When I read Isaiah 11:1-10 I notice its not like other narratives in the Scriptures. While it describes an event, it is one that bursts the bounds of everyday experience. In some ways this passage sounds like a mythical epic yet I know it’s also firmly embedded in Biblical history. If I you what this passage is talking you would probably say, “This passage is obviously talking about Jesus isn’t it !” And I would reply, “Well… yes it is and no it isn’t !” And then I would say, “Welcome to the world of the prophet Isaiah…”
I like what Paul Johnson says about Isaiah… He says, “Isaiah was not only the most remarkable of the prophets, he is by far the greatest writer in the Old Testament”. That’s high praise indeed.
However while Isaiah’s writings may be among the best in Scripture, that doesn’t mean they are easy. There is a delicious ambiguity about this kind of writing.
For example in vs1…“A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse… a branch shall grow out of his roots…” While the tree imagery is clear here, Isaiah isn’t talking about a tree.
What about vs6… “…and the wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the baby goat, the calf, the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them…” Again the animal images and the child are all clear enough but Isaiah isn’t talking about a visit to the zoo.
There is no doubting these verses are visually potent. Isaiah is describing something that he is seeing with prophetic vision. Something that is vivid and clear and evocative…
However while this passage might be clear in a visual sense, there is another sense in which these verses mean so much more. For example who is Isaiah describing here ? Is he looking 700 years into the future and describing Jesus in his glorious splendour or is he describing someone more general & archetypal?
I remember when I was at seminary, these kinds of passages would drive some students half crazy. They would keep trying to tie down the meaning of it and they just couldn’t. And our wily Old Testament Professor would ask a student whose eyes were starting to glaze over, “And James, what do you think this passage is referring to ?” And if the answer came back ‘Jesus’, ‘God’ or ‘the Holy Spirit’ then you knew he was really struggling.
It’s interesting… while the passage is ambiguous, we are left in no doubt about the nature of the one it is describing. There is no sense of this one being merely a good boy or even just a really nice guy. This is a man of purpose and intention. What he sets about doing is an expression of the deep integrity of his character and his intimate relationship with God.
It pours out of him… filling the gap that so often exists between our words and our actions.
