Isaiah 11:7 Komentář

It is a very good transition in prophecy (whether it be so in rhetoric or no), and a very common one, to pass from the prediction of the temporal deliverances of the church to that of the great salvation, which in the fulness of time should be wrought out by Jesus Christ, of which the other were types and figures, to which all the prophets bore witness; and so the ancient Jews understood them. For what else was it that raised so great an expectation of the Messiah at the time he came. Upon occasion of the prophecy of the deliverance of Jerusalem from Sennacherib, here comes in a prophecy concerning Messiah the Prince. I. His rise out of the house of David (Isa 11:1). II. His qualifications for his great undertaking (Isa 11:2, Isa 11:3). III. The justice and equity of his government (Isa 11:3-5). IV. The peaceableness of his kingdom (Isa 11:6-9). V. The accession of the Gentiles to it (Isa 11:10), and with them the remnant of the Jews, that should be united with them in the Messiah's kingdom (Isa 11:11-16) and of all this God would now shortly give them a type, and some dark representation, in the excellent government of Hezekiah, the great peace which the nation should enjoy under him, after the ruin of Sennacherib's design, and the return of many of the ten tribes out of their dispersion to their brethren of the land of Judah, when they enjoyed that great tranquility.

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 11 This chapter is a prophecy of the Messiah, and gives an account of his descent, as man; of his qualifications for his office, as a Judge and King; of his performance of it; of the peaceableness of his kingdom; of the spread of it among the Gentiles, by the preaching of the Gospel; and of the last and general conversion of the Jews. His original and descent from David the son of Jesse, under the titles of a rod and branch, is described as mean and obscure, expressed by stem and roots, Isa 11:1 his gifts and qualifications for his work, in general and particular, Isa 11:2 the performance of it, both with respect to good men and bad men, in the fear of the Lord, with all equity, righteousness, and readiness, Isa 11:3 the peaceableness of his kingdom is figuratively expressed, by the agreement of savage and tame creatures, the former becoming the latter, and so losing their malignant and hurtful nature, through the efficacy of the Gospel, spreading the knowledge of Christ all over the world, Isa 11:6 particularly among the Gentiles, comparable to those savage creatures, who, upon the exhibition of Christ in the Gospel; should seek to him, and find rest in him, Isa 11:10 which will be followed or accompanied with a collection of the Jews out of all lands, and the conversion of them, which will be brought about by the power and grace of God, all impediments being by him removed out of the way; the consequences of which will be, peace among themselves, and obedience among the Gentiles, Isa 11:11.

And the cow and the bear shall feed,.... That is, together, in one church state, at one table, or in one pasture, upon the wholesome food of the Gospel, the salutary doctrines of Christ; who though before of different dispositions, the one tame and gentle, useful and profitable, dispensing the milk of the divine word, and gracious experience; the other cruel and voracious, barbarous and inhuman, worrying the lambs and sheep of Christ; but now of the same nature, and having no ill will to one another, and being without fear of each other: their young ones shall lie down together; those like the calf and the young bear, shall lie in the green pastures of Gospel ordinances, and do no injury, the latter to the former, being of one mind, and agreeing in doctrine and practice: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; kings shall be nursing fathers to the church, and feed on the same Gospel provisions; and there shall be a great agreement between them who were before comparable to lions for their strength, power, and cruelty, and ministers of the Gospel, who are compared to oxen, for their strength and laboriousness, Co1 9:9 "straw" here denotes true doctrine, though elsewhere false, see Co1 3:12. See Gill (Editor's note) on "Isa 11:6" .

The elders who saw John, the disciple of the Lord, related that they had heard from him how the Lord used to teach in regard to these times, and say: The days will come, in which vines shall grow, each having ten thousand branches, and in each branch ten thousand twigs, and in each true twig ten thousand shoots, and in each one of the shoots ten thousand clusters, and on every one of the clusters ten thousand grapes, and every grape when pressed will give five and twenty metretes of wine. And when any one of the saints shall lay hold of a cluster, another shall cry out, "I am a better cluster, take me; bless the Lord through me." In like manner [the Lord declared] that a grain of wheat would produce ten thousand ears, and that every ear should have ten thousand grains, and every grain would yield ten pounds (quinque bilibres) of clear, pure, fine flour; and that all other fruit-bearing trees, and seeds and grass, would produce in similar proportions (secundum congruentiam iis consequentem); and that all animals feeding [only] on the productions of the earth, should [in those days] become peaceful and harmonious among each other, and be in perfect subjection to man... Now these things are credible to believers... When the traitor Judas did not give credit to them, and put the question, 'How then can things about to bring forth so abundantly be wrought by the Lord.' the Lord declared, 'They who shall come to these [times] shall see.'

