjamin. When God selected David as His replacement king for Saul,
the tribe of Judah finally supported him after the death of Saul (2
Sam. 2:1-4). The remaining tribes, however, followed Saul's son
Ish-bosheth. These northern tribes were sometimes identified as
"Israel,"
and at other times, "Ephraim." There was a civil war between
the North, Ephraim, and the South, Judah. Finally, the Northern tribes,
Israel,
accepted David as their king also (2 Sam. 5:1-5). All twelve
tribes were unified, for the most part, under David, with a couple of
aberrations. Solomon, David's son, enjoyed peace throughout most of his
reign. However, Solomon foolishly married foreign women who pulled his
heart away from following God wholly (1 Kings 11:1-8). God warned
Solomon that He would tear away 11 of the 12 tribes from Solomon's son
Rehoboam, leaving him only the tribe of Judah (1 Kings 11:9-13). For
centuries thereafter, there was animosity and sometimes war between the
North and the South. Through Isaiah, God is here predicting that in the
Kingdom
of the Messiah,
those animosities will be dissolved, and the
nation will exist in unity, as God had always intended. The "jealousy
of Ephraim" is the Northern Kingdom's jealousy toward Judah in the
South, where God's authorized temple stood. In order to prevent the
people of Israel
(the Northern tribes) from worshiping in Jerusalem,
and being drawn towards the Davidic king, Jeroboam, the first king of
the North, installed idolatrous golden calves for worship in the cities
of Bethel and Dan (1 Kings 12:25-33). Subsequent kings retained the
idolatrous practice, also, for political reasons. There were no
righteous kings in the North. The northern kings always had a
jealousy toward the Davidic Southern kings. In the Millennial
Kingdom,
this jealousy will be erased, and the entire nation will be united. See
also Ezek. 37:15-22.
- "And
those who harass Judah will be cut off;" – "And those who harass" is
the Plural Qal
Participle
of the verb tsârar (6887),
meaning, "to bind, tie up, restrict" (adapted from BDB). This
verb is repeated in the latter part of this verse. The Northern
kingdom was constantly endeavoring to restrict and impede the people of
the north from going to Jerusalem to worship. And they were adversaries
of Judah. "Judah" is the proper name yehûdâh
(3063),
here referring to the Southern Kingdom. "will be cut off" is the Plural
Nifal
Perfect
of the verb kârath (3772),
probably here meaning, "be put to death," thus, excluded from the Messianic
Kingdom
(Matt. 25:11, 12, 30, 41).
- There was at least one
time
when an Israeli
king even invaded Judah (1 Kings 15:16-17). After Assyria's
invasion of Israel
in 722 B.C., the Assyrian
king resettled
the country with captives from all over the Assyrian
empire. Of course,
they did not know God and eventually established a religion that
excluded most of the Old Testament. This territory became known as
Samaria (because of the capital city). In Jesus' day, Jews from Judea
(the Southern Kingdom) despised the Samaritans, who were not actually
descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In the Messiah's
kingdom,
those who harassed Judah will be eliminated. There will be peace and
amicability between the two regions of the nation of Israel.
- The result of the removal of hostility. Isa. 11:13b
- "Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah" – Ephraim (the Northern Kingdom) will not
be jealous, the Piel Imperfect of the verb qânâ' (7065),
to be jealous or envious of Judah, the Southern Kingdom.
- "And Judah will not
harass Ephraim." This was a two-way street. Not only did Ephraim (the
Northern Kingdom) harass Judah, but Judah harassed Ephraim. In the Kingdom
of the Messiah,
this hostility and enmity and jealousy and envy will be eliminated. The
entire Nation of Israel
will be united! The verb (not) "harass" is the
Singular Qal Imperfect of the verb tsârar
(6887),
used earlier in this verse regarding "those who harass Judah."
4. The Military Successes of Israel.
Isaiah 11:14
- Conquering the Palestinians: "They
will swoop down on the slopes of the Philistines on the west" (Isa.
11:14a)
- The term "Philistines"
translates the Hebrew pelishtı̂y
(6430).
This noun appears 290 times in the Hebrew text. Of all the books of the
OT, the book of 1 Samuel, in which the noun appears an astonishing 152
times, portrays the Philistines as inveterate and powerful enemies of Israel.
The modern Palestinians are not ethnically related to the
ancient Philistines, but they live in that territory. The Palestinians,
like the ancient Philistines, are among the most ardent enemies of Israel.
