Context No. 4042 of 4322 · Isaiah

Isaiah 11:10-16: in context

10It will happen in that day that the nations will seek the root of Jesse, who stands as a banner of the peoples; and his resting place will be glorious. 11It will happen in that day that the Lord will set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. 12He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. 13The envy also of Ephraim will depart, and those who persecute Judah will be cut off. Ephraim won’t envy Judah, and Judah won’t persecute Ephraim. 14They will fly down on the shoulders of the Philistines on the west. Together they will plunder the children of the east. They will extend their power over Edom and Moab, and the children of Ammon will obey them. 15The LORD will utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his scorching wind he will wave his hand over the River, and will split it into seven streams, and cause men to march over in sandals. 16There will be a highway for the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, like there was for Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.

Isaiah looks ahead to the day when the root of Jesse, the Messiah from David's line, shall stand as a banner, a rallying point, for the peoples, and the nations shall seek him. And in that day, God will reach out his hand a second time to gather the remnant of his people, the outcasts and the dispersed, from the four corners of the earth.

Two great themes shine here. The Messiah is a banner for all nations, not one people only. He stands lifted up, and the nations are drawn to seek him; this points to Christ, lifted up on the cross and exalted, drawing people from every nation to himself. And God is a gatherer of the scattered and the outcast. He assembles those who have been driven out and dispersed, bringing them home from wherever they have wandered. There is hope here on two fronts. Christ is the banner around whom all peoples are meant to gather, and the invitation to seek him goes out to every nation. And no one is so far off, so dispersed, that God cannot bring them home.

Do I come to Christ, the banner lifted up for all peoples, and do I trust the God who gathers the scattered and the outcast, believing that no one is too far off for him to bring home?

Sources

Isaiah 11:10: "The nations will seek the root of Jesse, who stands as a banner of the peoples; and his resting place will be glorious."
Isaiah 11:12: "He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth."
John 12:32: "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."