The predicted blessing, therefore, belongs unquestionably to the times of the kingdom, when the righteous shall bear rule upon their rising from the dead; when also the creation, having been renovated and set free, shall fructify with an abundance of all kinds of food, from the dew of heaven, and from the fertility of the earth: as the elders who saw John, the disciple of the Lord, related that they had heard from him how the Lord used to teach in regard to these times, and say: The days will come, in which vines shall grow, each having ten thousand branches, and in each branch ten thousand twigs, and in each true twig ten thousand shoots, and in each one of the shoots ten thousand clusters, and on every one of the clusters ten thousand grapes, and every grape when pressed will give five and twenty metretes of wine. And when any one of the saints shall lay hold of a cluster, another shall cry out, "I am a better cluster, take me; bless the Lord through me." In like manner [the Lord declared] that a grain of wheat would produce ten thousand ears, and that every ear should have ten thousand grains, and every grain would yield ten pounds (quinque bilibres) of clear, pure, fine flour; and that all other fruit-bearing trees, and seeds and grass, would produce in similar proportions (secundum congruentiam iis consequentem); and that all animals feeding [only] on the productions of the earth, should [in those days] become peaceful and harmonious among each other, and be in perfect subjection to man. And these things are borne witness to in writing by Papias, the hearer of John, and a companion of Polycarp, in his fourth book; for there were five books compiled (συντεταγμένα) by him. And he says in addition, "Now these things are credible to believers." And he says that, "when the traitor Judas did not give credit to them, and put the question, 'How then can things about to bring forth so abundantly be wrought by the Lord.' the Lord declared, 'They who shall come to these [times] shall see.' " When prophesying of these times, therefore, Esaias says: "The wolf also shall feed with the lamb, and the leopard shall take his rest with the kid; the calf also, and the bull, and the lion shall eat together; and a little boy shall lead them. The ox and the bear shall feed together, and their young ones shall agree together; and the lion shall eat straw as well as the ox. And the infant boy shall thrust his hand into the asp's den, into the nest also of the adder's brood; and they shall do no harm, nor have power to hurt anything in my holy mountain." And again he says, in recapitulation, "Wolves and lambs shall then browse together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and the serpent earth as if it were bread; and they shall neither hurt nor annoy anything in my holy mountain, says the Lord." [Isaiah 40:6, etc.] I am quite aware that some persons endeavour to refer these words to the case of savage men, both of different nations and various habits, who come to believe, and when they have believed, act in harmony with the righteous. But although this is [true] now with regard to some men coming from various nations to the harmony of the faith, nevertheless in the resurrection of the just [the words shall also apply] to those animals mentioned. For God is rich in all things. And it is right that when the creation is restored, all the animals should obey and be in subjection to man, and revert to the food originally given by God (for they had been originally subjected in obedience to Adam), that is, the productions of the earth. But some other occasion, and not the present, is [to be sought] for showing that the lion shall [then] feed on straw. And this indicates the large size and rich quality of the fruits. For if that animal, the lion, feeds upon straw [at that period], of what a quality must the wheat itself be whose straw shall serve as suitable food for lions?

Such is the grace of the waters, that their calves and lions flee from them, so that this prophetic saying about the sanctity of the Church rightly applies to them: Then wolves and lambs will graze together, and lions and oxen will eat straw together. No wonder, since even in the Church, water works in the same way, that the washed-away wickedness of the thieves is compared with the innocence.