- The land God promised
to Abraham's descendants was from the "river of Egypt" on the South to
the Euphrates River, to the North and East (Gen. 15:18). In Josh. 1:4
God promised to Joshua Israel's
territory would extend from the
wilderness (South) to Lebanon (North). On the East it would extend to
the Euphrates, and to the West as far as the "Great Sea" (the
Mediterranean). That means that the territory presently occupied by the
Palestinians belongs to Israel.
- The ancient Philistines lived
on the seacoast of what now approximates the Gaza Strip.
This land is now occupied by the Palestinians. When Christ
returns, Israel
will conquer and own permanently the portion of the rightful
land of Israel
on the Mediterranean now occupied by the Palestinians.
God gave the entire land of Canaan to Israel
from the very beginning. Israel's
rightful border has always been the Mediterranean Sea. It is
the Palestinians who are presently occupying Israeli land, not the
reverse. No combination of nations will be able, at Christ's
return, to
prevent Israel
from possessing the land God gave to them.
- Conquering territory east
of the Jordan River (Isa. 11:14b):
- Their conquest of Jordan and perhaps
portions of Saudi Arabia: "Together they will
plunder the sons of the east;"
- There will be no
United Nations Security Council or
General Assembly or
Arab League to howl in protest and subject the Israelis to global
pressure when Israel
invades Jordan and perhaps
Saudi Arabia after Christ’s
return. There will be an enormous transfer
of wealth from the Arab world to Israel.
This
will be a Messiah-blessed transfer of wealth.
- This plundering will
take place when Christ
returns. When all warfare has ceased and all
judgments have been completed, global peace will ensue as described in
Isaiah 2:1-4.
- "They will possess
Edom and Moab," "Edom" is 'ĕdôm
(123),
"red," referring to the land of Edom, eventually possessed
by Jacob's twin brother Esau. Idumea is another name
for Edom. " "Moab" is mô'âb (4124),
meaning "of his father," a sad commentary on the fact that Moab was
Lot's son by Lot's older daughter (Gen. 19:36-37). Moab
was East of the Dead Sea, and sandwiched between Edom to the South and
the tribe of Reuben to the North. Both Edom and Moab are presently
possessed by the Hashemite
Kingdom of Jordan, but they will come under Israel's
control under the reign of the Great King.
- "And the sons of
Ammon will be subject to them." Ammon, ‛ammôn (5983),
from "Ben-ammi," the son of Lot by his younger daughter (Gen. 19:38). Israel, on
occasion, fought against the sons of Ammon (Judges
11:1-33). Amman,
capital of Jordan,
still retains the name of its ancient ancestor. In the reign of Messiah, Israel
will conquer Jordan.
- These three ancient
countries, Edom and Moab, along
with the “sons of Ammon”
presently
inhabit the modern day country of Jordan. Just as, in
her first
conquest, Israel
occupied land on the east side of the Jordan River
(Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh – Numbers 32:1-42), just
so at Christ’s
Second
Coming, Israel
will
occupy a considerable portion of what is now known as Jordan. This
occupation will take place with Messiah’s
blessing.
5. The Changes in Middle Eastern
Topography. Isaiah 11:15-16
- Yahweh's drying up the Gulf of Suez. Isa.
11:15a "And the LORD will utterly destroy the tongue of the Sea
of Egypt."
- "the LORD" – Yahweh (3068)
- "will utterly destroy" – the Hiphil Perfect
of the verb châram (2763).
In this context, the NASB
gives an excellent translation. This verb was often used of Israel's
total destruction of the evil nations of Canaan at the
command of God
(Josh. 2:10; 6:21; 10:1, 28, 35, 37, 39, 40, etc.).
- "tongue" is lashown (3956),
literally, "tongue," here referring to the "tongue-shaped" bay or gulf
of the "Sea of Egypt," i.e. the Gulf
of Suez, a narrow, but lengthy bay of the Red
Sea. The Gulf
of Suez measures 195 miles long NW to SE and varies in width from
12 to 20 miles.
- "Sea of Egypt" – "Sea" is yâm (3220).
The word "sea" is used of a variety of general or specific bodies of
water. It referred to the seas or oceans of the pre-Flood world
(Gen. 1:10, 22, 26, 28); to the post-Flood
sea (Gen. 9:2); to the Salt Sea (Dead
Sea) (Gen. 14:3); to the Red Sea,
perhaps also known as the Sea of Reeds (Exod. 10:19); to the Mediterranean
Sea, also
known as the Sea of the
Philistines (Exod. 3:21) and the Great Sea
(Josh. 1:4). Since the Mediterranean
was the most prominent Sea on the
west side of Israel,
the term "sea" also became a designation of the
direction "west" or "sea-ward" (Josh. 15:10).