(Verse 6 and following) The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat; the calf, the lion, and the sheep will all stay together, and a small child will lead them. The calf and the bear will graze together; their young ones will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like an ox. The infant will play near the cobra's den, and the young child will put his hand into the viper's nest. They will not cause harm or destroy on my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. This also the Jews and our Jewish followers contend will happen literally, that in the glory of Christ, whom they believe will come at the end of the world, all beasts will be tamed, and the former ferocity, the wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the other things with the others, which we now see as contrary to each other. We should ask those who accept everything in the present text as it is written, and do not relate to spiritual understanding, according to the saying of the Apostle, who says: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:3), therefore, the root, and the branch, and the flower should not be understood literally: and when it is said that the earth was struck by the word of God, and the wicked were killed by the breath of his lips, they should be understood as written: and they should be compelled to teach how the Lord's loins are surrounded by incorporeal things with righteousness and truth. But let us also ask them what is worthy of the majesty of the Lord, that the wolf and the lamb may feed together, and the leopard may lie down with the young goat, and the lion may eat straw like the ox, and a small child may put his hand into the hole of the venomous snake? Unless, perhaps, according to the fables of the poets, they will restore to us the golden age of Saturn, in which wolves and lambs will feed together, and rivers will flow with sweet wine, and the sweetest honey will drip from the leaves of trees, and everything will be filled with milk from the fountains. But if they respond that for the happiness of the times these things are to come, so that without anyone's harm, men may enjoy all good things, let them hear from us that nothing is good except virtue, and nothing is evil except vice, as the Psalmist says: Who is the man that desires life, and loves to see good days? Restrain your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. Turn away from evil, and do good. (Psalm 34:14; 31:27). But riches, and bodily health, and abundance of all things, and their contraries, poverty, weakness, and lack, even among the philosophers of the world, are neither reckoned among good things nor among bad things, but are called indifferent. And the Stoics also, who agree in most respects with our doctrine, consider nothing to be good except honesty and virtue alone, and nothing to be evil except shamefulness. We have briefly stated these things in order to convincingly refute those who Judaize while in a deep sleep. However, through the life-giving spirit, understanding is easy. For Paul, formerly a persecutor and destroyer of the Church, is like a wolf, of whom it is said: Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; he dwelt with the lamb, or like Ananias, by whom he was baptized (Gen. XLIX, 27; Acts VIII), or like the Apostle Peter, to whom it was said: Feed my lambs (John XXI). And the leopard, who previously did not change its spots, lies down in the fountain of the Lord with the kid, not the one on the left, but the one sacrificed on the Lord's Passover. And this must be noted, that neither the lamb nor the kid dwell and lie down with the wolf and the leopard, but the wolf and the leopard imitate the innocence of the lamb and the kid. The lion also will dwell together with the most ferocious, and the sheep, and the calf. This we see daily in the Church, the rich and the poor, the powerful and the humble, kings and commoners dwelling together, and being ruled in the Church by little children, whom we understand to be the Apostles, and by Apostolic men, unskilled in language, but not in knowledge. When those who are bound together in the discipline of the Lord are united among themselves, so that their families are also joined, then this will be fulfilled: their young ones will rest together. The lion will also not eat meat, but straw, so that it may feed on simple food. And here it must be observed that it is not the ox that eats meat, but the lion that eats straw. I think that in Holy Scriptures, straw is understood as simple words. However, wheat and the inner marrow represent the meaning that is found in the letter: and it often happens that people of the world, who are ignorant of the mysteries, feed on simple reading of the Scriptures. The infant, who is small in wickedness, also puts his hand into the snake's hole and drives away the demons from the bodies of those possessed. But the child who is weaned is no longer nourished by milk but now eats solid food. He puts his hand into the cave of the ruler, that is, into the dwelling place of Satan himself, and from there he pulls him out. Hence, the power was given to the Apostles to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy (Luke 10). However, poisonous animals will never be able to harm or kill those who dwell in the holy mountain of God, which is interpreted as the Church, as it is said in the Gospel: A city set on a hill cannot be hidden (Matt. 5:14). But lest we think that this is said about Mount Zion according to the error of the Hebrews, the following verse of the Gospel preaching shows the sacraments: For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord (Isaiah 11:9). This is what was said above more obscurely: The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid (Isaiah 11:6). And according to their custom, the words of the prophets are revealed at the end: As the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14). Just as the depths of the sea are covered by the waters of the sea, that is, the land covered by the waves, so the knowledge of the Lord will fill the whole earth. The blessed Apostle Peter also testifies to the diverse conjunction of previous manners in the linen cloth (Acts 10), which was sent down from heaven, having four elements, which we understand as representing the four regions of the world, so that we may know the earth filled with the knowledge of God: in this vessel there were quadrupeds, and serpents, and wild beasts, and birds of the sky, so that just as the Ark did in the Flood, the Church may provide in the world.

Where and when, therefore, will this blessing be accomplished except in the kingdom of God, where grain, wine and oil are in abundance? The earth will yield its fruit generously and every evil will be destroyed, as Isaiah said: “In those days, the lion will eat straw with the ox, the wolf and the lamb will feed together, and a small child will put his hand in the den of an asp without being harmed.” In his kingdom, God will recreate the world as wonderfully as it was made at the beginning, before the first man sinned. For after he violated the word of God, all things were corrupted, profaned and cursed when God said, “Cursed is the ground because of your works.” The passing form of this world, therefore, will become the kingdom of the saints and the liberation of creation.