- "of Egypt" ("Sea" and
"Egypt" are specifically linked in the Hebrew text) is mitsrayim (4714),
always, in this context, referring to the nation of Egypt. The term
"Sea of Egypt"
in Biblical terminology can only mean the Red Sea. The
"tongue" of the Red
Sea has to mean the Gulf
of Suez.
- So, at the return of Christ
to rule on this earth, God will dry up the Gulf
of Suez, making a way
for expatriate Israelis to return to the Promised Land of Canaan
(Israel).
Just as God nullified the nation of Egypt as a barrier to
His
peoples' first entry into the Promised Land, so God will nullify the
topography of Egypt
as a barrier preventing their return to the
Promised Land at Christ's Second
Coming.
- Yahweh's drying up the
Euphrates River. Isa. 11:15b
- "And He will wave His hand
over the River"
- "He will wave" – the Hiphil Perfect
of the verb nûph (5130),
to swing or wave back and forth." 31 of the 33 appearances in the OT
are in the Hiphil
stem. This waving of the hand almost seems like an emphatic hand signal
for what happens next. See similar uses of this verb in Isaiah 10:32;
13:2; 19:16.
- "His hand" – yâd (3027).
God, of course, does not have hands, for He is spirit (John 4:24).
Nevertheless He frequently accommodates humans by portraying Himself as
human with human characteristics. He certainly has authority, and here
He portrays Himself as vigorously exercising His authority "over the
River"
- "over the River" – this phrase is tied together in the
Heb. text. The noun "river" nâhâr
(5104)
has the article prefixed, so it is not just any river, it is "the"
river. Since the text here has already eliminated the southern,
Egyptian barrier, the Gulf
of Suez, for the return of expatriates, this river here can only
refer to the northern barrier, the River Euphrates
(see Ex. 23:21; Deut. 1:7; 11:24; 1 Kings 4:21, 24, etc.). See also Euphrates River.
- "With His scorching wind"
- "Scorching" translates the noun ‛ăyâm (5868),
which appears only once in the entire MT. A hapax
legomenon
is by definition difficult to define, since linguists use multiple
contexts to define a word. "Scorching" is as good a translation as any.
It is a hot wind that will dry up the River!
- "Wind" is the much more
frequently occurring rûach (7307).
It can mean "breath, wind, spirit." Here, the context demands a wind
from God, though doubtless God's Spirit
will be instrumental in the geophysical operation.
- "And He will strike it into
seven streams"
- "And He will strike it"
translates the Hiphil Perfect
of the verb nâkâh (5221),
to hit, strike, deliver a blow. Here Yahweh delivers a blow to the
Euphrates River.
- "into seven streams" – "seven" sheba‛ (7651),
the cardinal
number seven –
evidently the number of completeness in the economy of God (Gen.7:2, 4,
10; 21:28; 29:18; Ex. 12:15; 25:37; Lev. 4:6; Deut. 7:1; 15:1; Josh.
6:4; Ruth 4:15; 1 Sam. 2:5; 2 Kings 5:10; Esther 1:10, 14; Job 42:8;
Prov. 6:16; Isa. 30:26; Jer. 34:14; Ezek. 3:15, 16, etc.). The ordinal
number "seventh" shebı̂y‛ı̂y
(7637)
also reveals its primacy and completeness from the Divine perspective
(Gen. 2:2, 3; Exod. 12:15, 16; 20:10, 11; 21:2; 23:11; 24:16, etc.).
- "streams" – nachal (5158),
defined by BDB
as "torrent, torrent-valley, wady," but as translated by NASB, more
often "brook" or "valley." Obviously, in this context, if the mighty Euphrates
is diverted into seven separate streams or stream beds over which one
may walk, the volume of water of the parent river has been diluted in
each stream bed by a factor of seven.
- "And make men walk over it dry-shod."
- "And make men walk" translates the Hiphil Perfect
of the verb dârak (1869),
"tread" or "tread down." Here, with the Hiphil,
"cause to tread" or "cause to walk." The noun "men" does not appear in
the text. Returning Hebrew expatriates, of course, will be the
beneficiaries of this act of God.
- "dry-shod" translates the
plural noun with the prefixed beth, na`al
(5275),
"shoes" or "sandals." The point of the Hebrew text is not really
"dry-shod," but rather, that the seven separate streams of the Euphrates
will be so shallow that people will not bother to remove their sandals
when crossing.
- The whole point of God's
drying up of the Gulf
of Suez and His diminishing of the Euphrates River
into seven separate streams is His removal of natural obstacles and
barriers that would prevent or hinder Jewish
people from those regions from returning to Israel to
join Christ's
Kingdom.
Jewish
people from all over the world will return to the land (Isa. 60:4, 9)
God has promised Israel in
perpetuity (Gen. 13:14, 15).
- The result of His activities.
Isa. 11:16
- A highway from Iraq: "And
there will be a highway from Assyria"
- "highway" is the noun mesillâh (4546),
"highway" – "raised way, highway,
public road (never of street in a city)" (BDB), a
thoroughfare (JTB).
- "from Assyria" – the proper noun 'ashshûr (804),
the land of Assyria,
situated along the Tigris
River. Ancient Nineveh
was a principal city. It occupied the NW territory of modern day Iraq.
Assyria
carried the ten northern tribes of Israel
captive in 722 B.C. It was eventually conquered by Babylon.
- Benefiting the returning
Jewish refugees: "For the remnant of His people who will be left"
- "for the remnant of His
people" – "remnant," she'âr (7605),
"rest, residue, remnant." In Isaiah particularly "remnant"
often "refers to a faithful, purified residue of Yahweh's
people, Israel."
- "of His people," i.e., Israel.
- "who will be left"
translates the 3rd person Singular Nifal Imperfect
of the verb shâ'ar (7604)
- The parallel with the
fledgling nation of Israel:
"Just as there was for Israel" –
yiśrâ'êl (3478)
- At the time of the
Exodus: "In the day that they came up out of the land of Egypt."
- "in the day" – yôm
(3117),
day, with the prefixed beth, meaning "in." "Day" here is not restricted
to the specific day of the Passover,
when Israel
was given permission to exit the land. It refers more generally to the
time when Israel
exited Egypt, and perhaps could include, in a broader sense, the ten
plagues, but certainly, the fording of the Red Sea and the destruction
of the Egyptian army.
- "they came up"
– the Infinitive
Construct of the verb ‛âlâh
(5927),
to "go up, ascend, climb" (BDB). The
modern day term Aliyah is
certainly related to this verb, having developed into a technical term
for Jewish
emigration to Israel.
- "out of the land of
Egypt." – "land" is 'erets (776),
here, essentially the same as "country"; "Egypt" is mitsrayim (4714).
- Summary of Isa. 11:15-16.
- The whole point of Isa. 11:15-16 is that, at the return of Messiah, God will make topographical changes both in Egypt and the modern country of Iraq. He will dry up the Gulf of Suez and will disperse the waters of the Euphrates River into seven streams.
- Moreover, a thoroughfare will be built from Iraq to Israel. All these changes will enable Jewish people to emigrate to the land of Israel, to be the possession of the nation of Israel in perpetuity.
Conclusion:
Isaiah 11:1-16 is a marvelous description of Israel's future Kingdom under the reign of Messiah.
- Isaiah 11:1-5 describes the Character of the King.
He will be of Davidic descent. He will be powerfully anointed by and
with the Holy Spirit of God. Because of His omniscience and
righteousness, He will unerringly arrive at correct judicial
conclusions. He will protect the impoverished and will be unafraid to
execute the wicked who wish to oppress them. He Himself will be the
personification of righteousness and faithfulness.
- Isaiah 11:6-9 describes the Nature of the Kingdom.
There will be dramatic changes in nature. There will be peaceful
co-existence throughout the animal kingdom. And there will be peaceful
coexistence between animals and man. This will be true because the
entire earth of man and animals will be full of the knowledge of Yahweh
as the waters cover the sea.
- Isaiah 11:10-16 describes the International Politics of the Kingdom. Nations from all over the world will gravitate to the Davidic King seated in Jerusalem in all His glory. There will be a second regathering of expatriate Jewish people from all over the world. Israel as the primary manifestation of Messiah's global Kingdom will be united. there will be no more hostility between the North and the South. At the return of Messiah, Israel will conquer and subdue the Palestinian territory, the land of Jordan, and even possibly make incursions into Saudi Arabia. Middle Eastern topography will be altered to facilitate the return of Jewish people to Israel from Egypt and from Iraq. The reign of the King will be righteous, glorious, global, nature-altering, and peaceful (see Isa. 2:1-4; Zech. 14:9, 16-21).
(Scripture quotation taken
from
the NASB.)
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