If we carefully examine the words of the Prophets, we discover that these and they were put forth by the same Spirit. For when Isaiah observed the life of sinners devoured by the ancient and insatiable enemy, he said, "the lion shall eat straw like the ox." But what is signified by the words hay, and straw, except the life of the carnal? Of which it is said by the Prophet, "All flesh is hay." He then who here is 'Behemoth,' is there a 'lion;' they who are here called 'hay,' are there called 'straw.' But the mind strives to enquire why this lion in Isaiah, or Behemoth as he is called by the voice of the Lord, is in both passages compared not to a horse, but an ox. But we ascertain this the sooner, if we consider what is the difference of foods in the two animals. For horses eat hay, however dirty, but drink clean water only. But oxen drink water, however filthy, but feed only on clean hay. What then is it, for which this Behemoth is compared to an ox, which feeds on clean food, except that which is said of this ancient enemy by another Prophet: "His food is choice." For he rejoices not in seizing those whom he beholds lying of their own accord in the lowest depths with himself, involved in wicked and filthy actions. He therefore seeks to eat hay as an ox, because he seeks to wound with the fang of his suggestion the pure life of the spiritual.

Hence there too it is added: "And a little child shall lead them." Who is this little child except he of whom it is written: "A child is born to us, a son is given to us"? He leads those dwelling together, because lest our hearts cling to earthly things, he daily inflames them through inward desire. And this very leading of his is to kindle us unceasingly to love of him, lest when we love one another we remain in mind in this exile, lest the rest of this life so please us that it leads to forgetfulness of our homeland, lest the mind delighted by prosperity grow sluggish.

371. Third, as to eating, in two ways: as to conformity of food: the calf, who eats grass and is a clean animal, the bear, who tears meat and is not a clean animal, shall feed together, on the same food of the Word of God; their young ones, that is, their families, together, that is, in conformity, shall rest to eat, or the food of the sacraments: they ate the same spiritual food (1 Cor 10:3). Second, as to humility of food, the lion, the king, like the ox, the rustic, straw, rough doctrine, or, literally, abstinence from food: shall the rhinoceros be willing to serve you, or will he stay at your crib? (Job 39:9). But this seems to be more expressly preserved in religion, where men of different ages and conditions live with one mind, that is, in conformity: who makes men of one mind to dwell in a house (Ps 67:7[68:6]). Others say that this was fulfilled in the time of the good kings, when the great lived in peace with the lowly. The Jews say all these things are to happen literally in the times of the antichrist.

The prophet proclaims the tenor of God's covenant with the Jews of old, Jer 11:1-5; and then reproves them for their hereditary disobedience, Jer 11:6-19. In consequence of this the Almighty is introduced, declaring he will show them no pity, Jer 11:11-13; forbidding Jeremiah to intercede, Jer 11:14; rejecting their sacrifices, Jer 11:15; and in a word, condemning this fair but unfruitful tree to the fire, Jer 11:16, Jer 11:17. In what remains of the chapter the prophet predicts evil to his neighbors of Anathoth, who had conspired against him, Jer 11:18-23. "Let us," said they, "destroy this tree, with the fruit thereof," etc., alluding to what Jeremiah had said in the sixteenth verse.

In this verse a word is omitted in the text, יחדו yachdav, together; which ought to be repeated in the second hemistich, being quite necessary to the sense. It is accordingly twice expressed by the Septuagint and Syriac.

(Isa. 11:1-16) rod--When the proud "boughs" of "Lebanon" (Isa 10:33-34, the Assyrians) are lopped, and the vast "forests cut down" amidst all this rage, a seemingly humble rod shall come out of Jesse (Messiah), who shall retrieve the injuries done by the Assyrian "rod" to Israel (Isa 10:5-6, Isa 10:18-19). stem--literally, "the stump" of a tree cut close by the roots: happily expressing the depressed state of the royal house of David, owing to the hostile storm (Isa 10:18-19), when Messiah should arise from it, to raise it to more than its pristine glory. Luk 2:7 proves this (Isa 53:2; compare Job 14:7-8; see on Isa 8:6). Branch--Scion. He is nevertheless also the "root" (Isa 11:10; Rev 5:5; Rev 22:16. "Root and offspring" combines both, Zac 3:8; Zac 6:12).

feed--namely, "together"; taken from the second clause. straw--no longer flesh and blood.